Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2015

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

 

FORM F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Yirendai Ltd.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

 

 

 

Cayman Islands   6199   Not Applicable

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

The People’s Republic of China

+86 10 5236-2498

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc.

400 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor

New York, New York 10017

(212) 750-6474

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Z. Julie Gao, Esq.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

c/o 42/F, Edinburgh Tower, The Landmark

15 Queen’s Road

Central, Hong Kong

+852 3740-4700

 

Chris K.H. Lin, Esq.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

c/o 35th Floor, ICBC Tower

3 Garden Road

Central, Hong Kong

+852 2514-7600

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: as soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.   ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of each class of

securities to be registered

 

Proposed maximum aggregate

offering price (2)(3)

 

Amount of

registration fee

Ordinary Shares, par value US$0.0001 per share (1)

  $100,000,000   $10,070

 

 

(1) American depositary shares issuable upon deposit of ordinary shares registered hereby will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (Registration No. 333-            ). Each American depositary share represents              ordinary shares.
(2) Includes ordinary shares that are issuable upon the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Also includes ordinary shares initially offered and sold outside the United States that may be resold from time to time in the United States either as part of their distribution or within 40 days after the later of the effective date of this registration statement and the date the shares are first bona fide offered to the public. These ordinary shares are not being registered for the purpose of sales outside the United States.
(3) Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933.

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)

Issued                 , 2015

American Depositary Shares

 

LOGO

Yirendai Ltd.

Representing                  Ordinary Shares

 

 

This is an initial public offering of American depositary shares, or ADSs, of Yirendai Ltd., or Yirendai. Yirendai is offering              ADSs. Each ADS represents                  of our ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share.

 

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ADSs or our ordinary shares. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per ADS will be between US$             and US$            . We will apply to list the ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “YRD.”

 

 

We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable U.S. federal securities laws and are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements. Following the completion of this offering, we will be a “controlled company” as defined under the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE because CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, or CreditEase, will 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. See “Principal Shareholders.”

 

 

See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 14 for factors you should consider before buying the ADSs.

 

 

PRICE US$             PER ADS

 

 

 

      

Price to
Public

      

Underwriting
Discounts and
Commission

      

Proceeds
to Yirendai

 

Per ADS

       $                          $                          $                  

Total

       $                           $                          $                   

Yirendai has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional              ADSs to cover over-allotments.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators have not approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs to purchasers in New York, New York on                     , 2015.

 

 

 

MORGAN STANLEY   CREDIT SUISSE   CHINA RENAISSANCE

 

  NEEDHAM & COMPANY  

                    , 2015.


Table of Contents

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

LOGO


Table of Contents

LOGO


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

     Page  

Prospectus Summary

     1   

Risk Factors

     14   

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

     63   

Use of Proceeds

     64   

Dividend Policy

     65   

Capitalization

     66   

Dilution

     67   

Enforceability of Civil Liabilities

     69   

Corporate History and Structure

     71   

Our Relationship with CreditEase

     75   

Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data

     79   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     82   

Industry

     114   

Business

     117   

Regulation

     141   

Management

     154   

Principal Shareholders

     162   

Related Party Transactions

     164   

Description of Share Capital

     166   

Description of American Depositary Shares

     176   

Shares Eligible for Future Sales

     186   

Taxation

     188   

Underwriting

     195   

Expenses Related to This Offering

     203   

Legal Matters

     204   

Experts

     205   

Where You Can Find Additional Information

     206   

INDEX TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     F-1   

 

 

No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the ADSs offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.

Neither we nor any of the underwriters has done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the ADSs and the distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus outside of the United States.

Until            , 2015 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade ADSs, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

i


Table of Contents

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information and financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to this summary, we urge you to read the entire prospectus carefully, especially the risks of investing in our ADSs discussed under “Risk Factors,” before deciding whether to buy our ADSs. This prospectus contains information from a report commissioned by us and prepared in April 2015, as updated from time to time, by iResearch, an independent market research firm, to provide information on the online consumer finance marketplace industry in China.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide consumers in China with easy access to affordable credit and investors with attractive investment opportunities through our online marketplace.

Our Business

We are a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, according to iResearch. We facilitated over RMB6,197.0 million (US$999.5 million) in loans from our inception in March 2012 through June 30, 2015.

Our online platform automates key aspects of our operations and enables us to efficiently match borrowers with investors and execute loan transactions. Leveraging the extensive experience of our parent company CreditEase, we provide an effective solution to address largely underserved investor and individual borrower demand in China. CreditEase is a large financial services company focusing on providing inclusive finance and wealth management products and services in China. Our borrowers and investors come from a variety of channels, including online sources, such as the internet and our mobile applications, as well as offline sources, such as referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, we facilitated over RMB550.8 million and RMB940.7 million (US$151.7 million) in loans through our mobile applications, respectively, representing 24.7% and 25.4% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace in the respective periods.

Between 2014 and 2019, China’s unsecured consumer finance market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 26.6% from RMB3.5 trillion (US$564.5 billion) to RMB11.4 trillion in terms of outstanding loan balance, according to iResearch. As we continue to expand our business, we believe that we will be well positioned to capture the opportunities presented by this growing market.

We currently target prime borrowers, comprising credit card holders with salary income. We strategically focus on prime borrowers as we believe members of this group tend to be more creditworthy and more receptive to internet finance solutions. In the future, we may expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers, enabling us to capture the opportunities presented by China’s growing unsecured consumer finance market. Our online marketplace offers qualified borrowers who successfully complete our online application and meet our borrower requirements quick and convenient access to affordable credit at competitive prices. All of the loans facilitated through our marketplace feature fixed interest rates. To provide a transparent marketplace, the interest rates, service fees and other charges are all clearly disclosed to borrowers upfront.

Our online marketplace provides investors with attractive returns with investment thresholds as low as RMB100 (US$16.1). Investors have the option to individually select specific loans to invest in or to use our automated investing tool that identifies and selects loans on the basis of a targeted return. We also offer investors a risk reserve fund service with the aim of limiting losses to investors from borrower defaults. In addition, we provide investors with access to a liquid secondary market, giving them an opportunity to exit their investments

 



 

1


Table of Contents

before the underlying loans become due. We currently conduct our business operations exclusively in China, and our online consumer finance marketplace does not facilitate investments by investors located in the United States.

We believe we have developed an industry leading risk management system using our proprietary credit decisioning and fraud detection modules. We accumulate data from our expanding borrower base and CreditEase’s extensive database to continually enhance the sophistication and reliability of our risk management system. Our proprietary risk management system enables us to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers more effectively in a market where reliable credit scores and borrower databases are still at an early stage of development. This system also enables us to appropriately price the risks associated with borrowers and offer quality loan investment opportunities to investors.

We generate revenues primarily from fees charged for our services in matching investors with individual borrowers and for other services we provide over the life of a loan. We charge borrowers transaction fees for services provided through our platform in facilitating loan transactions, and charge investors service fees for using our automated investing tool or self-directed investing tool. As an information intermediary, we do not use our own capital to invest in loans facilitated through our marketplace.

We have experienced significant growth since we launched our marketplace in March 2012. Our total net revenues increased from US$3.1 million in 2013 to US$31.9 million in 2014, and increased from US$5.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$79.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015. We had net losses of US$8.3 million and US$4.5 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, we had a net income of US$17.3 million, compared to a net loss of US$9.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Our Industry

Consumption in China has experienced rapid growth as a result of China’s economic development and rising consumption power among Chinese consumers. Despite growing consumption levels, consumption in China is underfinanced. According to iResearch, China’s consumption loan balance to GDP ratio was merely 24.2% in 2014, compared to 77.5% for the United States during the same year, suggesting significant growth potential for China’s consumer finance market. Consumption in China is underfinanced primarily because loans from traditional financial institutions are not easily accessible. China’s consumption loan balance had reached RMB15.4 trillion (US$2.5 trillion) by the end of 2014, and is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 19.5% to RMB37.4 trillion by the end of 2019, according to iResearch.

The consumer finance market consists of secured consumption loans such as car loans and home mortgages, and unsecured consumption loans such as credit cards and other unsecured loans from banks and consumer financing companies. According to iResearch, China’s unsecured consumption loan balance had reached RMB3.5 trillion (US$564.5 billion) by the end of 2014, and is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 26.6% to RMB11.4 trillion by the end of 2019.

China’s rapidly growing consumption levels and relatively limited consumer finance options have created opportunities for marketplaces that connect borrowers and investors. According to iResearch, transaction values for marketplaces that focus on consumption loans, which we refer to as consumer finance marketplaces, are expected to grow from RMB12.7 billion (US$2.0 billion) in 2014 to RMB521.4 billion in 2019, representing a CAGR of 110.1%. In particular, within this segment, pure online marketplaces that focus on consumption loans to individuals, or online consumer finance marketplaces, show the strongest growth potential. According to iResearch, transaction values through online consumer finance marketplaces reached RMB4.6 billion (US$742.0 million) in 2014, and are expected to further grow at a CAGR of 122.2% to RMB247.6 billion in 2019.

 



 

2


Table of Contents

Competitive Strengths

We believe the following competitive strengths contribute to our success and differentiate us from our competitors:

 

    China’s leading online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers. We believe our scale, brand, risk management capabilities and technology platform allow us to effectively attract new participants, lower costs for borrowers, provide high-quality loan investment opportunities, create higher liquidity and thus reinforce our market position.

 

    Superior user experience. We offer a superior user experience to borrowers and investors, helping us to achieve industry leading customer satisfaction rates. According to a customer survey conducted by iResearch, we ranked No. 1 in terms of investor satisfaction rates and No. 2 in terms of borrower satisfaction rates among our industry peers in 2014.

 

    Proprietary risk management system. Our proprietary risk management system enables us to evaluate potential borrowers in a market where reliable credit scores and borrower databases are still at early stage of development. Our system is built upon data accumulated through our operations and is further supported by an extensive database accumulated by CreditEase over the past nine years. Our risk management model utilizes big data capabilities to automatically evaluate the credit characteristics of borrowers.

 

    Powerful network effects. Our online marketplace benefits from powerful network effects that result in a virtuous cycle for our business whereby the performance of our marketplace improves. We believe that these network effects will reinforce our market position.

 

    Scalable and robust technology platform. Our technology platform powers our online marketplace, enabling us to connect investors and individual borrowers in a fast and effective way and to efficiently deliver services to them. Our technology platform also facilitates our user-friendly mobile applications, which allow our users to invest and borrow anytime, anywhere.

 

    Visionary founder and experienced management team. Our founder and executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, together with other members of our management team, started our company with the vision of becoming the leading online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers in China. Their deep understanding of the consumer finance market in China contributed to our strategic decision to focus on the prime borrower market.

Our Strategies

We intend to achieve our mission by pursuing the following strategies:

 

    Continue to define industry best practices in China. We strive to create and uphold industry best practices for all aspects of our business, including credit risk management and analysis, operational transparency, fund settlement and data security. Separately, through CreditEase’s leadership in self-regulatory organizations, we will continue to foster the sustainable growth of our industry by leading through example and our sharing of best practices.

 

    Broaden our borrower base. We seek to grow the number of borrowers on our online marketplace by introducing new credit products and services and tailoring products to specific borrower needs. We may also expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers, enabling us to capture the opportunities presented by China’s growing unsecured consumer finance market. As our marketplace continues to grow, we plan to expand our ability to offer risk-based pricing in order to better meet the needs of our borrowers.

 



 

3


Table of Contents
    Expand our investor base. We strive to increase the overall number of investors and the amounts they invest through our marketplace by facilitating investments in a diversified portfolio of high-quality loan products. We will continue to develop new investment products, to satisfy different investor requirements. In the future, we plan to segment loans into more precise tiers of returns, and seek to offer investors a more diverse array of loan products that better meet their return targets.

 

    Further enhance our risk management capabilities. We will continue to automate our risk management system by enhancing our online data analytics capabilities and utilizing additional data sources. We will also further advance our proprietary algorithms in order to increase the automation and predictive capabilities of our risk management systems. These will enable us to further increase the efficiency of our marketplace while maintaining sophisticated risk management capabilities.

 

    Continue to execute our mobile strategy. We have made and will continue to make significant investments in pursuing our mobile strategy. We plan to further strengthen our mobile internet presence to seize promising market opportunities by developing targeted marketing programs directed at mobile users, introduce more mobile related products and further enhance our risk management capabilities utilizing additional information from our mobile users.

 

    Continue to invest in our technology platform. We will continue to make significant investments in our proprietary technologies in the areas of data collection and processing algorithms to increase the precision, speed and scale at which we match the demand and supply of funds. Enhanced data analytics will also improve our conversion of online leads into successful borrowers and investors.

 

    Cultivate a vibrant consumer lending ecosystem. We will expand strategic relationships with key industry value chain partners to further increase the value of our marketplace and better serve borrowers and investors. We will continue to promote the positive development of the online consumer finance marketplace industry in China through long-term partnerships with government institutions to advocate for the adoption of an industry-wide credit scoring system to better protect borrowers and investors.

Our Challenges

Our ability to achieve our goal and execute our strategies is subject to risks and uncertainties, including those relating to our ability to:

 

    attract and retain borrowers and investors on our marketplace in an effective and cost-efficient way;

 

    introduce new loan products and platform enhancements that achieve sufficient market acceptance;

 

    effectively evaluate a borrower’s credit profile to appropriately price our loan products and maintain low default rates;

 

    accurately estimate the charge-off rate of loans facilitated through our platform;

 

    compete effectively;

 

    promote and maintain our brand and reputation; and

 

    establish successful strategic relationships with partners.

In addition, we face risks and uncertainties related to our corporate structure and regulatory environment in China, including:

 

    uncertainties associated with the interpretation and application of PRC regulations and policies, including those relating to the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China;

 



 

4


Table of Contents
    risks associated with our control over Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity in China, which is based on contractual arrangements rather than equity ownership;

 

    uncertainties associated with the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the draft PRC Foreign investment law, including how it may impact the viability of our corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations; and

 

    risks related to our ability to use the proceeds of this offering to make additional capital contributions or loans to our PRC subsidiary as a result of PRC regulations and governmental control of currency conversion.

Please see “Risk Factors” and other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that we face.

Corporate History and Structure

We commenced our online consumer finance marketplace business in March 2012 as a business unit under our parent company, CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, or CreditEase, which will remain as our parent company and controlling shareholder after this offering. CreditEase incorporated Yirendai Ltd. in the Cayman Islands to be our holding company in September 2014. Yirendai Ltd. then established a wholly owned subsidiary in Hong Kong, Yirendai Hong Kong Limited, or Yirendai HK, in October 2014, and Yirendai HK further established Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Ye, our wholly owned subsidiary in China, in January 2015.

Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Cheng, was established in China in September 2014. Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian are the shareholders of Heng Cheng designated by CreditEase, owning 40%, 30% and 30% of the equity interests in Heng Cheng, respectively, as of the date of this prospectus. We entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and its shareholders in February 2015. These contractual arrangements allow us to:

 

    exercise effective control over Heng Cheng;

 

    receive substantially all of the economic benefits of Heng Cheng; and

 

    have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in Heng Cheng when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

As a result of these contractual arrangements, we have become the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng designated by CreditEase, and we treat Heng Cheng as our variable interest entity under U.S. GAAP. We have consolidated the financial results of Heng Cheng in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

As a result of restructuring by CreditEase, we currently conduct our online consumer finance marketplace business in China through Heng Ye and our consolidated variable interest entity, Heng Cheng. Heng Cheng operates our website www.yirendai.com and has an ICP license as an internet information provider.

 



 

5


Table of Contents

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, including our subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity, immediately upon the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option:

 

LOGO

 

LOGO         Equity interest

LOGO         Contractual arrangements

 

(1) The shareholders of Heng Cheng are Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian, owning 40%, 30% and 30% of Heng Cheng’s equity interest, respectively. Mr. Ning Tang is our executive chairman, Mr. Fanshun Kong is a non-executive PRC employee of CreditEase, and Ms. Yan Tian is a third-party individual designated by CreditEase.

Our Relationship with CreditEase

We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of CreditEase as of the date of this prospectus. Upon the completion of this offering, CreditEase will remain as our parent company and controlling shareholder, with a shareholding of         % of our then outstanding ordinary shares assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. CreditEase is a large financial services company focusing on providing inclusive finance and wealth management products and services in China. Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and all of our online consumer finance marketplace business is now carried out by our own subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity.

In the past, CreditEase provided us with origination and servicing, financial, administrative, sales and marketing, risk management, human resources and legal services, as well as the services of a number of its executives and employees, the costs of which were allocated to us using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us. Although we have set up our own support systems after our carve-out from CreditEase, we expect CreditEase to continue to provide certain support services during a transitional period.

 



 

6


Table of Contents

We have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase with respect to business cooperation and various ongoing relationships between us. Pursuant to these agreements, CreditEase will provide us long-term services such as borrower and investor acquisition, collection and technical support. We also have an arrangement with CreditEase regarding the sharing of data and information and certain mutual intellectual property licenses owned by CreditEase and us. In addition, CreditEase will continue to provide us with certain supports, such as financial, administrative, human resources and legal services, during a transitional period. See “Our Relationship with CreditEase” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Carve-out from CreditEase and Our Relationship with CreditEase.”

Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 10 5236-2498. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 2547, Cassia Court, Camana Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices. Our main website is www.yirendai.com . The information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc., located at 400 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

As a company with less than US$1.0 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or 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. 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. 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 (a) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least US$1.0 billion; (b) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering; (c) the date on which we have, during the previous three year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (d) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.

 



 

7


Table of Contents

Conventions that Apply to this Prospectus

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires in this prospectus:

 

    “ADSs” refers to our American depositary shares, each of which represents              ordinary shares;

 

    “APR” or “annual percentage rate” refers to the annual rate that is charged to borrowers, including a fixed interest rate and a transaction fee rate, expressed as a single percentage number that represents the actual yearly cost of borrowing over the life of a loan.

 

    “China” or the “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purposes of this prospectus only, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan;

 

    “CreditEase” refers to CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, our parent company and controlling shareholder;

 

    “M3+ Net Charge Off Rate,” with respect to loans facilitated during a specified time period, which we refer to as a vintage, is defined as the difference between (i) the total balance of outstanding principal of loans that become over three months delinquent during a specified period and the remainder of the expected interest for the life of such loans, and (ii) the total amount of recovered past due payments of principal and accrued interest in the same period with respect to all loans in the same vintage that have ever become over three months delinquent, divided by (iii) the total initial principal of the loans facilitated in such vintage.

 

    “ordinary shares” prior to the completion of this offering refers to our ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 per share, and upon and after the completion of this offering are to our ordinary shares, each of par value US$0.0001 per share;

 

    “Peer-to-peer lending service providers” refers to marketplaces connecting borrowers and investors;

 

    “RMB” and “Renminbi” refer to the legal currency of China;

 

    “US$,” “U.S. dollars,” “$,” and “dollars” refer to the legal currency of the United States; and

 

    “Yirendai,” “we,” “us,” “our company” and “our” refer to Yirendai Ltd., its subsidiaries and its consolidated variable interest entity.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, all information in this prospectus assumes no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option.

We use U.S. dollars as the reporting currency in our financial statements and in this prospectus. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in Renminbi are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange as of the balance sheet date, equity accounts are translated at historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rate for the period. In other parts of this prospectus, any Renminbi denominated amounts are accompanied by translations. With respect to amounts not recorded in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at RMB6.2000 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on June 30, 2015. We make no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this prospectus could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. The PRC government restricts or prohibits the conversion of Renminbi into foreign currency and foreign currency into Renminbi for certain types of transactions. On November 6, 2015, the noon buying rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board was RMB6.3180 to US$1.00.

 



 

8


Table of Contents

The Offering

 

Offering price

We currently estimate that the initial public offering price will be between US$             and US$             per ADS.

 

ADSs offered by us

             ADSs (or              ADSs if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full).

 

ADSs outstanding immediately after this offering

             ADSs (or              ADSs if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full)

 

Ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering

             ordinary shares, (or              ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full).

 

The ADSs

Each ADS represents              ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 per share.

The depositary will hold ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. You will have rights as provided in the deposit agreement among us, the depositary and holders and                                          beneficial owners of ADSs from time to time.

We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. If, however, we declare dividends on our ordinary shares, the depositary will pay you the cash dividends and other distributions it receives on our ordinary shares after deducting its fees and expenses in accordance with the terms set forth in the deposit agreement.

You may surrender your ADSs to the depositary in exchange for ordinary shares. The depositary will charge you fees for any exchange.

We may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold your ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended.

To better understand the terms of the ADSs, you should carefully read the “Description of American Depositary Shares” section of this prospectus. You should also read the deposit agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.

 

Over-allotment option

We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable within 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an aggregate of              additional ADSs.

 



 

9


Table of Contents

Use of proceeds

We expect that we will receive net proceeds of approximately US$             million from this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of US$             per ADS, which is the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

  We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include investment in product development, sales and marketing activities, technology infrastructure, capital expenditures, improvement of corporate facilities and other general and administrative matters. We may also use a portion of these proceeds for the acquisition of, or investment in, technologies, solutions or businesses that complement our business, although we have no present commitments or agreements to enter into any acquisitions or investments. See “Use of Proceeds” for more information.

 

Lock-up

We, our directors, executive officers and our existing shareholder have agreed with the underwriters not to sell, transfer or dispose of any ADSs, ordinary shares or similar securities for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” and “Underwriting.”

 

Listing

We intend to apply to have the ADSs listed on the NYSE under the symbol “YRD.” Our ADSs and shares will not be listed on any other stock exchange or traded on any automated quotation system.

 

Payment and settlement

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment therefor through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company on             , 2015.

 

Depositary

Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas.

 



 

10


Table of Contents

Summary Consolidated Financial and Operating Data

The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014, and summary consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The following summary consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 and the summary consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2015 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. You should read this Summary Consolidated Financial and Operating Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,      For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
    

(in US$ thousands, except for share, per share and per ADS data, and
percentages)

 

Summary Consolidated Statements of Operations:

           

Net revenues

     3,131         31,893         5,044         79,007   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

           

Sales and marketing

     5,220         22,354         9,095         40,890   

Origination and servicing

     1,255         3,541         1,350         5,081   

General and administrative

     4,998         10,490         3,626         9,276   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

     (11,473      (36,385      (14,071      (55,247
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Interest income

     —           —           —           40   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

     (8,342      (4,492      (9,027      23,800   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Income tax expense

     —           (5      —           (6,496
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net (loss)/income

     (8,342      (4,497      (9,027      17,304   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in per share calculations: (1)

           

Basic and diluted

     100,000,000         100,000,000         100,000,000         100,000,000   

Net (loss)/income per ordinary share

           

Basic and diluted

     (0.0834      (0.0450      (0.0903      0.1730   

Net (loss)/income per ADS (2)

           

Basic

           

Diluted

           

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: (3)

           

Contribution

     (3,344      5,998          (5,401      33,036   

Contribution margin

     (106.8%      18.8%         (107.1%      41.8%   

 

  (1) On January 5, 2015, we effected a 10,000-for-1 share split, such that our authorized share capital of US$50,000 was divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, of which 10,000 ordinary shares were issued and outstanding and were owned by CreditEase. On June 25, 2015, we issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 each to CreditEase for an aggregate purchase price of US$9,999. The share split and the share issuance have been retroactively reflected for all periods presented herein.
  (2) Each ADS represents             ordinary shares.
  (3) See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 



 

11


Table of Contents
     As of December 31,      As of June 30,  
     2013      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands)  

Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet:

        

Cash and cash equivalents

     —           222         17,764   

Restricted cash

     —           —           33,682   

Total assets

     4,933         64,825         161,687   

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee

     —           —           39,658   

Total liabilities

     1,775         28,813         108,310   

Total equity

     3,158         36,012         53,377   

The following table presents our summary operating data for the periods indicated:

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,      For the Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     RMB      RMB      US$      RMB      RMB      US$  
     (in thousands)  

Summary Operating Data:

                 

Amount of loans facilitated

     258,322         2,228,562         359,179         421,530         3,704,745         597,540   

Loans generated from online channels

     98,512         896,003         144,409         121,833        
1,189,978
  
     191,932   

Loans generated from offline channels

     159,810         1,332,559         214,770         299,697         2,514,767         405,608   

 

     As of December 31,      As of June 30,  
     2013      2014      2015  
     RMB      RMB      US$      RMB      US$  
     (in thousands)  

Outstanding loan principal

     237,796         2,132,447         343,943         5,038,881         812,723   

 

     For the Year Ended
December 31,
     For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands)  

Transaction fees from borrowers

       3,045           31,317             4,941           123,261   

Service fees from investors

     25         405         47         3,847   

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating our business, we consider and use two non-GAAP financial measures, contribution and contribution margin, as supplemental measures to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We calculate contribution as net (loss)/income, excluding general and administrative expense, interest income and income tax expense. We calculate contribution margin by dividing contribution by total net revenues.

We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our core operating performance and trends. Contribution and contribution margin have varied from period to period and have generally increased over time. Factors that affect our contribution and contribution margin include revenue mix, variable sales and marketing expenses, and origination and servicing expenses. These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools.

 



 

12


Table of Contents

One of the key limitations of using contribution and contribution margin is that it does not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations. General and administrative expense and income tax expense (benefit) have been and will continue to be incurred in our business and are not reflected in the presentation of contribution and contribution margin. Further, other companies, including peer companies in our industry, may calculate these non-GAAP measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as a comparative measure.

We compensate for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

The following table reconciles our contribution in 2013 and 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is net (loss)/income:

 

     For the Year
Ended
December 31,
     For the Six
Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands, except for percentages)   

Reconciliation of Net (Loss)/Income to Contribution:

           

Net (loss)/income

     (8,342      (4,497      (9,027      17,304   

Interest income

     —           —           —           (40

Income tax expense

     —           5         —           6,496   

General and administrative expenses

     4,998         10,490         3,626         9,276   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Contribution

     (3,344      5,998         (5,401      33,036   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
Total net revenues      3,131         31,893         5,044         79,007   

Contribution margin

     (106.8%      18.8%         (107.1%      41.8%   

 



 

13


Table of Contents

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our ADSs involves significant risks. You should consider carefully 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 and 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

We have a limited operating history in a new and evolving market, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.

The market for China’s online consumer finance marketplaces is new and may not develop as expected. The regulatory framework for this market is also evolving and may remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Potential borrowers and investors may not be familiar with this market and may have difficulty distinguishing our services from those of our competitors. Convincing potential new borrowers and investors of the value of our services is critical to increasing the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace and to the success of our business.

We launched our online marketplace in March 2012 and have a limited operating history. In addition, starting in the fourth quarter of 2014, we began offering new loan products with different pricing grades. As our business develops or in response to competition, we may continue to introduce new products or make adjustments to our existing products, or make adjustments to our business model. In connection with the introduction of new products or in response to general economic conditions, we may impose more stringent borrower qualifications to ensure the quality of loans on our platform, which may negatively affect the growth of our business. Any significant change to our business model, such as our offering of risk reserve fund services starting in January 2015 and the revision to the risk reserve funding policy in the fourth quarter of 2015, may not achieve expected results and may have a material and adverse impact on our financial conditions and results of operations. It is therefore difficult to effectively assess our future prospects. You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and challenges we encounter or may encounter in this developing and rapidly evolving market. These risks and challenges include our ability to, among other things:

 

    navigate an evolving regulatory environment;

 

    expand the base of borrowers and investors served on our marketplace;

 

    broaden our loan product offerings;

 

    enhance our risk management capabilities;

 

    improve our operational efficiency;

 

    cultivate a vibrant consumer finance ecosystem;

 

    maintain the security of our platform and the confidentiality of the information provided and utilized across our platform;

 

    attract, retain and motivate talented employees; and

 

    defend ourselves against litigation, regulatory, intellectual property, privacy or other claims.

If we fail to educate potential borrowers and investors about the value of our platform and services, if the market for our marketplace does not develop as we expect, or if we fail to address the needs of our target market, or other risks and challenges, our business and results of operations will be harmed.

 

14


Table of Contents

If we are unable to maintain or increase the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace or if we are unable to retain existing borrowers or investors or attract new borrowers or investors, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

The volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace has grown rapidly since our inception. The total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace was RMB2,228.6 million in 2014, which increased substantially from RMB258.3 million in 2013. In the six months ended June 30, 2015, the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace was RMB3,704.7 million (US$597.5 million), compared with RMB421.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014. To maintain the high growth momentum of our marketplace, we must continuously increase the volume of loan transactions by retaining current participants and attracting more users. We intend to continue to dedicate significant resources to our user acquisition efforts, including establishing new acquisition channels, particularly as we continue to grow our marketplace and introduce new loan products. We utilize online channels, such as search engine marketing, search engine optimization and partnerships with internet companies, as well as CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network for user acquisition. In 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, 54.2%, 48.1% and 51.1% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively, contributing 61.9%, 59.8% and 67.8% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace, respectively. If there are insufficient qualified loan requests, investors may be unable to deploy their capital in a timely or efficient manner and may seek other investment opportunities. If there are insufficient investor commitments, borrowers may be unable to obtain capital through our marketplace and may turn to other sources for their borrowing needs and investors who wish to exit their investments prior to maturity on the secondary loan market may not be able to do so in a timely manner.

The overall transaction volume may be affected by several factors, including our brand recognition and reputation, the interest rates offered to borrowers and investors relative to market rates, the effectiveness of our risk control, the repayment rate of borrowers on our marketplace, the efficiency of our platform, the macroeconomic environment and other factors. In connection with the introduction of new products or in response to general economic conditions, we may also impose more stringent borrower qualifications to ensure the quality of loans on our platform, which may negatively affect the growth of loan volume. In addition, although we have entered into a cooperation framework agreement with CreditEase, pursuant to which CreditEase will provide us offline user acquisition services, we cannot assure you that we will receive sufficient support from CreditEase after our carve-out from CreditEase. If any of our current user acquisition channels become less effective, if we are unable to continue to use any of these channels or if we are not successful in using new channels, we may not be able to attract new borrowers and investors in a cost-effective manner or convert potential borrowers and investors into active borrowers and investors, and may even lose our existing borrowers and investors to our competitors. If we are unable to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient investor commitments or if borrowers and investors do not continue to participate in our marketplace at the current rates, we might be unable to increase our loan transaction volume and revenues as we expect, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The laws and regulations governing the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China are developing and evolving and subject to changes. If our practice is deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial conditions and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Due to the relatively short history of the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China, the regulatory framework governing our industry is under development by the PRC government. On July 18, 2015 the People’s Bank of China together with nine other PRC regulatory agencies jointly issued a series of policy measures applicable to the online peer-to-peer lending service industry titled the Guidelines on Promoting the Healthy Development of Internet Finance, or the Guidelines. The Guidelines call for active government support of China’s internet finance industry, including the online peer-to-peer lending service industry, and clarify the division of responsibility among regulatory agencies. Although the Guidelines provide only an outline of a future regulatory framework to come, they specify that the China Banking Regulatory Commission, or the CBRC, will

 

15


Table of Contents

have primary regulatory responsibility for the online peer-to-peer lending service industry in China and state that online peer-to-peer lending service providers should operate as information intermediaries and are prohibited from engaging in illegal fund-raising and providing “credit enhancement services,” which we believe are generally perceived in the online peer-to-peer lending industry to mean providing guarantees to investors in relation to the return of loan principal and interest. This interpretation is based upon comments made at a public forum held on September 27, 2014, during which a senior CBRC officer mentioned several requirements that the CBRC is contemplating for future regulation of the peer-to-peer lending service industry, which include, among others, that a peer-to-peer lending service provider (i) is neither a credit intermediary bearing credit risk nor a transaction platform, but an information intermediary between lenders and borrowers, (ii) should not hold investors’ funds or set up any capital pools, and (iii) must not provide guarantees for lenders in relation to the loan principal and interest, or bear any system risk or liquidity risk. In addition to prohibiting illegal fund-raising and the provision of “credit enhancement services,” the Guidelines provide additional requirements for China’s internet finance industry, including the use of custody accounts with qualified banks to hold customer funds as well as information disclosure requirements, among others. However, the Guidelines only set out the basic principles for promoting and administering the online peer-to-peer lending service industry, and new detailed rules and regulations will be adopted by the relevant regulatory agencies to implement and enforce the principles set out in the Guidelines. As the implementing rules of the Guidelines have not been published, there is uncertainty as to how the requirements in the Guidelines will be interpreted and implemented. See “Regulation—Regulations on Loans between Individuals.”

Our platform serves as an information intermediary between borrowers and investors, and we do not use our own capital to invest in loans facilitated through our marketplace. We have taken measures to ensure that we are compliant with the existing laws, regulations and governmental policies relating to our industry, including but not limited to those prohibiting illegal fund-raising, forming capital pools and providing guarantees to investors, as well as other regulatory principles raised by the CBRC. However, due to the lack of detailed rules and the fact that laws and regulations are evolving in this newly emerging industry, we cannot guarantee that our practices would not be deemed to violate any existing or future laws and regulations.

In particular, we cannot rule out the possibility that some of the services we provide to investors, such as the automated investing tool and our services to a trust, might be viewed as not being in full compliance. Our automated investing tool automatically allocates committed funds from multiple investors among multiple approved borrowers, which goes beyond the simple one-to-one matching between investors and borrowers and could be viewed as violating some of these requirements. In addition, if our automated investing tool fails to match committed investors with approved borrowers in a timely manner, we might be deemed to hold investors’ funds and form a capital pool incidentally. In October 2015, we established a business relationship with a trust in a pilot program that we are evaluating under which the trust invested in loans through our platform using funds received from the trust’s investors. Although the trust is established and administered by an independent third-party trust company and we are not part of the trust’s fund-raising process, we cannot assure you that our provision of services to the trust will not be viewed by PRC regulators as violating any laws or regulations regarding capital pools. Also, we transferred cash to the trust in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the trust’s assets for the trust to protect its investors from potential losses from defaults of loans in which the trust has invested. Under limited circumstances, the remainder of this fund may be returned to us and we cannot assure you that we will not be viewed by PRC regulators as bearing some credit risk or providing credit enhancement services under such arrangement.

Moreover, although the Guidelines prohibit online peer-to-peer lending service providers from providing “credit enhancement services,” it is uncertain how the “credit enhancement services” mentioned in the Guidelines will be interpreted due to the lack of detailed implementing rules in the Guidelines. However, in light of the requirements mentioned by the CBRC officer during the public forum held on the September 27, 2014, we believe it is generally perceived in the online peer-to-peer lending industry to mean providing guarantees to investors in relation to the return of loan principal and interest. Under our risk reserve fund arrangement, if a loan is delinquent for a certain period of time, we may withdraw a sum from the risk reserve fund to repay investors

 

16


Table of Contents

the principal and accrued interest for the defaulted loan unless the risk reserve fund is depleted. In order to continue to attract new and retain existing investors and to remain consistent with the current industry practice in China, our current risk reserve funding policy aims to have sufficient cash in the risk reserve fund to cover expected payouts. Through this risk reserve funding policy, we intend to allow investors to recover their principal and accrued interest based on the ratio that we commit to, if and when the loan defaults. Subject to the terms and limits in our agreements with investors, we currently allow investors to fully recover their outstanding principal and accrued interest in the event of loan default. We intend to continue this practice for the foreseeable future. However, as the industry continues to evolve and becomes more sophisticated and our business develops, we may revisit our policy or the terms on which we offer the risk reserve fund service such that investors may recover less than 100% of the outstanding principal and accrued interest of the defaulted loan. Although the purpose of the risk reserve fund is to limit investor losses due to borrower defaults and not to provide investors with guarantees in relation to the return of loan principal and interest, we cannot rule out the possibility that our current risk reserve fund model or any variations thereof might be viewed by the PRC regulatory bodies as providing, to a certain extent, a form of guarantee or otherwise a form of “credit enhancement service” prohibited under the Guidelines. Furthermore, if the risk reserve fund is viewed by the PRC regulatory bodies as providing a form of guarantee, under the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Laws Applicable to Trials of Private Lending Cases issued by the Supreme People’s Court on August 6, 2015 and being effective on September 1, 2015, if requested by the investor with the court, we may be required to assume the obligations as to the defaulted loan as a guarantor. See “Regulation—Regulations Relating to Online Peer-to-Peer Lending—Regulations on Loans between Individuals.”

As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been subject to any material fines or other penalties under any PRC laws or regulations including those governing the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China. However, if our past or current practice, or any other practice we may implement, is deemed to violate any applicable PRC laws and regulations in the future, we may face fines and, in extreme cases, criminal prosecutions and may be required to change our business model. If such situations occur, our business, financial condition and prospects would be materially and adversely affected. In addition, given the evolving regulatory environment in which we operate, we cannot rule out the possibility that the PRC government will institute a licensing regime covering our industry. If such a licensing regime were introduced, we cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain any newly required license in a timely manner, or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

If we are unable to maintain low default rates for loans facilitated by our platform, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Investments in loans on our marketplace involve inherent risks as the return of the principal on a loan investment made through our platform is not guaranteed, although we aim to limit investor losses due to borrower defaults to within an industry acceptable range through various preventive measures we have taken or will take. Our ability to attract borrowers and investors to, and build trust in, our marketplace is significantly dependent on our ability to effectively evaluate a borrower’s credit profile and maintain low default rates. To conduct this evaluation, we have employed a series of procedures and developed a proprietary credit assessment and decisioning model. Our credit scoring model aggregates and analyzes the data submitted by a borrower as well as the data we collect from a number of internal and external sources, and then generates an Yirendai score for the prospective borrower. The score will be further used to approve and classify the borrower into one of the four segments in our current pricing grid. If our credit scoring model contains programming or other errors, is ineffective or the data provided by borrowers or third parties is incorrect or stale, our loan pricing and approval process could be negatively affected, resulting in misclassified or mispriced loans or incorrect approvals or denials of loans. If we are unable to effectively and accurately assess the credit profiles of borrowers, segment borrowers into appropriate grade in the pricing grid, or price loans on our platform appropriately, we may either be unable to offer attractive fee rates to borrowers and returns to investors, or unable to maintain low default rates of loans facilitated by our platform. In addition, once a loan application is approved, we do not further monitor changes in the borrower’s credit profile. If the borrower’s financial condition deteriorates, we may not be able to take measures to prevent default on the part of the borrower

 

17


Table of Contents

and thereby maintain low default rates for loans facilitated by our platform. The borrowers that we currently serve, including those falling under Grade A, B, C and D of our pricing grid, are prime borrowers. If we expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers in the future, we may find it difficult or unable to maintain low default rates of loans facilitated through our marketplace. Although we offer investor protection services in the form of a risk reserve fund, if widespread defaults were to occur, investors may still incur losses and lose confidence in our marketplace and our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

If default rates were to increase, we may set aside additional cash in our risk reserve fund and recognize additional expenses and liabilities on our financial statements, which could have a material adverse effect on our working capital, financial conditions, results of operations and business operations. We also may not have or generate sufficient cash to replenish our risk reserve fund when necessary. In addition, because we offer investor protection in the form of a risk reserve fund, high default rates would adversely affect the profitability of our loan products. Particularly, as our Grade A loans have an average transaction fee rate of 5.6%, which is lower than the average transaction fee rates for our other grades of loans, any failure to achieve a low default rate for our Grade A loans will diminish our profit margin and may even cause us to incur losses. Historically, Grade A loans have been unprofitable. For the historical lifetime cumulative M3+ Net Charge Off Rates for all loan products facilitated through our platform, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Effectiveness of Risk Management.”

We have limited experience operating our risk reserve fund. If it is under- or over-funded, or if we fail to accurately forecast the expected risk reserve payouts or otherwise implement the risk reserve fund successfully, our financial results and competitive position may be harmed.

We have limited experience operating our new risk reserve fund, which was launched in January 2015. We set aside a certain amount of cash in an interest-bearing custody account. In the event that a loan defaults, we withdraw funds from the custody account to repay investors the principal and accrued interest for the defaulted loan.

Since we commenced our online consumer finance business only in March 2012, we have limited information regarding the default rates on loans facilitated through our platform. In addition, given our limited operating history and recent introduction of new products, we have limited information on historical charge-off rates, and we may not be able to accurately forecast charge-offs for our target borrower group. Given these challenges, it is possible that we will under- or over-fund our risk reserve fund. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the amount of cash we have set aside for the risk reserve fund, although sufficient to repay the investors with loans that became delinquent during this period, is not sufficient to cover all expected payouts for loans facilitated during this period. If we under-fund our risk reserve fund, and we do not or are unable to replenish the risk reserve fund to a sufficient level in time, investors may not be fully protected from loss. This may result in negative sentiment among investors, potentially hindering our ability to retain existing investors as well as to attract new investors, and investors may bring claims against us, whether or not they have legal rights to seek damages from us, which could lead to additional expenses and distract management’s attention from our business operation. Conversely, if we over-fund our risk reserve fund, this will reduce the amount of our working capital, as we cannot use the funds set aside in the risk reserve fund for our operations, and cause us to lose business opportunities. Should any of the foregoing occur, our competitive position as well as our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

The funding and operation of risk reserve fund services may have a material impact on our financial conditions. In the fourth quarter of 2015, we revised our risk reserve funding policy. We intend to set aside sufficient cash in the risk reserve fund to cover the expected payouts, and we intend to continue this practice for the foreseeable future. As a result, a significant increase in our expected risk reserve payouts will have a negative impact on our net revenues and net income. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Components of Results of Operations—Risk Reserve Fund”.

 

18


Table of Contents

In addition, subject to the terms and limits in our agreements with investors, we currently allow investors to fully recover their outstanding principal and accrued interest in the event of loan default. As the industry continues to evolve and becomes more sophisticated, we may revisit our policy or the terms on which we offer the risk reserve fund service so that investors may recover less than 100% of the outstanding principal and accrued interest. However, if our estimate of the industry trend or market acceptance is not correct, any such reduction in risk reserve payout ratio may also cause negative sentiment among investors, potentially hindering our ability to retain existing investors as well as to attract new investors, and causing a material adverse impact on our competitive position and results of operations.

If our loan products do not achieve sufficient market acceptance, our financial results and competitive position will be harmed.

We incur expenses and consume resources upfront to develop, acquire and market new loan products. For example, we have developed four different segments in our current pricing grid, which we refer to as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C and Grade D loans in this prospectus. We have facilitated loans falling under Grade A since our inception. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we raised the minimum borrower qualification standards for Grade A loans, and started to facilitate Grade B and Grade D loans in the fourth quarter of 2014 and Grade C loans in the first quarter of 2015. For a more detailed description of the four pricing grades we currently offer, please see “Business—Risk Management—Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System.” New loan products must achieve high levels of market acceptance in order for us to recoup our investment in developing, acquiring and bringing them to market.

Our existing or new loan products and changes to our platform could fail to attain sufficient market acceptance for many reasons, including but not limited to:

 

    our failure to predict market demand accurately and supply loan products that meet this demand in a timely fashion;

 

    borrowers and investors using our platform may not like, find useful or agree with any changes;

 

    our failure to properly price new loan products;

 

    defects, errors or failures on our platform;

 

    negative publicity about our loan products or our platform’s performance or effectiveness;

 

    views taken by regulatory authorities that the new products or platform changes do not comply with PRC laws, rules or regulations applicable to us; and

 

    the introduction or anticipated introduction of competing products by our competitors.

Another example is the automated investing tool that we offer to investors. With our automated investing tool, an investor may lend to borrowers on our marketplace for a specified period of time, and the investor’s funds are automatically allocated among approved borrowers. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that there may be a mismatch between the investor’s expected timing of exit and the maturity date of the loans to which the automated investing tool allocates the investor’s funds. Investors using our automated investing tool typically invest for a shorter period than the terms of the underlying loans. If we are unable to find another investor to take over the remainder of the loans from the original investor that uses our automated investing tool at the time of his expected exit, then the original investor will have to remain invested in the loans and his expectation of liquidity would not be satisfied. If such mismatches occur in a widespread manner, investor acceptance of or satisfaction with our automatic investing tool would be adversely impacted.

If our new loan products do not achieve adequate acceptance in the market, our competitive position, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.

 

19


Table of Contents

If we do not compete effectively, our results of operations could be harmed.

The online consumer finance marketplace industry in China is intensely competitive and evolving. We compete with a large number consumer finance marketplaces. We also compete with financial products and companies that attract borrowers, investors or both. With respect to borrowers, we primarily compete with traditional financial institutions, such as consumer finance business units in commercial banks, credit card issuers and other consumer finance companies. With respect to investors, we primarily compete with other investment products and asset classes, such as equities, bonds, investment trust products, bank savings accounts, real estate and alternative asset classes.

Our competitors operate with different business models, have different cost structures or participate selectively in different market segments. They may ultimately prove more successful or more adaptable to new regulatory, technological and other developments. Some of our current and potential competitors have significantly more financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their platforms. Our competitors may also have longer operating histories, more extensive borrower or investor bases, greater brand recognition and brand loyalty and broader partner relationships than us. Additionally, a current or potential competitor may acquire one or more of our existing competitors or form a strategic alliance with one or more of our competitors. Our competitors may be better at developing new products, offering more attractive investment returns or lower fees, responding faster to new technologies and undertaking more extensive and effective marketing campaigns. In response to competition and in order to grow or maintain the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our marketplace, we may have to offer higher investment return to investors or charge lower transaction fees, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. If we are unable to compete with such companies and meet the need for innovation in our industry, the demand for our marketplace could stagnate or substantially decline, we could experience reduced revenues or our marketplace could fail to achieve or maintain more widespread market acceptance, any of which could harm our business and results of operations.

If we fail to promote and maintain our brand in an effective and cost-efficient way, our business and results of operations may be harmed.

We believe that developing and maintaining awareness of our brand effectively is critical to attracting new and retaining existing borrowers and investors to our marketplace. Successful promotion of our brand and our ability to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient investors depend largely on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts and the success of the channels we use to promote our marketplace. Our efforts to build our brand have caused us to incur significant expenses, and it is likely that our future marketing efforts will require us to incur significant additional expenses. These efforts may not result in increased revenues in the immediate future or at all and, even if they do, any increases in revenues may not offset the expenses incurred. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brand while incurring substantial expenses, our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected, which may impair our ability to grow our business.

Credit and other information that we receive from third parties about a borrower may be inaccurate or may not accurately reflect the borrower’s creditworthiness, which may compromise the accuracy of our credit assessment.

For the purpose of credit assessment, we obtain borrower credit information from third parties, such as financial institutions and e-commerce providers, and assess applicants’ credit and assign credit scores to borrowers based on such credit information. A credit score assigned to a borrower may not reflect that particular borrower’s actual creditworthiness because the credit score may be based on outdated, incomplete or inaccurate consumer reporting data. Although we do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time, we currently do not have a comprehensive way to determine whether borrowers have obtained loans through other consumer finance marketplaces, creating the risk whereby a borrower may borrow

 

20


Table of Contents

money through our platform in order to pay off loans to investors on other platforms. Additionally, there is a risk that, following our obtaining a borrower’s credit information, the borrower may have:

 

    become delinquent in the payment of an outstanding obligation;

 

    defaulted on a pre-existing debt obligation;

 

    taken on additional debt; or

 

    sustained other adverse financial events.

Such inaccurate or incomplete borrower credit information could compromise the accuracy of our credit assessment and adversely affect the effectiveness of our control over our default rates, which could in turn harm our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our business of connecting investors and individual borrowers may constitute an intermediary service, and our contracts with these investors and borrowers may be deemed as intermediation contracts, under the PRC Contract Law. Under the PRC Contract Law, an intermediary may not claim for service fee and is liable for damages if it conceals any material fact intentionally or provides false information in connection with the conclusion of an intermediation contract, which results in harm to the client’s interests. See “Regulations—Regulations Relating to Online Peer-to-Peer Lending—Regulations on Loans between Individuals.” Therefore, if we fail to provide material information to investors, or if we fail to identify false information received from borrowers or others and in turn provide such information to investors, and in either case if we are also found to be at fault, due to failure or deemed failure to exercise proper care, such as to conduct adequate information verification or employee supervision, we could be held liable for damages caused to investors as an intermediary pursuant to the PRC Contract Law. In addition, if we fail to complete our obligations under the agreements entered into with investors and borrowers, we could also be held liable for damages caused to borrowers or investors pursuant to the PRC Contract Law. On the other hand, we do not assume any liability solely on the basis of failure to correctly assign a loan grade to a particular borrower in the process of facilitating a loan transaction, as long as we do not conceal any material fact intentionally or provide false information, and are not found to be at fault otherwise. However, due to the lack of detailed regulations and guidance in the area of peer-to-peer lending services and the possibility that the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating peer-to-peer lending services in the future, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations for the peer-to-peer lending service industry, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government authority will ultimately take a view that is consistent with us.

Any harm to our brand or reputation or any damage to the reputation of the online consumer finance marketplace industry may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Enhancing the recognition and reputation of our brand is critical to our business and competitiveness. Factors that are vital to this objective include but are not limited to our ability to:

 

    maintain the quality and reliability of our platform;

 

    provide borrowers and investors with a superior experience in our marketplace;

 

    enhance and improve our credit assessment and decision-making models;

 

    effectively manage and resolve borrower and investor complaints; and

 

    effectively protect personal information and privacy of borrowers and investors.

Our brand and reputation may also be negatively affected if the guarantee company providing guarantees to the loans we facilitated between August 2013 and December 2014 fails to repay the principal and accrued interest on defaulted loans pursuant to the terms of the guarantee arrangement. Any malicious or innocent negative allegation made by the media or other parties about the foregoing or other aspects of our company, including but

 

21


Table of Contents

not limited to our management, business, compliance with law, financial conditions or prospects, whether with merit or not, could severely hurt our reputation and harm our business and operating results. As the market for China’s online consumer finance marketplaces is new and the regulatory framework for this market is also evolving, negative publicity about this industry may arise from time to time. Negative publicity about China’s online consumer finance marketplace industry in general may also have a negative impact on our reputation, regardless of whether we have engaged in any inappropriate activities.

In addition, certain factors that may adversely affect our reputation are beyond our control. Negative publicity about our partners, outsourced service providers or other counterparties, such as negative publicity about their debt collection practices and any failure by them to adequately protect the information of borrowers and investors, to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to otherwise meet required quality and service standards could harm our reputation. Furthermore, any negative development in the online consumer finance marketplace industry, such as bankruptcies or failures of other consumer finance marketplaces, and especially a large number of such bankruptcies or failures, or negative perception of the industry as a whole, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, could compromise our image, undermine the trust and credibility we have established and impose a negative impact on our ability to attract new borrowers and investors. Negative developments in the online consumer finance marketplace industry, such as widespread borrower defaults, fraudulent behavior and/or the closure of other online consumer finance marketplaces, may also lead to tightened regulatory scrutiny of the sector and limit the scope of permissible business activities that may be conducted by online consumer finance marketplaces like us. If any of the foregoing takes place, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We have incurred net losses in the past and may incur net losses in the future.

We had net losses of US$8.3 million and US$4.5 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively. We had accumulated deficits of US$10.2 million and US$14.6 million as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014, respectively. Although we had net income of US$17.3 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015 and retained earnings of US$2.7 million as of June 30, 2015, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to generate net income or will have retained earnings in the future. We may not be able to sustain our operating or profit margin. For example, we anticipate that our operating expenses will increase in the foreseeable future as we seek to continue to grow our business, attract borrowers, investors and partners and further enhance and develop our loan products and platform. These efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. There are other factors that could negatively affect our financial conditions. For example, the default rates of the loans facilitated through our platform may be higher than expected, which may lead to lower than expected net revenues and additional expenses in connection with the higher than expected payouts from the risk reserve fund. Furthermore, we have adopted a share incentive plan, and after completion of this offering, we may grant equity-based awards to eligible participants from time to time under the plan, which will result in share-based compensation expenses to us. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, our net revenue growth may slow, our net income margins may decline or we may incur additional net losses in the future and may not be able to maintain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. In addition, our net revenue growth rate will likely decline as our net revenue grows to higher levels.

Our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.

Our quarterly results of operations, including the levels of our net revenues, expenses, net (loss)/income and other key metrics, may vary significantly in the future due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control, and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful, especially given our limited operating history. Accordingly, the results for any one quarter are not necessarily an indication of

 

22


Table of Contents

future performance. Fluctuations in quarterly results may adversely affect the price of our ADSs. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly financial results include:

 

    our ability to attract new borrowers and investors and maintain relationships with existing borrowers and investors;

 

    loan volumes and the channels through which borrowers and investors are sourced, including the relative mix of online and offline channels;

 

    increases in risk reserve liability related to additional provisional expenses for increases in expected payout;

 

    changes in our product mix and introduction of new loan products;

 

    our actual and expected risk reserve payouts for loans facilitated through our platform and the amount we set aside in the risk reserve fund;

 

    the amount and timing of operating expenses related to acquiring borrowers and investors such as the amount of referral fee CreditEase charges us for borrower acquisition, and the maintenance and expansion of our business, operations and infrastructure;

 

    our decision to manage loan volume growth during the period;

 

    network outages or security breaches;

 

    general economic, industry and market conditions;

 

    our emphasis on borrower and investor experience instead of near-term growth; and

 

    the timing of expenses related to the development or acquisition of technologies or businesses.

In addition, we experience seasonality in our business, reflecting seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional personal consumption patterns, as our individual borrowers typically use their borrowing proceeds to finance their personal consumption needs. For example, we generally experience lower transaction value on our online consumer finance marketplace during national holidays in China, particularly during the Chinese New Year holiday season in the first quarter of each year. While our rapid growth has somewhat masked this seasonality, our results of operations could be affected by such seasonality in the future.

Failure to manage our liquidity and cash flows may materially and adversely affect our financial conditions and results of operations.

We generated negative cash flows from operating activities of US$11.3 million and US$36.8 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and positive cash flow from operating activities of US$18.3 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015. As of December 31, 2013, December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, we had accounts receivable of US$3.1 million, US$26.0 million and US$19.5 million, respectively. Our accounts receivable primarily include the transaction fees receivable from borrowers. Historically, borrowers paid the transaction fees primarily on a monthly basis over the term of the loan, which has contributed to our generating negative cash flows from operating activities. In the fourth quarter of 2014, we adopted a new fee collection schedule whereby we either collect the entire amount of the transaction fee upfront upon completion of our loan facilitation services, or collect a portion of the transaction fee upfront and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. However, we cannot assure you the new fee collection schedule will improve our cash position. Inability to collect payments from customers, borrowers in particular, in a timely and sufficient manner may adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the amount of cash we have set aside for the risk reserve fund, although more than sufficient to repay the investors with loans that became delinquent during this period, is not sufficient to cover all expected payouts for loans facilitated during this period. In the event the actual or expected risk reserve payouts are higher than the

 

23


Table of Contents

risk reserve fund balance, we will or may need to, as the case may be, increase the amount of cash that is available in our risk reserve fund, which may have a material adverse effect on our working capital.

Our reputation may be harmed if information supplied by borrowers is inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, including if the borrowers use the loan proceeds for purposes other than as originally provided.

Borrowers supply a variety of information that is included in the loan listings on our marketplace. We do not verify all the information we receive from borrowers, and such information may be inaccurate or incomplete. For example, we often do not verify a borrower’s home ownership status or intended use of loan proceeds, and the borrower may use loan proceeds for other purposes with increased risk than as originally provided. Moreover, investors do not, and will not, have access to detailed financial information about borrowers. If investors invest in loans through our platform based on information supplied by borrowers that is inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, those investors may not receive their expected returns and our reputation may be harmed. Moreover, inaccurate, misleading or incomplete borrower information could also potentially subject us to liability as an intermediary under the PRC Contract Law. See “Regulations—Regulations Relating to Online Peer-to-Peer Lending—Regulations on Loans between Individuals.”

Fraudulent activity on our marketplace could negatively impact our operating results, brand and reputation and cause the use of our loan products and services to decrease.

We are subject to the risk of fraudulent activity both on our marketplace and associated with borrowers, investors and third parties handling borrower and investor information. Our resources, technologies and fraud detection tools may be insufficient to accurately detect and prevent fraud. Significant increases in fraudulent activity could negatively impact our brand and reputation, reduce the volume of loan transactions facilitated through our platform and lead us to take additional steps to reduce fraud risk, which could increase our costs. High profile fraudulent activity could even lead to regulatory intervention, and may divert our management’s attention and cause us to incur additional expenses and costs. Although we have not experienced any material business or reputational harm as a result of fraudulent activities in the past, we cannot rule out the possibility that any of the foregoing may occur causing harm to our business or reputation in the future. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our results of operations and financial conditions could be materially and adversely affected.

Successful strategic relationships with partners are important for our future success.

We anticipate that we will continue to leverage our strategic relationships with existing partners in China’s online consumer finance marketplace industry to grow our business while we will also pursue new relationships with additional partners such as traditional financial institutions and merchants in more sectors. For example, in the future, we may partner with traditional financial institutions to combine the efficiency advantages of online consumer finance marketplaces with the low funding costs of traditional financial institutions. Identifying, negotiating and documenting relationships with partners requires significant time and resources as does integrating third-party data and services into our system. Our current agreements with partners often do not prohibit them from working with our competitors or from offering competing services. Our competitors may be effective in providing incentives to our partners to favor their products or services, which may in turn reduce the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace. Certain types of partners may devote more resources to support their own competing businesses. In addition, these partners may not perform as expected under our agreements with them, and we may have disagreements or disputes with such partners, which could adversely affect our brand and reputation. If we cannot successfully enter into and maintain effective strategic relationships with business partners, our business will be harmed.

Misconduct, errors and failure to function by our employees and third-party service providers could harm our business and reputation.

We are exposed to many types of operational risks, including the risk of misconduct and errors by our employees and third-party service providers. Our business depends on our employees and third-party service

 

24


Table of Contents

providers to interact with potential borrowers and investors, process large numbers of transactions and support the loan collection process, all of which involve the use and disclosure of personal information. We could be materially adversely affected if transactions were redirected, misappropriated or otherwise improperly executed, if personal information was disclosed to unintended recipients or if an operational breakdown or failure in the processing of transactions occurred, whether as a result of human error, purposeful sabotage or fraudulent manipulation of our operations or systems. In addition, the manner in which we store and use certain personal information and interact with borrowers and investors through our marketplace is governed by various PRC laws. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct or errors by employees or third-party service providers, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses. If any of our employees or third-party service providers take, convert or misuse funds, documents or data or fail to follow protocol when interacting with borrowers and investors, we could be liable for damages and subject to regulatory actions and penalties. We could also be perceived to have facilitated or participated in the illegal misappropriation of funds, documents or data, or the failure to follow protocol, and therefore be subject to civil or criminal liability. In addition, we currently rely on CreditEase and in the future may continue to rely on CreditEase or other third-party service providers for loan collection services. Aggressive practices or misconduct by any of our third-party service providers, including CreditEase, in the course of collecting loans could damage our reputation.

Furthermore, as we rely on certain third-party service providers, such as third-party payment platforms and custody and settlement service providers, to conduct our business, if these third-party service providers failed to function properly, we cannot assure you that we would be able to find an alternative in a timely and cost-efficient manner or at all. Any of these occurrences could result in our diminished ability to operate our business, potential liability to borrowers and investors, inability to attract borrowers and investors, reputational damage, regulatory intervention and financial harm, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Fluctuations in interest rates could negatively affect transaction volume.

All loans facilitated through our marketplace are issued with fixed interest rates. If interest rates rise, investors who have already committed capital may lose the opportunity to take advantage of the higher rates. If interest rates decrease after a loan is made, borrowers through our platform may prepay their loans to take advantage of the lower rates. Investors through our platform would lose the opportunity to collect the above-market interest rates payable on the prepaid loans and might delay or reduce future loan investments. As a result, fluctuations in the interest rate environment may discourage investors and borrowers from participating in our marketplace, which may adversely affect our business.

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

Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese or global economy may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In particular, general economic factors and conditions in China or worldwide, including the general interest rate environment and unemployment rates, may affect borrower willingness to seek loans and investor ability and desire to invest in loans. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. The global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions since 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies have experienced periods of recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and there are new challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis from 2011 and the slowdown of China’s economic growth since 2012 which may continue. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have also been concerns over unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in financial and other markets. There have also been concerns about the economic effect of the tensions in the relationship between China and surrounding Asian

 

25


Table of Contents

countries. If present Chinese and global economic uncertainties persist, many of our investors may delay or reduce their investment in the loans facilitated through our platform. Adverse economic conditions could also reduce the number of qualified borrowers seeking loans on our platform, as well as their ability to make payments. Should any of these situations occur, the amount of loans facilitated through our platform and our net revenues will decline, and our business and financial conditions will be negatively impacted. Additionally, continued turbulence in the international markets may adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs.

We may need additional capital, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

In 2013 and 2014, our principal sources of liquidity were advances from our parent company, CreditEase, representing operating costs and expenses paid or borne by the various entities affiliated with CreditEase on our behalf, as our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase as a business unit under CreditEase at the time. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and we will not have such advances from CreditEase going forward. As of June 30, 2015, we had cash and cash equivalents of US$17.8 million, compared with cash and cash equivalents of approximately US$0.2 million as of December 31, 2014. We have received capital contributions from CreditEase in the past and expect to receive additional capital contributions of approximately RMB53.8 million (US$8.7 million) from CreditEase in the near future. We may receive additional capital contribution in the form of equity investments or loans from CreditEase in the future. Although we believe that our anticipated cash flows from operating activities, together with the additional capital contributions we expect to receive from CreditEase, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital requirements and capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business for the next 12 months, we cannot assure you this will be the case. We may need additional cash resources in the future if we experience changes in business conditions or other developments. We may also need additional cash resources in the future if we find and wish to pursue opportunities for investment, acquisition, capital expenditure or similar actions. If we determine that our cash requirements exceed the amount of cash and cash equivalents we have on hand at the time, we may seek to issue equity or debt securities or obtain credit facilities. The issuance and sale of additional equity would result in further dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could result in operating covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

Our ability to protect the confidential information of our borrowers and investors may be adversely affected by cyber-attacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or similar disruptions.

Our platform collects, stores and processes certain personal and other sensitive data from our borrowers and investors, which makes it an attractive target and potentially vulnerable to cyber attacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or similar disruptions. While we have taken steps to protect the confidential information that we have access to, our security measures could be breached. Because techniques used to sabotage or obtain unauthorized access to systems change frequently and generally are not recognized until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Any accidental or willful security breaches or other unauthorized access to our platform could cause confidential borrower and investor information to be stolen and used for criminal purposes. Security breaches or unauthorized access to confidential information could also expose us to liability related to the loss of the information, time-consuming and expensive litigation and negative publicity. If security measures are breached because of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, or if design flaws in our technology infrastructure are exposed and exploited, our relationships with borrowers and investors could be severely damaged, we could incur significant liability and our business and operations could be adversely affected.

 

26


Table of Contents

In connection with the audits of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2014, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

Prior to this offering, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. However, in connection with the audits of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the two years ended December 31, 2014, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified two “material weaknesses,” and other control deficiencies including significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. As defined in the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States, or PCAOB, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

One material weakness that has been identified related to our lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to properly address complex U.S. GAAP accounting issues and to prepare and review our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures to fulfill U.S. GAAP and SEC financial reporting requirements. The other material weakness that has been identified related to our lack of comprehensive accounting policies and procedures manual in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm undertook a comprehensive assessment of our internal control for purposes of identifying and reporting material weaknesses and other control deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting as we and they will be required to do after we become a public company. Had we performed a formal assessment of our internal control over financial reporting or had our independent registered public accounting firm performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, additional deficiencies may have been identified.

Upon completion of this offering, we will become subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, will require that we include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, after we become a public company, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer

 

27


Table of Contents

material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.

Our operations depend on the performance of the internet infrastructure and fixed telecommunications networks in China.

Almost all access to the internet in China is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT. We primarily rely on a limited number of telecommunication service providers to provide us with data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s internet infrastructure or the fixed telecommunications networks provided by telecommunication service providers. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with the increasing traffic on our platform. We cannot assure you that the internet infrastructure and the fixed telecommunications networks in China will be able to support the demands associated with the continued growth in internet usage.

In addition, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunication service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and internet services rise significantly, our results of operations may be adversely affected. Furthermore, if internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our user traffic may decline and our business may be harmed.

Any significant disruption in service on our platform or in our computer systems, including events beyond our control, could prevent us from processing or posting loans on our marketplace, reduce the attractiveness of our marketplace and result in a loss of borrowers or investors.

In the event of a platform outage and physical data loss, our ability to perform our servicing obligations, process applications or make loans available on our marketplace would be materially and adversely affected. The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our platform and our underlying network infrastructure are critical to our operations, customer service, reputation and our ability to retain existing and attract new borrowers and investors. Much of our system hardware is hosted in a leased facility located in Beijing that is operated by our IT Staff. We also maintain a real-time backup system at a separate facility also located in Beijing. Our operations depend on our ability to protect our systems against damage or interruption from natural disasters, power or telecommunications failures, air quality issues, environmental conditions, computer viruses or attempts to harm our systems, criminal acts and similar events. If there is a lapse in service or damage to our leased Beijing facilities, we could experience interruptions in our service as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new facilities.

Any interruptions or delays in our service, whether as a result of third-party error, our error, natural disasters or security breaches, whether accidental or willful, could harm our relationships with our borrowers and investors and our reputation. Additionally, in the event of damage or interruption, our insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for any losses that we may incur. Our disaster recovery plan has not been tested under actual disaster conditions, and we may not have sufficient capacity to recover all data and services in the event of an outage. These factors could prevent us from processing or posting payments on loans, damage our brand and reputation, divert our employees’ attention, subject us to liability and cause borrowers and investors to abandon our marketplace, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

28


Table of Contents

Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical, and if it contains undetected errors, our business could be adversely affected.

Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical and complex. In addition, our platform and internal systems depend on the ability of such software to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data. The software on which we rely has contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Some errors may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Errors or other design defects within the software on which we rely may result in a negative experience for borrowers and investors using our platform, delay introductions of new features or enhancements, result in errors or compromise our ability to protect borrower or investor data or our intellectual property. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in the software on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, loss of borrowers or investors or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial conditions.

We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.

We regard our trademarks, domain names, know-how, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on a combination of intellectual property laws and contractual arrangements, including confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. We have three trademark applications pending with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have also obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use certain of its trademarks, including an exclusive license to use certain trademarks relating to our business. See “Business—Intellectual Property.” Despite these measures, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated, or such intellectual property may not be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. In addition, because of the rapid pace of technological change in our industry, parts of our business rely on technologies developed or licensed by third parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these third parties on reasonable terms, or at all.

It is often difficult to register, maintain and enforce intellectual property rights in China. Statutory laws and regulations are subject to judicial interpretation and enforcement and may not be applied consistently due to the lack of clear guidance on statutory interpretation. Confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements may be breached by counterparties, and there may not be adequate remedies available to us for any such breach. Accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights or to enforce our contractual rights in China. Preventing any unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly and the steps we take may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property. In the event that we resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources. We can provide no assurance that we will prevail in such litigation. In addition, our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be independently discovered by, our competitors. To the extent that our employees or consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related know-how and inventions. Any failure in protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations.

We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon or otherwise violate trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may be from time to time in the future subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there may be third-party trademarks, patents, copyrights,

 

29


Table of Contents

know-how or other intellectual property rights that are infringed by our products, services or other aspects of our business without our awareness. Holders of such intellectual property rights may seek to enforce such intellectual property rights against us in China, the United States or other jurisdictions. If any third-party infringement claims are brought against us, we may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these claims, regardless of their merits.

Additionally, the application and interpretation of China’s intellectual property right laws and the procedures and standards for granting trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights in China are still evolving and are uncertain, and we cannot assure you that PRC courts or regulatory authorities would agree with our analysis. If we were found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

From time to time we may evaluate and potentially consummate strategic investments or acquisitions, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business and adversely affect our financial results.

We may evaluate and consider strategic investments, combinations, acquisitions or alliances to further increase the value of our marketplace and better serve borrowers and investors. These transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations if consummated. If we are able to identify an appropriate business opportunity, we may not be able to successfully consummate the transaction and, even if we do consummate such a transaction, we may be unable to obtain the benefits or avoid the difficulties and risks of such transaction.

Strategic investments or acquisitions will involve risks commonly encountered in business relationships, including:

 

    difficulties in assimilating and integrating the operations, personnel, systems, data, technologies, products and services of the acquired business;

 

    inability of the acquired technologies, products or businesses to achieve expected levels of revenue, profitability, productivity or other benefits;

 

    difficulties in retaining, training, motivating and integrating key personnel;

 

    diversion of management’s time and resources from our normal daily operations;

 

    difficulties in successfully incorporating licensed or acquired technology and rights into our platform and loan products;

 

    difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies within the combined organizations;

 

    difficulties in retaining relationships with customers, employees and suppliers of the acquired business;

 

    risks of entering markets in which we have limited or no prior experience;

 

    regulatory risks, including remaining in good standing with existing regulatory bodies or receiving any necessary pre-closing or post-closing approvals, as well as being subject to new regulators with oversight over an acquired business;

 

    assumption of contractual obligations that contain terms that are not beneficial to us, require us to license or waive intellectual property rights or increase our risk for liability;

 

    failure to successfully further develop the acquired technology;

 

30


Table of Contents
    liability for activities of the acquired business before the acquisition, including intellectual property infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities;

 

    potential disruptions to our ongoing businesses; and

 

    unexpected costs and unknown risks and liabilities associated with strategic investments or acquisitions.

We may not make any investments or acquisitions, or any future investments or acquisitions may not be successful, may not benefit our business strategy, may not generate sufficient revenues to offset the associated acquisition costs or may not otherwise result in the intended benefits. In addition, we cannot assure you that any future investment in or acquisition of new businesses or technology will lead to the successful development of new or enhanced loan products and services or that any new or enhanced loan products and services, if developed, will achieve market acceptance or prove to be profitable.

Our business depends on the continued efforts of our senior management. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, our business may be severely disrupted.

Our business operations depend on the continued services of our senior management, particularly the executive officers named in this prospectus. While we have provided different incentives to our management, we cannot assure you that we can continue to retain their services. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all, our future growth may be constrained, our business may be severely disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. In addition, although we have entered into confidentiality and non-competition agreements with our management, there is no assurance that any member of our management team will not join our competitors or form a competing business. If any dispute arises between our current or former officers and us, we may have to incur substantial costs and expenses in order to enforce such agreements in China or we may be unable to enforce them at all.

Competition for employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the qualified and skilled employees needed to support our business.

We believe our success depends on the efforts and talent of our employees, including risk management, software engineering, financial and marketing personnel. Our future success depends on our continued ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain qualified and skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled technical, risk management and financial personnel is extremely intense. We may not be able to hire and retain these personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure. Some of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment.

In addition, we invest significant time and expenses in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we fail to retain our employees, we could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements, and the quality of our services and our ability to serve borrowers and investors could diminish, resulting in a material adverse effect to our business.

Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The economy in China has experienced increases in inflation and labor costs in recent years. As a result, average wages in the PRC are expected to continue to increase. In addition, we are required by PRC laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pension, housing fund, medical insurance,

 

31


Table of Contents

work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments to the statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to control our labor costs or pass on these increased labor costs to our users by increasing the fees of our services, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

If we cannot maintain our corporate culture as we grow, we could lose the innovation, collaboration and focus that contribute to our business.

We believe that a critical component of our success is our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, encourages teamwork and cultivates creativity. As we develop the infrastructure of a public company and continue to grow, we may find it difficult to maintain these valuable aspects of our corporate culture. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively impact our future success, including our ability to attract and retain employees, encourage innovation and teamwork and effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives.

We do not have any business insurance coverage.

Insurance companies in China currently do not offer as extensive an array of insurance products as insurance companies in more developed economies. Currently, we do not have any business liability or disruption insurance to cover our operations. We have determined that the costs of insuring for these risks and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance on commercially reasonable terms make it impractical for us to have such insurance. Any uninsured business disruptions may result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations.

We are vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities. Fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins, war, riots, terrorist attacks or similar events may give rise to server interruptions, breakdowns, system failures, technology platform failures or internet failures, which could cause the loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware as well as adversely affect our ability to provide products and services on our platform.

Our business could also be adversely affected by the effects of Ebola virus disease, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, or other epidemics. Our business operations could be disrupted if any of our employees is suspected of having Ebola virus disease, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, SARS or other epidemic, since it could require our employees to be quarantined and/or our offices to be disinfected. In addition, our results of operations could be adversely affected to the extent that any of these epidemics harms the Chinese economy in general.

Risks Related to Our Carve-out from CreditEase and Our Relationship with CreditEase

We rely on our parent company, CreditEase, for the successful operation of our business.

We have limited experience operating as a stand-alone company. We commenced our online consumer finance marketplace business in March 2012, and Yirendai Ltd. was incorporated in 2014 in the Cayman Islands as a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015. Historically, CreditEase has provided us with origination and servicing, financial, administrative, sales and

 

32


Table of Contents

marketing, risk management, human resources and legal services, and also with the services of a number of its executives and employees. Although we have become a stand-alone company, we expect CreditEase to continue to provide us with certain support services during a transitional period. We have also relied on CreditEase for the successful operation of our online consumer finance marketplace. In the future, we expect to continue to rely on CreditEase for various aspects of our operations, such as risk management, offline acquisition of new borrowers and investors and outstanding loan collection services. Although we have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase relating to our ongoing business cooperation and service arrangements with CreditEase, we cannot assure you that we will continue to receive the same level of support from CreditEase after we become a stand-alone company. The cost of services which CreditEase provides to us may from time to time increase pursuant to commercial negotiations between CreditEase and us. For example, pursuant to our contractual agreement with CreditEase, the fee rate for the offline borrower acquisition services which CreditEase provides to us will increase from the current 5% to 6% of the loans facilitated to borrowers referred by CreditEase for the three years starting 2016. After that, the fee rate may be adjusted on a yearly basis based on commercial negotiation, and after taking into consideration the costs to CreditEase for providing such services and with reference to market rates. Furthermore, borrowers, investors and business partners may react negatively to our carve-out from CreditEase. As such, our carve-out from CreditEase may materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, as a result of our carve-out from CreditEase, our historical growth and financial performance may not be indicative of our future performances as a stand-alone public company.

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 company.

Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and all of our online consumer finance marketplace business is now carried out by our own subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity. Since we and the subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase that operated our online marketplace business are under common control of CreditEase, our consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows that were directly attributable to our business for all periods presented. In particular, our consolidated balance sheets include those assets and liabilities that are specifically identifiable to our business; and our consolidated statements of operations include all costs and expenses related to us, including costs and expenses allocated from CreditEase to us. Allocations from CreditEase, including amounts allocated to origination and servicing expenses, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, were made using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us. We made numerous estimates, assumptions and allocations in our historical financial statements because we did not operate as a stand-alone company prior to our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015. Although our management believes that the assumptions underlying our historical financial statements and the above allocations are reasonable, our historical financial statements may not necessarily reflect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows as if we had operated as a stand-alone company during those periods. See “Our Relationship with CreditEase” for our arrangements with CreditEase 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 company, we have established our own financial, administrative and other support systems to replace CreditEase’s systems, the cost of which may have been significantly different from cost allocation with CreditEase for the same services. Therefore, you should not view our historical results as indicators of our future performance.

Any negative development in CreditEase’s market position, brand recognition or financial condition may materially and adversely affect our marketing efforts and the strength of our brand.

We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of CreditEase and will continue to be an affiliate of CreditEase after this offering, as CreditEase is expected to remain our controlling shareholder. We have benefited significantly and

 

33


Table of Contents

expect to continue to benefit significantly from our association with CreditEase in marketing our brand and our marketplace. Referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network currently accounts for a majority of our borrowers and loan volume. In 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, 54.2%, 48.1% and 51.1% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively, contributing 61.9%, 59.8% and 67.8% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace, respectively. If user referrals through CreditEase decrease or become less effective, the quality of the borrowers referred by CreditEase does not meet our borrower qualification standards, or if we are unable to continue to use CreditEase as a user acquisition channel for any reason, our business and results of operations may be adversely and materially affected. Although transaction values through online consumer finance marketplaces in China are expected to grow from RMB4.6 billion (US$741.9 million) in 2014 to RMB247.6 billion in 2019, according to iResearch, there can be no assurance that we would be able to find other user acquisition channels to replace referrals from CreditEase on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We also benefit from CreditEase’s strong brand recognition in China, which provides us credibility and a broad marketing reach. If CreditEase loses its market position, the effectiveness of our marketing efforts through our association with CreditEase may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, any negative publicity associated with CreditEase or any negative development in respect of CreditEase’s market position, financial conditions, or in terms of compliance with legal or regulatory requirements in China, will likely have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of our marketing as well as our reputation and brand.

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

We have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase 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 our non-competition agreement with CreditEase, we agree during the non-competition period, which will end on the earlier of (i) one year after the control ending date or (ii) the fifteenth anniversary of the completion of this offering, not to compete with CreditEase in the business currently conducted by CreditEase, other than the online consumer finance marketplace business currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and any other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time. The control ending date refers to the earlier of (i) the first date when CreditEase no longer owns at least 20% of the voting power of our then outstanding securities or (ii) the first date when CreditEase ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of our then outstanding voting securities. Such contractual limitations may significantly affect our ability to diversify our revenue sources and may materially and adversely impact our business and prospects should the growth of online consumer finance marketplace industry in China slow down. In addition, pursuant to our master transaction agreement with CreditEase, we agree to indemnify CreditEase for liabilities arising from litigation and other contingencies related to our business and assumed these liabilities as part of our carve-out from CreditEase. The allocation of assets and liabilities between CreditEase and our company may not reflect the allocation that would have been reached by two unaffiliated parties. Moreover, so long as CreditEase continues to control us, we may not be able to bring a legal claim against CreditEase 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.

CreditEase will control the outcome of shareholder actions in our company.

Upon completion of this offering, CreditEase will hold         % of our outstanding ordinary shares, representing         % of our total voting power, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. CreditEase has advised us that it does not anticipate disposing of its voting control in us in the near future. CreditEase’s voting power gives it the power to control certain actions that require shareholder approval under Cayman Islands law, our memorandum and articles of association and NYSE requirements, including approval of mergers and other business combinations, changes to our memorandum and articles of association,

 

34


Table of Contents

the number of shares available for issuance under any share incentive plans, and the issuance of significant amounts of our ordinary shares in private placements.

CreditEase’s voting control may cause transactions to occur that might not be beneficial to you as a holder of ADSs and may prevent transactions that would be beneficial to you. For example, CreditEase’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, CreditEase 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 CreditEase 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 CreditEase, and may do so in a manner that could vary significantly from that of CreditEase. In addition, the significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs due to investors’ perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise. See “—We may have conflicts of interest with CreditEase and, because of CreditEase’s controlling ownership interest in our company, we may not be able to resolve such conflicts on favorable terms for us.”

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

Conflicts of interest may arise between CreditEase and us in a number of areas relating to our ongoing relationships. Potential conflicts of interest that we have identified include the following:

 

    Non-competition arrangements with CreditEase . We and CreditEase have to entered into a non-competition agreement under which we agree not to compete with each other’s core business. CreditEase agrees not to compete with us in a business that is of the same nature as (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time. We agree not to compete with CreditEase in the business conducted by CreditEase, other than (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business operated by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time.

 

    Employee recruiting and retention . Because both CreditEase and we are engaged in consumer finance related businesses in China, we may compete with CreditEase in the hiring of new employees, in particular with respect to risk management related matters. We have a non-solicitation arrangement with CreditEase that restricts us and CreditEase from hiring any of each other’s employees.

 

    Our board members or executive officers may have conflicts of interest . Our executive chairman, Ning Tang, and two directors, Quan Zhou and Tina Ju, are members of the board of directors of CreditEase. In addition, we may grant incentive share compensation to CreditEase’s employees and consultants in the future. These relationships could create, or appear to create, conflicts of interest when these persons are faced with decisions with potentially different implications for CreditEase and us.

 

    Sale of shares in our company . CreditEase 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 our employees or our other shareholders.

 

    Allocation of business opportunities. Under our non-compete agreement with CreditEase, we agree not to compete with CreditEase in the businesses conducted by CreditEase. There may arise other business opportunities that both we and CreditEase find attractive and which would complement our respective businesses. CreditEase may decide to take such opportunities itself, which would prevent us from taking advantage of those opportunities.

 

    Developing business relationships with CreditEase’s competitors . So long as CreditEase remains our controlling shareholder, we may be limited in our ability to do business with its competitors. This may limit our ability to market our services for the best interests of our company and our other shareholders.

 

35


Table of Contents

Although our company will become a stand-alone public company, we expect to operate, for as long as CreditEase is our controlling shareholder, as an affiliate of CreditEase. CreditEase may from time to time make strategic decisions that it believes are in the best interests of its business as a whole, including our company. These decisions may be different from the decisions that we would have made on our own. For example, we may be required to pay CreditEase for services that we currently enjoy free of charge from CreditEase, such as the information and data sharing. See “Our Relationship with CreditEase—Intellectual Property License Agreement.” CreditEase’s decisions with respect to us or our business may be resolved in ways that favor CreditEase and therefore CreditEase’s own shareholders, which may not coincide with the interests of our other shareholders. After we become a stand-alone company, we will have an audit committee, consisting of three independent directors, to review and approve all proposed related party transactions, including any transactions between us and CreditEase. However, 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 a non-controlling shareholder. Even if both parties seek to transact business on terms intended to approximate those that could have been achieved between unaffiliated parties, this may not succeed in practice. Furthermore, if CreditEase sought to alter or violate the terms of the non-competition agreement with us in order to compete with us in the online consumer finance marketplace or otherwise, such conflicts may not be resolved in our favor in light of CreditEase’s controlling interest in us. If CreditEase were to compete with us, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Our executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, has considerable influence over us and our corporate matters.

Our executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, has considerable influence over us and our corporate matters. Mr. Tang beneficially owns 43.4% of the total outstanding shares of CreditEase, which is our sole shareholder as of the date of this prospectus, and will remain as our parent company and controlling shareholder upon the completion of this offering. Moreover, as Mr. Tang, as a director of CreditEase, currently holds three out of the five votes of CreditEase’s board of directors, he therefore controls the decision making of CreditEase and indirectly has considerable influence over us and our corporate matters. After this offering, Mr. Tang will continue to have considerable influence over matters requiring shareholder approval, such as electing directors and approving material mergers, acquisitions or other business combination transactions. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could also discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions, which could have the effect of depriving the holders of our ordinary shares and our ADSs of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over the prevailing market price.

We will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and, as a result, will rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

We are a “controlled company” as defined under the NYSE Listed Company Manual because CreditEase beneficially owns more than 50% of our outstanding ordinary shares. For so long as we remain a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted to elect to rely, and will rely, on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors. As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.

 

36


Table of Contents

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our consolidated variable interest entity do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

Foreign ownership of internet-based businesses, such as distribution of online information, is subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. For example, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interests in a value-added telecommunication service provider (except e-commerce) and any such foreign investor must have experience in providing value-added telecommunications services overseas and maintain a good track record in accordance with the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment promulgated in 2007, as amended in 2011 and in 2015, respectively, and other applicable laws and regulations.

We are a Cayman Islands company and our PRC subsidiary is considered a foreign invested enterprise. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct our operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered into among Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and the shareholders of Heng Cheng. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we exert control over Heng Cheng and consolidate its operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. For a detailed description of these contractual arrangements, see “Corporate History and Structure.”

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Han Kun Law Offices, our current ownership structure, the ownership structure of our PRC subsidiary and our consolidated variable interest entity, and the contractual arrangements among Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and the shareholders of Heng Cheng are not in violation of existing PRC laws, rules and regulations; and these contractual arrangements are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms and applicable PRC laws and regulations currently in effect. However, Han Kun Law Offices has also advised us that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with the opinion of our PRC counsel.

It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws, rules or regulations relating to variable interest entity structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. In particular, in January 2015, the Ministry of Commerce, or MOC, published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors, and be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing companies with the “variable interest entity” structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. It is uncertain when the draft would be signed into law and whether the final version would have any substantial changes from the draft. See “Regulation—Regulations Relating to Foreign Investment—The Draft PRC Foreign Investment Law” and “—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.” If the ownership structure, contractual arrangements and business of our company, our PRC subsidiary or our consolidated variable interest entity are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including levying fines, confiscating our income or the income of our PRC subsidiary or consolidated variable interest entity, revoking the business licenses or operating licenses of our PRC subsidiary or consolidated variable interest entity, shutting down our servers or blocking our online platform, discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on our operations, requiring us to undergo a costly and disruptive restructuring, restricting or prohibiting our use of proceeds from this offering to finance our business and operations in China, and taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our

 

37


Table of Contents

business. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and severely damage our reputation, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these occurrences results in our inability to direct the activities of our consolidated variable interest entity, and/or our failure to receive economic benefits from our consolidated variable interest entity, we may not be able to consolidate its results into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated variable interest entity and its shareholders for a portion of our business operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and its shareholders to operate our www.yirendai.com website. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Corporate History and Structure.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our consolidated variable interest entity. For example, our consolidated variable interest entity and its shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct its operations, including maintaining our website and using the domain names and trademarks, in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests.

If we had direct ownership of Heng Cheng, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Heng Cheng, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by our consolidated variable interest entity and its shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to exercise control over our consolidated variable interest entity. The shareholders of our consolidated variable interest entity may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate our business through the contractual arrangements with our consolidated variable interest entity. Although we have the right to replace any shareholder of our consolidated variable interest entity under the contractual arrangement, if any shareholder of our consolidated variable interest entity is uncooperative or any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC laws and arbitration, litigation and other legal proceedings and therefore will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. See “—Any failure by our consolidated variable interest entity or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business.” Therefore, our contractual arrangements with our consolidated variable interest entity may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership would be.

Any failure by our consolidated variable interest entity or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business.

If our consolidated variable interest entity or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective under PRC laws. For example, if the shareholders of Heng Cheng were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in Heng Cheng to us or our designee if we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.

All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in China. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The

 

38


Table of Contents

legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a consolidated variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC laws. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under PRC laws, rulings by arbitrators are final and parties cannot appeal arbitration results in court unless such rulings are revoked or determined unenforceable by a competent court. If the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our consolidated variable interest entity, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.”

The shareholders of our consolidated variable interest entity may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The equity interests of Heng Cheng are held by Mr. Ning Tang, our founder and executive chairman, and two other individuals, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian. Their interests in Heng Cheng may differ from the interests of our company as a whole. These shareholders may breach, or cause our consolidated variable interest entity to breach, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and our consolidated variable interest entity, which would have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control our consolidated variable interest entity and receive economic benefits from it. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with Heng Cheng to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the exclusive option agreement with these shareholders to request them to transfer all of their equity interests in Heng Cheng to a PRC entity or individual designated by us, to the extent permitted by PRC laws. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of Heng Cheng, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in the disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

Contractual arrangements in relation to our consolidated variable interest entity may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or our PRC consolidated variable interest entity owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.

Under applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities within ten years after the taxable year when the transactions are conducted. The PRC enterprise income tax law requires every enterprise in China to submit its annual enterprise income tax return together with a report on transactions with its related parties to the relevant tax authorities. The tax authorities may impose reasonable adjustments on taxation if they have identified any related party transactions that are inconsistent with arm’s length principles. We may face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements between Heng Ye, our wholly-owned subsidiary in China, Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity in China, and the shareholders of Heng Cheng were not entered into on an arm’s length basis in such a way as to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and adjust Heng Cheng’s

 

39


Table of Contents

income 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 Heng Cheng for PRC tax purposes, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities without reducing Heng Ye’s tax expenses. In addition, if Heng Ye requests the shareholders of Heng Cheng to transfer their equity interests in Heng Cheng at nominal or no value pursuant to these contractual arrangements, such transfer could be viewed as a gift and subject Heng Ye to PRC income tax. Furthermore, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on Heng Cheng for the adjusted but unpaid taxes according to the applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if our consolidated variable interest entity’s tax liabilities increase or if it is required to pay late payment fees and other penalties.

We may lose the ability to use and enjoy assets held by our consolidated variable interest entity that are material to the operation of our business if the entity goes bankrupt or becomes subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

Our consolidated variable interest entity holds certain assets that are material to the operation of our business, including domain names and an ICP license. Under the contractual arrangements, our consolidated variable interest entity may not and its shareholders may not cause it to, in any manner, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of its assets or its legal or beneficial interests in the business without our prior consent. However, in the event our consolidated variable interest entity’s shareholders breach the these contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate our consolidated variable interest entity, or our consolidated variable interest entity declares bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If our consolidated variable interest entity undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, independent third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If the chops of our PRC subsidiary and consolidated variable interest entity are not kept safely, are stolen or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be severely and adversely compromised.

In China, a company chop or seal serves as the legal representation of the company towards third parties even when unaccompanied by a signature. Each legally registered company in China is required to maintain a company chop, which must be registered with the local Public Security Bureau. In addition to this mandatory company chop, companies may have several other chops which can be used for specific purposes. The chops of our PRC subsidiary and consolidated variable interest entity are generally held securely by personnel designated or approved by us in accordance with our internal control procedures. To the extent those chops are not kept safely, are stolen or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be severely and adversely compromised and those corporate entities may be bound to abide by the terms of any documents so chopped, even if they were chopped by an individual who lacked the requisite power and authority to do so. In addition, if the chops are misused by unauthorized persons, we could experience disruption to our normal business operations. We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve while distracting management from our operations.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Substantially all of our operations are located in China. Accordingly, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally and by continued economic growth in China as a whole.

 

40


Table of Contents

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the government. In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In addition, in the past the Chinese 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, China’s economic growth has slowed down. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce the demand for our products and services and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us.

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes and prior court decisions have limited value as precedents. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties.

In particular, PRC laws and regulations concerning the peer-to-peer lending service industry are developing and evolving. Although we have taken measures to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations, including the regulatory principles raised by the CBRC, and avoid conducting any activities that may be deemed as illegal fund-raising, forming capital pool or providing guarantee to investors under the current applicable laws and regulations, the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating the peer-to-peer lending service industry in the future. We cannot assure you that our practices would not be deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations relating to illegal fund-raising, forming capital pools or the provision of credit enhancement services. Moreover, developments in the peer-to-peer lending service industry may lead to changes in PRC laws, regulations and policies or in the interpretation and application of existing laws, regulations and policies that may limit or restrict online consumer finance marketplaces like us, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operations. Furthermore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the PRC government will institute a licensing regime covering our industry at some point in the future. If such a licensing regime were introduced, we cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain any newly required license in a timely manner, or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of

 

41


Table of Contents

our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

The MOC published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015 aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The draft Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments. The MOC is currently soliciting comments on this draft and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation. The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects.

Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but “controlled” by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs. Once an entity is considered to be an FIE, it may be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a “negative list” to be separately issued by the State Council later. If an FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment “restrictions” in the “negative list,” the FIE must go through a market entry clearance by the MOC before being established. If an FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment “prohibitions” in the “negative list,” it must not engage in the business. However, an FIE that is subject to foreign investment “restrictions,” upon market entry clearance, may apply in writing for being treated as a PRC domestic investment if it is ultimately “controlled” by PRC government authorities and its affiliates and/or PRC citizens. In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding 50% or more of the voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to exert material influence on the board, the shareholders’ meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. Once an entity is determined to be an FIE, it will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a “negative list,” to be separately issued by the State Council at a later date, if the FIE is engaged in an industry listed in the negative list. Unless the underlying business of the FIE falls within the negative list, which calls for market entry clearance by the MOC, prior approval from the government authorities as mandated by the existing foreign investment legal regime would no longer be required for establishment of the FIE.

The “variable interest entity” structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. See “—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” and “Our Corporate History and Structure.” Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities that are controlled via contractual arrangement would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. Therefore, for any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is included in the “negative list” as restricted industry, the VIE structure may be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC companies or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are

 

42


Table of Contents

of foreign nationalities, then the variable interest entities will be treated as FIEs and any operation in the industry category on the “negative list” without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

It is uncertain whether we would be considered as ultimately controlled by Chinese parties. We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of CreditEase as of the date of this prospectus, and upon the completion of this offering, CreditEase will remain as our parent company and controlling shareholder. Although Mr. Ning Tang, our executive chairman and a PRC citizen, owns less than 50% of the voting power of CreditEase, he has the power to appoint three directors on the five-member board of CreditEase. It is uncertain, however, if these factors would be sufficient to give Mr. Tang control over us under the draft Foreign Investment Law. Moreover, the draft Foreign Investment Law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the companies currently employing a VIE structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties, while it is soliciting comments from the public on this point. In addition, it is uncertain whether the online consumer finance marketplace industry, in which our variable interest entity operates, will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list” that is to be issued. If the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law and the final “negative list” mandate further actions, such as MOC market entry clearance or certain restructuring of our corporate structure and operations, to be completed by companies with existing VIE structure like us, there may be substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete these actions in a timely manner, or at all, and our business and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may also materially impact our corporate governance practice and increase our compliance costs. For instance, the draft Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. Aside from an investment implementation report and an investment amendment report that are required for each investment and alteration of investment specifics, an annual report is mandatory, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these information reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liabilities.

We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

The PRC government extensively regulates the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the internet industry. These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations.

We only have contractual control over our website. We do not directly own the website due to the restriction of foreign investment in businesses providing value-added telecommunication services in China, including internet information provision services. This may significantly disrupt our business, subject us to sanctions, compromise enforceability of related contractual arrangements, or have other harmful effects on us.

The evolving PRC regulatory system for the internet industry may lead to the establishment of new regulatory agencies. For example, in May 2011, the State Council announced the establishment of a new department, the State Internet Information Office (with the involvement of the State Council Information Office, the MITT, and the Ministry of Public Security). The primary role of this new agency is to facilitate the policy-making and legislative development in this field, to direct and coordinate with the relevant departments in connection with online content administration and to deal with cross-ministry regulatory matters in relation to the internet industry.

Our online marketplace, operated by our consolidated variable interest entity, Heng Cheng, may be deemed to be providing commercial internet information services, which would require Heng Cheng to obtain an ICP

 

43


Table of Contents

License. An ICP License is a value-added telecommunications business operating license required for provision of commercial internet information services. See “Regulation—Regulations on Value-Added Telecommunication Services.” Heng Cheng, our PRC consolidated variable interest entity has obtained an ICP license as an internet information provider. Furthermore, as we are providing mobile applications to mobile device users, it is uncertain if Heng Cheng will be required to obtain a separate operating license in addition to the ICP License. Although we believe that not obtaining such separate license is in line with the current market practice, there can be no assurance that we will not be required to apply for an operating license for our mobile applications in the future.

The Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in and Operation of Value-added Telecommunications Business, issued by the MITT in July 2006, prohibits domestic telecommunication service providers from leasing, transferring or selling telecommunications business operating licenses to any foreign investor in any form, or providing any resources, sites or facilities to any foreign investor for their illegal operation of a telecommunications business in China. According to this circular, either the holder of a value-added telecommunication services operation permit or its shareholders must directly own the domain names and trademarks used by such license holders in their provision of value-added telecommunication services. The circular also requires each license holder to have the necessary facilities, including servers, for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. Heng Cheng owns the relevant domain names in connection with our value-added telecommunications business and has the necessary personnel to operate our website. However, CreditEase currently owns certain trademarks relating to our value-added telecommunications business, and CreditEase is in the process of transferring these trademarks to Heng Cheng. If an ICP License holder fails to comply with the requirements and also fails to remedy such non-compliance within a specified period of time, the MITT or its local counterparts have the discretion to take administrative measures against such license holder, including revoking its ICP License.

The interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies relating to the internet industry have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of, internet businesses in China, including our business. We cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our business in China or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain new ones. If the PRC government considers that we were operating without the proper approvals, licenses or permits or promulgates new laws and regulations that require additional approvals or licenses or imposes additional restrictions on the operation of any part of our business, it has the power, among other things, to levy fines, confiscate our income, revoke our business licenses, and require us to discontinue our relevant business or impose restrictions on the affected portion of our business. Any of these actions by the PRC government may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Any failure by us or our third-party service providers to comply with applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations could damage our reputation.

In cooperation with our partnering custody banks and payment companies, we have adopted various policies and procedures, such as internal controls and “know-your-customer” procedures, for anti-money laundering purposes. In addition, we rely on our third-party service providers, in particular the custody banks and payment companies that handle the transfer of funds between borrowers and lenders, to have their own appropriate anti-money laundering policies and procedures. The custody banks and payment companies are subject to anti-money laundering obligations under applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations and are regulated in that respect by the PBOC. If any of our third-party service provides fail to comply with applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations, our reputation could suffer and we could become subject to regulatory intervention, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online peer-to-peer lending platforms, to comply with certain

 

44


Table of Contents

anti-money laundering requirements, including the establishment of a customer identification program, the monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions, the preservation of customer information and transaction records, and the provision of assistance to the public security department and judicial authority in investigations and proceedings in relation to anti-money laundering matters. The PBOC will formulate implementing rules to further specify the anti-money laundering obligations of internet finance service providers. We cannot assure you that the anti-money laundering policies and procedures we have adopted will be effective in protecting our marketplace from being exploited for money laundering purposes or will be deemed to be in compliance with applicable anti-money laundering implementing rules if and when adopted.

We rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

We are a holding company, and we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur. If our PRC subsidiary incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require Heng Ye to adjust its taxable income under the contractual arrangements it currently has in place with our consolidated variable interest entity in a manner that would materially and adversely affect its ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. See “—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—Contractual arrangements in relation to our consolidated variable interest entity may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or our PRC consolidated variable interest entity owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.”

Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiary, as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China, may pay dividends only out of their respective accumulated after-tax profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is required to set aside at least 10% of its accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such funds reaches 50% of its registered capital. At its discretion, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends.

Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business. See also “—If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.”

PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Under PRC laws and regulations, we are permitted to utilize the proceeds from this offering to fund our PRC subsidiary by making loans to or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, subject to applicable government registration and approval requirements.

Any loans to our PRC subsidiary, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC laws, are subject to PRC regulations and foreign exchange loan registrations. For example, loans by us to our PRC subsidiary to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE. The statutory limit for the total amount of foreign debts of a foreign-

 

45


Table of Contents

invested company is the difference between the amount of total investment as approved by the MOC or its local counterpart and the amount of registered capital of such foreign-invested company.

We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiary by means of capital contributions. These capital contributions must be approved by the MOC or its local counterpart. In addition, SAFE issued a circular in September 2008, SAFE Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. SAFE Circular 142 provides that the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and unless otherwise provided by law, may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. Although on July 4, 2014, the SAFE issued the Circular of the SAFE on Relevant Issues Concerning the Pilot Reform in Certain Areas of the Administrative Method of the Conversion of Foreign Exchange Funds by Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 36, which launched a pilot reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of foreign-invested enterprises in certain designated areas from August 4, 2014 and some of the restrictions under SAFE Circular 142 will not apply to the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of the foreign-invested enterprises established within the designate areas and such enterprises are allowed to use its RMB capital converted from foreign exchange capitals to make equity investment, our PRC subsidiary is not established within the designated areas. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular 19, to expand the reform nationwide. Circular 19 came into force and replaced both Circular 142 and Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. Circular 19 allows foreign-invested enterprises to make equity investments by using RMB fund converted from foreign exchange capital. However, Circular 19 continues to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using RMB fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. The use of such RMB capital may not be altered without SAFE’s approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of these Circulars could result in severe monetary or other penalties. These circulars may significantly limit our ability to use RMB converted from the net proceeds of this offering to fund the establishment of new entities in China by our PRC subsidiary, to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies through our PRC subsidiary, or to establish new variable interest entities in the PRC.

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 subsidiary or future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiary. 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 capitalize or otherwise 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.

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

Substantially all of our revenues and expenditures are denominated in RMB, whereas our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. As a result, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB will affect the relative purchasing power in RMB terms of our U.S. dollar assets and the proceeds from this offering. Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar while the functional currency for our PRC subsidiary and consolidated variable interest entity is RMB. Gains and losses from the remeasurement of assets and liabilities that are receivable or payable in RMB are included in our consolidated statements of operations. The remeasurement has caused the U.S. dollar value of our results of operations to vary with exchange rate fluctuations, and the U.S. dollar value of our results of operations will continue to vary with exchange rate fluctuations. A fluctuation in the value of RMB relative to the U.S. dollar could reduce our profits from operations and the translated value of our net assets when reported in U.S. dollars in our financial statements. This could have a negative impact on our

 

46


Table of Contents

business, financial condition or results of operations as reported in U.S. dollars. If we decide to convert our RMB 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 RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. In addition, fluctuations in currencies relative to the periods in which the earnings are generated may make it more difficult to perform period-to-period comparisons of our reported results of operations.

The value of the RMB 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 RMB to the U.S. dollar, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. However, the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to limit fluctuations in RMB exchange rates and achieve policy goals. During the period between July 2008 and June 2010, the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar had been stable and traded within a narrow range. However, the RMB fluctuated significantly during that period against other freely traded currencies, in tandem with the U.S. dollar. Since June 2010, the RMB has started to slowly appreciate against the U.S. dollar, though there have been periods when the U.S. dollar has appreciated against the RMB. On August 11, 2015, the PBOC allowed the RMB to depreciate by approximately 2% against the U.S. dollar. It is difficult to predict how long such depreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar may last and when and how the relationship between the RMB and the U.S. dollar may change again.

There remains significant international pressure on the PRC government to adopt a flexible currency policy. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from this initial public offering into RMB to pay our operating expenses, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the 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 RMB into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our net revenues in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our company in the Cayman Islands rely on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. Therefore, our PRC subsidiary are able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE, subject to the condition that the remittance of such dividends outside of the PRC complies with certain procedures under PRC foreign exchange regulation, such as the overseas investment registrations by the beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents. But approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign

 

47


Table of Contents

currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.

Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.

We are required under PRC laws and regulations to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of our employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where we operate our businesses. The requirement of employee benefit plans has not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. We have not made adequate employee benefit payments. We may be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. If we are subject to late fees or fines in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering under a regulation adopted in August 2006, as amended, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in August 2006 and amended in 2009, requires an overseas special purpose vehicle formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. In September 2006, the CSRC published a notice on its official website specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by a special purpose vehicle seeking CSRC approval of its overseas listings. The application of the M&A Rules remains unclear.

Our PRC counsel, Han Kun Law Offices, has advised us based on their understanding of the current PRC laws, rules and regulations that the CSRC’s approval is not required for the listing and trading of our ADSs on the NYSE in the context of this offering, given that:

 

    we established our PRC subsidiary, Heng Ye, by means of direct investment rather than by merger with or acquisition of PRC domestic companies; and

 

    no explicit provision in the M&A Rules classifies the respective contractual arrangements between Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and its shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules.

However, there remains some uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering and the CSRC’s opinions summarized above are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If the CSRC or any other PRC regulatory agencies subsequently determines that we need to obtain the CSRC’s approval for this offering or if the CSRC or any other PRC government agencies promulgates any interpretation or implements rules before our listing that would require us to obtain CSRC or other governmental approvals for this offering, we may face adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. Sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiary, or other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations,

 

48


Table of Contents

reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before the settlement and delivery of the ADSs that we are offering. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ADSs we are offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals for this offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding such approval requirement could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of the ADSs.

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

The M&A Rules discussed in the preceding risk factor and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the MOC be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the MOC shall be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOC that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOC, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. 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 MOC or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiary’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC law.

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014 that requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC citizens or residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions. SAFE Circular 37 is issued to replace the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75. SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment in February 2015, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This notice has amended SAFE Circular 37 requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing.

If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration as required, our PRC subsidiary may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share

 

49


Table of Contents

transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

All of our shareholders who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are known to us as being PRC residents have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations and are in the process of updating their registrations required in connection with our recent corporate restructuring.

However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents or entities holding direct or indirect interest in our company, nor can we compel our beneficial owners to comply with SAFE registration requirements. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE regulations. Failure by such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with SAFE regulations, or failure by us to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiary, could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiary’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly-Listed Company, replacing earlier rules promulgated in March 2007. Pursuant to these rules, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests. We and our executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or who have resided in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted options or other awards will be subject to these regulations when our company becomes an overseas listed company upon the completion of this offering. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiary and limit our PRC subsidiary’ ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees under PRC law. See “Regulation—Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans.”

If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with a “de facto management body” within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to the enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control over and overall management of the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In April 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued a circular, known as Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners like us, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the State Administration of Taxation’s general position on how the “de facto

 

50


Table of Contents

management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.

We believe none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. See “Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation.” However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” As substantially all of our management members are based in China, it remains unclear how the tax residency rule will apply to our case. If the PRC tax authorities determine that Yirendai Ltd. or any of our subsidiaries outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, then Yirendai Ltd. or such subsidiary could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25% on its world-wide income, which could materially reduce our net income. In addition, we will also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. Furthermore, if the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, gains realized on the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares may be subject to PRC tax, at a rate of 10% in the case of non-PRC enterprises or 20% in the case of non-PRC individuals (in each case, subject to the provisions of any applicable tax treaty), if such gains are deemed to be from PRC sources. It is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in the ADSs.

We may not be able to obtain certain benefits under relevant tax treaty on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiary to us through our Hong Kong subsidiary.

We are a holding company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and as such rely on dividends and other distributions on equity from our PRC subsidiary to satisfy part of our liquidity requirements. Pursuant to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, a withholding tax rate of 10% currently applies to dividends paid by a PRC “resident enterprise” to a foreign enterprise investor, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for preferential tax treatment. Pursuant to the Arrangement between the Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, such withholding tax rate may be lowered to 5% if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns no less than 25% of a PRC enterprise. However, the 5% withholding tax rate does not automatically apply and certain requirements must be satisfied, including without limitation that (a) the Hong Kong enterprise must be the beneficial owner of the relevant dividends; and (b) the Hong Kong enterprise must directly hold no less than 25% share ownership in the PRC enterprise during the 12 consecutive months preceding its receipt of the dividends. In current practice, a Hong Kong enterprise must obtain a tax resident certificate from the Hong Kong tax authority to apply for the 5% lower PRC withholding tax rate. As the Hong Kong tax authority will issue such a tax resident certificate on a case-by-case basis, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the tax resident certificate from the relevant Hong Kong tax authority and enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate of 5% under the Double Taxation Arrangement with respect to dividends to be paid by Heng Ye, our PRC subsidiary to Yirendai HK, our Hong Kong subsidiary.

 

51


Table of Contents

Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

The PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of certain taxable assets, including, in particular, equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by a non-resident enterprise by promulgating and implementing SAT Circular 59 and Circular 698, which became effective in January 2008, and a Circular 7 in replacement of some of the existing rules in Circular 698, which became effective in February 2015.

Under Circular 698, where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the equity interests of a PRC “resident enterprise” indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, if the indirect transfer is considered to be an abusive use of company structure without reasonable commercial purposes. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of up to 10%. Circular 698 also provides that, where 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 relevant tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income of the transaction.

In February 2015, the SAT issued Circular 7 to replace the rules relating to indirect transfers in Circular 698. Circular 7 has introduced a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under Circular 698. Circular 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to not only indirect transfers set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of other taxable assets, through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition, Circular 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. Circular 7 also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of the taxable assets. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise being the transferor, or the transferee, or the PRC entity which directly owned the taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise.

We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences on future private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises. The PRC tax authorities may pursue such non-resident enterprises with respect to a filing or the transferees with respect to withholding obligation, and request our PRC subsidiaries to assist in the filing. As a result, we and non-resident enterprises in such transactions may become at risk of being subject to filing obligations or being taxed, under Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 or to establish that we and our non-resident enterprises should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under SAT Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the taxable assets transferred and the cost of investment. Although we currently have no plans to pursue any acquisitions in China or elsewhere in the world, we may pursue acquisitions in the future that may involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of the transactions under SAT Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, our income tax costs associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

52


Table of Contents

The audit report included in this prospectus is prepared by an auditor who is not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, our investors are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in our prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditors are located in the Peoples’ Republic of China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside 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. This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor’s audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

If additional remedial measures are imposed on the “big four” PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging such firms’ failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC with respect to requests for the production of documents, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

Starting in 2011 the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between U.S. and Chinese law. Specifically, for certain U.S. listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the PCAOB sought to obtain from the Chinese accounting firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. The firms were, however, advised and directed that under Chinese law they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and that requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the CSRC.

In late 2012 this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. In January 2014, the administrative law judge reached an initial decision to impose penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC. The accounting firms filed a petition for review of the initial decision. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the commissioners of the SEC had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepts that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms will receive matching Section 106 requests, and are required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they fail to meet specified criteria, the SEC retains authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure. Remedies for any future noncompliance could include, as appropriate, an automatic six-month bar on a single firm’s performance of certain audit work, commencement of a new proceeding against a firm, or in extreme cases the resumption of the current proceeding against all four firms.

 

53


Table of Contents

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, 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 Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

If our independent registered public accounting firm were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delay or abandonment of this offering, delisting of our ordinary shares from the NYSE or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

Risks Related to This Offering and our American Depositary Shares

There has been no public market for our ordinary shares or ADSs prior to this offering, and you may not be able to resell our ADSs at or above the price you paid, or at all.

Prior to this initial public offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or ADSs. We intend to list our ADSs on the NYSE. Our ordinary shares will not be listed on any exchange or quoted for trading on any over-the-counter trading system. If an active trading market for our ADSs does not develop after this offering, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs will be materially and adversely affected.

Negotiations with the underwriters will determine the initial public offering price for our ADSs which may bear no relationship to their market price after the initial public offering. We cannot assure you that an active trading market for our ADSs will develop or that the market price of our ADSs will not decline below the initial public offering price.

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile.

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 internet or other companies based 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 decline in their trading prices. The trading performances of other Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings 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, corporate structure or other matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. 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 second half of 2011 and recent months in 2015, which may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs.

In addition to the above factors, the price and trading volume of our ADSs may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including the following:

 

    regulatory developments affecting us, our users, or our industry;

 

    announcements of studies and reports relating to our loan products and service offerings or those of our competitors;

 

54


Table of Contents
    changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other online consumer finance marketplaces;

 

    actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and changes or revisions of our expected results;

 

    changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

 

    conditions in the internet and unsecured consumer finance industries;

 

    announcements by us or our competitors of new product and service offerings, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

 

    additions to or departures of our senior management;

 

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

 

    fluctuations of exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar;

 

    release or expiry of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding ordinary shares or ADSs; and

 

    sales or perceived potential sales of additional ordinary shares or ADSs.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our ADSs or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our ADSs to decline.

Because our initial public offering price is substantially higher than our 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 your ADSs than the amount paid by our existing shareholders for their ordinary shares on a per ADS basis. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of US$             per ADS, representing the difference between the assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, and our net tangible book value per ADS as of June 30, 2015, after giving effect to the net proceeds to us from this offering. In addition, you may experience further dilution to the extent that our ordinary shares are issued upon the exercise of any share options. See “Dilution” for a more complete description of how the value of your investment in our ADSs will be diluted upon completion of this offering.

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.

Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium,

 

55


Table of Contents

and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts at they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. 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.

Substantial future sales or perceived potential sales of our ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

Sales of our ADSs in the public market after this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. Immediately after the completion of this offering, we will have ordinary shares outstanding including              ordinary shares represented by ADSs, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. All ADSs sold in this offering will be freely transferable without restriction or additional registration under the Securities Act. The remaining ordinary shares outstanding after this offering will be available for sale, upon the expiration of the 180-day lock-up period beginning from the date of this prospectus, subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. Any or all of these shares may be released prior to the expiration of the lock-up period at the discretion of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC. To the extent shares are released before the expiration of the lock-up period and sold into the market, the market price of our ADSs could decline.

After completion of this offering, certain holders of our ordinary shares may cause us to register under the Securities Act the sale of their shares, subject to the 180-day lock-up period in connection with this offering. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in ADSs representing these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the form of ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

We have adopted a share incentive plan, under which we have the discretion to grant a broad range of equity-based awards to eligible participants. See “Management—Share Incentive Plan.” We intend to register all ordinary shares that we may issue under this equity compensation plan. Once we register these ordinary shares, they can be freely sold in the public market in the form of ADSs upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates and the lock-up agreements described in the “Underwriting” section of this prospectus. If a large number of our ordinary shares or securities convertible into our ordinary shares are sold in the public market in the form of ADSs after they become eligible for sale, the sales could reduce the trading price of our ADSs and impede our ability to raise future capital. In addition, any ordinary shares that we issue under an equity incentive plan would dilute the percentage ownership held by the investors who purchase ADSs in this offering.

You, as holders of ADSs, may have fewer rights than holders of our ordinary shares and must act through the depositary to exercise those rights.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as our shareholders and may only exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the post-offering memorandum and articles of association that we expect to adopt and to become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, the minimum notice period required to convene a general meeting is seven days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient notice of a

 

56


Table of Contents

shareholders’ meeting to permit you to withdraw the shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to cast your vote with respect to any specific matter. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to you or carry out your voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the shares underlying your ADSs. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if the shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting.

Except in limited circumstances, 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, which could adversely affect your interests.

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

    a matter to be voted on at the meeting would materially and adversely affect the rights of shareholders; or

 

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

The effect of this discretionary proxy is that, if you fail to give voting instructions to the depositary, you cannot prevent our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs from being voted, absent the situations described above. This may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence our management. Holders of our ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.

Your rights to pursue claims against the depositary as a holder of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement.

Under the deposit agreement, any action or proceeding against or involving the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby or by virtue of owning the ADSs may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and you, as a holder of our ADSs, will have irrevocably waived any objection which you may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such action or proceeding. However, the depositary may, in its sole discretion, require that any dispute or difference arising from the relationship created by the deposit agreement be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms described in the deposit agreement. Also, we may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold your ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended. See “Description of American Depositary Shares” for more information.

Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make such rights available to you in the United States unless we register both the rights and

 

57


Table of Contents

the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not make rights available to you unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act or exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective and we may not be able to establish a necessary exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings in the future and may experience dilution in your holdings.

You may not receive cash dividends if the depositary decides it is impractical to make them available to you.

The depositary will pay cash dividends on the ADSs only to the extent that we decide to distribute dividends on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities, and we do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. To the extent that there is a distribution, the depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property to you.

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 transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it 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.

Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, a majority of our directors and executive officers reside within China, and most of the assets of these persons are located within China. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these individuals, or to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of the PRC may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and China, see “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities.”

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 duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law

 

58


Table of Contents

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 duties 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.

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 will have discretion under the post-offering memorandum and articles of association we expect to adopt, 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 resolution or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by 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 (2013 Revision) 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.”

You must rely on the judgment of our management as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and such use may not produce income or increase our ADS price.

A significant portion of the net proceeds of this offering is allocated for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital needs and potential acquisitions, partnerships and alliances. Our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds received by us. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether proceeds are being used appropriately. The net proceeds may be used for corporate purposes that do not improve our efforts to achieve or maintain profitability or increase our ADS price. The net proceeds from this offering may be placed in investments that do not produce income or that lose value.

The post-offering memorandum and articles of association that we expect to adopt and to become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering will contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us and adversely affect the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.

We expect to adopt, subject to the approval by our shareholders, an amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. The post-offering memorandum and articles of association will contain certain provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company, including a provision that grants authority to our board of directors to establish and issue from time to time one or more series of preferred shares without action by our shareholders and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders and ADSs holders of the opportunity to sell their shares or ADSs at a premium over the prevailing market price by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transactions.

 

59


Table of Contents

We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from 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 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we are an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important.

The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. 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 are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

 

    the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;

 

    the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;

 

    the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; 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 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 that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the NYSE corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the NYSE corporate governance listing standards.

As a Cayman Islands company listed on the NYSE, we are subject to the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. However, NYSE rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. Currently, we do not plan to rely on home country practice with respect to our corporate governance after we complete this offering. However, if we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would enjoy under the NYSE corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

 

60


Table of Contents

There can be no assurance that we will not be passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject United States investors in our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse United States income tax consequences.

We will be a “passive foreign investment company,” or “PFIC,” if, in any particular taxable year, either (a) 75% or more of our gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (b) 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 intend to treat Heng Cheng as being owned by us for United States federal income tax purposes, not only because we exercise effective control over the operation of such entity but also because we are entitled to substantially all of its economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate its results of operations in our consolidated financial statements. Assuming that we are the owner of Heng Cheng for United States federal income tax purposes, and based upon our current and expected income and assets, including goodwill, (taking into account the expected 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 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 may 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 may be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. If we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes or if it were determined that we do not own the stock of Heng Cheng for United States federal income tax purposes, our risk of being 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 a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. holder (as defined in “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) may incur significantly increased United States 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 United States federal income tax rules and such holder may be subject to burdensome reporting requirements. Further, if we are 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 Considerations.”

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 US$1.0 billion in net 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 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 the provision that allow us to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards and, as a result, we will

 

61


Table of Contents

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 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 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.

 

62


Table of Contents

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events. The forward looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those listed under “Risk Factors,” may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

You can identify some of these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include statements relating to:

 

    our goals and strategies;

 

    our future business development, financial conditions and results of operations;

 

    the expected growth of the online consumer finance marketplace market in China;

 

    our expectations as to the charge-off rates of loans facilitated through our platform and the sufficiency of our risk reserve fund;

 

    our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services;

 

    our expectations regarding our relationships with investors and borrowers;

 

    competition in our industry; and

 

    relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry.

These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may later be found to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from our expectations are generally set forth in “Prospectus Summary—Our Challenges,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Business,” “Regulation” and other sections in this prospectus. You should thoroughly read this prospectus and the documents that we refer to with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

This prospectus contains certain data and information that we obtained from various government and private publications. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. Our industry may not grow at the rate projected by market data, or at all. Failure of this market to grow at the projected rate may have a material and adverse effect on our business and the market price of our ADSs. In addition, the rapidly changing nature of the online consumer finance marketplace industry results in significant uncertainties for any projections or estimates relating to the growth prospects or future condition of our market. Furthermore, if any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data are later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents that we refer to in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

 

63


Table of Contents

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately US$            , or approximately US$             if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, after deducting underwriting discounts and the estimated offering expenses payable by us. These estimates are based upon an assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS, the midpoint of the price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus. A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by US$            , assuming the number of ADSs offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses payable by us.

We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include investment in product development, sales and marketing activities, technology infrastructure, capital expenditures, improvement of corporate facilities and other general and administrative matters. We may also use a portion of these proceeds for the acquisition of, or investment in, technologies, solutions or businesses that complement our business, although we have no present commitments or agreements to enter into any acquisitions or investments.

The foregoing represents our current intentions based upon our present plans and business conditions to use and allocate the net proceeds of this offering. Our management, however, will have significant flexibility and discretion to apply the net proceeds of this offering. If an unforeseen event occurs or business conditions change, we may use the proceeds of this offering differently than as described in this prospectus. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to This Offering and our American Depositary Shares—You must rely on the judgment of our management as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and such use may not produce income or increase our ADS price.”

Pending any use described above, we plan to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, debt instruments or demand deposits.

In using the proceeds of this offering, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations as an offshore holding company to provide funding to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China only through loans or capital contributions and to our consolidated variable interest entity only through loans, subject to the approval of government authorities and limit on the amount of capital contributions and loans. Subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements, we may extend inter-company loans to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China or make additional capital contributions to our wholly-foreign-owned subsidiary to fund its capital expenditures or working capital. For an increase of registered capital of our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary, we need to obtain approval from the MOC or its local counterparts, which will decide within 90 days after receiving the application. If we provide funding to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary through loans, the total amount of such loans may not exceed the difference between the entity’s total investment as approved by the foreign investment authorities and its registered capital. Such loans must be registered with SAFE or its local branches, which usually takes up to 20 working days to complete. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.”

 

64


Table of Contents

DIVIDEND POLICY

Our board of directors has discretion on whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.

We do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future after this offering. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries in China for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. PRC regulations may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. See “Regulation—Regulations on Dividend Distribution” and “Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation.”

If we pay any dividends, we will pay our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our ordinary shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See “Description of American Depositary Shares.” Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

 

65


Table of Contents

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of June 30, 2015:

 

    on an actual basis;

 

    on an as adjusted basis to reflect the sale of              ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS, the mid-point of the estimated range of the initial public offering price shown on the front cover of this prospectus, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option.

You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

     As of June 30, 2015
     Actual     As Adjusted (2)
     (in US$ thousands)

Equity:

    

Ordinary shares, US$0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized,
100,000,000 shares issued and outstanding on an actual basis and              ordinary shares outstanding on an as adjusted basis (1)

     10     

Additional paid-in capital (3)

     50,910     

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (198  

Retained earnings

     2,655     

Total equity (3)

     53,377     
  

 

 

   

 

Total capitalization (3)

     53,377     
  

 

 

   

 

Notes:

 

(1) On January 5, 2015, we effected a 10,000-for-1 share split whereby each of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares of a par value of US$1.00 each was divided into 10,000 ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, and the number of our authorized shares was increased from 50,000 to 500,000,000, of which 10,000 ordinary shares were issued and outstanding and were owned by CreditEase. On June 25, 2015, we issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 each, to CreditEase for an aggregate purchase price of US$9,999. The share split and the share issuance have been retroactively reflected for all periods presented herein.
(2) The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our additional paid-in capital, total shareholders’ equity and total capitalization following the completion of this offering are subject to adjustment based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.
(3) Assuming the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus remains the same, and after deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, a US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $             per ADS would increase (decrease) each of additional paid-in capital, total shareholders’ equity and total capitalization by $             million.

 

66


Table of Contents

DILUTION

If you invest in our ADSs, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per ADS and our net tangible book value per ADS after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per ordinary share is substantially in excess of the book value per ordinary share attributable to the existing shareholders for our presently outstanding ordinary shares.

Our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2015 was approximately US$53.4 million, or US$0.5338 per ordinary share as of that date and US$             per ADS. Net tangible book value represents the amount of our total consolidated tangible assets, less the amount of our total consolidated liabilities. Dilution is determined by subtracting net tangible book value per ordinary share, after giving effect to the additional proceeds we will receive from this offering, from the assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ordinary share, which is the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus adjusted to reflect the ADS-to-ordinary share ratio, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Without taking into account any other changes in net tangible book value after June 30, 2015, other than to give effect to our sale of the ADSs offered in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2015 would have been US$            , or US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS to the existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS to investors purchasing ADSs in this offering. The following table illustrates such dilution:

 

     Per Ordinary Share      Per ADS  

Assumed initial public offering price

   US$                    US$                

Net tangible book value as of June 30, 2015

   US$                    US$                

As adjusted net tangible book value after giving effect to this offering

   US$                    US$                

Amount of dilution in net tangible book value to new investors in this offering

   US$                    US$                

A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of US$             per ADS would increase (decrease) our as adjusted net tangible book value after giving effect to this offering by US$            , the as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS after giving effect to this offering by US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS and the dilution in as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS to new investors in this offering by US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS, assuming no change to the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses.

 

67


Table of Contents

The following table summarizes, on an as adjusted basis as of June 30, 2015, the differences between existing shareholders and the new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares (in the form of ADSs or ordinary shares) purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share and per ADS paid before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The total number of ordinary shares does not include ordinary shares underlying the ADSs issuable upon the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters.

 

     Ordinary Shares
Purchased
   Total Consideration     Average
Price Per
Ordinary
Share
     Average
Price Per
ADS
 
     Number    Percent    Amount      Percent       

Existing shareholders

         US$                                     US$                    US$                

New investors

         US$               US$         US$     
  

 

  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

      

Total

         US$           100.0     
  

 

  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

      

The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our net tangible book value following the completion of this offering is subject to adjustment based on the actual initial public offering price of our ADSs and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

In addition, the discussion and tables above exclude 10,000,000 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our 2015 share incentive plan, which may be granted as options, restricted shares and restricted share units.

 

68


Table of Contents

ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands to take advantage of certain benefits associated with being a Cayman Islands exempted company, such as:

 

    political and economic stability;

 

    an effective judicial system;

 

    a favorable tax system;

 

    the absence of exchange controls or currency restrictions; and

 

    the availability of professional and support services.

However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to:

 

    the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors as compared to the United States; and

 

    Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.

Our constitutional documents do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, between us, our officers, directors and shareholders, be arbitrated.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China, and substantially all of our assets are located in China. A majority of our directors and executive officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and most of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for a shareholder to effect service of process within the United States upon these individuals, or 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 securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.

We have appointed Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc., located at 400 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10017, as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.

Maples and Calder, our legal counsel as to Cayman Islands law, and Han Kun Law Offices, our legal counsel as to PRC law, have advised us, respectively, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands and China, respectively, would:

 

    recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or

 

    entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.

There is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law as to whether a judgment obtained from the United States courts under civil liability provisions of the securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such a determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands company. Because the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on whether such judgments are penal or punitive in nature, it is uncertain whether they would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Maples and Calder has advised us that although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States, a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at

 

69


Table of Contents

common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment:

 

    is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction;

 

    imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given;

 

    is final;

 

    is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty; and

 

    was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

Han Kun Law Offices has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or the Cayman Islands. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on PRC law against us in the PRC, if they can establish sufficient nexus to the PRC for a PRC court to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. However, it would be difficult for foreign shareholders to establish sufficient nexus to the PRC by virtue only of holding our ADSs or ordinary shares.

 

70


Table of Contents

CORPORATE HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

We commenced our online consumer finance marketplace business in March 2012 as a business unit under our parent company, CreditEase, which will remain as our parent company and controlling shareholder after this offering. CreditEase incorporated Yirendai Ltd. in the Cayman Islands to be our holding company in September 2014. Yirendai Ltd. then established a wholly owned subsidiary in Hong Kong, Yirendai Hong Kong Limited, or Yirendai HK, in October 2014, and Yirendai HK further established Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Ye, our wholly owned subsidiary in China, in January 2015.

Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Heng Cheng, was established in China in September 2014. Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian are the shareholders of Heng Cheng designated by CreditEase, owning 40%, 30% and 30% of the equity interest in Heng Cheng, respectively, as of the date of this prospectus. We obtained control and became the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng in February 2015 by entering into a series of contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and its shareholders.

As a result of restructuring by CreditEase, we currently conduct our online consumer finance marketplace business in China through Heng Ye and our consolidated variable interest entity, Heng Cheng. Heng Cheng operates our website www.yirendai.com and has an ICP license as an internet information provider.

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, including our subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity, immediately upon the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option:

 

LOGO

 

LOGO         Equity interest

LOGO         Contractual arrangements

 

(1) The shareholders of Heng Cheng are Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian, owning 40%, 30% and 30% of Heng Cheng’s equity interest, respectively. Mr. Ning Tang is our executive chairman, Mr. Fanshun Kong is a non-executive PRC employee of CreditEase, and Ms. Yan Tian is a third-party individual designated by CreditEase.

 

71


Table of Contents

Contractual Arrangements with Heng Cheng

Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in value-added telecommunications services, and internet content provision services in particular, we currently conduct these activities through Heng Cheng, which we effectively control through a series of contractual arrangements. These contractual arrangements allow us to:

 

    exercise effective control over Heng Cheng;

 

    receive substantially all of the economic benefits of Heng Cheng; and

 

    have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in Heng Cheng when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

As a result of these contractual arrangements, we have become the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng designated by CreditEase, and we treat Heng Cheng as our variable interest entity under U.S. GAAP. We have consolidated the financial results of Heng Cheng in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The following is a summary of the currently effective contractual arrangements by and among our wholly-owned subsidiary, Heng Ye, our consolidated variable interest entity, Heng Cheng, and the shareholders of Heng Cheng.

Agreements that Provide us Effective Control over Heng Cheng

Equity Interest Pledge Agreements. Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreements, each shareholder of Heng Cheng has pledged all of his or her equity interest in Heng Cheng to guarantee the shareholder’s and Heng Cheng’s performance of their obligations under the exclusive business cooperation agreement, loan agreement, exclusive option agreement and power of attorney. If Heng Cheng or any of its shareholders breaches their contractual obligations under these agreements, Heng Ye, as pledgee, will be entitled to certain rights regarding the pledged equity interests, including receiving proceeds from the auction or sale of all or part of the pledged equity interests of Heng Cheng in accordance with the law. Each of the shareholders of Heng Cheng agrees that, during the term of the equity interest pledge agreements, he or she will not dispose of the pledged equity interests or create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity interests without the prior written consent of Heng Ye. The equity interest pledge agreements remain effective until Heng Cheng and its shareholders discharge all their obligations under the contractual arrangements. We have registered the equity pledge with the relevant office of the Administration for Industry and Commerce in accordance with the PRC Property Rights Law.

Powers of Attorney. Pursuant to the powers of attorney, each shareholder of Heng Cheng has irrevocably appointed Heng Ye to act as such shareholder’s exclusive attorney-in-fact to exercise all shareholder rights, including, but not limited to, voting on all matters of Heng Cheng requiring shareholder approval, disposing of all or part of the shareholder’s equity interest in Heng Cheng, and appointing directors and executive officers. Heng Ye is entitled to designate any person to act as such shareholder’s exclusive attorney-in-fact without notifying or the approval of such shareholder, and if required by PRC law, Heng Ye shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise such right. Each power of attorney will remain in force for so long as the shareholder remains a shareholder of Heng Cheng. Each shareholder has waived all the rights which have been authorized to Heng Ye and will not exercise such rights.

Agreement that Allows us to Receive Economic Benefits from Heng Cheng

Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement . Under the exclusive business cooperation agreement between Heng Ye and Heng Cheng, Heng Ye has the exclusive right to provide Heng Cheng with technical support, consulting services and other services. Without Heng Ye’s prior written consent, Heng Cheng agrees not to accept the same or any similar services provided by any third party. Heng Ye may designate other parties to

 

72


Table of Contents

provide services to Heng Cheng. Heng Cheng agrees to pay service fees on a monthly basis and at an amount determined by Heng Ye after taking into account multiple factors, such as the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the time consumed, the content and commercial value of services provided and the market price of comparable services. Heng Ye owns the intellectual property rights arising out of the performance of this agreement. In addition, Heng Cheng has granted Heng Ye an irrevocable and exclusive option to purchase any or all of the assets and businesses of Heng Cheng at the lowest price permitted under PRC law. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or terminated by Heng Ye unilaterally, this agreement will remain effective permanently.

Agreements that Provide Us with the Option to Purchase the Equity Interest in Heng Cheng

Exclusive Option Agreement. Pursuant to the exclusive option agreements, each shareholder of Heng Cheng has irrevocably granted Heng Ye an exclusive option to purchase, or have its designated person or persons to purchase, at its discretion, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or part of the shareholder’s equity interests in Heng Cheng. The purchase price is equal to the higher of the amount of loan extended by Heng Ye to each shareholder of Heng Cheng under the respective loan agreement or the minimum price required by PRC law. If Heng Ye exercises the option to purchase part of the equity interest held by a shareholder, the purchase price shall be calculated proportionally. Heng Cheng and each of its shareholders have agreed to appoint any persons designated by Heng Ye to act as Heng Cheng’s directors. Without Heng Ye’s prior written consent, Heng Cheng shall not amend its articles of association, increase or decrease the registered capital, sell or otherwise dispose of its assets or beneficial interest, create or allow any encumbrance on its assets or other beneficial interests, provide any loans to any third parties, enter into any material contract with a value of more than RMB100,000 (US$16,129) (except those contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business), merge with or acquire any other persons or make any investments, or distribute dividends to the shareholders. The shareholders of Heng Cheng have agreed that, without Heng Ye’s prior written consent, they will not dispose of their equity interests in Heng Cheng or create or allow any encumbrance on their equity interests. Moreover, without Heng Ye’s prior written consent, no dividend will be distributed to Heng Cheng’s shareholders, and if any of the shareholders receives any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of share transfer or liquidation, the shareholder must give such profit, interest, dividend and proceeds to Heng Ye. These agreements will remain effective until all equity interests of Heng Cheng held by its shareholders have been transferred or assigned to Heng Ye or its designated person(s).

Loan Agreements.  Pursuant to the loan agreements between Heng Ye and the shareholders of Heng Cheng, Heng Ye made loans in an aggregate amount of RMB30.0 million (US$4.8 million) to the shareholders of Heng Cheng solely for the capitalization of Heng Cheng. Pursuant to the loan agreement, the shareholders can only repay the loans by the sale of all their equity interest in Heng Cheng to Heng Ye or its designated person(s) pursuant to their respective exclusive option agreements. The shareholders must pay all of the proceeds from sale of such equity interests to Heng Ye. In the event that shareholders sell their equity interests to Heng Ye or its designated person(s) with a price equivalent to or less than the amount of the principal, the loans will be interest free. If the price is higher than the amount of the principal, the excess amount will be paid to Heng Ye as the loan interest. The loan must be repaid immediately under certain circumstances, including, among others, if a foreign investor is permitted to hold majority or 100% equity interest in Heng Cheng and Heng Ye elects to exercise its exclusive equity purchase option. The term of the loans is ten years and can be extended upon mutual written consent of the parties.

In the opinion of Han Kun Law Offices, our PRC counsel:

 

    the ownership structures of Heng Ye and Heng Cheng, currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and

 

    the contractual arrangements among Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and the shareholders of Heng Cheng governed by PRC law, currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, are valid, binding and enforceable, and do not and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect.

 

73


Table of Contents

However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules. In particular, in January 2015, the MOC published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors, and be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing companies with the “variable interest entity” structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. It is uncertain when the draft may be signed into law, if at all, and whether any final version would have substantial changes from the draft. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may in the future take a view that is contrary to the above opinion of our PRC counsel. If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our online consumer finance marketplace business do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in value-added telecommunications services businesses, such as internet content provision services, we could be subject to severe penalties, including being prohibited from continuing operations. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our consolidated variable interest entity do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations,” “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations,” “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us,” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.”

 

74


Table of Contents

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CREDITEASE

We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of CreditEase as of the date of this prospectus. Upon the completion of this offering, CreditEase will remain as our parent company and controlling shareholder, with a shareholding of             % of our then outstanding ordinary shares assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option.

Founded in 2006 by our executive Chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, CreditEase is a large financial services company focusing on providing inclusive finance and wealth management products and services in China. Inclusive finance includes peer-to-peer lending and focuses on providing access to affordable and responsible financing solutions to those in China who are often unable to gain such access. CreditEase aims to provide financial products and services to urban and rural residents in China, including small and micro enterprise owners, salary workers, college students and rural households. CreditEase also provides customized wealth management services to mass affluent Chinese investors, with a focus on peer-to-peer loan products, as well as a range of other products in multiple asset classes, including equities, property, credit, alternative investments and insurance. CreditEase loan products include both secured and unsecured loans, such as auto loans, mortgages and student loans. Through its over nine years of providing these services, CreditEase has accumulated an extensive database of loan data. CreditEase employs over 40,000 employees, and has an extensive on-the-ground sales network across over 200 locations across China. CreditEase is a member of the Internet Finance Committee operated under the PBOC, Beijing P2P Association, the peer-to-peer industry’s first association that is officially registered and overseen by regulators, and the National Association of Small Loan Companies under the supervision of the CBRC and PBOC.

Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and all of our online consumer finance marketplace business is now carried out by our own subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity.

In the past, CreditEase provided us with origination and servicing, financial, administrative, sales and marketing, risk management, human resources and legal services, as well as the services of a number of its executives and employees, the costs of which were allocated to us using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us. Although we have set up our own support systems after our carve-out from CreditEase, we expect CreditEase to continue to provide certain support services during a transitional period.

We have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase with respect to various ongoing relationships between us. These agreements include a master transaction agreement, a transitional service agreement, a non-competition agreement, a cooperation framework agreement and an intellectual property license agreement. The following are summaries of these agreements. For the complete text of these agreements, please see the copies included as exhibits to the registration statement filed with the SEC of which this prospectus is a part.

Master Transaction Agreement

The master transaction agreement contains provisions relating to our carve-out from CreditEase. Pursuant to this agreement, we are responsible for all financial liabilities associated with the current and historical online consumer finance marketplace business and operations that have been conducted by or transferred to us, and CreditEase is responsible for financial liabilities associated with all of CreditEase’s other current and historical businesses and operations, in each case regardless of the time those liabilities arise. The master transaction agreement also contains indemnification provisions under which we and CreditEase agree to indemnify each other with respect to breaches of the master transaction agreement or any related inter-company agreement.

In addition, we agree to indemnify CreditEase against liabilities arising from misstatements or omissions in this prospectus or the registration statement of which it is a part, except for misstatements or omissions relating to information that CreditEase provided to us specifically for inclusion in this prospectus or the registration statement of which it forms a part. We also agree to indemnify CreditEase against liabilities arising from any misstatements or omissions in our subsequent SEC filings and from information we provide to CreditEase

 

75


Table of Contents

specifically for inclusion in CreditEase’s reports and filings, if any, following the initial filing of the registration statement with the SEC of which this prospectus is a part, but only to the extent that the information pertains to us or our business or to the extent CreditEase provides us prior written notice that the information will be included in its reports or other subsequent filings, if any, and the liability does not result from the action or inaction of CreditEase. Similarly, CreditEase will indemnify us against liabilities arising from misstatements or omissions in its subsequent filings, if any, or with respect to information that CreditEase provided to us specifically for inclusion in this prospectus, the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, or our annual reports or other SEC filings following the initial filing of the registration statement with the SEC of which this prospectus is a part, but only to the extent that the information pertains to CreditEase or CreditEase’s business or to the extent we provide CreditEase prior written notice that the information will be included in our annual reports or other SEC filings, and the liability does not result from our action or inaction.

The master transaction agreement also contains a general release, under which the parties will release each other from any liabilities arising from events occurring on or before the initial filing date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, including in connection with the activities to implement this offering. The general release does not apply to liabilities allocated between the parties under the master transaction agreement or the other inter-company agreements.

Furthermore, under the master transaction agreement, we agree to use our reasonable best efforts to engage the same independent certified public accounting firm selected by CreditEase and to maintain the same fiscal year as CreditEase until the first CreditEase fiscal year-end following the earlier of (i) the first date when CreditEase no longer owns at least 20% of the voting power of our then outstanding securities or (ii) the first date when CreditEase ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of our then outstanding voting securities (without considering holdings by certain institutional investors). We refer to this earlier date as the control ending date. We also agree to use our reasonable best efforts to complete our audit and provide CreditEase with all financial and other information on a timely basis so that CreditEase may meet its deadlines for its filing of annual and quarterly financial statements, if applicable.

The master transaction agreement will automatically terminate five years after the control ending date. This agreement can be terminated early or extended by mutual written consent of the parties. The termination of this agreement will not affect the validity and effectiveness of the transitional services agreement, the non-competition agreement, the cooperation framework agreement and the intellectual property license agreement.

Transitional Services Agreement

Under the transitional services agreement, CreditEase agrees that, during the service period, as described below, CreditEase will provide us with various corporate support services, including but not limited to:

 

    operational management support;

 

    administrative support;

 

    legal support;

 

    human resources support; and

 

    accounting, internal control and internal audit support.

CreditEase also may provide us with additional services that we and CreditEase may identify from time to time in the future.

The price to be paid for the services provided under the transitional service agreement will be the actual direct and indirect costs of providing such services. Direct costs include compensation and travel expenses

 

76


Table of Contents

attributable to employees, temporary workers, and contractors directly engaged in performing the services, as well as materials and supplies consumed in and agency fees arising from performing the services. Indirect costs include occupancy, information technology support and other overhead costs of the department incurring the direct costs of providing the services.

The transitional service agreement provides that the performance of a service according to the agreement will not subject the provider of such service to any liability whatsoever except as directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the service provider. Liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct is limited to the lower of the price paid for the particular service or the cost of the service’s recipient performing the service itself or hiring a third party to perform the service. Under the transitional services agreement, the service provider of each service is indemnified by the recipient against all third-party claims relating to provision of services or the recipient’s material breach of a third-party agreement, except where the claim is directly caused by the service provider’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.

The service period under the transitional services agreement commences on the date of signing and will end on the earlier of the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering or one year after the control ending date. We may terminate the transitional services agreement with respect to either all or part of the services by giving a 90-day prior written notice to CreditEase and paying all fees accrued through the termination and costs actually incurred by CreditEase resulting from the early termination. Upon the control ending date, CreditEase may terminate this agreement with respect to either all or part of the services by giving us a 90-day prior written notice.

Non-competition Agreement

Our non-competition agreement with CreditEase provides for a non-competition period beginning upon the completion of this offering and ending on the earlier of (i) one year after the control ending date or (ii) the fifteenth anniversary of the completion of this offering. This agreement can be terminated early by mutual written consent of the parties.

CreditEase agrees not to compete with us during the non-competition period in any business that is of the same nature as (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time, except for owning a non-controlling equity interest in any company competing with us. We agree not to compete with CreditEase during the non-competition period in the businesses conducted by CreditEase, other than (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that we and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time, except for owning non-controlling equity interest in any company competing with CreditEase.

The non-competition agreement also provides for a mutual non-solicitation obligation that neither CreditEase nor we may, during the non-competition period, hire or solicit for hire, any active employees of or individuals providing consulting services to the other party, or any former employees of or individuals providing consulting services to the other party within six months of the termination of their employment or consulting services, without the other party’s consent, except for solicitation activities through generalized non-targeted advertisement not directed to such employees or individuals that do not result in a hiring within the non-competition period.

Cooperation Framework Agreement

Under the cooperation framework agreement, CreditEase agrees to provide us long-term services and support in terms of offline user acquisition, collection and technical support. In terms of borrower acquisition, we will submit our request for borrower leads to CreditEase on a monthly basis and CreditEase will direct borrowers

 

77


Table of Contents

who fall within our target borrower group to our online marketplace. As for investor acquisition, CreditEase will, at its discretion, direct to us or share information on any investors it learns may be interested in our online marketplace. The rate of fees, if any, charged by one party to the other party under the cooperation contemplated by this agreement shall not be higher than the fee rate charged by or to any unrelated third party. This agreement will be effective on the date of completion of this offering and expire on the earlier of (i) the fifteenth anniversary of the commencement of the cooperation period or (ii) one year after the control ending date.

Intellectual Property License Agreement

Under the intellectual property license agreement, CreditEase and we grant to each other and each party’s respective subsidiaries and variable interest entities a worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, non-sublicensable, non-transferable, limited, non-exclusive license of intellectual property owned by the licensing party to use, reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works of, perform, display, or otherwise exploit, except for certain trademarks with regard to which CreditEase agrees to grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, sublicensable, transferable, unlimited and exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works of, perform, display, sublicense, transfer or otherwise exploit, until and unless such trademarks are transferred to our company or any of our subsidiaries or consolidated variable interest entity.

CreditEase and we also agree, to the extent permitted under applicable laws and regulations, to cooperate in sharing information and data collected from each party’s business operation, including without limitation borrower and investor information and credit and loan data, as reasonably requested by the requesting party. This information sharing is free of charge unless otherwise mutually agreed in writing.

This agreement will be effective on the date of completion of this offering and expire on the earlier of (i) the fifteenth anniversary of the commencement of the cooperation period or (ii) one year after the control ending date.

 

78


Table of Contents

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA

The following selected consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014, and selected consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The following selected consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 and the selected consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2015 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. You should read this Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    For the Year Ended December 31,     For the Six Months Ended June 30,  
    2013     2014     2014     2015  
    (in US$ thousands, except for share, per share and per ADS data, and
percentages)
 

Selected Consolidated Statements of Operations:

       

Net revenues:

       

Loan facilitation services

    3,045        31,317        4,941        77,229   

Post-origination services

    25        405        47        1,420   

Others

    61        171        56        358   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenues

    3,131        31,893        5,044        79,007   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

       

Sales and marketing

    5,220        22,354        9,095        40,890   

Origination and servicing

    1,255        3,541        1,350        5,081   

General and administrative

    4,998        10,490        3,626        9,276   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

    (11,473     (36,385     (14,071     (55,247
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest income

    —          —          —          40   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

    (8,342     (4,492     (9,027     23,800   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax expense

    —          (5     —          (6,496
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss)/income

    (8,342     (4,497     (9,027     17,304   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in per share calculations: (1)

       

Basic and diluted

    100,000,000        100,000,000        100,000,000        100,000,000   

Net (loss)/income per ordinary share

       

Basic and diluted

    (0.0834     (0.0450     (0.0903     0.1730   

Net (loss)/income per ADS (2)

       

Basic

       

Diluted

       

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: (3)

       

Contribution

    (3,344     5,998         (5,401 )       33,036   

Contribution margin

    (106.8%     18.8%        (107.1%     41.8%   

 

(1) On January 5, 2015, we effected a 10,000-for-1 share split, such that our authorized share capital of US$50,000 was divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, of which 10,000 ordinary shares were issued and outstanding and were owned by CreditEase. On June 25, 2015, we issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 each to CreditEase for an aggregate purchase price of US$9,999. The share split and the share issuance have been retroactively reflected for all periods presented herein.
(2) Each ADS represents              ordinary shares.
(3) See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

79


Table of Contents
     As of
December 31,
     As of
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands)  

Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet:

        

Cash and cash equivalents

     —           222         17,764   

Restricted cash

     —           —           33,682   

Total assets

     4,933         64,825         161,687   

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee

     —           —           39,658   

Total liabilities

     1,775         28,813         108,310   

Total equity

     3,158         36,012         53,377   

Key Performance Metrics

We regularly monitor a number of metrics in order to measure our current and projected future performance. These metrics aid us in developing and refining our growth strategies and making strategic decisions.

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,      For the Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     RMB      RMB      US$      RMB      RMB      US$  
     (in thousands)  

Amount of loans facilitated

     258,322         2,228,562         359,179         421,530         3,704,745         597,540   

Loans generated from online channels

     98,512         896,003         144,409         121,833         1,189,978         191,932   

Loans generated from offline channels

     159,810         1,332,559         214,770         299,697         2,514,767         405,608   

 

     As of December 31,      As of June 30,  
     2013      2014      2015  
     RMB      RMB      US$      RMB      US$  
     (in thousands)  

Outstanding loan principal

     237,796         2,132,447         343,943         5,038,881         812,723   

 

     For the Year Ended
December 31,
     For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  

Number of borrowers (1)

       3,549           39,344             6,329           62,131   

Borrowers from online channels

     1,625         20,422         2,349         30,393   

Borrowers from offline channels

     1,924         18,922         3,980         31,738   

Number of investors (2)

     5,617         34,527         8,621         59,185   

Investors from online channels

     4,250         25,093         7,856         50,193   

Investors from offline channels

     1,367         9,434         765         8,992   

 

(1) The number of borrowers for a specified period represents the number of borrowers whose loans were funded during such period. We do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time.
(2) The number of investors for a specified period represents the number of investors who have made at least one investment in loans during such period. Once an investor is acquired from either the online or offline channels, as the case may be, such investor will continue to be counted as from such channels for all subsequent periods.

 

     For the Year Ended
December 31,
     For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands)  

Transaction fees from borrowers

       3,045           31,317             4,941           123,261   

Service fees from investors

     25         405         47         3,847   

 

80


Table of Contents

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating our business, we consider and use two non-GAAP financial measures, contribution and contribution margin, as supplemental measures to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We calculate contribution as net (loss)/income, excluding general and administrative expense, interest income and income tax expense. We calculate contribution margin by dividing contribution by total net revenues.

We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our core operating performance and trends. Contribution and contribution margin have varied from period to period and have generally increased over time. Factors that affect our contribution and contribution margin include revenue mix, variable sales and marketing expenses, and origination and servicing expenses. These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools.

One of the key limitations of using contribution and contribution margin is that it does not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations. General and administrative expense and income tax expense (benefit) have been and will continue to be incurred in our business and are not reflected in the presentation of contribution and contribution margin. Furthermore, other companies, including peer companies in our industry, may calculate these non-GAAP measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as a comparative measure.

We compensate for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

The following table reconciles our contribution in 2013 and 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is net (loss)/income:

 

     For the Year
Ended
December 31,
     For the Six
Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands, except for percentages)   

Reconciliation of Net (Loss)/Income to Contribution:

           

Net (loss)/income

     (8,342      (4,497      (9,027      17,304   

Interest income

     —           —           —           (40

Income tax expense

     —           5         —           6,496   

General and administrative expenses

     4,998         10,490         3,626         9,276   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Contribution

     (3,344      5,998         (5,401      33,036   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
Net revenues      3,131         31,893         5,044         79,007   

Contribution margin

     (106.8%      18.8%         (107.1%      41.8%   

 

81


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements about our business and operations. Our actual results may differ materially from those we currently anticipate as a result of many factors, including those we describe under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Overview

We are a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, according to iResearch. We facilitated over RMB6,197.0 million (US$999.5 million) in loans from our inception in March 2012 through June 30, 2015. Our online platform automates key aspects of our operations and enables us to efficiently match borrowers with investors and facilitate and execute loan transactions. Our borrowers and investors come from a variety of channels, including online sources, such as through the internet and our mobile applications, as well as offline sources, such as referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network.

We currently target prime borrowers, comprising credit card holders with salary income. We strategically focus on prime borrowers as we believe members of this group tend to be more creditworthy and more receptive to internet finance solutions. Our online marketplace offers qualified borrowers quick and convenient access to credit at competitive prices.

Our online marketplace provides investors with attractive returns with investment thresholds as low as RMB100 (US$16.1). Investors have the option to individually select specific loans to invest in or to use our automated investing tool that identifies and selects loans on the basis of a targeted return. We also offer investors a risk reserve fund service with the aim of limiting losses to investors from borrower defaults. In addition, we provide investors with access to a liquid secondary market, giving them an opportunity to exit their investments before the underlying loans become due.

We generate revenues primarily from fees charged for our services in matching investors with individual borrowers and for other services we provide over the life of a loan. We charge borrowers transaction fees for services provided through our platform in facilitating loan transactions, and charge investors service fees for using our automated investing tool or self-directed investing tool. We currently do not charge separate fees for the risk reserve fund service. As an information intermediary, we do not use our own capital to invest in loans facilitated through our marketplace.

We have experienced significant growth since we launched our marketplace in March 2012. Our total net revenues increased from US$3.1 million in 2013 to US$31.9 million in 2014, and increased from US$5.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$79.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015. We had net losses of US$8.3 million and US$4.5 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, we had a net income of US$17.3 million, compared to a net loss of US$9.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Our Relationship with CreditEase

We commenced our online consumer finance marketplace business in March 2012 as a business unit under our parent company, CreditEase. CreditEase incorporated Yirendai Ltd. in the Cayman Islands as a holding company for our business in September 2014. We are currently a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase, and will remain a majority-owned subsidiary of CreditEase after this offering. Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and all of our online consumer finance

 

82


Table of Contents

marketplace business is now carried out by our own subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity. Our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus include the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows that were directly attributable to us throughout the periods presented. See “—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Basis of Presentation, Combination and Consolidation.”

In the past, CreditEase provided us with origination and servicing, financial, administrative, sales and marketing, risk management, human resources and legal services, as well as the services of a number of its executives and employees. As we were not previously a stand-alone company and completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, CreditEase did not charge us for the provision of these services. The costs of these services have been allocated to us using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us, and are included in our consolidated financial statements for the periods presented. CreditEase will remain our controlling shareholder upon the completion of this offering, and we have entered into a series of agreements with CreditEase with respect to business cooperation and various ongoing relationships between us. Pursuant to these agreements, CreditEase will provide us with long-term services such as borrower and investor acquisition, collection and technical support. We also have an arrangement with CreditEase regarding the sharing of data and information and certain mutual intellectual property licenses. In addition, CreditEase will continue to provide us with certain support functions, such as financial, administrative, human resources and legal services, during a transitional period. For a description of the terms of these agreements, see the section with the heading “Our Relationship with CreditEase” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

Major factors affecting our results of operations include the following:

Economic Conditions in China

The demand for online consumer finance marketplace services from borrowers and investors is dependent upon overall economic conditions in China. General economic factors, including the interest rate environment and unemployment rates, may affect borrowers’ willingness to seek loans and investors’ ability and desire to invest in loans. For example, significant increases in interest rates could cause potential borrowers to defer obtaining loans as they wait for interest rates to become stable or decrease. Additionally, a slowdown in the economy, such as from a rise in the unemployment rate and a decrease in real income, may affect individuals’ level of disposable income. This may negatively affect borrowers’ repayment capability, which in turn may decrease their willingness to seek loans and potentially cause an increase in default rates. If actual or expected default rates increase generally in China or the consumer finance market, investors may delay or reduce their investments in loan products in general, including on our marketplace.

Ability to Acquire Borrowers and Investors Effectively

Our ability to increase the loan volume facilitated through our marketplace largely depends on our ability to attract potential borrowers and investors through sales and marketing efforts. Our sales and marketing efforts include those related to borrower and investor acquisition and retention, and general marketing. We intend to continue to dedicate significant resources to our sales and marketing efforts and constantly seek to improve the effectiveness of these efforts, in particular with regard to borrower and investor acquisition.

We utilize online channels and offline channels, such as CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network, for borrower acquisition. We attract a fast growing number of our borrowers through various online channels. In addition, CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network refers borrowers who fall within our target borrower group to our online marketplace. Currently, referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network account for a majority of our borrowers and loan volume. In 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, 54.2%, 48.1% and 51.1% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively, contributing

 

83


Table of Contents

61.9%, 59.8% and 67.8% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace, respectively. As we acquire more borrowers, volume of loans facilitated over our marketplace will continue to increase.

Furthermore, our fee collection schedules from borrowers differ depending on the channels in which the borrowers are acquired. Borrowers acquired from online channels typically only pay a portion of the transaction fee upfront, with the remainder on a monthly basis over the term of the loan while transaction fees are collected upfront from borrowers acquired through offline channels. In addition, the overall average fee charged to borrowers acquired from online channels is generally higher than that charged to borrowers acquired from offline channels. Given revenues are currently recognized at the time when the transaction fees are collected, the combination of loans facilitated by channel during a specific period may have an impact on our revenues and results of operations.

Similarly, we utilize both online channels and CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network for investor acquisition. A fast growing majority of our investors are acquired through online channels. Our investor acquisition efforts are primarily directed towards enhancing our brand name, building investor trust, and word-of-mouth marketing.

Effectiveness of Risk Management

Our ability to effectively segment borrowers into appropriate risk profiles affects our ability to offer attractive pricing to borrowers as well as our ability to offer investors attractive returns, both of which directly relate to the level of user confidence in our marketplace. Our proprietary risk management system is built upon data accumulated through our operations, and is further supported by an extensive database accumulated by CreditEase over the past nine years. Our risk management model utilizes big data capabilities to automatically evaluate a borrower’s credit characteristics. At the same time, we use automated verification and fraud detection tools to ensure the quality of the loans facilitated on our marketplace, and supplement these technology driven tools with manual processes when necessary. Furthermore, our ability to effectively evaluate a borrower’s risk profile and likelihood of default may directly affect our results of operations. For some of the loans facilitated through our marketplace, borrowers pay us a certain portion of the transaction fees upfront upon the completion of our loan facilitation services and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the applicable loan. If a borrower defaults, we may not be able to collect the outstanding transaction fees from the borrower.

Additionally, we started offering risk reserve fund services from January 1, 2015 and revised our risk reserve funding policy in the fourth quarter of 2015. The funding and operation of risk reserve fund may have a material impact on our financial conditions. We intend to set aside sufficient cash in the risk reserve fund to cover the expected payouts, and to continue this practice for the foreseeable future. A significant increase in our expected risk reserve payouts will have a negative impact on our net revenues and net income. Our ability to assess the expected risk reserve payouts depends on our ability to manage and forecast the performance, or the charge-off rates, of the loans facilitated through our marketplace. Since we commenced our online consumer finance business only in March 2012, we have limited information regarding the charge-off rates on the loans generated through online channels. Our estimate of the expected payouts may not accurate, and the actual payouts may be higher than expected. As a result, we may choose to set aside additional cash in our risk reserve fund or recognize additional expenses and liabilities on our financial statements, which could have a material adverse effect on our working capital, financial conditions, results of operations and business operations. We also may not have or generate sufficient cash to replenish our risk reserve fund when necessary.

Product Mix and Pricing

Our ability to maintain profitability largely depends on our ability to continually optimize our product mix and to accurately price the loans facilitated through our platform. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we have developed four different segments in our current pricing grid, which we refer to as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C and Grade D loans in this prospectus. Among the four segments, Grade A represents the

 

84


Table of Contents

lowest risks associated with the borrowers, while Grade D represents the highest risks. Because of the different level of efforts required to facilitate Grade A, B, C and D loans, the transaction fee rate that we charge borrowers varies depending on the pricing grade of the loan facilitated. Among the four pricing grades, Grade A loans have the lowest average transaction fee rate of 5.6%, while Grade D loans have the highest average transaction fee rate of 28.2%. In response to market competition or further developments, we may spend more effort promoting certain loan products, manage the growth in volume of other loan products, introduce new products with new pricing grades or adjust the pricing of our existing products. In addition, as we offer investor protection service in the form of a risk reserve fund to cover potential defaults, the product mix also has a significant impact on our liabilities from risk reserve fund, given the different levels of default risk associated with the different pricing grades. Any material change in the product mix could have a significant impact on our profitability and net income margin.

Ability to Innovate

Our growth to date has depended on, and our future success will depend in part on, successfully meeting borrower and investor demand with new and innovative loan and investment products. We have made and intend to continue to make efforts to develop loan and investment products for borrowers and investors. We constantly evaluate the popularity of our existing product offerings and develop new products and services that cater to the ever evolving needs of our borrowers and investors. Over time we will continue to expand our offerings by introducing new products. From the borrower perspective, we will continue to develop tailored credit products to meet the specific needs of our target borrowers. We plan to expand our ability to implement risk-based pricing by developing more pricing grades to optimize loans based on individual credit criteria, enabling us to facilitate customized loans tailored to individual borrowers’ specific credit profiles. See “Our Business—Product Development.” Failure to continue to successfully develop and offer innovative products and for such products to gain broad customer acceptance could adversely affect our operating results and we may not recoup the costs of launching and marketing new products.

Ability to Compete Effectively

Our business and results of operations depend on our ability to compete effectively in the markets in which we operate. The online consumer finance marketplace industry in China is intensely competitive, and we expect that competition to persist and intensify in the future. In addition to competing with other consumer finance marketplaces, we also compete with other types of financial products and companies that attract borrowers, investors or both. With respect to borrowers, we primarily compete with traditional financial institutions, such as consumer finance business units in commercial banks, credit card issuers and other consumer finance companies. With respect to investors, we primarily compete with other investment products and asset classes, such as equities, bonds, investment trust products, bank savings accounts, real estate and alternative asset classes. If we are unable to compete effectively, the demand for our marketplace could stagnate or substantially decline, we could experience reduced revenues or our marketplace could fail to maintain or achieve more widespread market acceptance, any of which could harm our business and results of operations.

Regulatory Environment in China

The regulatory environment for the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China is developing and evolving, creating both challenges and opportunities that could affect our financial performance. Due to the relatively short history of the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China, the PRC government has not adopted a clear regulatory framework governing our industry, although PRC governmental officials from a number of agencies and departments have recently expressed support for the development of the peer-to-peer lending service industry in China, and expressed the need for strengthening the regulation and supervision of the industry. We will continue to make efforts to ensure that we are compliant with the existing laws, regulations and governmental policies relating to our industry and to comply with new laws and regulations or changes under existing laws and regulations that may arise in the future. While new laws and regulations or changes to existing

 

85


Table of Contents

laws and regulations could make loans more difficult to be accepted by investors or borrowers on terms favorable to us, or at all, these events could also provide new product and market opportunities.

Loan Performance Data

Delinquency Rates

We define the delinquency rates as the unpaid balance of principal and interest for loans that were 15 to 29, 30 to 59 and 60 to 89 calendar days past due as of the end of the period as a percentage of the total unpaid balance of principal and interest for the relevant group of loans for such period. The following tables provide our delinquency rates for all loans and by channel as of December 31, 2013, December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015:

 

     Delinquent for  
     15-29 days     30-59 days     60-89 days  

All Loans

      

December 31, 2013

     0.2     0.4     0.3

December 31, 2014

     0.3     0.2     0.2

June 30, 2015

     0.9     0.7     0.4
      

Online Channels

      

December 31, 2013

     0.1     0.9     0.3

December 31, 2014

     0.4     0.3     0.2

June 30, 2015

     1.2     1.2     0.7
      

Offline Channels

      

December 31, 2013

     0.3     0.2     0.2

December 31, 2014

     0.3     0.2     0.2

June 30, 2015

     0.7     0.6     0.3

M3+ Net Charge Off Rates

We define M3+ Net Charge Off Rate, with respect to loans facilitated during a specified time period, which we refer to as a vintage, as the difference between (i) the total balance of outstanding principal of loans that become over three months delinquent during a specified period and the remainder of the expected interest for the life of such loans, and (ii) the total amount of recovered past due payments of principal and accrued interest in the same period with respect to all loans in the same vintage that have ever become over three months delinquent, divided by (iii) the total initial principal of the loans facilitated in such vintage. The following chart displays the historical lifetime cumulative M3+ Net Charge Off Rates through June 30, 2015, by vintage, for loan products facilitated through our online marketplace for each of the months shown for all loans:

 

LOGO

 

86


Table of Contents

The following charts display the historical lifetime cumulative M3+ Net Charge Off Rates through June 30, 2015, by vintage, for loan products facilitated through our online marketplace for each of the months shown for loans generated from our online and offline channels, respectively:

 

LOGO

 

LOGO

 

87


Table of Contents

We have developed four segments in our current pricing grid, which we refer to as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C and Grade D loans in this prospectus. The introduction of these pricing grades is part of our continued focus on prime borrowers and enables us to further segment this group of borrowers and price the risks associated with them more effectively. See “Business—Risk Management—Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System.” The following table provides the amount of loans generated through our platform during each of the periods presented and the corresponding accumulated M3+ Net Charge-Off and M3+ Net Charge-Off Rate data as of June 30, 2015 for the loans facilitated during each of the periods presented by pricing grade.

 

Period

  Pricing grade     Amount of loans
facilitated during the period
    Accumulated M3+ Net Charge-Off (1)
as of June 30, 2015
    Total Net Charge-Off Rate (2)
as of June 30, 2015
 
          (in RMB thousands)     (in RMB thousands)        

2013

    A        258,322        22,060        8.5
    B        —          —          —     
    C        —          —          —     
    D        —          —          —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    Total        258,322        22,060        8.5
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

2014

    A        1,917,542        54,777        2.9
    B        303,030        5,656        1.9
    C        —          —          —     
    D        7,989        82        1.0
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    Total        2,228,561        60,515        2.7
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Six months ended June 30, 2015

    A        575,304        4,442        0.8
    B        142,174        49        0.0
    C        141,889        —          —     
    D        2,845,378        6,687        0.2
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    Total        3,704,745        11,178        0.3
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) We define M3+ Net Charge-Off, with respect to loans facilitated during a specified time period, which we refer to as a vintage, as the difference between (i) the total balance of outstanding principal of loans that become over three months delinquent during a specified period and the remainder of the expected interest for the life of such loans, and (ii) the total amount of recovered past due payments of principal and accrued interest in the same period with respect to all loans in the same vintage that have ever become over three months delinquent.
(2) We define M3+ Net Charge Off Rate, with respect to loans facilitated during a specified time period, which we refer to as a vintage, as the M3+ Net Charge-Off divided by the total initial principal of the loans facilitated in such vintage.

As we have a limited track record with respect to the Grade D loans, we make reference to the performance of similar loans made by CreditEase. For reference purpose, the following chart displays the historical lifetime cumulative M3+ Net Charge Off Rates through June 30, 2015, by vintage, for certain loans facilitated by CreditEase to borrowers who would primarily fall under our Grade D borrowers for each of the months shown:

 

LOGO

 

88


Table of Contents

The data from CreditEase used to generate the chart above only include prime borrowers from certain preferred industry categories. Because a majority of our current borrowers are prime borrowers from these industry categories, we believe that such data from CreditEase may provide a reasonable analogy to the expected performance of loans facilitated through our platform. However, the demographics of the borrowers included in the chart above do not entirely reflect our current target prime borrowers. In addition, loans facilitated through our platform are priced differently from loans priced through CreditEase, and there may be other differences between the data above and the loans facilitated through our platform. As such, CreditEase’s historical results are not indicative of our future results.

The M3+ Net Charge-Off Rates presented do not represent our liabilities for expected risk reserve payouts, as (i) we only pay off the outstanding principal and accrued interest at the time of default, rather than the outstanding principal and the unpaid interest over the life of the loan that are accounted for in the M3+ Net Charge-Off Rates, and (ii) our collection efforts continue and may succeed in collecting some past due amount after the original term of the default loan has expired, and thus would reduce the risk reserve payouts, which factors are not reflected in the M3+ Net Charge-Off Rates. See “—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Fair Value of Risk Reserve Fund Service.”

Our business and financial performance depend on our ability to manage and forecast net charge-off rates. However, given our limited operating history, we have limited information on historical charge-off rates and limited experience in operating the risk reserve fund, and as a result, we may not be able to conduct an accurate charge-off forecast for our target borrower group. See “Business—Risk Management.”

Key Components of Results of Operations

Net Revenues

Our revenues result from fees charged for providing services, including transaction fees, service fees and others. We charge borrowers transaction fees for services provided through our platform in facilitating loan transactions. We also charge investors a monthly management fee. In addition, we charge other fees contingent on future events, such as penalty fees for late payment, one-time fees for transferring loans over our secondary loan market, and other service fees.

Our revenues are presented net of VAT and related surcharges. Our net revenues are fees earned net of stand-ready liabilities associated with the risk reserves fund, deferred revenues associated with post-origination services, and cash incentives, and are recognized as revenues from loan facilitation services, revenues from post-origination services and other revenues.

The following table sets forth the reconciliation of our net revenues with fees earned for the periods presented:

 

     For the Year Ended
December 31,
     For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands)  

Transaction fees from borrowers*

     3,045         31,317         4,941         123,261   

Service fees from investors

     25         405         47         3,847   

Others

     61         171         56         358   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Fees earned:

     3,131         31,893         5,044         127,466   

Stand-ready liabilities associated with risk reserve fund

     —           —           —           (39,497

Deferred revenue associated with post-origination services

     —           —           —           (3,935

Cash incentives

     —           —           —           (5,027
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net revenues

     3,131         31,893         5,044         79,007   

 

* In 2013 and 2014, we recognized 100% of the transaction fees as revenue, as all the transaction fees in relation to loans facilitated before December 31, 2014 were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An. Starting the first quarter of 2015, revenue is recognized upon completion of the services and collection of cash. See “—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Revenue Recognition—Revenue from Loan Facilitation Services.”

 

89


Table of Contents

The following table sets forth the breakdown of our net revenues, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total net revenues, for the periods presented:

 

    For the Year Ended
December 31,
    For the Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
    2013     2014     2014     2015  
    US$     %     US$     %     US$     %     US$     %  
    (in thousands, except for percentages)  

Net revenues:

               

Loan facilitation services

    3,045        97.2        31,317        98.2        4,941        98.0        77,229        97.7   

Post-origination services

    25        0.8        405        1.3        47        0.9        1,420        1.8   

Others

    61        2.0        171        0.5        56        1.1        358        0.5   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenues

    3,131        100.0        31,893        100.0        5,044        100.0        79,007        100.0   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

We consider the loan facilitation services, risk reserve fund service and post-origination services as one multiple deliverable revenue arrangement and the investors are regarded as the sole customers. All non-contingent fees, including mainly the transaction fees charged to borrowers and the service fees charged to investors, are allocated among these three elements. The total non-contingent fees are allocated first to the stand-ready liabilities associated with risk reserve fund as discussed under “—Liabilities from Risk Reserve Fund Service,” and then allocated between loan facilitation services and post-origination services based on their relative selling prices. See “—Revenue Recognition.”

Transaction fees . Transaction fees are charged for the work we perform through our platform in connecting borrowers with investors and for facilitating loan transactions. The amount of the transaction fee charged is based upon the pricing and amount of the underlying loan.

We have developed four segments in our current pricing grid. We have facilitated loans falling under Grade A since our inception. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we raised the minimum borrower qualification standards for Grade A loans, and started to facilitate Grade B and Grade D loans in the fourth quarter of 2014 and Grade C loans in the first quarter of 2015. The introduction of these new pricing grades is part of our continued focus on prime borrowers and enables us to further segment this group of borrowers and price the risks associated with them more effectively.

The transaction fee rate that we charge borrowers varies depending on the pricing grade of the loan facilitated. For loans within the same pricing grade, the transaction fee rate also varies depending on the term of the loan and repayment schedule. The rate for transaction fees we charge borrowers is a component of the total cost of borrowing for borrowers that is presented as an APR, with the other component being the fixed interest rate to investors for each pricing grade. See “Business—Risk Management—Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System.”

The following table presents the current average transaction fee rate for each of the pricing grades:

 

Pricing Grade

   Average
Transaction
Fee Rate
 

A

     5.6

B

     18.5

C

     26.4

D

     28.2

The transaction fee rate is calculated as the total transaction fee that we charge borrowers for the entire life of the loan, divided by the total amount of principal. The average transaction fee rate for each pricing grade presented in the table above is the simple average of the transaction fee rates for loans falling under the same pricing grade, but with different tenures and repayment schedules.

 

90


Table of Contents

In terms of cash collection, borrowers pay the transaction fees primarily on a monthly basis over the term of the loan for loans originated in 2013 and through the nine months ended September 30, 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2014, we adopted a new fee collection schedule whereby we either collect the entire amount of the transaction fee from borrowers upfront upon completion of our loan origination services, or collect a portion of the transaction fee upfront and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. We made this change to improve our cash flow position prior to our carve-out from CreditEase in anticipation of the fact that we would no longer be able to rely on CreditEase for our corporate cash management and to ensure that we would receive sufficient cash upfront to set aside funds for our new risk reserve fund. The fee collection schedule is impacted by the channels through which borrowers are acquired. Under this new system, we collect all transaction fees upfront from borrowers acquired through referrals by CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network, which is similar to CreditEase’s current business practice and also help to provide the cash flows required for our business operations. Borrowers acquired from online channels typically pay only a portion, up to 42%, of the transaction fee upfront and the remainder on a monthly basis over the term of the loan, with the upfront portion being an amount sufficient to provide cash for the risk reserve fund.

The amount of transaction fees earned is affected by the total amount of loans facilitated during the period. The following table presents the total amount of loans facilitated and the breakdown of loans facilitated into those generated from online channels and those generated from offline channels, during the periods indicated:

 

    For the Year Ended
December 31,
    For the Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
    2013     2014     2014     2015  
    RMB     RMB     US$     RMB     RMB     US$  
    (in thousands)  

Amount of loans facilitated:

           

Loans generated from online channels

    98,512        896,003        144,409        121,833        1,189,978        191,932   

Loans generated from offline channels

    159,810        1,332,559        214,770        299,697        2,514,767        405,608   

Total amount of loans facilitated

    258,322        2,228,562        359,179        421,530        3,704,745        597,540   

We expect that transaction fees will continue to increase in the foreseeable future, as our business further grows and we develop and introduce new credit products and services on our marketplace.

Service fees . Service fees mainly include the monthly management fee charged to investors for using the automated investing tool and the self-directed investing tool. The monthly management fee for using the automated investing tool is the difference between the interest rates on the underlying loans which range between 10.0% and 12.5%, and the targeted returns offered to investors which ranges from 6.6% to 10.2%. The monthly management fee for using the self-directed investing tool is equal to 10% of the interest that investors receive, which ranges from 10.0% to 12.5%. The service fees charged to investors for the automated investing tool or self-directed investing tool are collected on a monthly basis through the investment period. We expect that service fees will increase in the foreseeable future, as our business further grows and we develop and introduce new services and investing tools to investors.

Others . We also charge other fees contingent on future events, such as penalty fee for loan prepayment or late payment, one-time fees for transferring loans over our secondary loan market and other service fees. Penalty fee for late payment is charged to borrowers as a certain percentage of the past due amount.

 

91


Table of Contents

Operating Costs and Expenses

Our operating costs and expenses consist of sales and marketing expenses, origination and servicing expenses and general and administrative expenses. The following table sets forth our operating costs and expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total operating costs and expenses, for the periods indicated.

 

     For the Year Ended
December 31,
     For the Six Months Ended June 30,  
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     US$      %      US$      %      US$      %      US$      %  
     (in thousands, except for percentages)  

Operating costs and expenses:

                       

Sales and marketing

     5,220         45.5         22,354         61.4         9,095         64.6         40,890         74.0   

Origination and servicing

     1,255         10.9         3,541         9.7         1,350         9.6         5,081         9.2   

General and administrative

     4,998         43.6         10,490         28.9         3,626         25.8         9,276         16.8   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

     11,473         100.0         36,385         100.0         14,071         100.0         55,247         100.0   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Sales and marketing expenses . Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of variable marketing expenses, including those related to borrower and investor acquisition and retention and general brand and awareness building. Our user acquisition expenses include charges by third-party online channels for online marketing services such as search engine marketing and search engine optimization, and referral fees charged by CreditEase relating to offline borrower and investor acquisition through CreditEase.

The following table presents the breakdown of sales and marketing expenses into those associated with user acquisition through online and offline channels and general brand promotion, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total sales and marketing expenses, during the periods indicated:

 

     For the Year Ended
December 31,
     For the Six Months Ended June 30,  
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     US$      %      US$      %      US$      %      US$      %  
     (in thousands, except for percentages)  

Sales and marketing expenses:

                       

User acquisition through online channels

     3,891         74.5         10,025         44.8         3,779         41.6         11,306         27.6   

User acquisition through offline channels (1)

     1,329         25.5         12,329         55.2         5,316         58.4         28,832         70.5   

General brand promotion

     —           —           —           —           —           —           752         1.9   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total sales and marketing expenses

     5,220         100.0         22,354         100.0         9,095         100.0         40,890         100.0   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Sales and marketing expenses associated with user acquisition through offline channels consist solely of referral fees paid to CreditEase for borrower and investor referrals.

We expect that our overall sales and marketing expenses will continue to increase, and our brand promotion expenses will also increase, in absolute amount in the foreseeable future as our business further grows. In particular, pursuant to our contractual agreement with CreditEase, the fee rate for the offline borrower acquisition services which CreditEase provides to us will increase from the current 5% to 6% of the loans facilitated to borrowers referred by CreditEase for the three years starting 2016. After that, the fee rate may be adjusted on a yearly basis based on commercial negotiation, and after taking into consideration the costs to CreditEase for providing such services and with reference to market rates.

Origination and servicing expenses . Origination and servicing expenses consist primarily of variable expenses and vendor costs, including costs related to credit assessment, collection, customer support and payment processing services associated with facilitating and servicing loans. The origination and servicing expenses in 2013 include a one-time fee of US$0.3 million we paid to Tian Da Xin An, a guarantee company

 

92


Table of Contents

affiliated with CreditEase, for its assumption of the outstanding loan balances under our previous risk reserve fund model, when we switched from the previous risk reserve fund model to the guarantee model in August 2013. We expect our origination and servicing expenses to increase in absolute amount in the foreseeable future as our business grows.

General and administrative expenses . General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and benefits related to technology, accounting and finance, business development, legal, human resources and other personnel. We expect our general and administrative expenses to continue to increase in absolute amount in the foreseeable future, as our business further grows and as we become a public company after the completion of this offering.

Risk Reserve Fund

Prior to August 2013, we provided investor protection services in the form of a risk reserve fund, under which we paid loan principal and accrued interest to investors in the event that their loans defaulted. For this service, we charged investors a monthly service fee at a rate of 10% of the monthly interest on loans.

From August 2013 to December 2014, we replaced the service discussed above with a guarantee arrangement to provide investors with the option of purchasing the assurance that their principal and interest would be repaid in the event that the loans in which they invested defaulted. Under this arrangement Tian Da Xin An, a guarantee company, was responsible for repaying the principal and accrued interest of the defaulted loan. For this guarantee service Tian Da Xin An charged investors at a rate of 10% of the monthly interest on their loans as service fee. In practice, we reimbursed the loan principal and accrued interest to the investor in the event of default, and then collected that amount from the guarantee company. We collected the guarantee service fee charged to investors by the guarantee company on its behalf, and then remitted this amount to the guarantee company. We ceased this guarantee arrangement in December 2014. The outstanding loan balance guaranteed under the previous guarantee arrangement will continue to be covered under the guarantee arrangement until such loans reach maturity.

Starting in January 2015, we began offering our new risk reserve fund service. For a very brief period during the first quarter of 2015, we charged investors a risk reserve management fee at a rate of 10% of the monthly interest rate paid by borrowers for providing this risk reserve fund service on a trial basis, and recognized the fee as revenue. Currently, we integrate such fee with other service fees we charge investors and no longer charge investors a separate fee for providing risk reserve fund services. We currently do not provide investors with the ability to opt out of our risk reserve fund service and we have made participation in the risk reserve fund service compulsory for all new investors utilizing our platform. As of June 30, 2015, the total contract amount of loans covered by the risk reserve fund was RMB3,704.7 million (US$597.5 million). See “Business—Risk Management—Investor Protection.”

At the inception of each loan, we recognize a risk reserve liability at the fair value of the risk reserve fund service, which is the present value of the expected risk reserve payouts incorporating a service markup margin. Our net revenues for a given period will be fees earned net of amount allocated to the risk reserve liability and other items. When we make actual payouts from the risk reserve fund in the event of default of loans, such payouts are recorded as a reduction of the risk reserve liability. When our contingent liability exceeds our stand-ready liability, the difference is recorded as additional risk reserve liability and expensed in our financial statements. As a result, a significant increase in our expected risk reserve payouts may have a negative impact on our net income.

 

93


Table of Contents

Taxation

Cayman Islands

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax. The Cayman Islands does not impose a withholding tax on payments of dividends to shareholders.

Hong Kong

Our subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong is subject to Hong Kong profit tax at a rate of 16.5%. No Hong Kong profit tax has been levied as we did not have assessable profit that was earned in or derived from the Hong Kong subsidiary during the periods presented. Hong Kong does not impose a withholding tax on dividends.

China

Generally, our subsidiary and consolidated variable interest entity in China are subject to enterprise income tax on their taxable income in China at a rate of 25%. The enterprise income tax is calculated based on the entity’s global income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards.

We are subject to VAT at a rate of 6% on the services we provide to borrowers and investors, less any deductible VAT we have already paid or borne. We are also subject to surcharges on VAT payments in accordance with PRC law. During the periods presented, we were not subject to business tax on the services we provide.

Dividends paid by our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China to our intermediary holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to a withholding tax rate of 10%, unless the relevant Hong Kong entity satisfies all the requirements under the Arrangement between the PRC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital and receives approval from the relevant tax authority. If our Hong Kong subsidiary satisfies all the requirements under the tax arrangement and receives approval from the relevant tax authority, then the dividends paid to the Hong Kong subsidiary would be subject to withholding tax at the standard rate of 5%. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.”

If our holding company in the Cayman Islands or any of our subsidiaries outside of China were deemed to be a “resident enterprise” under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on its worldwide income at a rate of 25%. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.”

Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates

An accounting policy is considered critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time such estimate is made, and if different accounting estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements.

We prepare our financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions. We continually evaluate these estimates and assumptions based on the most recently available information, our own historical experiences and various other assumptions that we believe to be

 

94


Table of Contents

reasonable under the circumstances. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from our expectations as a result of changes in our estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application and require us to make significant accounting estimates.

The following descriptions of critical accounting policies, judgments and estimates should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and other disclosures included in this prospectus. When reviewing our financial statements, you should consider (i) our selection of critical accounting policies, (ii) the judgments and other uncertainties affecting the application of such policies and (iii) the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions.

Basis of Presentation, Combination and Consolidation

Yirendai Ltd. was founded by our parent company, CreditEase, in September 2014. Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase as a business unit under CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, and all of our online consumer finance marketplace business is now carried out by our own subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity.

Our consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows that were directly attributable to our business for all periods presented. Since we and the subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase that operated our online marketplace business are under common control of CreditEase, the assets and liabilities have been stated at historical carrying amounts. In addition, our consolidated financial statements have been prepared as if the current corporate structure had been in existence throughout the periods presented.

Only those assets and liabilities that were specifically identifiable to our business were included in our consolidated balance sheets. For liabilities related to us for which CreditEase advanced the funding, such amounts were recorded as amounts due to CreditEase. Our consolidated statements of operations consist of all costs and expenses related to us, including costs and expenses related to us that were allocated from CreditEase. Allocations from CreditEase, including amounts allocated to sales and marketing expenses, origination and servicing expenses, and general and administrative expenses, were made using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us. Income tax liability was calculated as if we had filed separate tax returns for all the periods presented.

We conduct our online consumer finance marketplace business in China through our PRC subsidiary, Heng Ye, and our consolidated variable interest entity, Heng Cheng. Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in value-added telecommunications services, and internet content provision services in particular, we conduct our online operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered into between Heng Ye and Heng Cheng and its shareholders. Heng Cheng operates our website www.yirendai.com and has an ICP license as an internet information provider. Most of our revenues, costs and expenses directly related to loan facilitation and servicing in China are generated through Heng Cheng. As a result of the contractual arrangements, we have the ability to direct the activities of Heng Cheng that most significantly impact its economic performance, and to obtain a majority of the residual returns of Heng Cheng. We are considered the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng, and accordingly the entity is our variable interest entity under U.S. GAAP and we consolidate its results in our consolidated financial statements. Any changes in PRC laws and regulations that affect our ability to control Heng Cheng might preclude us from consolidating the entity in the future.

Our consolidated financial statements may not be reflective of our results of operations, financial position and cash flows had we been operating as a stand-alone company during those periods prior to the completion of our carve-out in the first quarter of 2015. Our historical results for any period presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. Although we believe that the assumptions

 

95


Table of Contents

underlying our consolidated financial statements and the allocations made to us are reasonable, our basis of presentation and allocation methodologies required significant assumptions, estimates and judgments. Using a different set of assumptions, estimates and judgments would have materially impacted our financial position and results of operations.

Revenue Recognition

We provide services by connecting investors with individual borrowers and facilitating loan transactions through our online consumer finance marketplace. The three major deliverables provided are loan facilitation services, risk reserve fund service and post-origination services.

We charge borrowers transaction fees for facilitating loan transactions, and we charge investors monthly management fees for using the automated investing tool and the self-directed investing tool. These fees are collectively referred to as non-contingent fees. We also receive fees contingent on future events, such as a penalty fee for loan prepayment or late payment, a fee for transferring loans over the secondary loan market and other service fees.

Multiple element revenue recognition

We consider the loan facilitation services, the risk reserve fund service and post-origination services as a multiple deliverable revenue arrangement and the investors are regarded as the sole customers. We have concluded that although we do not sell those services independently, all three deliverables have stand-alone value as others do sell them independently and have value to the customers independently. All non-contingent fees are allocated among these three deliverables.

We allocate fees to be received in accordance with the guidance in ASC 605-25. We first determine the amount equal to the fair value of the risk reserve fund service, and deduct that from the total non-contingent fees. Then the remaining non-contingent fees are allocated to the loan facilitation services and post-origination services using their relative estimated selling prices. We do not have vendor specific objective evidence, or VSOE, of selling price for the loan facilitation services and post-origination services because we do not provide loan facilitation services or post-origination services separately.

For cash processing services, collection services and SMS services, all of which are part of the post-origination services, we use third-party evidence of selling price, or TPE, which is the price charged when sold separately by its service providers, as the basis of revenue allocation.

Although other vendors may sell these services separately, TPE of selling price of the loan facilitation services and automated investing tool service (part of post-origination services) do not exist as public information is not available regarding the amount of fees our competitors may charge for those services. As a result, we generally use our best estimate of selling prices of loan facilitation services and automated investing tool service as the basis of revenue allocation. In estimating the selling price for the loan facilitation services and automated investing tools service, we consider the cost incurred to deliver such services, profit margin for similar arrangements, customer demand, effect of competition on our services, and other market factors.

For each type of services, we recognize revenues when the following four revenue recognition criteria are met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, (iii) the selling price is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured.

Collectability of fees

Historically, we collected the transaction fee primarily on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. Since the fourth quarter of 2014, we have adopted a new fee collection schedule whereby we either collect the entire amount upfront, or collect a portion of the transaction fee upfront and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the loan.

 

96


Table of Contents

The service fees charged to investors for automated investing tool or self-directed investing tool are collected on a monthly basis through the loan period.

All the transaction fees and service fees charged before December 31, 2014 were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An, a guarantee company.

Starting from January 2015, the collection of fees is no longer guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An. We evaluated the factors that are relevant to the uncertainty of collectability, including (i) credit risk of the portfolio, (ii) prepayment risk, (iii) the change in risk profile resulting from launching new products, and (iv) macroeconomic cycle, and concluded that the collectability could not be reasonably assured.

Revenue from loan facilitation services

Prior to the end of 2014, the four criteria for revenue recognition mentioned above were met upon completion of the loan facilitation services. We recognized 100% of the transaction fees as revenue and recorded no allowance for the uncollectible accounts, as all the transaction fees in relation to loans facilitated before December 31, 2014 were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An. Starting from the first quarter of 2015, revenues is recognized upon completion of the services. Cash received as upfront fees is allocated first to the stand-ready liabilities associated with risk reserve fund and then based on the relative selling prices of loan facilitation services and post-origination services.

Revenue from post-origination services

The fees collected upfront allocated to post-origination services are deferred and recognized over the period of the loan on a straight-line basis.

Other revenues

Other revenues include penalty fee for loan pre-payment or late payment, one-time fees for transferring loans over the secondary loan market and other service fees of borrower acquisition and referral fee. The penalty fee, which is the fee paid to the investors and assigned to us by the investors, will be received as a certain percentage of past due amounts in case of late payment or a certain percentage of interest over the prepaid principal loan amount in case of prepayment.

Cash incentives

To expand market presence, we provide cash incentives to investors whose one-time investment exceeds certain amount at the time of their investment. The cash incentives provided are accounted for as reduction of revenue in accordance with ASC subtopic 605-50.

Liabilities from Risk Reserve Fund Service

Starting from January 1, 2015, we launched our new risk reserve fund. Under this risk reserve fund service, if a loan originated on or after January 1, 2015 defaults, we cover the principal and accrued interest repayment of the defaulted loan using cash set aside in our risk reserve fund up to the balance of the risk reserve fund on a portfolio basis. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, we set aside in the risk reserve fund an amount equal to 6% of the loans facilitated through our marketplace during the period. We reserve the right to revise this percentage upwards or downwards from time to time as a result of our continuing evaluation of factors such as market dynamics as well as of our product lines, profitability and cash position and by reference to our actual and expected payouts on the loan portfolio. While this amount is not sufficient to cover all expected payouts for loans facilitated during the nine months ended September 30, 2015, it was sufficient to repay the investors with loans that became delinquent during this period.

At the inception of each loan, we recognize a stand-ready liability at the fair value of the risk reserve fund service in accordance with ASC 460-10-55-23(b). See “—Fair Value of Risk Reserve Fund Service.”

 

97


Table of Contents

According to ASC 460-10-35-1, the stand-ready liability initially recognized would typically be reduced, by a credit to earnings, as we are released from risk of payout under the risk reserve fund either through expiry or performance. We also track our stand-ready liability on a loan-by-loan basis to monitor the expiration of each individual loan and recognize the revenue on expiration. The recognition of a contingent liability results in the recognition of expenses as debit to earnings. To determine our contingent liability, we also perform ongoing, monthly assessments of the probable estimated losses based on historical charge-off rates of different loan grades and qualitative factors, such as borrower profile and behavior, current economic conditions, and other factors affecting credit quality. On a portfolio basis, if the contingent liability exceeds the stand-ready liability, we will recognize the amount that is in excess of the risk reserve fund liability as expense. When we make payouts from the risk reserve fund upon occasions of default, such payouts are recorded as a reduction of the stand-ready liability. We present the revenues from releasing of stand-ready liability and expenses from recognition of contingent liability related to the risk reserve fund service on a net basis, which will be referred to as “net gain/(loss) related to risk reserve fund” in the income statement.

During the six months ended June 30, 2015, we made provisions for the risk reserve fund in an amount of US$41.8 million, which increases the stand-ready liability, and made payments in a total amount of US$2.2 million out of the risk reserve fund, which reduces the stand-ready liability. As of June 30, 2015, we had a stand-ready liability of US$39.7 million associated with our risk reserve fund.

Fair Value of Risk Reserve Fund Service

The fair value of the risk reserve fund service is estimated by applying a discounted cash flow model to our expected payouts from the risk reserve fund, and also by incorporating a service markup margin. We estimate our expected risk reserve payouts based on historical charge-offs and the payout ratio we commit to in our agreements with investors, collection rates as well as the balance of the risk reserve fund. The expected payouts are not equal to the expected net charge-offs, as (i) we only pay off the outstanding principal and accrued interest at the time of default, instead of the outstanding principal and the unpaid interest over the life of the loan that are accounted for in the net charge-offs, and (ii) our collection efforts continue and may succeed in collecting some past due amount after the original term of the default loan has expired, and thus reduce the risk reserve payouts, which factor is not reflected in the net charge-offs.

Expected charge-off rate . We estimated the future overall charge-off rates for the loans facilitated using the weighted average of the expected charge-off rates of Grade A, B, C, and D loans. For each loan grade, the expected charge-off rate is estimated using the historical performance data of our products and similar products of CreditEase. For the historical charge-off rates of our Grade A loans, and the historical charge-off rates for the CreditEase loans that are analogous to our Grade D loans, please see charts under “—Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Effectiveness of Risk Management.”

Expected collection rate . Expected collection rate of defaulted loans is based on the average historical collection rate of our products and similar products of CreditEase.

Discount rate . The discount rates for the projected cash flows of the risk reserve payouts are our estimates of the rates of equity return. As we did not conduct any debt or equity financing historically, the discount rate used is estimated based on public information of cost of equity of comparable companies in the U.S., adjusted upward as we operate in the PRC. Key assumptions include that no significant changes in the near term in macroeconomic factors that will materially impact the charge-off rates of a particular loan grade, such as the unemployment rate and salary levels in the PRC.

Service markup margin . ASC 460 establishes the notion of a non-contingent, unconditional obligation in a financial guarantee, namely, the stand-ready liability to perform over the term of the guarantee, and states that this should be recognized at fair value at the inception of the guarantee. When a guarantee is issued in a stand-alone, arm’s-length transaction with an unrelated party, the fair value of the guarantee (and thus the amount to be recognized as the stand-ready liability) is the premium received by the guarantor. By incorporating a margin, we have effectively estimated the price that is to be charged if we were to sell this risk reserve fund service on a stand-alone basis.

 

98


Table of Contents

Given the uniqueness of our risk reserve fund operational model and the risk profile of the borrowers on our platform, it is difficult to find the relevant margin data of comparable service providers offering the same guarantee services. In order to arrive at the service markup margin, we looked at several comparable business models, and determined the service markup margin for our stand-ready liability.

Income Taxes

In preparing our consolidated financial statements, we must estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. We estimate our actual tax exposure and assess temporary differences resulting from different treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which we include in our consolidated balance sheet. We must then assess the likelihood that we will recover our deferred tax assets from future taxable income. If we believe that recovery is not likely, we must establish a valuation allowance. To the extent we establish a valuation allowance or increase this allowance, we must include an expense within the tax provision in our consolidated statement of operations.

Management must exercise significant judgment to determine our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. We base the valuation allowance on our estimates of taxable income in each jurisdiction in which we operate and the period over which our deferred tax assets will be recoverable. If actual results differ from these estimates or we adjust these estimates in future periods, we may need to establish an additional valuation allowance, which could materially impact our financial position and results of operations.

U.S. GAAP requires that an entity recognize the impact of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax return at the largest amount that is more likely than not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant tax authority. If we ultimately determine that payment of these liabilities will be unnecessary, we will reverse the liability and recognize a tax benefit during that period. Conversely, we record additional tax charges in a period in which we determine that a recorded tax liability is less than the expected ultimate assessment. We did not recognize any significant unrecognized tax benefits during the periods presented in this prospectus.

The tax law is unclear as to whether the provision for the risk reserve fund payouts and the actual payouts from the risk reserve fund are tax deductible. We treat this as uncertain tax position, and we take a conservative approach treating these expenses or payouts as non tax deductible items.

Uncertainties exist with respect to the application of the New EIT Law to our operations, specifically with respect to our tax residency status. The New EIT Law specifies that legal entities organized outside of the PRC will be considered residents for PRC income tax purposes if their “de facto management bodies” are located within the PRC. The New EIT Law’s implementation rules define the term “de facto management bodies” as “establishments that carry out substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, accounting, properties, etc. of an enterprise.”

Because of the uncertainties resulted from limited PRC tax guidance on the issue, it is uncertain whether our legal entities organized outside of the PRC constitute residents under the New EIT Law. If one or more of our legal entities organized outside of the PRC were characterized as PRC tax residents, the impact would adversely affect our results of operations. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China.”

Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the two years ended December 31, 2014, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified two material weaknesses, and other control deficiencies including significant deficiencies as of December 31, 2014. As defined in standards established by the PCAOB, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

One material weakness that has been identified related to our lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to properly

 

99


Table of Contents

address complex U.S. GAAP accounting issues and to prepare and review our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures to fulfill U.S. GAAP and SEC financial reporting requirements. The other material weakness that has been identified related to our lack of comprehensive accounting policies and procedures manual in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Either of these material weaknesses, if not timely remedied, may lead to significant misstatements in our consolidated financial statements in the future.

We have implemented and plan to implement a number of measures to address the material weaknesses that have been identified. We have hired additional qualified financial and accounting staff with extensive U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting experience, including our chief financial officer and financial controller. We have allocated additional resources to improve financial oversight function, and to prepare and review the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. Furthermore, we will continue to hire additional competent accounting staff with appropriate knowledge and experience of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements, and will provide sufficient and additional appropriate training to our accounting and financial reporting personnel, especially training related to U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. We will also develop and implement a full set of U.S. GAAP accounting policies and financial reporting procedures as well as related internal control policies, including implementing a comprehensive accounting manual to guide day-to-day accounting operations and reporting work. We expect to complete the measures discussed above as soon as practicable and will continue to implement measures to remediate our internal control deficiencies to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. We expect that we will incur significant costs in the implementation of such measures. However, we cannot assure you that all these measures will be sufficient to remediate our material weaknesses in time, or at all. See “Risk factors—Risks Related to Our Business—In connection with the audits of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2014, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.”

As a company with less than US$1.0 billion in revenue 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, in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. 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.

 

100


Table of Contents

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our net revenues. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. We only began our business operations in March 2012, and 2013 was the first year in which we generated revenues for the entire fiscal year. Due to our limited operating history and because we only completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015, period-to-period comparisons discussed below may not be meaningful and are not indicative of our future trends. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We have a limited operating history in a new and evolving market, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.”

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,     For the Six Months Ended June 30,  
     2013     2014     2014     2015  
     US$     %     US$     %     US$     %     US$     %  
     (in thousands, except for percentages)  

Net revenues*

     3,131        100.0        31,893        100.0        5,044        100.0        79,007        100.0   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

                

Sales and marketing

     5,220        166.7        22,354        70.1        9,095        180.3        40,890        51.8   

Origination and servicing

     1,255        40.1        3,541        11.1        1,350        26.8        5,081        6.4   

General and administrative

     4,998        159.6        10,490        32.9        3,626        71.9        9,276        11.7   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

     (11,473     (366.4     (36,385     (114.1     (14,071     (279.0     (55,247     (69.9
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest income

     —          —          —          —          —          —          40        0.0   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

     (8,342     (266.4     (4,492     (14.1     (9,027     (179.0     23,800        30.1   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax expense

     —          —          (5     0.0        —          —          (6,496     (8.2
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss)/income

     (8,342     (266.4     (4,497     (14.1     (9,027     (179.0     17,304        21.9   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

* Net revenues are broken down as follows:

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,      For the Six Months Ended June 30,  
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     US$      %      US$      %      US$      %      US$      %  
     (in thousands, except for percentages)  

Loan facilitation services

     3,045         97.2         31,317         98.2         4,941         98.0         77,229         97.7   

Post-origination services

     25         0.8         405         1.3         47         0.9         1,420         1.8   

Others

     61         2.0         171         0.5         56         1.1         358         0.5   

Six Months Ended June 30, 2015 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2014

Net revenues . Our net revenues increased from US$5.0 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$79.0 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, primarily due to the substantial increase in the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace, which increased from approximately RMB421.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to RMB3,704.7 million (US$597.5 million) in the six months ended June 30, 2015. The increase in the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace was driven by a substantial increase in the number of borrowers from 6,329 in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to 62,131 in the six months ended June 30, 2015. The increase in net revenues was also due to the launch of new loan products with higher transaction fee rates in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015, and the monthly management fee that we started charging investors using our automated investing tool in the second quarter of 2014.

 

101


Table of Contents

Operating costs and expenses . Our total operating costs and expenses increased from US$14.1 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$55.2 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, primarily attributable to the increase in sales and marketing expenses.

 

    Sales and marketing expenses . Our sales and marketing expenses increased from US$9.1 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$40.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015. The increase was primarily due to the increase in expenses associated with our continued user acquisition efforts. Our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of our total revenues decreased from 180.3% to 51.8% during the same period, primarily due to the improved effectiveness of our user acquisition efforts and in particular, user acquisition through online channels.

 

    Origination and servicing expenses . Our origination and servicing expenses increased from US$1.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$5.1 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, in line with the substantial increase in the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace. Our origination and servicing expenses as a percentage of our total revenues decreased from 26.8% to 6.4% during the same period, primarily attributable to our improved operational efficiency.

 

    General and administrative expenses . Our general and administrative expenses increased by 158.3% from US$3.6 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$9.3 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, primarily due to the increase in salaries and benefits paid to our general and administrative personnel as well as the increase in professional service fees we paid to third-party service providers in preparation for this offering. Our general and administrative expenses as a percentage of our total revenues decreased from 71.9% to 11.7% during the same period, primarily because our greater operational efficiency enabled us to achieve rapid revenue growth with relatively slower growth in general and administrative expenses.

Income tax expense . Our income tax expense was US$6.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, as compared to nil in the six months ended June 30, 2014, which mainly results from the net income before provision for income taxes we generated in the six months ended June 30, of 2015, as compared to a loss before provision for income taxes in the six months ended June 30, of 2014.

Net income/(loss) . As a result of the foregoing, we recorded net income of US$17.3 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, as compared to a net loss of US$9.0 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Year Ended December 31, 2014 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2013

Net revenues . Our net revenues increased from US$3.1 million in 2013 to US$31.9 million in 2014, primarily due to the substantial increase in the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace, which increased from approximately RMB258.3 million in 2013 to RMB2,228.6 million in 2014. The increase in the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace was due to a substantial increase in the number of borrowers from 3,549 in 2013 to 39,344 in 2014. To a lesser extent, the increase in net revenues was also due to (i) our facilitation of more long-term loans in 2014 compared to 2013, with the rate of transaction fee charged typically being higher for long-term loans, (ii) our launch of new loan products with higher transaction fee rates in the fourth quarter of 2014, and (iii) the monthly management fee that we started charging investors using our automated investing tool in the second quarter of 2014.

Operating costs and expenses . Our total operating costs and expenses increased from US$11.5 million in 2013 to US$36.4 million in 2014, primarily attributable to the increase in sales and marketing expenses, and to a lesser extent, to the increase in general and administrative expenses.

 

    Sales and marketing expenses . Our sales and marketing expenses increased from US$5.2 million in 2013 to US$22.4 million in 2014. The increase was primarily due to the increase in expenses associated with our continued user acquisition efforts. Our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of our total revenues decreased from 166.7% to 70.1% during the same period, primarily due to the improved effectiveness of our user acquisition efforts and in particular, user acquisition through online channels.

 

102


Table of Contents
    Origination and servicing expenses . Our origination and servicing expenses increased from US$1.3 million in 2013 to US$3.5 million in 2014, in line with the substantial increase in the volume of loans facilitated through our marketplace. Our origination and servicing expenses as a percentage of our total revenues decreased from 40.1% to 11.1% during the same period, primarily attributable to our improved operational efficiency.

 

    General and administrative expenses . Our general and administrative expenses increased by 110.0% from US$5.0 million in 2013 to US$10.5 million in 2014, primarily due to the increase in salaries and benefits paid to our general and administrative personnel. Our general and administrative expenses as a percentage of our total revenues decreased from 159.6% to 32.9% during the same period, primarily because our greater operational efficiency enabled us to achieve rapid revenue growth with relatively slower growth in general and administrative expenses.

Net loss. As a result of the foregoing, we recorded a net loss of US$4.5 million in 2014, a decrease of 46.1% from the net loss of US$8.3 million in 2013.

Selected Quarterly Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our historical unaudited consolidated selected quarterly results of operations for the periods indicated.

 

    For the Three Months Ended  
    March 31,
2013
    June 30,
2013
    September 30,
2013
    December 31,
2013
    March 31,
2014
    June 30,
2014
    September 30,
2014
    December 31,
2014
    March 31,
2015
    June 30,
2015
 
    (in US$ thousands)  

Net revenues:

                   

Loan facilitation services

    15        170        967        1,893        2,030        2,911        7,965        18,411        29,103        48,126   

Post-origination services

    2        2        6        15        23        24        70        288        477        943   

Others

    13        8        29        11        26        30        43        72        112        246   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenues

    30        180        1,002        1,919        2,079        2,965        8,078        18,771        29,692        49,315   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

                   

Sales and marketing

    334        671        1,720        2,495        3,358        5,737        6,640        6,619        16,518        24,372   

Origination and servicing

    200        209        527        319        662        688        877        1,314        2,044       
3,037
  

General and administrative

    1,236        982        1,297        1,483        1,766        1,860        2,448        4,416        5,214        4,062   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

    (1,770     (1,862     (3,544     (4,297     (5,786     (8,285     (9,965     (12,349     (23,776     (31,471
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest income

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          —          11        29   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

    (1,740     (1,682     (2,542     (2,378     (3,707     (5,320     (1,887     6,422        5,927        17,873   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income taxes expenses

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          (5     (1,507     (4,989
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss)/income

    (1,740     (1,682     (2,542     (2,378     (3,707     (5,320     (1,887     6,417        4,420        12,884   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

103


Table of Contents

The following table sets forth our historical unaudited consolidated selected quarterly results of operations for the periods indicated, as a percentage of total net revenues.

 

    For the Three Months Ended  
    March 31,
2013
    June 30,
2013
    September 30,
2013
    December 31,
2013
    March 31,
2014
    June 30,
2014
    September 30,
2014
    December 31,
2014
    March 31,
2015
    June 30,
2015
 
    (as percentage of total net revenues)  

Net revenues:

                   

Loan facilitation services

    50.0        94.5        96.5       
98.6
  
    97.6        98.2        98.6        98.1        98.0        97.6   

Post-origination services

    6.7        1.1        0.6        0.8        1.1        0.8        0.9        1.5        1.6        1.9   

Others

    43.3        4.4        2.9        0.6        1.3        1.0        0.5        0.4        0.4        0.5   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenues

    100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0        100.0   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

                   

Sales and marketing

    1,113.3        372.8        171.7        130.0        161.5        193.5        82.2        35.3        55.6        49.5   

Origination and servicing

    666.7        116.1        52.6        16.6        31.9        23.2        10.9        7.0        6.9        6.2   

General and administrative

    4,120.0        545.5        129.4        77.3        84.9        62.7        30.3        23.5        17.5        8.2   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

    5,900.0        1,034.4        353.7        223.9        278.3        279.4        123.4        65.8        80.0        63.9   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest income

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          —          0.0        0.1   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

    (5,800.0     (934.4     (253.7     (123.9     (178.3     (179.4     (23.4     34.2        20.0        36.2   

Income taxes expenses

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          0.0        5.1        10.1   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss)/income

    (5,800.0     (934.4     (253.7     (123.9     (178.3     (179.4     (23.4     34.2        14.9        26.1   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures (1) :

                   

Contribution

    (504     (700     (1,245     (895     (1,941     (3,460     561        10,838        11,130        21,906   

Contribution margin

    (1,680.0 )%      (388.9 )%      (124.3 )%      (46.6 )%      (93.4 )%      (116.7 )%      6.9     57.7     37.5     44.4

 

(1) See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

The following table sets forth the amount of loans facilitated by us for each of the quarters between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2015.

 

    For the Three Months Ended  
    March 31,
2013
    June 30,
2013
    September 30,
2013
    December 31,
2013
    March 31,
2014
    June 30,
2014
    September 30,
2014
    December 31,
2014
    March 31,
2015
    June 30,
2015
 
    (in RMB thousands)  

Amount of loans facilitated

    2,635        15,210        82,419        158,058        169,728        251,802        685,761        1,121,270        1,620,770        2,083,975   

Loans generated from online channels

    2,635        11,360        29,089        55,428        44,611        77,222        271,693        502,547        611,814        578,164   

Loans generated from offline channels

    —          3,850        53,330        102,630        125,117        174,580        414,068        618,723        1,008,956        1,505,811   

 

    As of  
    March 31,
2013
    June 30,
2013
    September 30,
2013
    December 31,
2013
    March 31,
2014
    June 30,
2014
    September 30,
2014
    December 31,
2014
    March 31,
2015
    June 30,
2015
 
    (in RMB thousands)  

Outstanding loan principal

    3,598        16,393        94,377        237,796        375,904        578,216        1,178,110        2,132,447        3,438,581        5,038,881   

 

104


Table of Contents

We experience seasonality in our business, reflecting seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional personal consumption patterns, as our individual borrowers typically use their borrowing proceeds to finance their personal consumption needs. For example, we generally experience lower transaction value on our online consumer finance marketplace during national holidays in China, particularly during the Chinese New Year holiday season in the first quarter of each year. Overall, the historical seasonality of our business has been mild due to our rapid growth but may increase further in the future. Due to our limited operating history, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not apply to, or be indicative of, our future operating results.

We have facilitated loans falling under Grade A on our marketplace since our inception. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we started to facilitate Grade B and Grade D loans in the fourth quarter of 2014, and Grade C loans in the first quarter of 2015. The APRs that correspond to the four segments in our current pricing grid range from 16.9% to 39.5%, with Grade A and Grade D loans having the lower end and higher end of the range respectively. See “Business—Risk Management—Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System.” In the fourth quarter of 2014, loans totaling RMB813.3 million, RMB303.1 million and RMB4.9 million were made to borrowers falling within the Grade A, B and D segments, respectively. In the first quarter of 2015, loans totaling RMB392.7 million, RMB33.6 million, RMB22.4 million and RMB1,172.1 million were made to borrowers falling within the Grade A, B, C and D segments, respectively. In the second quarter of 2015, loans totaling RMB182.6 million (US$29.5 million), RMB108.6 million (US$17.5 million), RMB119.5 million (US$19.3 million) and RMB1,673.3 million (US$269.9 million) were made to borrowers falling within the Grade A, B, C and D segments, respectively. Because of the introduction of new products and change of product mix as well as other measures that we may take in response to competition, our net income margin, which is net income as a percentage of total net revenues, and operating results during the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first and second quarter of 2015, may not be indicative of our net margin and operating results in the long term.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating our business, we consider and use two non-GAAP financial measures, contribution and contribution margin, as supplemental measures to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We calculate contribution as net (loss)/income, excluding general and administrative expense, interest income and income tax expense. We calculate contribution margin by dividing contribution by total net revenues.

We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our core operating performance and trends. Contribution and contribution margin have varied from period to period and have generally increased over time. Factors that affect our contribution and contribution margin include revenue mix, variable sales and marketing expenses, and origination and servicing expenses. These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools.

One of the key limitations of using contribution and contribution margin is that it does not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations. General and administrative expense and income tax expense (benefit) have been and will continue to be incurred in our business and are not reflected in the presentation of contribution and contribution margin. Further, other companies, including peer companies in our industry, may calculate these non-GAAP measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as a comparative measure.

We compensate for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

 

105


Table of Contents

The following table reconciles our contribution in each of the quarters between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2015 to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is net (loss)/income:

 

    For the Three Months Ended  
    March 31,
2013
    June 30,
2013
    September 30,
2013
    December 31,
2013
    March 31,
2014
    June 30,
2014
    September 30,
2014
    December 31,
2015
    March 31,
2015
    June 30,
2015
 
    (in RMB thousands, except for percentages)  

Reconciliation of Net (Loss)/Income to Contribution:

                   

Net (loss)/income

    (1,740     (1,682     (2,542     (2,378     (3,707     (5,320     (1,887     6,417        4,420        12,884   

Interest income

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          —          (11     (29

Income tax expense

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          5        1,507        4,989   

General and administrative expenses

    1,236        982        1,297        1,483        1,766        1,860        2,448        4,416        5,214        4,062   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Contribution:

    (504     (700     (1,245     (895     (1,941     (3,460     561        10,838        11,130        21,906   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenues

    30        180        1,002        1,919        2,079        2,965        8,078        18,771        29,692        49,315   

Contribution margin

    (1,680.0 )%      (388.9 )%      (124.3 )%      (46.6 )%      (93.4 )%      (116.7 )%      6.9     57.7     37.5     44.4

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash Flows and Working Capital

In 2013 and 2014, we generated negative cash flows from operating activities of US$11.3 million and US$36.8 million, respectively, and in the six months ended June 30, 2015, we had positive cash flow from operating activities of US$18.3 million. Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase as a business unit under CreditEase. We completed our carve-out from CreditEase in the first quarter of 2015. In 2013 and 2014, our principal sources of liquidity were advances from our parent company, CreditEase, representing operating costs and expenses paid or borne by the various entities affiliated with CreditEase on our behalf. We will not have such advances from CreditEase going forward.

As of June 30, 2015, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately US$17.8 million, as compared to cash and cash equivalents of approximately US$0.2 million as of December 31, 2014. We have received capital contributions from CreditEase in the past and expect to receive additional capital contributions of approximately RMB53.8 million (US$8.7 million) from CreditEase in the near future.

As of June 30, 2015, we had restricted cash of approximately US$33.7 million, as compared to nil restricted cash as of December 31, 2014. The restricted cash represented the amount of cash we set aside in the risk reserve fund that was launched on January 1, 2015. When we make payouts from the risk reserve fund in the event of default of loans, such payouts will reduce the balance of our restricted cash. We monitor the balance of the risk reserve fund on a monthly basis, and adjust on a quarterly basis by putting an appropriate additional amount of cash into the risk reserve fund as needed to ensure we can sufficiently cover the expected payouts. We expect that our restricted cash balance will continue to increase in the near future.

We believe that our anticipated cash flows from operating activities, together with the capital contributions we expect to receive from CreditEase, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital requirements and capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business for the next 12 months. We may, however, need additional cash resources in the future. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. We may, however, need additional cash resources in the future if we experience changes in business conditions or other developments, or if we find and wish to pursue opportunities for investment, acquisition, capital expenditure or similar actions. If we determine that our cash requirements exceed the amount of cash and cash equivalents we have on hand at the time, we may seek to issue equity or debt

 

106


Table of Contents

securities or obtain credit facilities. The issuance and sale of additional equity would result in further dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could result in operating covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. See “Risk Factors—We may need additional capital, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.”

Our ability to manage our working capital, including accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets and accrued expenses and other liabilities, may materially affect our financial position and results of operations. See “Risk Factors—Failure to manage our liquidity and cash flows may materially and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.”

Our accounts receivable primarily include the transaction fees receivable from borrowers. As of December 31, 2013, December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, we had accounts receivable of US$3.1 million, US$26.0 million and US$19.5 million, respectively. The increase from December 31, 2013 to December 31, 2014 was in line with the substantial increase in our revenues from 2013 to 2014. In 2013 and 2014, we recognized revenue from transaction fees upfront upon completion of the services of facilitating loan transactions, and no allowances for uncollectable accounts receivable were recorded as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014 as all accounts receivable were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An. In 2013 and up to the nine months ended September 30, 2014, borrowers paid the transaction fees primarily on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. In the fourth quarter of 2014, we adopted a new fee collection schedule whereby we either collect the entire amount of the transaction fee upfront upon completion of our loan facilitation services, or collect a portion of the transaction fee upfront and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. Due to our switch from the third-party guarantee arrangement to the risk reserve fund model, starting in the first quarter of 2015, we have adopted a new revenue recognition policy—for the fees collected upfront, we recognize revenue upon completion of the loan facilitation services, while for the fees collected on a monthly basis over the term of a loan, we recognize revenue when the fees are collected. As a result, we did not record additional accounts receivable during the six months period ended June 30, 2015 and no allowance for uncollectable accounts receivable was recorded as of June 30, 2015. As a result, our accounts receivable as of June 30, 2015 decreased from that as of December 31, 2014, and we expect that our accounts receivable will continue to decrease going forward.

Our prepaid expenses and other assets include primarily funds receivable from external payment networks, and our accrued expenses and other liabilities include primarily funds payable to investors or borrowers. The funds receivable from external payment networks and funds payable are a result of our use of master custody accounts with various external payment networks. Borrower and investor funds are deposited into master custody accounts managed by any one of the external payment networks we utilize. We use these accounts to collect and transfer loan funds to borrowers and to collect and repay loan principal and interest to investors. We also use such accounts to collect the transaction fees and service fees we charge, and to repay and collect default loan principal and interest. Funds receivable from such external payment networks include funds received from investors but not yet transferred to borrowers, repayments of principal and interest received from borrowers but not yet transferred to investors, and transaction fees and service fees received but not yet transferred to us, by the external payment networks due to a settlement time lag. Similarly, we also have funds payable to investors or borrowers due to a settlement time lag with such external payment networks. In August 2015, we fully migrated to a new system whereby China Guangfa Bank not only maintains an account for us but also maintains separate in trust for, or ITF, accounts for borrowers and investors. With this arrangement, we may have less funds receivable from external payment networks and funds payable on our balance sheet.

Although we consolidate the results of operations of our variable interest entity, we only have access to the cash balances and the future earnings of our consolidated variable interest entity through our contractual arrangements with it. See “Corporate History and Structure.” For restrictions and limitations on liquidity and capital resources as a result of our corporate structure, see “—Holding Company Structure.”

In utilizing the proceeds we expect to receive from this offering and the other cash that we hold offshore, we may (i) make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, (ii) establish new PRC subsidiaries and

 

107


Table of Contents

make capital contributions to these new PRC subsidiaries, (iii) make loans to our PRC subsidiaries, or (iv) acquire offshore entities with business operations in China in offshore transactions. However, most of these uses are subject to PRC regulations and approvals. For example:

 

    capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, whether existing or newly established ones, must be approved by the MOC or its local counterparts; and

 

    loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries, which are foreign-invested enterprises, to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with SAFE or its local branches.

See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.”

Substantially all of our future revenues are likely to continue to be in the form of RMB. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior SAFE approval as long as certain routine procedural requirements are fulfilled. Therefore, our PRC subsidiary is allowed to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior SAFE approval by following certain routine procedural requirements. However, current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to us only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. Our PRC subsidiary 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. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, capital account transactions, which include foreign direct investment and loans, must be approved by and/or registered with SAFE and its local branches. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.”

The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated:

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     (in US$ thousands)  

Summary Consolidated Cash Flow Data:

           

Net cash (used in)/generated from operating activities

     (11,274      (36,846      (15,768      18,302   

Net cash used in investing activities

     (123      (580      (285      (815

Net cash provided by financing activities

     11,397         37,650         16,080         —     

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     —           222         —           17,542   

Cash and cash equivalents, at beginning of period

     —           —           —           222   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, at end of period

     —           222         —           17,764   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Operating Activities

Net cash generated from operating activities was US$18.3 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015. In the six months ended June 30, 2015, the principal items accounting for the difference between our net cash generated from operating activities and our net income of US$17.3 million were changes in certain working capital accounts, principally an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of US$32.3 million, partially offset by an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of US$27.3 million, an increase in deferred tax assets of US$11.3 million, and a decrease in accounts receivable of US$6.5 million. The increase in prepaid expenses and

 

108


Table of Contents

other assets was primarily due to an increase in funds receivable from the external payment networks, which include funds received from investors but not yet transferred to borrowers, repayments of loan and interest received from borrowers but not yet transferred to investors, and transaction fees and service fees received but not yet transferred to us, by the external payment networks due to a settlement time lag. The increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities was primarily attributable to (i) an increase in funds payable to investors or borrowers due to a settlement time lag with the external payment networks that we used at the time to collect and transfer loan funds to borrowers and collect and repay loan principal and interest to investors, and (ii) an increase in tax payable in line with the growth of our business. We recognized deferred tax assets in the six months ended June 30, 2015 mainly due to liabilities from our risk reserve fund service. The decrease in accounts receivable was due to the change in our revenue recognition policy in the first quarter of 2015. See “—Cash Flows and Working Capital”

Net cash used in operating activities was US$36.8 million in 2014. In 2014, the principal items accounting for the difference between our net cash used in operating activities and our net loss of US$4.5 million were changes in certain working capital accounts, principally an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of US$31.1 million, partially offset by an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of US$27.5 million, and an increase in accounts receivable of US$23.1 million. The increase in prepaid expenses and other assets was (i) primarily due to the increase in funds receivable from the external payment networks, which include funds received from investors but not yet transferred to borrowers, repayments of loan and interest received from borrowers but not yet transferred to investors, and transaction fees and service fees received but not yet transferred to us, by the external payment networks due to a settlement time lag, and (ii) to a lesser extent, due to an increase in the deposits we paid to third parties for online marketing and user acquisition services. The increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities was primarily attributable to the increase in funds payable to investors or borrowers due to a settlement time lag with the external payment networks used to collect and transfer loan funds to borrowers and collect and repay loan principal and interest to investors. The increase in our accounts receivable was due to the significant growth of loan volume on our marketplace in 2014.

Net cash used in operating activities was US$11.3 million in 2013. In 2013, the principal items accounting for the difference between our net cash used in operating activities and our net loss of US$8.3 million were changes in certain working capital accounts, principally an increase in accounts receivable of US$3.0 million, and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of US$1.3 million partially offset by an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of US$1.1 million. The increase in our accounts receivable was due to the growth of loan volume on our marketplace in 2013. The increase in prepaid expenses and other assets was primarily due to the increase in funds receivable from the external payment networks we used at the time, namely the funds received by the external payment networks but not yet transferred to borrowers, investors or us due to a settlement time lag. The increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities was primarily attributable to the increase in funds payable to investors or borrowers due to the settlement time lag with the external payment networks which we used to handle the transfer of funds to and from borrowers and investors.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities was US$0.8 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, which was primarily attributable to our purchases of property and equipment.

Net cash used in investing activities was US$0.6 million in 2014, which was attributable to our purchases of property and equipment.

Net cash used in investing activities was US$0.1 million in 2013, which was attributable to our purchases of property and equipment.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was nil in the six months ended June 30, 2015.

 

109


Table of Contents

Net cash provided by financing activities was US$37.7 million in 2014, which was primarily attributable to cash contribution from our parent company, CreditEase.

Net cash provided by financing activities was US$11.4 million in 2013, which was primarily attributable to cash contribution from CreditEase.

Capital Expenditures

We made capital expenditures of US$0.1 million, US$0.6 million and US$0.8 million in 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. In these periods, our capital expenditures were mainly used for purchases of property and equipment. Our capital expenditures for 2015 are expected to be approximately RMB10.0 million (US$1.6 million), consisting primarily of expenditures related to the expansion and enhancement of our IT infrastructure. We will continue to make capital expenditures to meet the expected growth of our business.

Contractual Obligations

The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively:

 

     Total      Less than
1 year
     1-3 years      3-5 years      More than
5 years
 
     (in US$ thousands)  

As of December 31, 2014

              

Operating Lease Obligations

     1,836         1,299         537         —           —     

As of June 30, 2015

              

Operating Lease Obligation

     1,769         830         939         —           —     

Our operating lease obligations relate to our leases of office premises. We lease our office premises under a non-cancelable operating lease with an expiration date in May 2016. Rental expenses under operating leases for 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015 were US$0.6 million, US$1.1 million and US$0.7 million, respectively.

As of June 30, 2015, we recorded liability of US$39.7 million in relation to the risk reserve fund. The maximum potential future payments we are required to make out of the risk reserve fund was US$33.7 million, which took into account the amount set aside in the risk reserve fund. As of December 31, 2014, we had no such liability. See “—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Liabilities from Risk Reserve Fund Service.”

Other than those shown above, we did not have any significant capital and other commitments, long-term obligations, or guarantees as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015.

Off-Balance Sheet Commitments and Arrangements

In January 2015, we launched our new risk reserve fund to provide a certain level of assurance to investors who invest in loans through our marketplace. See “—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Liabilities from Risk Reserve Fund Service” and “Business—Risk Management—Investor Protection.” Other than this risk reserve fund arrangement, we have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholder’s equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any

 

110


Table of Contents

variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or product development services with us.

Holding Company Structure

Yirendai Ltd. is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations primarily through our subsidiary and consolidated variable interest entity in China. As a result, Yirendai Ltd.’s ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our PRC subsidiary. If our existing PRC subsidiary or any newly formed ones incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing their debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. In addition, our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China is permitted to pay dividends to us only out of its retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Under PRC law, each of our subsidiary and our consolidated variable interest entity in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds until such reserve funds reach 50% of its registered capital. In addition, our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to enterprise expansion funds and staff bonus and welfare funds at its discretion, and our consolidated variable interest entity may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to a discretionary surplus fund at its discretion. The statutory reserve funds and the discretionary funds are not distributable as cash dividends. Remittance of dividends by a wholly foreign-owned company out of China is subject to examination by the banks designated by SAFE. Our PRC subsidiary has not paid dividends and will not be able to pay dividends until they generate accumulated profits and meet the requirements for statutory reserve funds.

Inflation

Since our inception, inflation in China has not materially affected our results of operations. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the year-over-year percent changes in the consumer price index for December 2013, December 2014 and June 2015 were increases of 2.5%, 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Although we have not been materially affected by inflation in the past, we may be affected if China experiences higher rates of inflation in the future.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Foreign Exchange Risk

All of our revenues and substantially all of our expenses are denominated in RMB, whereas our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. In our consolidated financial statements, our financial information that uses RMB as the functional currency has been translated into U.S. dollars. Due to foreign currency translation adjustments, we had a foreign exchange gain of US$49,000 in 2013, a foreign exchange loss of US$0.3 million in 2014, and a foreign exchange gain of US$51,000 in the six months ended June 30, 2015. Appreciation or depreciation in the value of the RMB relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations.

We do not believe that we currently have any significant direct foreign exchange risk and have not used any derivative financial instruments to hedge exposure to such risk. Although in general our exposure to foreign exchange risks should be limited, the value of your investment in our ADSs will be affected by the exchange rate between U.S. dollar and RMB because the value of our business is effectively denominated in RMB, while our ADSs will be traded in U.S. dollars.

The conversion of RMB into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the PBOC. The PRC government allowed the RMB to appreciate by more than 20% against the U.S. dollar between July 2005 and July 2008. Between July 2008 and June 2010, the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar

 

111


Table of Contents

had been stable and traded within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the PRC government has allowed the RMB to appreciate slowly against the U.S. dollar, though there have been periods when the RMB has depreciated against the U.S. dollar. In particular, on August 11, 2015, the PBOC allowed the RMB to depreciate by approximately 2% against the U.S. dollar. It is difficult to predict how long the current situation may last and when and how the relationship between the RMB and the U.S. dollar may change again.

To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for our operations, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amounts available to us.

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds of approximately US$             million from this offering if the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, based on the initial offering price of US$             per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range shown on the cover page of this prospectus. Assuming that we convert the full amount of the net proceeds from this offering into RMB, a 10% appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB, from the exchange rate of RMB6.2000 for US$1.00 as of June 30, 2015 to a rate of RMB6.8200 to US$1.00, will result in an increase of RMB             million in our net proceeds from this offering. Conversely, a 10% depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB, from the exchange rate of RMB6.2000 for US$1.00 as of June 30, 2015 to a rate of RMB5.5800 to US$1.00, will result in a decrease of RMB             million in our net proceeds from this offering.

Interest Rate Risk

We have not been exposed to material risks due to changes in market interest rates, and we have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest risk exposure. However, we cannot provide assurance that we will not be exposed to material risks due to changes in market interest rate in the future.

After the completion of this offering, we may invest the net proceeds we receive from the offering in interest-earning instruments. Investments in both fixed rate and floating rate interest earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. Fixed rate securities may have their fair market value adversely impacted due to a rise in interest rates, while floating rate securities may produce less income than expected if interest rates fall.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued, ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)”. The guidance substantially converges final standards on revenue recognition between the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board providing a framework on addressing revenue recognition issues and, upon its effective date, replaces almost all exiting revenue recognition guidance, including industry specific guidance, in current U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve that core principle, an entity should apply the following steps:

 

    Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with a customer.

 

    Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract.

 

    Step 3: Determine the transaction price.

 

    Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract.

 

    Step 5: Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.

 

112


Table of Contents

The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2014, the FASB issued a new pronouncement, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date. The amendments in this ASU defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for all entities by one year. Public business entities should apply the guidance in ASU 2014-09 to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Earlier application is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

In February 2015, the FASB issued a new pronouncement which is intended to improve targeted areas of consolidation guidance for legal entities such as limited partnerships, limited liability corporations, and securitization structures (collateralized debt obligations, collateralized loan obligations, and mortgage-backed security transactions). The ASU focuses on the consolidation evaluation for reporting organizations that are required to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. In addition to reducing the number of consolidation models from four to two, the new standard simplifies the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“Codification”) and improves current GAAP by:

 

    Placing more emphasis on risk of loss when determining a controlling financial interest. A reporting organization may no longer have to consolidate a legal entity in certain circumstances based solely on its fee arrangement, when certain criteria are met.

 

    Reducing the frequency of the application of related-party guidance when determining a controlling financial interest in a VIE.

 

    Changing consolidation conclusions for public and private companies in several industries that typically make use of limited partnerships or VIEs.

The ASU will be effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2015, for public companies. Early adoption is permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance will have a significant effect on its consolidated financial statements.

 

113


Table of Contents

INDUSTRY

Background

Consumption in China is growing rapidly but remains underfinanced, suggesting tremendous growth potential for China’s consumer finance market.

Consumption in China has experienced rapid growth as a result of China’s economic development and rising consumption power among Chinese consumers. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China’s GDP increased from RMB48.1 trillion in 2011 to RMB64.1 trillion (US$10.3 trillion) in 2014, while annual per capita disposable income increased from RMB14,582 in 2011 to RMB20,167 (US$3,253) in 2014. Consumption has increasingly become an important driver of China’s GDP growth, with the ratio of final consumption to GDP reaching 51.0% in 2013, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. “Final consumption” is the total expenditure of residents on the consumption of goods and services in a certain period, namely the expenditure of residents for purchases of goods and services from the domestic economic territory and abroad to meet the requirements of their daily life, and excludes the expenditure of non-residents on consumption in the economic territory of the country. While China’s ratio of final consumption to GDP in 2013 was the highest in six years, it was still relatively low compared to the corresponding figure for the U.S. in the same period, which was 83.2% according to the World Bank, suggesting tremendous future potential. We believe the United States, which is characterized by high levels of consumption and high consumption loan balance to GDP ratios, provides a good proxy for the way China may develop given the growth of China’s economy, China’s large and expanding consumer base and the Chinese government’s policies to encourage consumption. As consumption in China continues to rise, we believe China’s consumer finance market will develop to address unmet consumer demand.

China’s Consumer Finance Market

Despite growing consumption levels, consumption in China is underfinanced. According to iResearch, China’s consumption loan balance to GDP ratio was merely 24.2% in 2014, compared to 77.5% for the United States during the same period, suggesting significant growth potential. “Consumer finance” consists of loans granted to consumers for purchasing consumption goods and services. Consumption in China is underfinanced primarily because loans from traditional financial institutions are not easily accessible. For example, to obtain a bank loan, a potential borrower needs to physically go to a bank branch. However, most bank branches offering consumption loans are located only in tier 1 and tier 2 cities. In addition, the application process for a bank loan is complex and time-consuming. The ineffectiveness of traditional financial institutions at serving the consumer finance market indicates significant business opportunities for alternative credit providers. Furthermore, the Guidelines released by the People’s Bank of China together with nine other regulatory agencies in July 2015 implicitly recognize the accessibility issues presented by traditional financial institutions and the promise internet finance presents in addressing them, indicating that regulatory support exists for organizations able to take advantage of such business opportunities. China’s consumption loan balance had reached RMB15.4 trillion (US$2.5 trillion) by the end of 2014, and is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 19.5% to RMB37.4 trillion by the end of 2019, according to iResearch. The development of new financial services and products will be one of the key growth drivers.

 

114


Table of Contents

LOGO

Source: iResearch.

The consumer finance market consists of secured consumption loans such as car loans and home mortgages, and unsecured consumption loans such as credit cards and other unsecured loans from banks and consumer financing companies. Unsecured consumption loans are expected to experience relatively stronger growth. According to iResearch, China’s unsecured consumption loan balance had reached RMB3.5 trillion (US$564.5 billion) by the end of 2014, and is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 26.6% to RMB11.4 trillion by the end of 2019. Key drivers behind the expected growth in China’s unsecured consumer finance market include the penetration of consumer finance into more consumption categories, the continued development of a nationwide personal credit information database, which improves the ability of lenders to evaluate potential borrower risk, and credit providers’ increasing awareness of the business opportunity in the sector.

 

LOGO

Source: iResearch

Opportunities for Marketplaces Connecting Borrowers and Investors

China’s rapidly growing consumption levels and relatively limited consumer finance options have created opportunities for marketplaces that connect borrowers and investors. According to iResearch, transaction values for marketplaces that focus on consumption loans, or consumer finance marketplaces, are expected to grow from

 

115


Table of Contents

RMB12.7 billion (US$2.0 billion) in 2014 to RMB521.4 billion in 2019, representing a CAGR of 110.1%. The primary drivers for the growth of consumer finance marketplaces include the growing consumption market and increasing demand for consumer finance. In addition, it is also driven by consumers’ need for higher borrowing limits and convenient transaction processing, and improving credit assessment capabilities made possible through the application of big data analytics.

Online Consumer Finance Marketplaces with the Strongest Growth Potential

According to iResearch, transaction values through online consumer finance marketplaces are expected to grow from RMB4.6 billion (US$741.9 million) in 2014 to RMB247.6 billion in 2019, representing a CAGR of 122.2%, which is even higher than the expected growth rate for consumer finance marketplaces in general. The additional drivers for the growth of online consumer finance marketplaces include increased internet and mobile penetration among consumers, the emergence of online marketplaces and ecommerce platforms that drive consumer behavior from offline to online, as well as the ability to realize comparatively lower user acquisition costs and higher operating efficiencies. Moreover, the policies set forth in the Guidelines released by the People’s Bank of China together with nine other regulatory agencies in July 2015 show government support for the online peer-to-peer lending service industry, and indicate online consumer finance marketplaces operate in a regulatory environment that will promote and encourage the industry’s future development.

 

116


Table of Contents

BUSINESS

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide consumers in China with easy access to affordable credit and investors with attractive investment opportunities through our online marketplace.

Overview

We are a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, according to iResearch. We facilitated over RMB6,197.0 million (US$999.5 million) in loans from our inception in March 2012 through June 30, 2015.

Our online platform automates key aspects of our operations and enables us to efficiently match borrowers with investors and execute loan transactions. Leveraging the extensive experience of our parent company CreditEase, we provide an effective solution to address largely underserved investor and individual borrower demand in China. CreditEase is a large financial services company focusing on providing inclusive finance and wealth management products and services in China. Our borrowers and investors come from a variety of channels, including online sources, such as the internet and our mobile applications, as well as offline sources, such as referrals from CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, we facilitated over RMB550.8 million and RMB940.7 million (US$151.7 million) in loans through our mobile applications, respectively, representing 24.7% and 25.4% of the total amount of loans facilitated through our marketplace in the respective periods.

Between 2014 and 2019, China’s unsecured consumer finance market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 26.6% from RMB3.5 trillion (US$564.5 billion) to RMB11.4 trillion in terms of outstanding loan balance, according to iResearch. As we continue to expand our business, we believe that we will be well positioned to capture market opportunities in China.

We currently target prime borrowers, comprising credit card holders with salary income. We strategically focus on prime borrowers as we believe members of this group tend to be more creditworthy and more receptive to internet finance solutions. In the future, we may expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers, enabling us to capture the opportunities presented by China’s growing unsecured consumer finance market. Our online marketplace offers qualified borrowers who successfully complete our online application and meet our borrower requirements quick and convenient access to affordable credit at competitive prices. All of the loans facilitated through our marketplace feature fixed interest rates. To provide a transparent marketplace, the interest rates, service fees and other charges are all clearly disclosed to borrowers upfront.

Our online marketplace provides investors with attractive returns with investment thresholds as low as RMB100 (US$16.1). Investors have the option to individually select specific loans to invest in or to use our automated investing tool that identifies and selects loans on the basis of a targeted return. We also offer investors a risk reserve fund service with the aim of limiting losses to investors from borrower defaults. In addition, we provide investors with access to a liquid secondary market, giving them an opportunity to exit their investments before the underlying loans become due. We currently conduct our business operations exclusively in China, and our online consumer finance marketplace does not facilitate investments by investors located in the United States.

We believe we have developed an industry leading risk management system using our proprietary credit decisioning and fraud detection modules. We accumulate data from our expanding borrower base and CreditEase’s extensive database to continually enhance the sophistication and reliability of our risk management system. Our proprietary risk management system enables us to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers more effectively in a market where reliable credit scores and borrower databases are still at an early stage of development. This system also enables us to appropriately price the risks associated with borrowers and offer quality loan investment opportunities to investors.

 

117


Table of Contents

We generate revenues primarily from fees charged for our services in matching investors with individual borrowers and for other services we provide over the life of a loan. We charge borrowers transaction fees for services provided through our platform in facilitating loan transactions, and charge investors service fees for using our automated investing tool or self-directed investing tool. As an information intermediary, we do not use our own capital to invest in loans facilitated through our marketplace.

We have experienced significant growth since we launched our marketplace in March 2012. Our total net revenues increased from US$3.1 million in 2013 to US$31.9 million in 2014, and increased from US$5.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014 to US$79.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015. We had net losses of US$8.3 million and US$4.5 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, we had a net income of US$17.3 million, compared to a net loss of US$9.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Our Solution

We are a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, according to iResearch. Our marketplace embraces the significant opportunities presented by a financial system that leaves many creditworthy individuals underserved or even unserved. Our online business model, empowered by a technology-driven and user-centric platform, allows us to efficiently match borrowers with investors. We provide borrowers with fast and convenient access to consumer credit at competitive rates, while we offer investors easy and quick access to an alternative asset class with attractive returns.

 

LOGO

 

* Historically, borrower and investor funds were deposited into a custody account managed by any one of a number of established third party online payment platforms. In August 2015, we fully migrated to a new system whereby China Guangfa Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in China, took over the custody accounts previously managed by the various third party payment platforms.

Benefits to Borrowers

We provide the following benefits to borrowers, which enabled us to achieve the No. 2 ranking in terms of borrower satisfaction among our industry peers in 2014, according to a customer survey conducted by iResearch.

 

   

Access to consumer credit . Borrowers are significantly underserved by the current consumer finance system in China, which provides insufficient access to funds or, in some cases, no access at all. For

 

118


Table of Contents
 

example, individual credit card holders in China on average hold aggregate personal credit limits of less than RMB20,000 (US$3,226), according to iResearch. We provide prime borrowers with access to consumer credit on terms that are adjusted to borrowers’ risk profiles and in amounts which are suitable to finance certain large consumption expenditures, such as those for home renovations, vehicle purchases, traveling and continuing education. Our pricing grades are designed to allow us to further segment our target prime borrower group to offer customized loans.

 

    Quick and convenient access. We provide borrowers with an online loan application and management platform that can be accessed anytime, anywhere through our website and mobile applications. For express loan products, borrowers are able to finish the application process in three steps taking as little as ten minutes. We also provide borrowers with access to live support and easy-to-use online tools throughout the application process and for the lifetime of the loan.

 

    Fast credit approval. We leverage online data and technology to quickly assess risk, determine a credit rating and assign a pricing grade. For express loan products, qualified borrowers can receive an initial decision in as fast as ten minutes. We provide borrowers with faster credit decisioning compared to traditional sources of consumer credit in China, which may take weeks to provide a decision.

 

    Competitive rates and payments. Our proprietary credit decisioning system prices the risk associated with consumers, which are not sufficiently covered and hence not well priced by traditional banks in China. For example, borrowers who qualify for our Grade A loans pay interest rates and fees as low as 16.9% on an APR basis, which is competitive with the rates charged by traditional banks on credit cards. Furthermore, the loans on our marketplace have a variety of tenures, such as 12, 18, 24, 36 or 48 months, allowing borrowers to better manage their cash flows and build financial discipline by making repayments spread out over a period of time that suits their budgets and schedules.

 

    Transparent marketplace. We offer borrowers a transparent end-to-end process with foreseeable turnaround times and clear documentation requirements. All of the loans facilitated through our marketplace feature fixed interest rates, which together with service fees and late payment penalties, are clearly disclosed to borrowers during the application process.

Benefits to Investors

We provide the following benefits to investors, which enabled us to achieve the No. 1 ranking in terms of investor satisfaction among our industry peers in 2014, according to a customer survey conducted by iResearch.

 

    Access to a new asset class. We provide investors with access to an investment opportunity that is outside the traditional and limited investment channels available to investors in China. We offer investors the ability to invest on our marketplace with investment thresholds as low as RMB100 (US$16.1), permitting diversification across multiple loans. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, the average loan investment sizes through our marketplace were RMB12,370 and RMB22,399 (US$3,613), respectively.

 

    Attractive returns. We offer investors attractive returns, which currently range from 6.6% to 11.25% on an annualized basis after fees. Our focus on prime borrowers and our credit screening capabilities help to improve the reliability of returns obtained through our marketplace.

 

    Easy and quick access. We offer investors 24/7 access to all available services through our website and mobile applications. We provide investors with online tools that automatically invest a specified amount of funds committed by the investor according to investor-specified criteria, including desired rate of return and tenure.

 

    Investor protection . We offer investor protection in the form of a risk reserve fund. Under this arrangement, we set aside a certain amount of cash in a custody account which is used to pay investors the principal and accrued interest on their past due loans.

 

119


Table of Contents
    Liquid secondary market. With an average of over 3,550 transactions taking place on our secondary marketplace every month during the six months ended June 30, 2015, we provide investors with a liquid secondary market where they can transfer their loans to other investors before maturity. On average, each secondary transaction took less than one day to complete in the six months ended June 30, 2015.

Our Strengths

We believe the following competitive strengths contribute to our success and differentiate us from our competitors:

China’s leading online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers

We are a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, according to iResearch. From our inception in March 2012 through June 30, 2015, we successfully facilitated loans between over 85,800 investors and over 105,300 borrowers, representing an aggregate value of approximately RMB6,197.0 million (US$999.5 million). By utilizing a highly scalable platform and online business model, we have been able to grow the scale of our marketplace and reinforce our strengths through network effects, allowing us to reach over 5 million users who had registered accounts as of June 30, 2015. We believe our scale, brand, risk management capabilities and technology platform allow us to effectively attract new participants, lower costs for borrowers, provide high-quality loan investment opportunities, create higher liquidity and thus reinforce our market position.

Superior user experience

We offer a superior user experience to borrowers and investors, helping us to achieve industry leading customer satisfaction rates. According to a customer survey conducted by iResearch, we ranked No. 1 in terms of investor satisfaction rates and No. 2 in terms of borrower satisfaction rates among our industry peers in 2014. The iResearch survey included (i) most of the top 20 marketplaces connecting borrowers and investors in terms of transaction value during the six months ended June 30, 2014, which iResearch believes to have competitive strengths and be representative of the participants in the industry, (ii) additional marketplaces that iResearch considered well-known, for example, those backed by well-known large Chinese companies or considered industry pioneers, and (iii) additional marketplaces named by survey participants, who had the option to add marketplaces to the existing list provided in the survey. According to iResearch, only those marketplaces rated by at least 40 survey participants were included in the final rankings.

We provide borrowers with quick and convenient access to credit at affordable and competitive rates through our online platform that is accessible anytime, anywhere. In 2014, we facilitated loans to 39,344 borrowers through our platform, compared with loans to 3,549 borrowers in 2013, and in the six months ended June 30, 2015, we facilitated loans to 62,131 borrowers, compared with loans to 6,329 borrowers in the six months ended June 30, 2014. Approximately 24.7% and 25.4% of loans in terms of amount were facilitated through our mobile applications in 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively, representing over RMB550.8 million and RMB3,704.7 million (US$597.5 million) in loans, respectively.

We offer investors easy and quick access to an alternative asset class with attractive returns, as well as a superior user experience. 34,527 investors made investments through our platform in 2014, compared to 5,617 investors in 2013, with the average amount invested by each investor increasing from RMB52,751 in 2013 to RMB75,480 in 2014. In the six months ended June 30, 2015, 59,185 investors made investments through our platform compared to 8,621 investors in the six months ended June 30, 2014, with the average amount invested by each investor increasing from RMB49,746 in the six months ended June 30, 2014 to RMB80,893 (US$13,048) in the six months ended June 30, 2015. In 2014, 43.5% of investors were repeat users of our platform, defined as those investors who made two or more investments through our platform during the year.

 

120


Table of Contents

Proprietary risk management system

We take a holistic approach to managing risk. We currently target prime borrowers, which we believe represent a superior risk profile compared to the borrower base served by our industry peers. Our proprietary risk management system enables us to evaluate potential borrowers in a market where reliable credit scores and borrower databases are still at early stage of development. Our system is built upon data accumulated through our operations and is further supported by an extensive database accumulated by CreditEase over the past nine years. Our risk management model utilizes big data capabilities, including a proprietary analytics engine and algorithms, to automatically evaluate the credit characteristics of borrowers. At the same time we use automated verification and fraud detection tools to ensure the quality of the loans facilitated through our marketplace. We supplement these technology driven systems with manual verification and fraud prevention processes when necessary. We consistently upgrade our risk management model with new credit data and technologies. Currently, our risk management system utilizes over 250 decisioning rules and contains a blacklist with over 1,000,000 fraud detection data points. We believe our risk management is prudent, as evidenced by the performance of various loan vintages facilitated through our marketplace.

We have established a stringent risk management culture by setting up an independent risk management division, embedding risk management into employee performance reviews and implementing a systematic and regular risk management training program.

Powerful network effects

Our online marketplace benefits from powerful network effects that increase as the number of participants and transactions on our platform grow. Leveraging CreditEase’s experience, we have established the brand and scale that attract growing numbers of investors and borrowers, and have become a leader in the online consumer finance marketplace industry. The increase in the number of investors enables us to better match investors with borrowers. As our scale increases, higher transaction volumes generate more data that we can leverage to improve the effectiveness of our credit decisioning model, enabling us to improve borrower screening and to provide higher quality credit assets to investors. Improved investment performance increases investor trust in our marketplace, lowering the risk premiums that are charged for lending through our platform and allowing us to offer more competitive rates to attract additional high-quality borrowers. The result is a virtuous cycle for our business whereby the performance of our marketplace improves. We believe that these network effects will reinforce our market position.

Scalable and robust technology platform

Our technology platform powers our online marketplace, enabling us to connect investors and individual borrowers in a fast and effective way and to efficiently deliver services to them. Our platform covers the entire loan transaction process, including application, verification, credit assessment, decisioning, listing, funding, servicing and collections, and provides a flexible, cost-efficient and time-saving mechanism for matching borrowers and investors when compared to traditional banking institutions. Our technology platform also facilitates our user-friendly mobile applications, which allow our users to invest and borrow anytime, anywhere. Approximately 24.7% and 25.4% of loans in terms of amount were facilitated through our mobile applications in 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. Our platform is further enhanced by our big data capabilities that automate and streamline our data extraction and mining efforts, our automated fraud detection systems and proprietary application programming interfaces. In addition, we have adopted robust security measures and policies to protect our customer information and proprietary data, and have deployed multiple layers of redundancy to ensure the reliability of our platform.

Visionary founder and experienced management team

Our founder and executive chairman, Ning Tang, is a pioneer in China’s peer-to-peer lending service industry. Other members of our management team have on average more than ten years of experience and all

 

121


Table of Contents

have held senior positions with various financial institutions and large companies prior to joining us. Together with Mr. Tang, they started our company with the vision of becoming the leading online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers in China. Their deep understanding of the consumer finance market in China contributed to our strategic decision to focus on the prime borrower market.

Our Strategies

Our mission is to provide consumers in China with easy access to affordable credit and investors with an attractive investment opportunities through our online marketplace. We intend to achieve this goal by pursing the following strategies:

Continue to define industry best practices in China

We will leverage the strengths of our marketplace to continue to grow our market share in China’s online consumer finance marketplace industry in terms of both loan volume and participants. By focusing on the long-term sustainable growth of our marketplace, we seek to mitigate the risks inherent in expanding credit markets. To this end, we strive to create and uphold industry best practices for all aspects of our business, including credit risk management and analysis, operational transparency, fund settlement and data security. For example, we have partnered with China Guangfa Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in China, to establish a third-party custody and settlement arrangement to better protect investors and borrowers. Pursuant to the agreement we have entered into with China Guangfa Bank, China Guangfa Bank has set up custody accounts for the funds loaned through our online consumer finance marketplace and our risk reserve fund, and to manage the settlement of funds to and from these custody accounts, in exchange for which we pay China Guangfa Bank a fee for its custody and settlement services. The agreement is of an indefinite duration, and we may terminate the agreement upon 15 business days advance notice. We do not expect the service fees to be paid to China Guangfa Bank will account for a material portion of our total operating costs and expenses. We believe this arrangement is the first of such kind in China and sets the best practice in the industry. In order to ensure the growth and stability of our marketplace, we will leverage our deep understanding of China’s consumer finance market to develop our risk reserve fund service in a manner that balances the needs of regulators and our users. Separately, through CreditEase’s leadership in self-regulatory organizations such as the Internet Finance Committee operated under the PBOC, Beijing P2P Association, the industry’s first association that is officially registered and overseen by regulators, and the National Association of Small Loan Companies under the supervision of the CBRC and PBOC, we will continue to foster the sustainable growth of our industry by leading through example and our sharing of best practices.

Broaden our borrower base

We seek to grow the number of borrowers on our online marketplace through the introduction of new credit products and services. By tailoring products to specific borrower needs, we continually seek to attract new and repeat borrowers to our marketplace. We will leverage the success of our existing vertical loan products, such as those for IT professionals, to expand our customized loan products to new industry verticals. By targeting specific borrower segments with specialized loan products, we intend to increase the conversion rate of interested individuals into successfully qualified borrowers. In the future, we expect repeat borrowers to become an increasingly important source of our borrower base and we will design specific products and services to cater to this group. We may also expand to serve new borrower groups beyond prime borrowers, enabling us to capture the opportunities presented by China’s growing unsecured consumer finance market. In addition, we will continue to leverage new technologies, such as mobile applications, to make the borrower loan application and investor matching process more efficient and transparent, attracting more borrowers to our marketplace. As consumers in China become increasingly receptive to utilizing online consumer financial services in general, we believe the improvements to our platform made possible by the further use of technology will enable us to acquire an increasing majority of borrowers through internet and mobile acquisition channels.

 

122


Table of Contents

As our marketplace continues to grow, we plan to expand our ability to offer risk-based loan pricing. For example, we continue to enhance our risk-based pricing for borrowers based on individual credit criteria so that borrowers will be able to receive customized loans tailored to their own credit profile. In addition, we intend to introduce market-based pricing of loans based on macroeconomic factors and we believe such ability to continually adjust the pricing of the loans on our marketplace will allow us to better meet the needs of our borrowers.

Expand our investor base

We strive to increase the overall number of investors and the amounts they invest through our marketplace by facilitating investments in a diversified portfolio of high-quality loan products. We will continue to develop new investment products, such as diversified term investment products and products with lower investment thresholds, to satisfy different investor requirements. For our existing investors, we will seek to implement strategies to increase the share of their assets invested through our marketplace over time. To this end, we intend to provide investors with enhanced tools to better monitor and manage their investments on our online marketplace, and to continue to enhance the liquidity of our marketplace by growing the number and type of loans transferred on the secondary loan market on our platform. In the future, we plan to segment loans into more precise tiers of returns, and seek to offer investors a more diverse array of loan products that better meet their return targets. We also plan to offer more valued-added services to investors, such as investment portfolio services. Furthermore, we will seek to expand our investor base from our current focus on individual investors to also include institutional investors.

Further enhance our risk management capabilities

As loan volumes on our marketplace grow, we will seek to use the data generated from these transactions to further enhance our risk management systems. We will continue to automate our risk management system by enhancing our online data analytics capabilities. At the same time, we will enhance these data analytics systems by utilizing additional data sources, such as from additional online verticals and third-party partners, for inclusion in our models to uncover new insights about individual borrowers, and to allow us to evaluate and facilitate lending to more borrowers. We will also further advance our proprietary algorithms that analyze behavioral data, transactional data and employment information in order to increase the automation and predictive capabilities of our credit and risk management systems. These will enable us to further increase the efficiency of our marketplace while maintaining sophisticated risk management capabilities.

Continue to execute our mobile strategy

We have made and will continue to make significant investments in pursuing our mobile strategy. As we expect customers will increasingly submit loan applications or make investments from their mobile devices, we plan to further strengthen our mobile internet presence to seize promising market opportunities by developing targeted marketing programs directed at mobile users. Approximately 24.7% and 25.4% of loans in terms of amount were facilitated through our mobile applications in 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. We will improve the functionality of our mobile applications in order to improve mobile user experience, make our marketplace more convenient and accessible to users in China and enhance the stickiness of our platform. We also plan to develop and introduce more mobile related products that serve the borrowers’ financing needs in their daily life. As we continue to execute our mobile strategy, we will utilize the additional information available from mobile users, such as location data, to further enhance our risk management capabilities.

Continue to invest in our technology platform

We will continue to make significant investments in our proprietary technologies in the areas of data collection and processing algorithms to increase the precision, speed and scale at which we match the demand

 

123


Table of Contents

and supply of loans. Enhanced data analytics will also improve our conversion of online leads into successful borrowers and investors. With the further application of big data, we will seek to acquire members of our target borrower and investor groups in a more focused and cost efficient way. Furthermore, we will continue to leverage technology to further automate our processes and improve efficiency. At the same time, we will also benefit from the operating leverage associated with our scalable platform as our scale grows. We believe these investments will facilitate the long-term growth of our marketplace.

Cultivate a vibrant consumer lending ecosystem

We will expand strategic relationships with key industry value chain partners to further increase the value of our marketplace and better serve borrowers and investors. Prior to our carve-out from CreditEase, we relied on CreditEase for the successful operation of our online consumer finance marketplace. In the future, we expect to continue to rely on CreditEase for various aspects of our operations. A significant portion of borrowers and investors on our marketplace were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, and we outsource all of our collections process to CreditEase. Although we expect that CreditEase will continue to provide us with such services going forward based on the service agreements that we have entered into with CreditEase, we will expand our strategic relationships with other user acquisition channels, especially online channels, and third-party collection agents. For example, in August 2015 we fully migrated to a new third-party custody and settlement arrangement whereby China Guangfa Bank took over borrower and investor custody accounts that were previously managed by various third-party payment platforms. In the future, we may partner with traditional financial institutions to combine the efficiency advantages of online consumer finance marketplaces with the low funding costs of traditional financial institutions. We may expand cooperation with partners in more sectors, thereby expanding the breadth of potential transactions conducted on our marketplace beyond consumer finance to other forms of consumption. We may also pursue strategic investments and partnerships that complement our online marketplace, improve our technologies, enhance our user experience and strengthen our market leading position.

We will continue to promote the positive development of the online consumer finance marketplace industry in China through long-term partnerships with government institutions to advocate for the adoption of an industry-wide credit scoring system to better protect borrowers and investors. For example, in December 2014 our executive chairman, Mr. Ning Tang, helped to establish and was elected chairman of the Beijing P2P Association, the industry’s first association that is officially registered and overseen by regulators. In addition, we have developed online forums to educate borrowers and investors and to promote greater awareness of the benefits and risks of online consumer finance. In the future, we will continue to develop venues and methods to educate potential participants in our marketplace.

Our Borrowers

Target Borrower Group

We currently target prime borrowers, comprising credit card holders with salary income. We strategically focus on prime borrowers because we believe members of this group tend to be more creditworthy and receptive to internet finance solutions. According to iResearch, the number of credit card holders in China reached 281.7 million in 2014.

Borrower Profile and Base

Based on the information disclosed to us, as of June 30, 2015, our historical borrower profile was 82.7% male and 17.3% female, while 78.5% were 35 years of age or less.

In 2014, we facilitated loans to 39,344 borrowers through our platform, compared with 3,549 borrowers in 2013, and in the six months ended June 30, 2015, we facilitated loans to 62,131 borrowers, compared with loans to 6,329 borrowers in the six months ended June 30, 2014. We do not permit borrowers to hold more than one

 

124


Table of Contents

loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time. The total amount of funds loaned to borrowers through our platform was RMB2,228.6 million in 2014, which increased substantially from RMB258.3 million in 2013. In the six months ended June 30, 2015, the total amount of funds loaned to borrowers through our platform was RMB3,704.7 million (US$597.5 million), compared with RMB421.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Borrower Acquisition

We attract a fast growing number of borrowers through various online channels. Our online borrower acquisition efforts are supported by our big data capabilities and are primarily directed toward search engine marketing, search engine optimization, mobile application downloads through major application stores, partnering with online channels through API, as well as various marketing campaigns.

We also acquire borrowers through referrals from CreditEase’s extensive on-the-ground sales network across over 200 locations in China as part of our contractual arrangement with CreditEase. Under this arrangement, CreditEase is obligated to refer borrowers who fall within our target borrower group to our online marketplace, in exchange for which we pay CreditEase a referral fee. The cost of services which CreditEase provides to us may from time to time increase, pursuant to commercial negotiations between CreditEase and us. Recently, pursuant to our contractual agreement with CreditEase, the fee rate for the offline borrower acquisition services which CreditEase provides to us will increase from the current 5% to 6% of the loans facilitated to borrowers referred by CreditEase for the three years starting 2016. After that, the fee rate may be adjusted on a yearly basis based on commercial negotiation, and after taking into consideration the costs to CreditEase for providing such services and with reference to market rates. Once a potential borrower is referred to us, all the remaining aspects of the transaction life cycle are handled by us, with our online marketplace facilitating the loan transaction, from application to credit decisioning to matching and servicing. Our referral arrangement with CreditEase is designed so that CreditEase does not compete with our online consumer finance marketplace business. See “Our Relationship with CreditEase.” In 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, 54.2%, 48.1% and 51.1% of our borrowers were acquired through referrals from CreditEase, respectively. The average size of loans sourced through offline channels tends to be larger than that of loans sourced through online channels.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of borrowers using our platform by channel:

 

     For the Year
Ended
December 31,
     For the Six
Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  

Number of borrowers (1) :

           

Borrowers from online channels

     1,625         20,422         2,349         30,393   

Borrowers from offline channels

     1,924         18,922         3,980         31,738   

Total number of borrowers

     3,549         39,344         6,329         62,131   

 

(1) The number of borrowers for a specified period represents the number of borrowers whose loans were funded during such period. We do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time.

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,      For the Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  
     RMB      RMB      US$      RMB      RMB      US$  
     (in thousands)  

Amount of loans facilitated

     258,322         2,228,562         359,179         421,530         3,704,745         597,540   

Loans generated from online channels

     98,512         896,003         144,409         121,833        
1,189,978
  
     191,932   

Loans generated from offline channels

     159,810         1,332,559         214,770         299,697         2,514,767         405,608   

 

125


Table of Contents

Our Investors

Target Investor Group

We accept investments from investors of all income levels. However, we focus our efforts on attracting mass affluent investors. This large and rapidly growing sector of the Chinese population is currently underserved by traditional investment products in China. We seek to attract mass affluent investors because members of this demographic group are a significant untapped source of capital. In the future, we plan to expand our investor base from our current focus on individual investors to also include institutional investors.

Investor Profile and Base

Based on the information disclosed to us, as of June 30, 2015, our historical investor profile was 55.0% male and 45.0% female, while 86.5% were 40 years of age or less.

In 2014, 34,527 investors invested through our platform, compared with 5,617 investors in 2013, and in the six months ended June 30, 2015, 59,185 investors made loans through our platform, compared to 8,621 investors in the six months ended June 30, 2014. The total amount of funds invested by investors through our marketplace was RMB2,606.1 million in 2014, compared with RMB296.3 million in 2013. In the six months ended June 30, 2015, the total amount of funds invested by investors through our marketplace was RMB4,787.7 million (US$772.2 million), compared with RMB428.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Investor Acquisition

We attract a fast growing majority of our investors through online channels and currently attract almost all of our investors from such channels. Our investor acquisition efforts are primarily directed towards enhancing our brand name, building investor trust, and word-of-mouth marketing. We also attract investors through CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network, which refers potential investors to our marketplace who have expressed interest in the types of loan products offered on our online marketplace.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of investors using our platform by channel:

 

     For the Year
Ended
December 31,
     For the Six
Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2013      2014      2014      2015  

Number of investors (1) :

           

Investors from online channels

     4,250         25,093         7,856         50,193   

Investors from offline channels

     1,367         9,434         765         8,992   

Total number of investors

     5,617         34,527         8,621         59,185   

 

(1) The number of investors for a specified period represents the number of investors who have made at least one investment in loans during such period. Once an investor is acquired from either the online or offline channels, as the case may be, such investor will continue to be counted as from such channels for all subsequent periods.

Our Products and Services

Products Offered to Borrowers

Our online marketplace facilitates standard loan products, express loan products and vertical loan products to borrowers. For the loan products we facilitate, the APR paid by borrowers is between 16.9% and 39.5%, with the specific rate charged dependent upon a risk assessment of the borrower. We believe that these loans are simple and quality credit products that make it easy for borrowers to budget their repayment obligations and meet their financial needs. All of our loan products are unsecured, feature fixed monthly payments and offer terms of

 

126


Table of Contents

12, 18, 24, 36 or 48 months. Typical uses for these loan products include home remodels, durable good purchases, travel and continuing education.

Standard Loan Products

In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, the average loan amounts for our standard loan products were approximately RMB66,187 and RMB74,589 (US$12,030), respectively, although our standard loans can be as large as RMB500,000 (US$80,645). To apply for a standard loan, a borrower needs to complete an online application providing information such as their PRC identity card information, a bank statement with proof of monthly income and credit report from the PBOC, as well as the desired loan amount and term. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, our standard loan products represented the majority of the loans that were made through our marketplace.

FastTrack Loan Products

FastTrack loans are a new, fast expanding product that is currently only available through our mobile applications. These loans can be as large as RMB100,000 (US$16,129). In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, the average FastTrack loan amounts were RMB36,328 and RMB33,942 (US$5,475), respectively. To apply for a FastTrack loan, a borrower completes an online application providing their PRC identity card information, e-commerce account information, mobile phone number and a credit card statement as well as the desired loan amount and duration. This product offers near instantaneous credit approval, allowing qualified borrowers to receive an initial decision in as fast as ten minutes.

Vertical Loan Products

We currently offer vertical loan products to IT professionals, and plan to offer similar types of loan products targeted at other industry verticals in the future. Our IT professional loans are a relatively new program that is experiencing rapid growth. This product is currently aimed specifically at IT professionals working at large, established internet technology companies. Like our standard and express loans products, IT professional loans are unsecured. The average IT professional loan amount was RMB50,392 in 2014 and RMB49,665 (US$8,010) in the six months ended June 30, 2015. Typical uses for IT professional loans are similar to those for our standard loan products and express loan products. To apply for an IT professional loan, a borrower needs to provide information such as their employment information, PRC identity card information, a bank statement with proof of monthly income and a credit report from the PBOC, as well as the desired loan amount and term.

Loan Pricing Mechanism

We price loans facilitated through our marketplace using a pricing grid with four pricing grades, each with an APR calculated to correspond to a risk assessment of borrowers falling within that particular segment. Once a borrower’s credit information is input into our proprietary credit scoring and loan qualification system, that system automatically decides which of the four segments the borrower falls under, and applies the fee rate for the relevant segment to the borrower. Going forward, we plan to expand the number of segments contained in our pricing grid.

Loans are quoted as a fee rate displayed as an APR, which comprises a fixed interest rate that borrowers pay investors, and a transaction fee rate we charge borrowers for our services, and represents the total cost of borrowing for borrowers. The APRs for the term loans on our marketplace currently range from 16.9% to 39.5%, enabling us to cover a broad range of high-quality risk assets.

All of the loans offered through our marketplace feature fixed interest rates, which are paid to investors less any defaults over the term of the applicable loan and fees charged to investors. In addition, we charge borrowers transaction fees for matching them with investors. The transaction fee is charged as a percentage of the loan

 

127


Table of Contents

contract. A penalty fee for late payment is imposed as a percentage of the amount past due. All fees are clearly disclosed to the borrower upfront.

Services Offered to Investors

Through our marketplace investors have the opportunity to invest in a wide range of loan products with attractive returns. We believe our proprietary credit scoring and fraud detection systems will increase investor confidence in the quality of loans that they are investing in.

Investing Tools

Our online marketplace provides investors with several investing tools.

Automated investing tool . Our automated investing tool represents the most popular way for investors to invest in loans through our marketplace. With our automated investing tool, an investor agrees to invest a specified amount of money to borrowers through our marketplace for a specified period of time. Once an investor commits funds using the tool, his funds are automatically allocated among approved borrowers. Our automated investing tool automatically reinvests investors’ funds as soon as a loan is repaid, enabling investors to speed the reinvestment of cash flows without having to continually revisit our website or mobile application. Unless an emergency withdrawal fee is paid, investors using our automated investing tool are not allowed to withdraw their funds prior to the expiration of the specified investment period, which does not necessarily match the term of the loans to which the automated investing tool allocates the investor’s funds. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, the vast majority of funds invested by investors through our marketplace were invested utilizing this automated investing tool.

The minimum threshold for a lending commitment made through our automated investing tool is RMB100 (US$16.1). In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, the average amounts invested through our automated investing tool by each investor were RMB76,612 and RMB79,782 (US$12,868), respectively, and the current average annual rates of return to investors after deducting the management fee were between 6.6% and 10.2%. The specific rate of return offered to an investor using our automated investing tool varies with the duration of the committed investment term, which can be as short as three months, and the average interest returns of the loans to which the automated investing tool allocates the investor’s funds, which are also dependent on loan term.

Self-directed investing tool . Our self-directed investing tool enables investors to personally select among the hundreds of new lending opportunities to approved borrowers that are posted on our marketplace every day. After selecting a desired loan, the investor then agrees to lend a specified amount of money to a specific borrower through our marketplace for a specified duration which must match the tenure of the borrower’s loan. In order to encourage investors to diversify their risks, we have a policy capping each investor’s investment in a given loan at 20% of the loan amount. Our platform provides investors using our self-directed investing tool with the ability to use filters based on credit and application data, such as term, amount and interest rate, to screen loans on our platform for review.

The minimum threshold for a lending commitment made through our self-directed investing tool is RMB100 (US$16.1). In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, the average amounts invested through our self-directed investing tool by each investor were RMB51,570 and RMB67,488 (US$10,885), respectively. The rate of return offered to an investor after deducting the management fee varies with the duration of the investment term, with 9.0% corresponding to a 12-month loan and 11.25% corresponding to a 48-month loan.

 

128


Table of Contents

Risk Reserve Fund

In January 2015 we launched our new risk reserve fund. Under the current arrangement, we set aside a certain amount of cash in an interest-bearing custody account. The risk reserve fund covers loans originated on or after January 1, 2015. If a loan originated on or after January 1, 2015 defaults, we will withdraw funds from the risk reserve fund to repay the principal and accrued interest for the defaulted loan, unless the risk reserve fund is depleted. At the inception of each loan, we set aside cash in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the loan amount facilitated on our platform. We reserve the right to revise this percentage upwards or downwards from time to time. In addition, we monitor the balance of the risk reserve fund on a monthly basis, and adjust on a quarterly basis by putting an appropriate additional amount of cash from other sources into the risk reserve fund as needed to ensure we can sufficiently cover the expected payouts. See “—Risk Management—Investor Protection.”

Secondary Loan Market

We maintain a secondary loan market on our marketplace where investors can transfer the loans they hold prior to maturity at the fair value of the remaining loans. This secondary loan market is liquid, with loans typically exchanging hands within the same day it is posted. This liquidity offers investors the opportunity to enter and exit their investments without waiting until maturity, increasing their frequency and willingness to lend and, as a result, the amount of funds ultimately available to borrowers.

Fees Charged to Investors

We charge investors various on-going as well as one-time fees, depending on their specific investment activity on our marketplace. Investors using our automated investing tool are charged a monthly management fee, while investors using self-directed investing tool are charged an account management fee. A one-time fee is charged to all investors for each loan transferred over our secondary loan market.

Our Platform and the Transaction Process

We believe that our platform enables a fast loan application process, a credit assessment that more accurately determines an applicant’s creditworthiness and a superior overall user experience. Our platform touches each point of our relationship with our borrowers and investors, from the application process through the funding and servicing of loans.

We provide an automated, streamlined application process. To borrowers and investors alike, the process is designed to appear simple, seamless and efficient but our platform leverages sophisticated, proprietary technology to make it possible. The entire process from initial application to disbursement of funds typically takes one-to-two days.

Stage 1: Application

Our borrower application process begins with the submission of a loan application by a prospective borrower. Borrowers can apply through our website or mobile applications. For borrowers acquired through CreditEase’s on-the-ground sales network, a CreditEase salesperson will guide the prospective borrower in completing the application process and input the application and required information into our system. As part of both the online and offline application process, the prospective borrower is asked to provide various personal details. The specific personal details required will depend upon the borrower’s desired loan product, but typically include PRC identity card information, employer information, bank account information, credit card information and a credit report from the PBOC. For our FastTrack product, applicants may complete an application on our platform in three steps taking as little as ten minutes, significantly reducing the time normally spent applying for a loan.

 

129


Table of Contents

New investors sign up to our marketplace using a simple online portal in which they input their PRC identity card information and bank account information. Prior to June 2015, the funds they invested over our marketplace were deposited into a custody account run by any one of a number of established third-party online payment platforms. In August 2015, we fully migrated to a new system whereby China Guangfa Bank took over the investor custody accounts previously managed by the various third party payment platforms.

Stage 2: Verification

Upon submission of a completed application by borrowers from both online and offline channels, our credit models are populated with all information contained in the submitted loan application. Additional data from a number of internal and external sources is then matched with the application, including the following:

 

Internal   

•       historical credit data accumulated through our online platform; and

 

•       behavioral data that we glean from an applicant’s behavior as they apply to us for loans, such as the self-reported use of proceeds or use of multiple devices to access our platform;

External   

•       credit database maintained by CreditEase;

 

•       personal identity information maintained by an organization operated under the Ministry of Public Security;

 

•       personal credit information maintained by an organization operated under the PBOC;

 

•       online data from internet or wireless service providers;

 

•       online shopping and payment information for their accounts with certain popular Chinese e-commerce websites; and

 

•       fraud list and database.

This data is then aggregated and used to verify an applicant’s identity, for possible fraud detection and for assessment and determination of creditworthiness.

Stage 3: Anti-Fraud, Credit Assessment and Decisioning

In order to efficiently screen applicants, we have designed an initial qualification phase to review the basic information regarding a prospective borrower that has been submitted with the application and gathered by us from available sources. As a matter of policy, we do not permit borrowers to hold more than one loan that has been facilitated through our platform at a time, although we currently do not have a comprehensive way to determine whether borrowers have obtained loans through other consumer finance marketplaces. Once complete, an initial check is performed using our anti-fraud system, and the prospective borrower’s loan application either proceeds to the next phase of the application process or the prospective borrower is notified of the decision to decline the application.

Following initial qualification, we commence a credit review utilizing our proprietary credit scoring model to generate an Yirendai score for the prospective borrower that drives the decision whether to extend credit. Our current proprietary credit-scoring model originates from a credit scoring system that was developed by CreditEase in conjunction with Fair Issac Corporation, or FICO, a leading U.S. provider of analytics software and tools used to manage risk and fight fraud. We have further modified our credit scoring system to adapt it to the realities of the Chinese market, which has historically had no source of widely available consumer credit information. Today, our credit scoring system uses our own scoring criteria, and is routinely monitored, tested, updated and validated by our risk management team. Following the generation of the Yirendai score, our credit decisioning system makes a determination as to whether the prospective borrower is qualified. Unqualified borrowers are notified of the decision to decline their applications for failing to meet minimum requirements.

 

130


Table of Contents

Applications from qualified borrowers applying for our express and vertical loan products proceed directly to the approval, listing and funding stage.

For a potential borrower who meets our minimum requirements and is applying for our standard loan products, the application proceeds to our credit assessment team for review. A member of our credit assessment team will first conduct a telephone verification interview with the applicant. After the initial telephone verification interview, one junior and one senior member of our credit assessment team will analyze the application and Yirendai score. If a member of the credit assessment team suspects there may be fraud involved with a particular loan application or determines that additional verification is needed to complete the credit decisioning process, that team member will conduct further due diligence and verification, such as additional phone calls to the borrower applicant and the applicant’s employer that is identified in the application. While these additional steps have led us to discover instances of invalid information provided by prospective borrowers in the past, the number of such instances have not been significant. Following this review, the credit assessment team will either approve the loan as is, approve the loan with one or more modified sets of loan characteristics, or decline the loan application. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, 18.8% and 23.9% of all loan applications were approved, respectively.

Stage 4: Approval, Listing and Funding

Once the loan application is approved, we make a loan agreement available online for the prospective borrower’s review and approval. This loan agreement is between the borrower, the investors who fund the borrower’s loan and our platform. Upon acceptance of the loan agreement, if the loan has not been matched automatically through automated investing tool, the loan is then listed on our marketplace for investors to view. Once a loan is listed on our marketplace, investors may then subscribe to the loan using either our automated or self-directed investing tools. Before a loan is disbursed to the borrower, it must be fully subscribed to by investors. Our liquidity management system is designed to ensure the fast and effective matching of borrowers’ loan applications and investors’ investment demand through the use of a detailed demand forecasting model and real time monitoring. Once a loan is fully subscribed, funds are then drawn from a custody account and disbursed to the borrower.

Stage 5: Servicing and Collections

We utilize an automated process for collecting scheduled loan payments from our borrowers. Upon loan origination, we establish a payment schedule with payment occurring on a set business day each month. Borrowers then make scheduled loan repayments via a third-party payment platform to a custody account, and authorize us to debit the custody account for the transfer of scheduled loan repayments to the lending investors. We check the balances in the custody account and reconcile the transactions against our records on a daily basis.

As a day-to-day service to borrowers, we provide payment reminder services such as sending reminder text messages on the day a repayment is due. Once a repayment is past due, we also send additional reminder text messages during the first fourteen days of delinquency.

We outsource all stages of the collections process to CreditEase, which commences once a loan is fifteen days delinquent. To facilitate repayment and as a service to investors, the collections process is divided into distinct stages based on the severity of delinquency, which dictates the level of collection steps taken. For example, reminder text messages and emails are sent to a delinquent borrower as soon as the collections process commences, and if the payment is still outstanding, the collection team will make phone calls, then followed by visits to the delinquent borrower’s home. Although all stages of the collections process are outsourced to CreditEase, we handle all decisions to restructure or defer delinquent loans that are above a certain threshold, while CreditEase collection teams have the discretion to make decisions for the loans that are below such threshold.

 

131


Table of Contents

Risk Management

Traditional risk management tools and the types of consumer finance data available in developed economies, such as widely available consumer credit reporting services, are currently at an early stage of development in China. We believe our industry leading risk management capabilities provide us with a competitive advantage in attracting capital to our marketplace by providing investors with comfort that they are investing in high quality loans through a sustainable marketplace.

Proprietary Fraud Detection System

We use a proprietary fraud detection system, which is part of our larger risk management system, to identify and reject potential borrower applications. Our system combines quantitative modeling, internet technology, offline verification and the use of third-party services. The quantitative modeling aspect of our fraud detection system involves the use of a big data platform to locate potential inconsistences in a particular borrower application. The internet technology aspect includes IP verification and monitoring. Our offline verification activities involve members of our credit assessment team speaking with potential borrowers to inquire after any inconsistences in a loan application. Our big data platform is also used to enhance our offline verification processes. Lastly, we employ third-party services to check the online behavior of potential borrowers, and utilize government agency’s open database to check their identity card numbers against known criminals. We also maintain a blacklist after detecting any fraudulent borrowers. Currently, our risk management system utilizes over 250 decisioning rules and contains a blacklist with over 1,000,000 fraud detection data points.

Proprietary Credit Scoring Model and Loan Qualification System

We use a proprietary credit scoring model to assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers. This credit scoring model originates from a credit scoring system that was developed by CreditEase in conjunction with FICO. We have further modified our credit scoring model to adapt it to the realities of the Chinese market, which has historically had no source of widely available consumer credit information. Our credit scoring model aggregates and analyzes the data submitted by the borrower as well as the data we collect from a number of internal and external sources, and then generates an Yirendai score for the prospective borrower. Our relationship with CreditEase allows us to further enhance the depth of our credit scoring model through our ability to rely on its nine years of loan data. In addition to its strong analytical foundation, our credit scoring model is routinely monitored, tested, updated and validated by our risk management team.

 

132


Table of Contents

The following table presents all the criteria that materially impact a borrower’s Yirendai score:

 

Criteria

  

Examples

  

Effect on Yirendai Score

Purpose of the loan

   Personal consumption   

•    No monotonic correlation

Customer attributes

   Education background   

•    Positive correlation

•    Higher education leads to higher Yirendai score

Usage and performance of the loans from other financial institutions

   Maximum amount of loans that the borrower has borrowed from commercial banks   

•    Positive correlation

•    The larger the amount of bank loans, the higher the Yirendai score

Credit card usage and payment pattern

   Frequency of credit card usage   

•    Negative correlation

•    Above a certain threshold, the higher the frequency of credit card usage, the lower the Yirendai score

Public record

   Court enforcement record   

•    No monotonic correlation

•    A borrower’s Yirendai score is lower if he/she has been subject to court enforcement

Income and debt condition

   Salaries   

•    Positive correlation

•    Below a certain threshold, the higher the salary, the higher the Yirendai score

Geographic location

   Province or city where the borrower is located   

•    No monotonic correlation

•    A borrower’s Yirendai score is lower if he/she is located in a province or city where we face intense market competition

Job stability

   Length of employment   

•    Positive correlation

•    The longer the employment, the higher the Yirendai score

Online merchant purchasing pattern

   Recent average consumption level   

•    Positive correlation

•    The higher the recent average consumption level, the higher the Yirendai score

The Yirendai scores derived from our proprietary credit scoring model containing the criteria mentioned above are used to determine which of the four segments in our current pricing grid a particular borrower falls into.

 

133


Table of Contents

Currently, to qualify for any of the four segments, a prospective borrower must first meet our definition of a prime borrower and then meet the following additional minimum borrower qualification standards we set forth for each of the four segments:

 

Grade

  

Minimum borrower qualification standard

A

   healthy purchasing pattern with online merchants (1) and healthy credit card behavior (2) OR credit card holder with credit card limit of no lower than RMB70,000 (US$11,290) and monthly after tax income of no less than RMB10,000 (US$1,613)

B

   healthy purchasing pattern with online merchants (1) and stable credit card behavior (3)

C

   stable purchasing pattern with online merchants (4) and stable credit card behavior (3)

D

   mostly stable purchasing pattern with online merchants (4) and mostly stable credit card behavior (3) OR salaried worker with a credit card within certain preferred industry categories that we believe to be more creditworthy, which include, for instance, commercial banks

 

(1) “healthy purchasing pattern” means a purchase pattern with online merchants which includes, among others, an online purchasing history of no shorter than four years.
(2) “healthy credit card behavior” means a credit card related behavioral pattern which includes, among others, consistent on-time payments and a relatively low level of average credit utilization.
(3) “stable credit card behavior” means a credit card related behavioral pattern which includes, among others, consistent on-time payments and a moderate level of average credit utilization.
(4) “stable purchasing pattern” means a purchase pattern with online merchants which includes, among others, an online purchasing history of no shorter than two years.

Among the four segments, Grade A represents the lowest risks associated with the borrowers, while Grade D represents the highest risks. The APRs that correspond to the four segments in our current pricing grid range from 16.9% to 39.5%, enabling us to appropriately price across a broad range of loans. The APRs represent the actual yearly cost of borrowing over the life of a loan charged to the borrowers, which includes the transaction fee and the fixed interest fee.

The following table presents the current APR, the annual interest rate and the average transaction fee rate for each of the different segments in our pricing grid:

 

Pricing Grade

   APR      Interest Rate (1)      Average Transaction
Fee Rate (2)
 
A      16.9%         10.0-12.5%           5.6%   
B      27.4%         10.0-12.5%         18.5%   
C      33.5%         10.0-12.5%         26.4%   
D      39.5%         10.0-12.5%         28.2%   

 

(1) The yearly interest rate that the borrowers pay to investors varies from 10.0% to 12.5% depending on the term of the loan.
(2) The transaction fee rate is calculated as the total transaction fee that we charge borrowers for the entire life of the loan, divided by the total amount of principal. The average transaction fee rate presented in the table above is the simple average of the transaction fee rates for loans falling under the same pricing grade, but with different tenures and repayment schedules. As the interest rate and APR are both annualized rates while the average transaction fee rate is as described above, thus the sum of the yearly interest rate and the average transaction fee rate is not equal to the APR.

We have facilitated loans falling under Grade A on our marketplace since our inception, and these loans represent the majority of the historical loans facilitated through our online consumer finance marketplace. As part of our efforts to introduce risk-based pricing, we raised the minimum borrower qualification standards for Grade A loans, and started to facilitate Grade B and Grade D loans in the fourth quarter of 2014, and Grade C loans in the first quarter of 2015. The introduction of these new pricing grades is part of our continued focus on prime borrowers and enables us to further segment this group of borrowers and price the risks associated with them more effectively.

 

134


Table of Contents

We allow prospective borrowers who initially fail to meet our borrower criteria to reapply for a loan after a certain period of time, typically six months, if they are able to demonstrate a verifiable improvement in the criteria that impact their Yirendai score. For prospective borrowers that we determine present a fraud risk, reapplications are never permitted.

Our Risk Management Committee, Risk Management Division and Credit Assessment Team

Organizationally, we have a risk management committee, comprised of our executive chairman, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief risk officer, that meets monthly to examine the credit, liquidity and operational risks on our platform.

We have an independent risk management division, responsible for loan performance analysis, credit model validation and credit decisioning performance. This division engages in various risk management activities, including reporting on performance trends, monitoring of loan concentrations and stability, performing economic stress tests on loans, randomly auditing loan decisions by our credit assessment team members and conducting peer benchmarking and external risk assessments.

Our credit assessment team consisted of 53 members as of June 30, 2015. Each application for standard loan products received through our platform is reviewed by one junior member and one senior member of our credit assessment team. Members of our credit assessment team analyze loan applications and also assist with fraud detection and borrower verification, leveraging skills learned through training and on-the-job experience to evaluate loans on the basis of direct communications with potential borrowers. For each loan application, a junior team member will make an initial recommendation which is then reviewed by a senior team member, who has the authority to veto the junior team member’s recommendation. In 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, 18.8% and 23.9% of all loan applications were approved, respectively.

Loan Servicing and Collections

Our technology platform is capable of monitoring and tracking payment activity. With built-in payment tracking functionality and automated missed payment notifications, the platform allows us to monitor the performance of outstanding loans on a real-time basis.

We have developed a strategy to optimize the collections process for delinquent loans. Our collections process is divided into distinct stages based on the severity of delinquency, which dictates the level of collection steps taken. Loans progress through the collection cycle based upon the number of days past due but can be accelerated based on specific circumstances.

Investor Protection

Prior to August 2013, we offered investors an investor protection service in the form of a risk reserve fund, whereby we paid the loan principal and accrued interest to investors in the event that their loans defaulted. We charged investors a risk reserve management fee at a rate of 10% of the loan interest for this service.

In August 2013, we replaced the previous risk reserve fund with a guarantee system. Under this system, we worked with Tian Da Xin An, a guarantee company, to provide investors with the option of purchasing the assurance that their principal and interest would be repaid in the event that their loans defaulted, and the guarantee company charged investors 10% of the loan interest for the guarantee service. Historically, more than 99% of investors opted into the guarantee system. When we switched to the guarantee model in August 2013, we paid Tian Da Xin An a one-time fee of US$0.3 million for its assumption of the outstanding loan balances covered under our previous risk reserve fund.

Starting on January 1, 2015, we ended our relationship with the guarantee company, which will still continue to guarantee all previously guaranteed loans, and launched our new risk reserve fund. This new risk reserve fund covers loans originated on or after January 1, 2015. Under this arrangement, at the inception of each loan we set aside cash in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the loan amount facilitated on our platform

 

135


Table of Contents

in an interest-bearing custody account managed by China Guangfa Bank. We reserve the right to revise this percentage upwards or downwards from time to time. The factors that we consider in determining such percentage include market dynamics, our product lines, profitability, cash position and our actual and expected risk reserve payouts.

Under the risk reserve fund arrangement, if a borrower is 15 days delinquent in repaying an installment of principal and interest of a loan, we will withdraw an amount from the custody account to repay the delinquent installment of principal and interest to the corresponding investor. If a borrower is 90 days delinquent in repaying an installment of principal and interest on a loan, we will withdraw an amount from the custody account to repay the delinquent installment principal and interest, plus the entire outstanding balance of the loan principal, to the corresponding investor. If the risk reserve fund becomes insufficient to pay back all the investors with delinquent loans, these investors will be repaid on a pro rata basis, and their outstanding unpaid balances will be deferred to the next time the risk reserve fund is replenished, at which time a distribution will again be made to all investors with delinquent loans. Following replenishment of the risk reserve fund, in the event that the amount of funds is again insufficient to pay back all investors with delinquent loans, the investors will again be repaid on a pro rata basis, although in this case the number of investors sharing pro rata in the risk reserve fund will increase to include the unpaid investors from prior periods as well as the unpaid investors from the current period. If the risk reserve fund is continually underfunded, investors may need to wait for extended periods to receive a full distribution from the risk reserve fund, or incur a loss on their investment if the risk reserve fund is not sufficient. We plan to place a two-year limit on the period during which an investor has the right to receive distribution from the risk reserve fund—if an investor has not recovered the full default amount by the time that is two years and 90 days from the original due date, then the investor will no longer have the right to receive pro rata repayment from our risk reserve fund. As a result, investors will bear the risk that they will not be able to fully recover their investment principal and unpaid interest.

Once we make a payment to an investor, we seek to collect the amounts from the borrower through the collection process. The amount collected from the borrower, if any, is remitted to first replenish the portion of the risk reserve fund used to repay the investor, and if there is any additional amount remaining, then to reimburse our collection expenses. If we are not successful in collecting a sufficient amount from the default borrower to cover our collection expenses, our risk reserve fund service agreement with investors calls for investors to reimburse us for any litigation or arbitration expenses we may have advanced on their behalf during the collections process, although in practice we will bear the unrecovered portion of these and all other collection expenses.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the amount of cash we have set aside for the risk reserve fund is equivalent to 6% of the loans facilitated through our marketplace during the period. While this amount is not sufficient to cover all expected payouts for loans facilitated during this period, it was sufficient to repay the investors with loans that became delinquent during this period.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, in order to continue to attract new and retain existing investors and to remain consistent with the current industry practice in China, we revised our risk reserve funding policy to ensure that we will set aside sufficient cash in the risk reserve fund to cover the expected payouts. In addition to setting aside a certain percentage of the loan amount at the inception of each loan, we monitor the balance of the risk reserve fund on a monthly basis, and adjust on a quarterly basis by putting an appropriate additional amount of cash from other sources into the risk reserve fund as needed to ensure we can sufficiently cover the expected payouts. We intend to continue this practice for the foreseeable future.

By implementing this revised funding policy, we intend to allow investors to recover their principal and accrued interest based on the ratio that we commit to, if and when the loan defaults. Subject to the terms and limits in our agreements with investors, we currently allow investors to fully recover their outstanding principal and accrued interest in the event of loan default. However, as the industry continues to evolve and becomes more sophisticated, we may revisit our policy or the terms on which we offer the risk reserve fund services with investors so that investors may recover less than 100% of the outstanding principal and accrued interest.

 

136


Table of Contents

For our liabilities associated with the risk reserve fund, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Components of Results of Operations—Risk Reserve Fund.”

Our Technology

We believe our technology platform is a competitive advantage and an important reason that borrowers and investors utilize our marketplace. Key features of our technology platform include:

 

    Highly automated process . Our platform covers all five stages of the customer life cycle: application; verification; credit assessment and decisioning; listing and funding; and servicing and collections. Our web and mobile based platform also provides a superior customer experience. We offer a fast and easy-to-use online application process and provide both borrowers and investors with access to live support and online tools throughout the process and for the lifetime of the loan or investment. Our liquidity management system is designed to ensure the fast and effective matching of borrowers’ loan applications and investors’ investment demand by forecasting the borrowing demand on a weekly and monthly basis and monitoring the fund flow on a real time basis.

 

    Mobile applications . We have developed different user-friendly mobile applications for borrowers and investors, which enable borrowers and investors alike to access our platform at any time or location that is convenient. We launched our first mobile application during the fourth quarter of 2013, and approximately 24.7% and 25.4% of loans in terms of amount were facilitated through our mobile applications in 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively.

 

    Proprietary fraud detection . We use a combination of current and historical data obtained during the application process, third-party data and sophisticated analytical tools to help determine an application’s fraud risk. High risk applications are subject to further investigation. In case where fraud is confirmed, the application is cancelled, and we identify and flag characteristics of the loan to help refine our fraud detection efforts.

 

    Scalable platform . Our platform is built on a distributed, load-balanced computing infrastructure, which is both highly scalable and reliable. The infrastructure can be expanded easily as data storage requirements and user visits increase. We have designed a unified platform, which administrates all systems and servers and can reconfigure or redeploy systems or servers automatically whenever needed.

 

    Data security . Our network is configured with multiple layers of security to isolate our databases from unauthorized access and we use sophisticated security protocols for communication among applications. To prevent unauthorized access to our system we utilize a system of firewalls and also maintain a perimeter network, or DMZ, to separate our external-facing services from our internal systems. Our entire website and public and private APIs use the Secure Sockets Layer networking protocol.

 

    Stability . Our systems infrastructure is hosted in co-located redundant data centers in two separate districts in Beijing. We have multiple layers of redundancy to ensure the reliability of our network. We also have a working data redundancy model with comprehensive backups of our databases and our development environment conducted every day.

Product Development

We had a dedicated product development team consisting of 39 full-time employees as of June 30, 2015. This team is responsible for developing and implementing new consumer finance products to introduce on to our marketplace.

We constantly evaluate the popularity of our existing product offerings and develop new products and services that can cater to the ever-evolving needs of our borrowers and investors. From the borrower perspective, we will continue to develop tailored credit products to meet the specific needs of our target prime borrowers. We will leverage the success of our existing vertical loan products, such as those for IT professionals, to expand our

 

137


Table of Contents

customized loan products to new industry verticals. As our marketplace continues to grow, we plan to expand our ability to offer risk-based loan pricing. For example, we plan to enhance our risk-based pricing capability that optimizes loans based on individual credit criteria so that borrowers will be able to receive personalized loans tailored to their credit profile. In addition, we intend to introduce market-based pricing of loans based on macroeconomic factors and we believe such ability to continually adjust the pricing of the loans on our marketplace will allow us to better meet the needs of our borrowers.

From the investor perspective, we continue to develop new investment products, such as diversified term investment products and products with lower investment thresholds, that appeal to different investor appetites and demands. In the future, we plan to segment our loan products into more precise and specific return categories, and seek to offer investors a more diverse array of investment products that better meet their risk-adjusted return targets. We also intend to provide investors with enhanced tools and offer more valued-added services, such as investment portfolio services, enabling them to better monitor and manage their investments on our online marketplace.

Brand Promotion

Our general marketing efforts are designed to build brand awareness and reputation and to attract and retain borrowers and investors. We believe reputation and word-of-mouth drive continued organic growth in our borrower and investor bases. In this respect, our association with CreditEase is a valuable marketing and promotion asset.

Competition

The online consumer finance marketplace industry in China is intensely competitive and we compete with other consumer finance marketplaces. According to iResearch, as of the fourth quarter of 2014, there were approximately 1,500 marketplaces connecting borrowers and investors in China, of which 400 were active in the online consumer finance marketplace industry. Our key competitors include Ren Ren Dai ( LOGO ) and Lufax ( LOGO ). As a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers, we believe that our network effects and marketplace dynamics make us more attractive and efficient to both borrowers and investors, providing us with a competitive advantage. In light of the low barriers to entry in the online consumer finance industry, more players may enter this market and increase the level of competition. We anticipate that more established internet, technology and financial services companies that possess large, existing user bases, substantial financial resources and established distribution channels may enter the market in the future. We believe that our brand, scale, network effects, historical data and performance record provide us with competitive advantages over existing and potential competitors.

We also compete with other financial products and companies that attract borrowers, investors or both. With respect to borrowers, we compete with other consumer finance marketplaces and traditional financial institutions, such as consumer finance business units in commercial banks, credit card issuers and other consumer finance companies. We believe our innovative marketplace model and online platform enable us to operate more efficiently and with higher levels of borrower satisfaction than these competitors. With respect to investors, we primarily compete with other investment products and asset classes, such as equities, bonds, investment trust products, bank savings accounts and real estate. We believe that we are able to offer attractive returns with low investment thresholds that are uncorrelated with other asset classes.

 

 

138


Table of Contents

Employees

As of June 30, 2015, we had a total of 463 employees. We had a total of 338, 196 and 85 employees as of December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The following table sets forth the breakdown of our employees as of June 30, 2015 by function:

 

     Number of
Employees
     % of Total  

Function

     

Technology

     113         24.4   

Mobile

     95         20.5   

Risk Management

     56         12.1   

Operations

     126         27.2   

Product Development

     39         8.4   

Sales and Marketing

     12         2.6   

General and Administrative

     22         4.8   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     463         100.0   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of June 30, 2015, all of our employees were based in Beijing, where our principal executive offices are located.

The employee numbers for periods through December 31, 2014 in this “Employees” section include employees of CreditEase who worked for our business prior to our carve-out from CreditEase.

We believe we offer our employees competitive compensation packages and a work environment that encourages initiative and is based on merit, and as a result, we have generally been able to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain a stable core management team. We plan to hire additional employees as we expand our business.

As required by PRC regulations, we participate in various government statutory employee benefit plans, including social insurance funds, namely a pension contribution plan, a medical insurance plan, an unemployment insurance plan, a work-related injury insurance plan and a maternity insurance plan, and a housing provident fund. We are required under PRC law to make contributions to employee benefit plans at specified percentages of the salaries, bonuses and certain allowances of our employees, up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time. We have not made adequate employee benefit payments, and may be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.”

We enter into standard labor, confidentiality and non-compete agreements with our employees. The non-compete restricted period typically expires one year after the termination of employment, and we agree to compensate the employee with a certain percentage of his or her pre-departure salary during the restricted period.

We believe that we maintain a good working relationship with our employees, and we have not experienced any major labor disputes.

Facilities

Our principal executive offices are located on leased premises comprising 2,626 square meters in Beijing, China. We lease our premises from unrelated third parties under operating lease agreements. The lease for our principal executive offices will expire in May 2016. Our servers are primarily hosted at internet data centers owned by major domestic internet data center providers. The hosting services agreements typically have three year terms. We believe that we will be able to obtain adequate facilities, principally through leasing, to accommodate our future expansion plans.

 

139


Table of Contents

Intellectual Property

We regard our trademarks, domain names, know-how, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark and trade secret law and confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. We have three trademark applications pending with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have obtained a worldwide, royalty-free and exclusive license from CreditEase to use certain trademarks relating to our business, which CreditEase is in the process of transferring to us. We have also obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use certain of its trademarks, including “ LOGO ” (Chinese equivalent for CreditEase).

Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology. Monitoring unauthorized use of our technology is difficult and costly, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation of our technology. From time to time, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources.

In addition, third parties may initiate litigation against us alleging infringement of their proprietary rights or declaring their non-infringement of our intellectual property rights. In the event of a successful claim of infringement and our failure or inability to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. Moreover, even if we are able to license the infringed or similar technology, license fees could be substantial and may adversely affect our results of operations.

See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.” and “—We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations.”

Insurance

We maintain property insurance policies covering certain equipment and other property that are essential to our business operation to safeguard against risks and unexpected events. We also provide social security insurance including pension insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance and medical insurance for our employees. We do not maintain business interruption insurance or general third-party liability insurance, nor do we maintain product liability insurance or key-man insurance. We consider our insurance coverage to be sufficient for our business operations in China.

Legal Proceedings

We are currently not a party to any material legal or administrative proceedings. We may from time to time be subject to various legal or administrative claims and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Litigation or any other legal or administrative proceeding, regardless of the outcome, is likely to result in substantial cost and diversion of our resources, including our management’s time and attention.

 

140


Table of Contents

REGULATION

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in China.

As an online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors with individual borrowers, we are regulated by various government authorities, including, among others:

 

    the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, regulating the telecommunications and telecommunications-related activities, including, but not limited to, the internet information services and other value-added telecommunication services;

 

    the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, as the central bank of China, regulating the formation and implementation of monetary policy, issuing the currency, supervising the commercial banks and assisting the administration of the financing;

 

    China Banking Regulatory Commission, or the CBRC, regulating financial institutions and promulgating the regulations related to the administration of financial institutions.

Regulations Relating to Foreign Investment

The Draft PRC Foreign Investment Law

In January 2015, the MOC published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. The draft law purports to change the existing “case-by-case” approval regime to a “filing or approval” procedure for foreign investments in China. The State Council will determine a list of industry categories that are subject to special administrative measures, which is referred to as a “negative list,” consisting of a list of industry categories where foreign investments are strictly prohibited, or the “prohibited list” and a list of industry categories where foreign investments are subject to certain restrictions, or the “restricted list.” Foreign investments in business sectors outside of the “negative list” will only be subject to a filing procedure, in contrast to the existing prior approval requirements, whereas foreign investments in any industry categories that are on the “restricted list” must apply for approval from the foreign investment administration authority.

The draft for the first time defines a foreign investor not only based on where it is incorporated or organized, but also by using the standard of “actual control.” The draft specifically provides that entities established in China, but “controlled” by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs. Once an entity is considered to be an FIE, it may be subject to the foreign investment restrictions in the “restricted list” or prohibitions set forth in the “prohibited list.” If an FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment restrictions in the “restricted list,” the FIE must go through a market entry clearance by the MOC before being established. If an FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment prohibitions in the “prohibited list,” it must not engage in the business. However, an FIE that conducts business in an industry that is in the “restricted list,” upon market entry clearance, may apply in writing for being treated as a PRC domestic investment if it is ultimately “controlled” by PRC government authorities and its affiliates and/or PRC citizens. In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding 50% or more of the voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to exert material influence on the board, the shareholders’ meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. According to the draft, variable interest entities would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors, and be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing companies with the “variable interest entity” structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties.

 

141


Table of Contents

The draft emphasizes on the security review requirements, whereby all foreign investments that jeopardize or may jeopardize national security must be reviewed and approved in accordance with the security review procedure. In addition, the draft imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. Aside from investment implementation report and investment amendment report that are required at each investment and alteration of investment specifics, an annual report is mandatory, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these information reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liabilities.

The draft is now open for public review and comments. It is still uncertain when the draft would be signed into law and whether the final version would have any substantial changes from the draft. When the Foreign Investment Law becomes effective, the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations, will be abolished. See “Risk Factors—Risks related to Doing Business in China—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.”

Industry Catalog Relating to Foreign Investment

Investment activities in the PRC by foreign investors are principally governed by the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment, or the Catalog, which was promulgated and is amended from time to time by the MOC and the National Development and Reform Commission. Industries listed in the Catalog are divided into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally deemed as constituting a fourth “permitted” category. Establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises is generally allowed in encouraged and permitted industries. Some restricted industries are limited to equity or contractual joint ventures, while in some cases Chinese partners are required to hold the majority interests in such joint ventures. In addition, restricted category projects are subject to higher-level government approvals. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in industries in the prohibited category. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC regulations.

Our PRC subsidiary is mainly engaged in providing investment and financing consultations and technical services, which fall into the “encouraged” or “permitted” category under the Catalog. Our PRC subsidiary has obtained all material approvals required for its business operations. However, industries such as value-added telecommunication services (except e-commerce), including Internet information services, are restricted from foreign investment. We provide the value-added telecommunication services that are in the “restricted” category through our consolidated variable interest entity, Heng Cheng.

Foreign Investment in Value-Added Telecommunication Services

The Provisions on Administration of Foreign Invested Telecommunications Enterprises promulgated by the State Council in December 2001 and subsequently amended in September 2008 prohibit a foreign investor from owning more than 50% of the total equity interest in any value-added telecommunications service business in China and require the major foreign investor in any value-added telecommunications service business in China have a good and profitable record and operating experience in this industry. The Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment amended in 2015 allows a foreign investor to own more than 50% of the total equity interest in an E-Commerce business.

In July 2006, the Ministry of Information Industry, the predecessor of the MIIT, issued the Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in the Operation of Value-added Telecommunications

 

142


Table of Contents

Business, pursuant to which a domestic PRC company that holds an operating license for value-added telecommunications business, which we refer to as a VATS License, is prohibited from leasing, transferring or selling the VATS License to foreign investors in any form and from providing any assistance, including resources, sites or facilities, to foreign investors that conduct a value-added telecommunications business illegally in China. Further, the domain names and registered trademarks used by an operating company providing value-added telecommunications services must be legally owned by that company or its shareholders. In addition, the VATS License holder must have the necessary facilities for its approved business operations and to maintain the facilities in the regions covered by its VATS License.

In light of the above restrictions and requirements, we operate our website through Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity, which has received the VATS License necessary to provide online information service and other value-added telecommunications services in China. CreditEase currently owns certain trademarks relating to our value-added telecommunications business. CreditEase will transfer these trademarks to Heng Cheng in order to comply with the requirement that registered trademarks used by an operating company providing value-added telecommunications services must be legally owned by that company or its shareholders.

Regulations Relating to Online Peer-to-Peer Lending

Online peer-to-peer lending is regarded under PRC law as direct loans between parties through an internet platform, and governed by the PRC Contract Law, the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC, and related judicial interpretations promulgated by the Supreme People’s Court.

Regulations on Loans between Individuals

The PRC Contract Law governs the formation, validity, performance, enforcement and assignment of contracts. The PRC Contract Law confirms the validity of loan agreement between individuals and provides that the loan agreement becomes effective when the individual lender provides the loan to the individual borrower. The PRC Contract Law requires that the interest rates charged under the loan agreement must not violate the applicable provisions of the PRC laws and regulations. In accordance with the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Laws Applicable to Trials of Private Lending Cases issued by the Supreme People’s Court on August 6, 2015, or the Private Lending Judicial Interpretations, which came into effect on September 1, 2015, private lending is defined as financing between individuals, legal entities and other organizations. When private loans between individuals are paid by wire transfer, through online peer-to-peer lending platforms or by other similar means, the loan contracts between individuals are deemed to be validated upon the deposit of funds to the borrower’s account. In the event that the loans are made through an online peer-to-peer lending platform and the platform only provides intermediary services, the courts shall dismiss the claims of the parties concerned against the platform demanding the repayment of loans by the platform as guarantors. However, if the online peer-to-peer lending service provider guarantees repayment of the loans as evidenced by its web page, advertisements or other media, or the court is provided with other proof, the lender’s claim alleging that the peer-to-peer lending service provider shall assume the obligations of a guarantor will be upheld by the courts. The Private Lending Judicial Interpretations also provide that agreements between the lender and borrower on loans with interest rates below 24% per annum are valid and enforceable. As to loans with interest rates per annum between 24% and 36%, if the interest on the loans has already been paid to the lender, and so long as such payment has not damaged the interest of the state, the community and any third parties, the courts will turn down the borrower’s request to demand the return of the interest payment. If the annual interest rate of a private loan is higher than 36%, the excess will not be enforced by the courts. All the loan transactions facilitated over our marketplace are between individuals currently. The APRs for the term loans on our marketplace currently range from 16.9% to 39.5%, which comprises a fixed interest rate and a transaction fee rate we charge borrowers for our services. See “Business—Our Products and Services—Loan Pricing Mechanism.” The interest rate component, which is stipulated in the loan agreements, does not and is not expected to exceed the mandatory limit for loan interest rates.

 

143


Table of Contents

Pursuant to the PRC Contract Law, a creditor may assign its rights under an agreement to a third party, provided that the debtor is notified. Upon due assignment of the creditor’s rights, the assignee is entitled to the creditor’s rights and the debtor must perform the relevant obligations under the agreement for the benefit of the assignee. We operate a secondary loan market on our platform where investors can transfer the loans they hold to other investors before the loan reaches maturity. To facilitate the assignment of the loans, the template loan agreement applicable to the lenders and borrowers on our platform specifically provides that a lender has the right to assign his/her rights under the loan agreement to any third parties and the borrower agrees to such assignment.

In addition, according to the PRC Contract Law, an intermediation contract is a contract whereby an intermediary presents to its client an opportunity for entering into a contract or provides the client with other intermediary services in connection with the conclusion of a contract, and the client pays the intermediary service fees. Our business of connecting investors with individual borrowers may constitute intermediary service, and our service agreements with borrowers and investors may be deemed as intermediation contracts under the PRC Contract Law. Pursuant to the PRC Contract Law, an intermediary must provide true information relating to the proposed contract. If an intermediary conceals any material fact intentionally or provides false information in connection with the conclusion of the proposed contract, which results in harm to the client’s interests, the intermediary may not claim for service fees and is liable for the damages caused.

Regulations on Illegal Fund-Raising

Raising funds by entities or individuals from the general public must be conducted in strict compliance with applicable PRC laws and regulations to avoid administrative and criminal liabilities. The Measures for the Banning of Illegal Financial Institutions and Illegal Financial Business Operations promulgated by the State Council in July 1998, and the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning the Penalty on Illegal Fund-Raising issued by the General Office of the State Council in July 2007, explicitly prohibit illegal public fund-raising. The main features of illegal public fund-raising include: (i) illegally soliciting and raising funds from the general public by means of issuing stocks, bonds, lotteries or other securities without obtaining the approval of relevant authorities, (ii) promising a return of interest or profits or investment returns in cash, properties or other forms within a specified period of time, and (iii) using a legitimate form to disguise the unlawful purpose.

To further clarify the criminal charges and punishments relating to illegal public fund-raising, the Supreme People’s Court promulgated the Judicial Interpretations to Issues Concerning Applications of Laws for Trial of Criminal Cases on Illegal Fund-Raising, or the Illegal Fund-Raising Judicial Interpretations, which came into force in January 2011. The Illegal Fund-Raising Judicial Interpretations provide that a public fund-raising will constitute a criminal offense related to “illegally soliciting deposits from the public” under the PRC Criminal Law, if it meets all the following four criteria: (i) the fund-raising has not been approved by the relevant authorities or is concealed under the guise of legitimate acts; (ii) the fund-raising employs general solicitation or advertising such as social media, promotion meetings, leafleting and SMS advertising; (iii) the fundraiser promises to repay, after a specified period of time, the capital and interests, or investment returns in cash, properties in kind and other forms; and (iv) the fund-raising targets at the general public as opposed to specific individuals. An illegal fund-raising activity will be fined or prosecuted in the event that it constitutes a criminal offense. Pursuant to the Illegal Fund-Raising Judicial Interpretations, an offender that is an entity will be subject to criminal liabilities, if it illegally solicits deposits from the general public or illegally solicits deposits in disguised form (i) with the amount of deposits involved exceeding RMB1,000,000 (US$161,290), (ii) with over 150 fund-raising targets involved, or (iii) with the direct economic loss caused to fund-raising targets exceeding RMB500,000 (US$80,645), or (iv) the illegal fund-raising activities have caused baneful influences to the public or have led to other severe consequences. An individual offender is also subject to criminal liabilities but with lower thresholds. In addition, an individual or an entity who has aided in illegal fund-raising from the general public and charges fees including but not limited to agent fees, rewards, rebates and commission, constitute an accomplice of the crime of illegal fund-raising. In accordance with the Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procurator and the Ministry of Public Security on Several Issues concerning the

 

144


Table of Contents

Application of Law in the Illegal Fund-Raising Criminal Cases, the administrative proceeding for determining the nature of illegal fund-raising activities is not a prerequisite procedure for the initiation of criminal proceeding concerning the crime of illegal fund-raising, and the administrative departments’ failure in determining the nature of illegal fund-raising activities does not affect the investigation, prosecution and trial of cases concerning the crime of illegal fund-raising.

Regulations on Peer-to-Peer Lending Service Provider

In a press conference on April 21, 2014, a senior officer of the CBRC emphasized that a peer-to-peer lending services provider must operate as a platform that serves as an information intermediary between borrowers and lenders, and must not form any pool of capital, or provide any guarantee, or illegally raise any funds from the general public. Furthermore, on a public forum held on September 27, 2014, another senior officer of the CBRC mentioned several requirements that the CBRC is contemplating for future regulation of the peer-to-peer lending service industry, which include, among others, that (i) a peer-to-peer lending service provider is neither a credit intermediary bearing credit risk nor a transaction platform, but an information intermediary between lenders and borrowers; (ii) a peer-to-peer lending service provider should not hold investors’ funds or set up any capital pool; (iii) a peer-to-peer lending service provider must not provide guarantees for lenders in relation to the principal or interests, or bear any system risk or liquidity risk; (iv) the borrowers and lenders using the peer-to-peer lending service providers are required to register their real identity information; (v) a peer-to-peer lending service provider must meet some qualification requirements, such as those with respect to the registered capital, management and corporate governance; (vi) the transfer of funds between borrowers and lenders must be handled by independent third-party payment companies; (vii) peer-to-peer lending service providers must improve information disclosure; (viii) the loans and investments made through the platform should be “micro-financing” that targets individuals and small enterprises; (ix) a peer-to-peer lending service provider should not unreasonably target high-interest financing projects; and (x) a peer-to-peer lending service provider should promote the promulgation and implementation of the rules for peer-to-peer lending service industry, and strengthen the function of self-regulations.

On July 18, 2015, ten PRC regulatory agencies, including the PBOC, the MIIT and the CBRC, jointly issued the Guidelines on Promoting the Healthy Development of Internet Finance, or the Guidelines. The Guidelines define online peer-to-peer lending as direct loans between parties through an internet platform, which is under the supervision of CBRC, and governed by the PRC Contract Law, the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC, and related judicial interpretations promulgated by the Supreme People’s Court. The Guidelines require that online peer-to-peer lending service providers must do the following:

 

  (i) act as an intermediary platform to provide information exchange, matching, credit assessment and other intermediary services, and must not provide credit enhancement services and/or engage in illegal fund-raising;

 

  (ii) complete registration with the relevant local counterpart of the MIIT in accordance with implementation regulations that may be promulgated by the MIIT or/and the Office for Cyberspace Affairs pursuant to the Guidelines;

 

  (iii) set up a custody account with a qualified bank in order to deposit, manage and supervise borrower and investor funds, and separate borrower and investor funds from the funds of the online peer-to-peer lending service provider, with that custody account being subject to independent audits, the results of which must be disclosed to investors and borrowers, all in accordance with implementation regulations that may be promulgated by the PBOC and other relevant regulatory agencies pursuant to the Guidelines;

 

  (iv) fully disclose all relevant information to customers, including but not limited to the online peer-to-peer lending service provider’s financial status, transaction model, the rights and obligations of customers, and provide customers with reminders of the risk of loss;

 

145


Table of Contents
  (v) not disseminate any untrue information and conduct any bundle sales;

 

  (vi) protect the personal information of the online peer-to-peer lending service provider’s customers from any unauthorized disclosure, and must not sell and/or disclose such information illegally; and

 

  (vii) establish a customer identification program, monitor and report suspicious transactions, preserve customer information and transaction records, and provide assistance to the public security department and judicial authorities in investigations and proceedings in relation to anti-money laundering matters.

The Guidelines only set out the basic principles for promoting and administering the online peer-to-peer lending service industry, and new detailed rules and regulations will be adopted by the relevant regulatory agencies to implement and enforce the principles set out in the Guidelines. As the implementing rules of the Guidelines have not been published, there is uncertainty as to how the requirements in the Guidelines will be interpreted and implemented.

Our marketplace serves as an information intermediary between borrowers and lenders and we are not a party to the loans facilitated through our marketplace. We have taken measures to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations, including the regulatory principles raised by the CBRC, and avoid conducting any activities that may be deemed as illegal fund-raising under the current applicable laws and regulations. However, due to the lack of detailed regulations and guidance in the area of peer-to-peer lending services and the possibility that the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating peer-to-peer lending services in the future, we cannot assure you that our practice would not be deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, especially relating to illegal fund-raising, credit enhancement services and/or information disclosure. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—The laws and regulations governing the peer-to-peer lending industry in China are developing and evolving and subject to changes. If our practice is deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial conditions and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.”

Anti-money Laundering Regulations

The PRC Anti-money Laundering Law, which became effective in January 2007, sets forth the principal anti-money laundering requirements applicable to financial institutions as well as non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations, including the adoption of precautionary and supervisory measures, establishment of various systems for client identification, retention of clients’ identification information and transactions records, and reports on large transactions and suspicious transactions. According to the PRC Anti-money Laundering Law, financial institutions subject to the PRC Anti-money Laundering Law include banks, credit unions, trust investment companies, stock brokerage companies, futures brokerage companies, insurance companies and other financial institutions as listed and published by the State Council, while the list of the non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations will be published by the State Council. The PBOC and other governmental authorities issued a series of administrative rules and regulations to specify the anti-money laundering obligations of financial institutions and certain non-financial institutions, such as payment institutions. However, the State Council has not promulgated the list of the non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations.

The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015, purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online peer-to-peer lending platforms, to comply with certain anti-money laundering requirements, including the establishment of a customer identification program, the monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions, the preservation of customer information and transaction records, and the provision of assistance to the public security department and judicial authority in investigations and proceedings in relation to anti-money laundering matters. The PBOC will formulate implementing rules to further specify the anti-money laundering obligations of internet finance service providers.

 

146


Table of Contents

In cooperation with our partnering custody banks and payment companies, we have adopted various policies and procedures, such as internal controls and “know-your-customer” procedures, for anti-money laundering purposes. However, as the implementing rules of the Guidelines have not been published, there is uncertainty as to how the anti-money laundering requirements in the Guidelines will be interpreted and implemented, and whether online peer-to-peer lending service providers like us must abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the PRC Anti-money Laundering Law that are applicable to non-financial institutions with anti-money laundering obligations. We cannot assure you that our existing anti-money laundering policies and procedures will be deemed to be in full compliance with any anti-money laundering laws and regulations that may become applicable to us in the future.

Regulations on Value-Added Telecommunication Services

The Telecommunications Regulations promulgated by the State Council and its related implementation rules, including the Catalog of Classification of Telecommunications Business issued by the MIIT, categorize various types of telecommunications and telecommunications-related activities into basic or value-added telecommunications services, and internet information services, or ICP services, are classified as value-added telecommunications businesses. In 2009, the MIIT promulgated the Administrative Measures on Telecommunications Business Operating Licenses, which set forth more specific provisions regarding the types of licenses required to operate value-added telecommunications services, the qualifications and procedures for obtaining such licenses and the administration and supervision of such licenses. Under these regulations, a commercial operator of value-added telecommunications services must first obtain a license for value-added telecommunications business, or VATS License, from the MIIT or its provincial level counterparts.

In September 2000, the State Council also issued the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, which was amended in January 2011. Pursuant to these measures, “internet information services” refer to provision of internet information to online users, and are divided into “commercial internet information services” and “non-commercial internet information services.” A commercial internet information services operator must obtain a VATS License for internet information services, or ICP License, from the relevant government authorities before engaging in any commercial internet information services operations in China. The ICP License has a term of five years and can be renewed within 90 days before expiration.

Heng Cheng, our consolidated variable interest entity, has an ICP License for provision of commercial internet information services issued by Beijing Telecommunication Administration Bureau in April 2015. The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015, purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including online peer-to-peer lending platforms, to complete registration with the relevant local counterpart of the MIIT in accordance with implementation regulations that may be promulgated by the MIIT or/and the Office for Cyberspace Affairs pursuant to the Guidelines. However, as the implementing rules of the Guidelines have not been published, there is uncertainty as to how the registration requirements in the Guidelines will be interpreted and implemented, and whether peer-to-peer lending service providers like us are only required to obtain an ICP license in order to be in full compliance with such registration requirements.

Regulations on Internet Information Security

Internet information in China is also regulated and restricted from a national security standpoint. The National People’s Congress, China’s national legislative body, has enacted the Decisions on Maintaining Internet Security, which may subject violators to criminal punishment in China for any effort to: (i) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive information; (iii) leak state secrets; (iv) spread false commercial information; or (v) infringe intellectual property rights. The Ministry of Public Security has promulgated measures that prohibit use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. If an internet information service provider violates these measures, the Ministry of Public Security and the local security bureaus may revoke its operating license and shut down its websites.

 

147


Table of Contents

In addition, the Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers, including peer-to-peer lending platforms, to improve technology security standards, and safeguard customer and transaction information. The PBOC and other relevant regulatory authorities will jointly adopt the implementing rules and technology security standards.

Regulations on Privacy Protection

In recent years, PRC government authorities have enacted laws and regulations on internet use to protect personal information from any unauthorized disclosure. Under the Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services, issued by the MIIT in December 2011, an ICP service operator may not collect any user personal information or provide any such information to third parties without the consent of a user. An ICP service operator must expressly inform the users of the method, content and purpose of the collection and processing of such user personal information and may only collect such information necessary for the provision of its services. An ICP service operator is also required to properly maintain the user personal information, and in case of any leak or likely leak of the user personal information, the ICP service operator must take immediate remedial measures and, in severe circumstances, make an immediate report to the telecommunications regulatory authority. In addition, pursuant to the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Online Information issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in December 2012 and the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information issued by the MIIT in July 2013, any collection and use of user personal information must be subject to the consent of the user, abide by the principles of legality, rationality and necessity and be within the specified purposes, methods and scopes. An ICP service operator must also keep such information strictly confidential, and is further prohibited from divulging, tampering or destroying of any such information, or selling or providing such information to other parties. An ICP service operator is required to take technical and other measures to prevent the collected personal information from any unauthorized disclosure, damage or loss. Any violation of these laws and regulations may subject the ICP service operator to warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses, cancellation of filings, closedown of websites or even criminal liabilities. The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 also prohibit internet finance service providers, including online peer-to-peer lending platforms, from illegally selling or disclosing customers’ personal information. The PBOC and other relevant regulatory authorities will jointly adopt the implementing rules. Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in August 2015 and becoming effective in November, 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders, shall be subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the client’s information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtain any personal information, shall be subject to criminal penalty in severe situation.

In operating our online consumer finance marketplace, we collect certain personal information from borrowers and investors, and also need to share the information with our business partners such as third-party online payment companies and loan collection service providers for the purpose of facilitating loan transactions between borrowers and investors over our marketplace. We have obtained consent from the borrowers and investors on our marketplace to collect and use their personal information, and have also established information security systems to protect the user information and privacy. However, as the implementing rules of the Guidelines have not been published, there is uncertainty as to how the requirements for protecting customers’ personal information in the Guidelines will be interpreted and implemented. We cannot assure you that our existing policies and procedures will be deemed to be in full compliance with any laws and regulations that may become applicable to us in the future.

 

148


Table of Contents

Regulation on Intellectual Property Rights

The PRC has adopted comprehensive legislation governing intellectual property rights, including trademarks. The PRC Trademark Law and its implementation rules protect registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. The Trademark Office under the State Administration of Industry and Commerce is responsible for the registration and administration of trademarks throughout the PRC, and grants a term of ten years to registered trademarks and another ten years if requested upon expiry of the initial or extended term. Trademark license agreements must be filed with the Trademark Office for record. As of the date of this prospectus, we have three trademark applications pending with the Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have obtained a worldwide, royalty-free and exclusive license from CreditEase to use certain trademarks relating to our business, which CreditEase is in the process of transferring to us. We also have obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use certain of its trademarks, including “ LOGO ” (Chinese equivalent for CreditEase).

Regulations Relating to Dividend Withholding Tax

Pursuant to the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, if a non-resident enterprise has not set up an organization or establishment in the PRC, or has set up an organization or establishment but the income derived has no actual connection with such organization or establishment, it will be subject to a withholding tax on its PRC-sourced income at a rate of 10%. Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, the withholding tax rate in respect to the payment of dividends by a PRC enterprise to a Hong Kong enterprise is reduced to 5% from a standard rate of 10% if the Hong Kong enterprise directly holds at least 25% of the PRC enterprise. Pursuant to the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on the Issues concerning the Application of the Dividend Clauses of Tax Agreements, or Circular 81, a Hong Kong resident enterprise must meet the following conditions, among others, in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax: (i) it must directly own the required percentage of equity interests and voting rights in the PRC resident enterprise; and (ii) it must have directly owned such percentage in the PRC resident enterprise throughout the 12 months prior to receiving the dividends. There are also other conditions for enjoying the reduced withholding tax rate according to other relevant tax rules and regulations. In August 2015, the State Administration of Taxation promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatments under Tax Treaties, or Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax rate. Instead, non-resident enterprises and their withholding agents may, by self-assessment and on confirmation that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-tax filing examinations by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, Yirendai HK, our Hong Kong subsidiary, may be able to enjoy the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends they receive from Heng Ye, our PRC subsidiary, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed under Circular 81 and other relevant tax rules and regulations. However, according to Circular 81 and Circular 60, if the relevant tax authorities consider the transactions or arrangements we have are for the primary purpose of enjoying a favorable tax treatment, the relevant tax authorities may adjust the favorable withholding tax in the future.

Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange

Regulation on Foreign Currency Exchange

The principal regulations governing foreign currency exchange in China are the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, most recently amended in August 2008. Under the PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. By contrast, approval from or registration with

 

149


Table of Contents

appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital account items, such as direct investments, repayment of foreign currency-denominated loans, repatriation of investments and investments in securities outside of China. On February 28, 2015, the SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment, or SAFE Notice 13. After SAFE Notice 13 became effective on June 1, 2015, instead of applying for approvals regarding foreign exchange registrations of foreign direct investment and overseas direct investment from SAFE, entities and individuals will be required to apply for such foreign exchange registrations from qualified banks. The qualified banks, under the supervision of the SAFE, will directly examine the applications and conduct the registration.

In August 2008, SAFE issued the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency-registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. SAFE Circular 142, provides that the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of foreign-invested enterprises. The use of such RMB capital may not be changed without SAFE’s approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations may result in severe monetary or other penalties.

In November 2012, SAFE promulgated the Circular of Further Improving and Adjusting Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Foreign Direct Investment, which substantially amends and simplifies the current foreign exchange procedure. Pursuant to this circular, the opening of various special purpose foreign exchange accounts, such as pre-establishment expenses accounts, foreign exchange capital accounts and guarantee accounts, the reinvestment of RMB proceeds derived by foreign investors in the PRC, and remittance of foreign exchange profits and dividends by a foreign-invested enterprise to its foreign shareholders no longer require the approval or verification of SAFE, and multiple capital accounts for the same entity may be opened in different provinces, which was not possible previously. In addition, SAFE promulgated another circular in May 2013, which specifies that the administration by SAFE or its local branches over direct investment by foreign investors in the PRC must be conducted by way of registration and banks must process foreign exchange business relating to the direct investment in the PRC based on the registration information provided by SAFE and its branches.

In July 2014, SAFE issued SAFE Circular 36, which purports to reform the administration of settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of foreign-invested enterprises in certain designated areas on a trial basis. Under the pilot program, some of the restrictions under SAFE Circular 142 will not apply to the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of the foreign-invested enterprises established within the designated areas and the enterprises are allowed to use its RMB capital converted from foreign exchange capitals to make equity investment. However, our PRC subsidiary is not established within the designated areas. On March 30, 2015, the SAFE promulgated Circular 19, to expand the reform nationwide. Circular 19 came into force and replaced both Circular 142 and Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. Circular 19 allows foreign-invested enterprises to make equity investments by using RMB fund converted from foreign exchange capital. However, Circular 19 continues to, prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using RMB fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises.

Regulations on Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by PRC Residents

SAFE issued SAFE Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, that became effective in July 2014, replacing the previous SAFE Circular 75. SAFE Circular 37 regulates foreign exchange matters in

 

150


Table of Contents

relation to the use of special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, by PRC residents or entities to seek offshore investment and financing or conduct round trip investment in China. Under SAFE Circular 37, a SPV refers to an offshore entity established or controlled, directly or indirectly, by PRC residents or entities for the purpose of seeking offshore financing or making offshore investment, using legitimate onshore or offshore assets or interests, while “round trip investment” refers to direct investment in China by PRC residents or entities through SPVs, namely, establishing foreign-invested enterprises to obtain the ownership, control rights and management rights. SAFE Circular 37 provides that, before making contribution into an SPV, PRC residents or entities are required to complete foreign exchange registration with SAFE or its local branch. SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment in February 2015, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This notice has amended SAFE Circular 37 requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing.

PRC residents or entities who had contributed legitimate onshore or offshore interests or assets to SPVs but had not obtained registration as required before the implementation of the SAFE Circular 37 must register their ownership interests or control in the SPVs with qualified banks. An amendment to the registration is required if there is a material change with respect to the SPV registered, such as any change of basic information (including change of the PRC residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, and mergers or divisions. Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and the subsequent notice, or making misrepresentation on or failure to disclose controllers of the foreign-invested enterprise that is established through round-trip investment, may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant foreign-invested enterprise, including payment of dividends and other distributions, such as proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation, to its offshore parent or affiliate, and the capital inflow from the offshore parent, and may also subject relevant PRC residents or entities to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations.

We are aware that our PRC resident beneficial owners subject to these registration requirements have registered with the Beijing SAFE branch and are in the process of updating the registration to reflect the recent changes to our corporate structure.

Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans

SAFE promulgated the Stock Option Rules in February 2012, replacing the previous rules issued by SAFE in March 2007. Under the Stock Option Rules and other relevant rules and regulations, PRC residents who participate in stock incentive plan in an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with SAFE or its local branches and complete certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas publicly listed company or another qualified institution selected by the PRC subsidiary, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of the participants. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or other material changes. The PRC agent must, on behalf of the PRC residents who have the right to exercise the employee share options, apply to SAFE or its local branches for an annual quota for the payment of foreign currencies in connection with the PRC residents’ exercise of the employee share options. The foreign exchange proceeds received by the PRC residents from the sale of shares under the stock incentive plans granted and dividends distributed by the overseas listed companies must be remitted into the bank accounts in the PRC opened by the PRC agents before distribution to such PRC residents.

We have adopted a share incentive plan, under which we have the discretion to grant a broad range of equity-based awards to eligible participants. See “Management—Share Incentive Plan.” After this offering, we plan to advise the recipients of awards under our 2015 share incentive plan to handle foreign exchange matters in accordance with the Stock Option Rules. However, we cannot assure you that they can successfully register with SAFE in full compliance with the Stock Option Rules. Any failure to complete their registration pursuant to the

 

151


Table of Contents

Stock Option Rules and other foreign exchange requirements may subject these PRC individuals to fines and legal sanctions, and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiary, limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to distribute dividends to us or otherwise materially adversely affect our business.

Regulations on Dividend Distribution

Under our current corporate structure, our Cayman Islands holding company may rely on dividend payments from Heng Ye, which is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated in China, to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. The principal regulations governing distribution of dividends of foreign-invested enterprises include the Foreign-Invested Enterprise Law, as amended in October 2000, and its implementation rules. Under these laws and regulations, wholly foreign-owned enterprises in China may pay dividends only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, wholly foreign-owned enterprises in China are required to allocate at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until these reserves have reached 50% of the registered capital of the enterprises. Wholly foreign-owned companies may, at their discretion, allocate a portion of their after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.

Regulations on Overseas Listings

Six PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which became effective in September 2006. The M&A Rules, among other things, require offshore SPVs formed for overseas listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange.

While the application of the M&A Rules remains unclear, we believe, based on the advice of our PRC counsel, Han Kun Law Offices, that CSRC approval is not required in the context of this offering because: (a) we established our PRC subsidiary, Heng Ye, by means of direct investment rather than by merger with or acquisition of PRC domestic companies, and (b) no explicit provision in the M&A Rules classifies the respective contractual arrangements between Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and its shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules. However, as there has been no official interpretation or clarification of the M&A Rules, there is uncertainty as to how this regulation will be interpreted or implemented. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering under a regulation adopted in August 2006, as amended, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval.”

Regulations Relating to Employment

The PRC Labor Law and the Labor Contract Law require that employers must execute written employment contracts with full-time employees. If an employer fails to enter into a written employment contract with an employee within one year from the date on which the employment relationship is established, the employer must rectify the situation by entering into a written employment contract with the employee and pay the employee twice the employee’s salary for the period from the day following the lapse of one month from the date of establishment of the employment relationship to the day prior to the execution of the written employment contract. All employers must compensate their employees with wages equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. Violations of the PRC Labor Law and the Labor Contract Law may result in the imposition of fines and other administrative sanctions, and serious violations may result in criminal liabilities.

Enterprises in China are required by PRC laws and regulations to participate in certain employee benefit plans, including social insurance funds, namely a pension plan, a medical insurance plan, an unemployment insurance plan, a work-related injury insurance plan and a maternity insurance plan, and a housing provident

 

152


Table of Contents

fund, and contribute to the plans or funds in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of the employees as specified by the local government from time to time at locations where they operate their businesses or where they are located. Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans may be subject to fines and other administrative sanctions.

We have not made adequate contributions to employee benefit plans, as required by applicable PRC laws and regulations. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.”

 

153


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT

Directors and Executive Officers

The following table sets forth information regarding our directors and executive officers as of the date of this prospectus.

 

Directors and Executive Officers

   Age     

Position/Title

Ning Tang

     41       Executive Chairman

Huan Chen

     39       Director

Quan Zhou

     57       Director

Tina Ju

     50       Director

Sam Hanhui Sun*

     43       Independent Director Appointee

Jingsheng Huang*

     57       Independent Director Appointee

Qing Li*

     38       Independent Director Appointee

Yihan Fang

     42       Chief Executive Officer

Yu Cong

     46       Chief Financial Officer

Yiting Pan

     41       Chief Risk Officer

Nian Duan

     38       Chief Technology Officer

Jike Chong

     36       Chief Data Scientist

Xiaojia Sun

     33       General Counsel

Wei Song

     43       Vice President of Product

 

* Each of Messrs. Sam Hanhui Sun, Jingsheng Huang and Qing Li has accepted our appointment to be a director of our company, effective upon the SEC’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part.
** We also have a non-voting observer on our board of directors, Mr. Kwok King Kingsley Chan, a managing director at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia.

Mr. Ning Tang is our founder and has served as our executive chairman of the board of directors since our inception. He is also the founder of our parent company, CreditEase, and has served as the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of CreditEase since its inception in 2006. In December 2014, Mr. Tang was elected to be the chairman of the Beijing P2P Association, founded by CreditEase together with approximately 30 member enterprises and the first association in the industry in China that is officially registered and overseen by regulators. In July 2011, Mr. Tang won the nomination of “Leader of the Year” in the “Global Microfinance Achievement Awards 2011,” initiated by the London-based C5 Group to recognize the efforts, innovations and services that ensure maximum business and social returns in the microfinance sector. Mr. Tang is also a member of the advisory board to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology with respect to small and medium-sized enterprises related policies, and a director at the China Microfinance Institution Association. Prior to founding CreditEase, Mr. Tang served as the director of strategic investments and acquisitions at AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc., a leading provider of telecommunication software solutions and services in China then listed on NASDAQ, since July 2000. Prior to that, Mr. Tang served as an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, a U.S. investment bank now owned by Credit Suisse, since July 1998. Mr. Tang is an active angel investor and has made several successful investments in the education and training, financial services, human resources services, internet, technology and media industries. Mr. Tang studied mathematics at Peking University and received his bachelor’s degree in economics, summa cum laude, from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He is also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Mr. Huan Chen has served as our director since January 2015, and has served as the chief strategy officer of our parent company CreditEase since November 2007. Prior to joining CreditEase, Mr. Chen served as a product manager at Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd., a leading internet company in China listed on the NYSE, from July 2006 to November 2007. From March 2003 to July 2006, Mr. Chen served as an investment management manager at 21cn.com , an online portal owned by China Telecom. Prior to that, Mr. Chen worked at Guangzhou Securities Co. Ltd., a securities brokerage service firm, and co-founded Find2Fine Consulting Ltd., an online

 

154


Table of Contents

project outsourcing marketplace, successively from July 1998 to March 2003. Mr. Chen received a bachelor’s degree in international commerce and a master’s degree in econometrics from Sun Yat-sen University in China.

Mr. Quan Zhou has served as our director since January 2015. Mr. Zhou is currently a managing member of the general partner of IDG Technology Venture Investments, L.P. and its successor funds. Mr. Zhou is also serving as a director of the general partner of each of IDG-Accel China Growth Fund I and IDG-Accel China Capital Fund I, and their respective successor funds. He currently serves on the board of Xunlei Limited, a NASDAQ-listed internet company, and SouFun Holdings Limited, an NYSE-listed company. Mr. Zhou received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from China Science and Technology University, a master’s degree in chemical physics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Ph.D. degree in fiber optics from Rutgers University.

Ms. Tina Ju has served as our director since January 2015. Ms. Ju is a founding and managing partner of KPCB China and TDF Capital, and currently a managing member of the general partner of both funds. She has more than 25 years of experience in venture capital, investment banking and operations. Ms. Ju began her venture capital career in 1999. She co-founded VTDF China in 2000 and KPCB China in 2007. Earlier in her career, Ms. Ju spent 11 years in investment banking at Deutsche Bank with her last position as the head of TMT and Transport Asia, Merrill Lynch with her last position as head of Asia Technology and Corporate Finance Team, and Goldman Sachs. Ms. Ju currently serves as a director on the board of various private companies. Ms. Ju received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sam Hanhui Sun will serve as our director commencing from the SEC’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. From January 2010 to September 2015, Mr. Sun assumed a couple of positions at Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, a NASDAQ-listed company, including serving as Qunar’s president from May 2015 to September 2015 and its chief financial officer from January 2010 to April 2015. Prior to joining Qunar, Mr. Sun was the chief financial officer of KongZhong Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company, from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Sun was also an independent director and audit committee member of KongZhong Corporation from July 2005 through January 2007. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Sun served in several financial controller positions at Microsoft China R&D Group, Maersk China Co. Ltd. and SouFun.com. From 1995 to 2004, Mr. Sun worked in KPMG’s auditing practice group, including eight years at the Beijing office of KPMG, where he was an audit senior manager, and two years at KPMG in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Sun currently serves as an independent director and audit committee chair of SouFun Holdings Limited, an NYSE-listed company, and an independent director and audit committee chair of China Auto Rental Inc., a Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listed company. Mr. Sun received a B.A. in business administration from Beijing Institute of Technology in 1993. He is a Certified Public Accountant in China.

Mr. Jingsheng Huang will serve as our director commencing from the SEC’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. Mr. Huang is the managing executive director at Harvard Center Shanghai. Prior to that, he was a partner of TPG Growth and RMB Funds based in Shanghai, China. Before joining TPG, he was a managing director at Bain Capital LLC, where he set up and ran its Shanghai operations. Prior to that, Mr. Huang served multiple positions in the investment industry, including managing director in China at SOFTBANK Asia Infrastructure Fund, partner at SUNeVision Ventures and senior manager of strategic investment at Intel Capital. Before starting his investment career, Mr. Huang was the director of research operations at GartnerGroup, a co-founder and vice president of marketing at Mtone Wireless and an English lecturer at Communication University of China. Before joining Harvard, Mr. Huang served as a member of the board of China Venture Capital Association and a deputy chairman of Shanghai Private Equity Association. Mr. Huang received an M.B.A degree from Harvard Business School, an M.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Mr. Qing Li will serve as our director commencing from the SEC’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. Mr. Li is the founder and chief executive officer of Sciencast Management L.P., a limited partnership formed in Delaware. Prior to founding Sciencast, Mr. Li was a portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisors from April 2009 to February 2015, a research analyst at

 

155


Table of Contents

Tykhe Capital LLC from October 2005 to April 2009, a research analyst at Fortress Investment Group from September 2004 to October 2005 and a research analyst from August 2002 to September 2004. Mr. Li received a Ph.D. in finance from Columbia University and a B.S. in mathematics from Peking University.

Ms. Yihan Fang has served as our chief executive officer and the general manager in charge of the online lending business unit of CreditEase since March 2012. Ms. Fang has 15 years of experience in product, technology and marketing in internet and financial services. Prior to joining CreditEase, Ms. Fang served as director of marketing products at Nelnet/CUNet in 2011, a leading provider of digital enrollment marketing solutions. Prior to that, Ms. Fang worked at IAC/Ask.com with multiple positions from February 2002 to February 2010, including Vice President of Global Search and Answers overseeing strategy and product development of various key search and question/answer products, Senior Director of Product Management responsible for search product and relevance, and Director of Search Operations responsible for search engine operations. Ms. Fang received a Master of Philosophy and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Arts in Astronomy from Columbia University. She completed her undergraduate study through the Program for Gifted Youth at the University of Science and Technology of China.

Mr. Yu Cong has served as our chief financial officer since September 2014. Prior to joining us, Mr. Cong served as the Chief Representative of Deutsche Bank AG’s Beijing Representative Office as well as a director and head of China Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), from October 2010 to August 2014, and as a vice president and director successively at the Asia Technology & Media Banking group from May 2008 to October 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Cong worked with a few other firms in the U.S., including Needham & Co. as a vice president of investment banking from 2006 to 2008, Piper Jaffray & Co. as an equity research analyst covering companies in the technology industry from 2004 to 2006, and Applied Materials, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer, as a marketing manager from 1996 to 2003. Mr. Cong received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an M.B.A. degree from Walter Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.

Ms. Yiting Pan has served as our chief risk officer since October 2014. Prior to joining us, Ms. Pan served at Capital One as a director managing the credit economic capital team that oversaw the credit capital needs of Capital One’s asset book from July 2012 to June 2014, and served as a vice president in charge of portfolio risk analysis at Union Bank from March 2010 to July 2012. Prior to that, Ms. Pan worked with several other institutions in the U.S., including: as the head of the quantitative analysis department at Aurora Investment Management, an investment management company headquartered in Chicago, from October 2007 to September 2008, and as an assistant vice president at LaSalle Bank, a division of ABN AMRO at the time, from October 2004 to October 2007, among others. Ms. Pan received her bachelor’s degree in computer science and master’s degree in artificial intelligence from Nanjing University of Science and Technology, a master’s degree in mathematics and computer applications from University of Illinois at Chicago, and an M.B.A. degree from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Mr. Nian Duan has served as our chief technology officer since February 2015. Prior to joining us, Mr. Duan served at douban.com , a leading social network services website in China, as its vice president of engineering since February 2013, and as its senior director of engineering from August 2012 to February 2013. Prior to that, Mr. Duan served at Happy Elements, a social game company in China, as its vice president of engineering from April 2011 to July 2012, and at Google China as an engineering manager from June 2007 to March 2011. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Duan worked with a few other companies in the TMT industry in China, including as a software engineer with Huawei. Mr. Duan received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China.

Dr. Jike Chong has served as our chief data scientist since May 2015. Prior to joining us, Dr. Chong worked at Simply Hired, a leading job search engine in Silicon Valley from June 2012 to April 2015, where he established and headed its data science division. During this time, Dr. Chong was invited to the White House multiple times to advise the U.S. Department of Labor and the White House Office of Science and Technology

 

156


Table of Contents

Policy on the design of big-data-related products for reducing unemployment. From 2011 to 2012, Dr. Chong was the lead risk analytics architect at Silver Lake Kraftwerk, responsible for applying big data techniques to risk analysis of venture investment projects. Prior to that, Dr. Chong founded and served as principal application architect at Parasians from 2009 to 2011. Since 2010, Dr. Chong has been an adjunct professor and Ph.D. advisor at Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where he established the CUDA Research Center and CUDA Teaching Center and has served as a co-director of these centers since their inception. Dr. Chong received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. degree from University of California, Berkeley. He holds eight patents in the United States (five granted and three pending).

Ms. Xiaojia Sun has served as our general counsel since February 2015. Prior to joining us, Ms. Sun served as a senior associate at King & Wood Mallesons Law Offices from October 2010 to January 2015. Prior to that, Ms. Sun served as an associate at Nixon Peabody LLP from August 2009 to October 2010, as an international legal consultant at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP from September 2007 to June 2009, and as an associate at Jun He Law Offices from April 2004 to June 2006. Ms. Sun received her bachelor’s degree from Peking University, and her master of laws degree from Northwestern University School of Law.

Ms. Wei Song has served as our Vice President of Product since April 2015. Prior to joining us, Ms. Song served at China Minsheng Bank as a senior consultant, since February 2014. Prior to that, Ms. Song served at J.P. Morgan Chase’s card services department as a marketing analytics manager from January 2012 to January 2014 and as a senior risk analyst from January 2010 to December 2011, and at Bank of America’s credit card department as a project manager from June 2007 to February 2009. Prior to that, Ms. Song served at DuPont as a marketing specialist from July 2004 to May 2007, and at IBM China as a marketing specialist from August 1998 to February 2002. Ms. Song received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Renmin University of China, and an M.B.A. degree from University of Virginia.

Board of Directors

Our board of directors will consist of seven directors upon the SEC’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company to qualify to serve as a director. A director may vote with respect to any contract, proposed contract or arrangement in which he is interested, and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of our directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement is considered, provided (a) such director, if his interest in such contract or arrangement is material, has declared the nature of his interest at the earliest meeting of the board at which it is practicable for him to do so, either specifically or by way of a general notice and (b) if such contract or arrangement is a transaction with a related party, such transaction has been approved by the audit committee. The directors may exercise all the powers of the company to borrow money, to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital, and to issue debentures or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the company or of any third party. None of our non-executive directors has a service contract with us that provides for benefits upon termination of service.

Committees of the Board of Directors

We will establish three committees under the board of directors immediately upon the effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. We will adopt a charter for each of the three committees. Each committee’s members and functions are described below.

Audit Committee . Our audit committee will consist of Messrs. Sam Hanhui Sun, Jingsheng Huang and Qing Li. Mr. Sam Hanhui Sun will be the chairman of our audit committee. We have determined that Messrs. Sam Hanhui Sun, Jingsheng Huang and Qing Li satisfy the “independence” requirements of Section 303A of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange

 

157


Table of Contents

Act of 1934. The audit committee will oversee our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee will be responsible for, among other things:

 

    appointing the independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by the independent auditors;

 

    reviewing with the independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and management’s response;

 

    discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and the independent auditors;

 

    reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our accounting and internal control policies and procedures and any steps taken to monitor and control major financial risk exposures;

 

    reviewing and approving all proposed related party transactions, including any transactions between us and CreditEase;

 

    meeting separately and periodically with management and the independent auditors; and

 

    monitoring compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics, including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our procedures to ensure proper compliance.

Compensation Committee . Our compensation committee will consist of Messrs. Qing Li, Sam Hanhui Sun and Jingsheng Huang. Mr. Qing Li will be the chairman of our compensation committee. We have determined that Messrs. Qing Li, Sam Hanhui Sun and Jingsheng Huang satisfy the “independence” requirements of Section 303A of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE. The compensation committee will assist the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure, including all forms of compensation, relating to our directors and executive officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee meeting during which his compensation is deliberated. The compensation committee will be responsible for, among other things:

 

    reviewing and approving, or recommending to the board for its approval, the compensation for our chief executive officer and other executive officers;

 

    reviewing and recommending to the board for determination with respect to the compensation of our non-employee directors;

 

    reviewing periodically and approving any incentive compensation or equity plans, programs or similar arrangements; and

 

    selecting compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser only after taking into consideration all factors relevant to that person’s independence from management.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee . Our nominating and corporate governance committee will consist of Messrs. Jingsheng Huang, Sam Hanhui Sun and Qing Li. Mr. Jingsheng Huang will be the chairperson of our nominating and corporate governance committee. Messrs. Jingsheng Huang, Sam Hanhui Sun and Qing Li satisfy the “independence” requirements of Section 303A of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE. The nominating and corporate governance committee will assist the board of directors in selecting individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for, among other things:

 

    selecting and recommending to the board nominees for election by the shareholders or appointment by the board;

 

    reviewing annually with the board the current composition of the board with regards to characteristics such as independence, knowledge, skills, experience and diversity;

 

    making recommendations on the frequency and structure of board meetings and monitoring the functioning of the committees of the board; and

 

    advising the board periodically with regards to significant developments in the law and practice of corporate governance as well as our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and making recommendations to the board on all matters of corporate governance and on any remedial action to be taken.

 

158


Table of Contents

Duties of Directors

Under Cayman Islands law, our directors owe fiduciary duties to our company, including a duty of loyalty, a duty to act honestly and a duty to act in what they consider in good faith to be in our best interests. Our directors also have a duty to exercise the skill they actually possess and such care and diligence that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, and the class rights vested thereunder in the holders of the shares. Our company has the right to seek damages if a duty owed by our directors is breached. A shareholder may in certain limited exceptional circumstances have the right to seek damages in our name if a duty owed by the directors is breached.

Our board of directors has all the powers necessary for managing, and for directing and supervising, our business affairs. The functions and powers of our board of directors include, among others:

 

    convening shareholders’ annual and extraordinary general meetings;

 

    declaring dividends and distributions;

 

    appointing officers and determining the term of office of the officers;

 

    exercising the borrowing powers of our company and mortgaging the property of our company; and

 

    approving the transfer of shares in our company, including the registration of such shares in our share register.

Terms of Directors and Officers

Our directors may be elected by a resolution of our board of directors, or by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. Each of our directors will hold office until the expiration of his or her term, if any, as provided in the written agreement with our company and until his or her successor has been elected or appointed. A director will cease to be a director if, among other things, the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) dies or is found by our company to be or becomes of unsound mind, (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to the company, or (iv) without special leave of absence from our board, is absent from three consecutive board meetings and our directors resolve that his office be vacated. Our officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of the board of directors.

Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers. Under these agreements, each of our executive officers is employed for a specified time period. We may terminate employment for cause, at any time, without advance notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the executive officer, such as conviction or plea of guilty to a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, negligent or dishonest acts to our detriment, or misconduct or a failure to perform agreed duties. We may also terminate an executive officer’s employment without cause upon three-month advance written notice. In such case of termination by us, we will provide severance payments to the executive officer as expressly required by applicable law of the jurisdiction where the executive officer is based. The executive officer may resign at any time with a three-month advance written notice.

Each executive officer has agreed to hold, both during and after the termination or expiry of his or her employment agreement, in strict confidence and not to use, except as required in the performance of his or her duties in connection with the employment or pursuant to applicable law, any of our confidential information or trade secrets, any confidential information or trade secrets of our clients or prospective clients, or the confidential or proprietary information of any third party received by us and for which we have confidential obligations. The executive officers have also agreed to disclose in confidence to us all inventions, designs and trade secrets which

 

159


Table of Contents

they conceive, develop or reduce to practice during the executive officer’s employment with us and to assign all right, title and interest in them to us, and assist us in obtaining and enforcing patents, copyrights and other legal rights for these inventions, designs and trade secrets.

In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions during the term of his or her employment and typically for one year following the last date of employment. Specifically, each executive officer has agreed not to (i) approach our suppliers, clients, customers or contacts or other persons or entities introduced to the executive officer in his or her capacity as a representative of us for the purpose of doing business with such persons or entities that will harm our business relationships with these persons or entities; (ii) assume employment with or provide services to any of our competitors, or engage, whether as principal, partner, licensor or otherwise, any of our competitors, without our express consent; or (iii) seek directly or indirectly, to solicit the services of any of our employees who is employed by us on or after the date of the executive officer’s termination, or in the year preceding such termination, without our express consent.

We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we may agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.

Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, we paid an aggregate of approximately US$0.3 million in cash to our executive officers, and we did not pay any compensation to our non-executive directors. We have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our executive officers and directors. Our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employee’s salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance and other statutory benefits and a housing provident fund.

Share Incentive Plan

In September 2015, we adopted a share incentive plan, or the 2015 Plan, which allows us to offer a variety of share-based incentive awards to employees, officers, directors and individual consultants who render services to us. The plan permits the grant of three types of awards: options, restricted shares and restricted share units. The maximum number of our shares that may be issued pursuant to all awards under the 2015 Plan is 10,000,000 ordinary shares. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not granted any awards under the 2015 Plan. The following paragraphs summarize the terms of the 2015 Plan:

Plan Administration . Our board of directors, or a committee designated by our board of directors, will administer the plan. The committee or the full board of directors, as appropriate, will determine the provisions and terms and conditions of each option grant.

Award Agreements . Options and other awards granted under the plan are evidenced by an award agreement that sets forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each grant, which may include the term of the award and the provisions applicable in the event of the grantee’s employment or service terminates. The exercise price of granted options may be amended or adjusted in the absolute discretion of our board of directors, or a committee designated by our board of directors, without the approval of our shareholders or the recipients of the options.

Eligibility . We may grant awards to employees, directors and consultants of our company or any of our affiliates, which include our parent company, subsidiaries and any entities in which our parent company or a subsidiary of our company holds a substantial ownership interest.

 

160


Table of Contents

Vesting Schedule . In general, the plan administrator determines the vesting schedule, which is specified in the relevant award agreement.

Acceleration of Awards upon Change in Control . If a change-of-control corporate transaction occurs, the plan administrator may, in its sole discretion, provide for (i) all awards outstanding to terminate at a specific time in the future and give each participant the right to exercise the vested portion of such awards during a specific period of time, or (ii) the purchase of any award for an amount of cash equal to the amount that could have been attained upon the exercise of such award, or (iii) the replacement of such award with other rights or property selected by the plan administrator in its sole discretion, or (iv) payment of award in cash based on the value of ordinary shares on the date of the change-of-control corporate transaction plus reasonable interest.

Term of the Options . The term of each option grant shall be stated in the award agreement, provided that the term shall not exceed ten years from the date of the grant.

Transfer Restrictions . Awards may not be transferred in any manner by the recipient other than by will or the laws of succession, except as otherwise provided by the plan administrator.

Termination of the Plan . Unless terminated earlier, the plan will terminate automatically in 2025. Our board of directors has the authority to amend or terminate the plan subject to shareholder approval to the extent necessary to comply with applicable law. However, no such action may impair the rights of any award recipient unless agreed by the recipient.

 

161


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

Except as specifically noted, the following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus by:

 

    each of our directors and executive officers; and

 

    each of our principal shareholders who beneficially own more than 5% of our total outstanding ordinary shares.

The calculations in the table below are based on 100,000,000 ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, and ordinary shares outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option.

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we have included shares that the person has the right to acquire within 60 days, including through the exercise of any option, warrant or other right or the conversion of any other security. These shares, however, are not included in the computation of the percentage ownership of any other person.

 

     Ordinary Shares
Beneficially
Owned Prior to This Offering
     Ordinary Shares Beneficially
Owned Immediately After
This Offering
     Number      %      Number    %

Directors and Executive Officers**:

           

Ning Tang (1)

     43,430,000         43.4         

Huan Chen

     —           —           

Quan Zhou (2)

     *         *         

Tina Ju (3)

     —           —           

Sam Hanhui Sun***

     —           —           

Jingsheng Huang***

     —           —           

Qing Li***

     —           —           

Yihan Fang

     —           —           

Yu Cong

     —           —           

Yiting Pan

     —           —           

Nian Duan

     —           —           

Jike Chong

     —           —           

Xiaojia Sun

     —           —           

Wei Song

     —           —           

All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group

     43,430,000         43.4         

Principal Shareholders:

           

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited (4)

     100,000,000         100.0         

 

* Less than 1% of our total outstanding shares.
** Except for Messrs. Sam Hanhui Sun, Jingsheng Huang and Qing Li, the business address of our directors and executive officers is 4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The business address of Mr. Sam Hanhui Sun is Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, 17/F, Viva Plaza, Building 18, Yard 29, Suzhou Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100080, People’s Republic of China. The business address of Mr. Jingsheng Huang is Harvard Center Shanghai, 5/F Shanghai IFC-HSBC Building, No. 8 Century Avenue, Shanghai 200120, People’s Republic of China. The business address of Mr. Qing Li is 15 Revere Ct, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550.
*** Each of Messrs. Sam Hanhui Sun, Jingsheng Huang and Qing Li has accepted our appointment to be a director of our company, effective upon the SEC’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part.
For each person and group included in this column, percentage ownership is calculated by dividing the number of shares beneficially owned by such person or group by the sum of the total number of shares outstanding and the number of shares such person or group has the right to acquire upon exercise of option, warrant or other right within 60 days after the date of this prospectus. The total number of ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus is 100,000,000. The total number of ordinary shares outstanding after the completion of this offering will be             , including (i)              ordinary shares to be sold by us in this offering in the form of ADSs, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option.

 

162


Table of Contents
(1) Mr. Ning Tang does not hold any ordinary share in our company directly. Mr. Tang, through a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by him, owns 43.4% of the total outstanding shares of CreditEase, our parent company, on an as-converted basis.
(2) Mr. Quan Zhou does not hold any ordinary share in our company directly. Mr. Zhou beneficially owns these shares indirectly through IDG-Accel China Investors II L.P., a shareholder of CreditEase.
(3) Ms. Tina Ju is a founding and managing partner of KPCB China, which holds certain equity interest in CreditEase through its affiliated funds.
(4) CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited is our parent company and is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its business address is 16/F, Tower C, SOHO New Town, 88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. CreditEase is owned by Mr. Ning Tang, our executive chairman, and a few investors, including IDG, KPCB China and Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, through their respective investment vehicles.

As of the date of this prospectus, none of our outstanding ordinary shares are held by record holders in the United States. None of our existing shareholders has different voting rights from other shareholders after the completion of this offering. We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company.

 

163


Table of Contents

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Transactions and Agreements with CreditEase

Transactions with CreditEase Affiliated Entities

Prior to the establishment of Yirendai Ltd., our online consumer finance marketplace business was carried out by various subsidiaries and variable interest entities of CreditEase. These CreditEase affiliated entities also provided us with origination and servicing, financial, administrative, sales and marketing, risk management, human resources and legal services, as well as the services of a number of its executives and employees. As we did not account for ourselves before we became a stand-alone company, CreditEase did not charge us for the above provision of services. The costs of providing these services were allocated using a proportional cost allocation method and based on headcount or transaction volume for the provision of services attributable to us. See “Our Relationship with CreditEase” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates—Basis of Presentation, Combination and Consolidation.” Total allocation of cost and expense from CreditEase for the services provided were approximately US$2.3 million, US$16.1 million and US$30.0 million for 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. Among these, allocation for provision of borrower and investor acquisition and referral services were US$1.3 million, US$12.3 million and US$27.9 million, for system support were US$0.8 million, US$1.7 million and US$1.7 million and for collection services were US$8,000, US$54,000 and US$0.1 million, for 2013, 2014 and the six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively.

We also obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use its trademarks and used the proprietary systems developed by CreditEase free of charge during the six-month period ended June 30, 2015.

Since we completed our carve-out from CreditEase and became a stand-alone company, we account for the services provided by CreditEase affiliated entities to us and other transactions with CreditEase as related party transactions.

CreditEase Huimin Investment Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or CreditEase Huimin, is an affiliate of CreditEase. CreditEase Huimin received on behalf of us transaction fees and service fees through the external payment networks and from China Guangfa Bank starting in June 2015. We had US$10.6 million due from CreditEase Huimin as of June 30, 2015.

In addition, several other affiliates of CreditEase provided us with borrower acquisition and referral services, investor acquisition and referral services, system support services, identity verification services and collection services. As of June 30, 2015, the total amount due to these related parties for such services was US$6.3 million.

Carve-out Agreements with CreditEase

We have entered into various agreements with CreditEase. See “Our Relationship with CreditEase” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Carve-out from CreditEase and Our Relationships with CreditEase.”

Guarantee Arrangement with Tian Da Xin An

Tian Da Xin An (Beijing) Guarantee Co., Ltd., or Tian Da Xin An, is a guarantee company affiliated with CreditEase. When we switched our investor protection services to the guarantee model in August 2013, we paid Tian Da Xin An a one-time fee of US$0.3 million for its assumption of the outstanding loan balances covered under our previous risk reserve fund. From August 2013 to December 2014, we had a guarantee arrangement with Tian Da Xin An to provide investors with the option of purchasing the assurance that their principal and interest would be repaid in the event that their loans default. Tian Da Xin An was responsible for repaying the principal and accrued interest of the default loan and it charged the investor 10% of the monthly loan interest for

 

164


Table of Contents

the guarantee service. In practice, we reimbursed the loan principal and accrued interest to the investor in the first place in the case of default, and then collected the amount from Tian Da Xin An, and we collected from the investor the guarantee service fee charged by Tian Da Xin An on its behalf, and then remit the amount to Tian Da Xin An. The balance of amount due to Tian Da Xin An as of December 31, 2013 and amount due from Tian Da Xin An as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015 represent the net amount of services fee payable and receivable arising from guarantee fee, default loan principal and accrued interest due to borrowers as well as uncollectible transaction fee. The guarantee arrangement has been replaced by our new risk reserve fund since January 2015. All loans originated on or after January 1, 2015 are covered under the risk reserve fund, and the outstanding balance of the loans guaranteed under the previous guarantee arrangement will continue to be covered under the guarantee arrangement until the loans reach maturity.

Contractual Arrangements with Our Variable Interest Entity and Its Shareholders

PRC laws and regulations currently restrict foreign ownership and investment in value-added telecommunications services in China. As a result, we operate our relevant business through contractual arrangements among Heng Ye, our PRC subsidiary, Heng Cheng, our variable interest entity, and the shareholders of Heng Cheng. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Corporate History and Structure—Contractual Arrangements with Heng Cheng.”

Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements

See “Management—Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements.”

 

165


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

We are a Cayman Islands company and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Law (2013 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Law below.

As of the date of this prospectus, the authorized share capital of our company is US$50,000 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, of which 100,000,000 ordinary shares are issued and outstanding.

Our Post-Offering Memorandum and Articles of Association

We expect to adopt, subject to the approval of our shareholders, an amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will become effective and replace our current memorandum and articles of association in its entirety immediately prior to the completion of this offering. The following are summaries of material provisions of the post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that we expect to adopt and of the Companies Law, insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares.

Objects of Our Company . Under our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the objects of our company are unrestricted and we have the full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the law of the Cayman Islands.

Ordinary Shares . Our ordinary shares are issued in registered form and are issued when registered in our register of members. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and vote their shares.

Dividends . The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors. In addition, our shareholders may by an ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Under Cayman Islands law, dividends may be declared and paid only out of funds legally available therefor, namely out of either profit or our share premium account, provided that a dividend may not be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business.

Voting Rights . In respect of all matters subject to a shareholders’ vote, each ordinary share is entitled to one vote. Voting at any shareholders’ meeting is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by the chairman of such meeting or any one or more shareholders who together hold not less than 10% of the votes attaching to the total ordinary shares present in person or by proxy. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each ordinary share registered in his or her name on our register of members.

A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders present and holding shares which represent, in aggregate, not less than one-third of the votes attaching to the issued and outstanding voting shares in our company. Shareholders may be present in person or by proxy or, if the shareholder is a legal entity, by its duly authorized representative. Shareholders’ meetings may be convened by our board of directors on its own initiative or upon a request to the directors by shareholders holding shares which represent, in aggregate, no less than one-third of the votes attaching to our voting share capital in issue. Advance notice of at least seven days is required for the convening of our annual general shareholders’ meeting and any other general shareholders’ meeting.

An ordinary resolution to be passed at a meeting by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting. Both ordinary resolutions and special resolutions may also be passed by a unanimous written resolution signed by all the shareholders of our company, as permitted by the Companies Law and our

 

166


Table of Contents

post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a change of name or making changes to our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Holders of the ordinary shares may, among other things, divide or combine their shares by ordinary resolution.

Transfer of Ordinary Shares . Subject to the restrictions set out below, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form approved by our board of directors.

Our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share unless:

 

    the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the ordinary shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer;

 

    the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of shares;

 

    the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required;

 

    in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the ordinary share is to be transferred does not exceed four; and

 

    a fee of such maximum sum as the NYSE may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof.

If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within three months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.

The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice required of the NYSE, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 days in any year as our board may determine.

Liquidation . On a winding up of our company, if the assets available for distribution among our shareholders shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus will be distributed among our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up, subject to a deduction from those shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to our company for unpaid calls or otherwise. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that the losses are borne by our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them. We are a “limited liability” company registered under the Companies Law, and under the Companies Law, the liability of our members is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them. Our memorandum of association contains a declaration that the liability of our members is so limited.

Calls on Shares and Forfeiture of Shares . Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 days prior to the specified time and place of payment. The shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.

Redemption, Repurchase and Surrender of Ordinary Shares . We may issue shares on terms that such shares are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders thereof, on such terms and in such manner as may be determined, before the issue of such shares, by our board of directors or by a special resolution of our shareholders. Our company may also repurchase any of our shares provided that the manner and terms of such purchase have been approved by our board of directors or by ordinary resolution of our shareholders, or are

 

167


Table of Contents

otherwise authorized by our memorandum and articles of association. Under the Companies Law, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of our company’s profits or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve) if the company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Law no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares outstanding, or (c) if the company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.

Variations of Rights of Shares . The rights attached to any class or series of shares (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class or series) may be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of a majority of the issued shares of that class or series or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class or series. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with such existing class of shares.

Issuance of Additional Shares . Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes our board of directors to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.

Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also authorizes our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preferred shares and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including:

 

    the designation of the series;

 

    the number of shares of the series;

 

    the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights; and

 

    the rights and terms of redemption and liquidation preferences.

Our board of directors may issue preferred shares without action by our shareholders to the extent authorized but unissued. Issuance of these shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.

Inspection of Books and Records . Holders of our ordinary shares will have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records. However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”

Anti-Takeover Provisions . Some provisions of our post-offering memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that:

 

    authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders; and

 

    limit the ability of shareholders to requisition and convene general meetings of shareholders.

However, under Cayman Islands law, our directors may only exercise the rights and powers granted to them under our post-offering memorandum and articles of association for a proper purpose and for what they believe in good faith to be in the best interests of our company.

General Meetings of Shareholders and Shareholder Proposals . Our shareholders’ general meetings may be held in such place within or outside the Cayman Islands as our board of directors considers appropriate.

 

168


Table of Contents

As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association provide that we may (but are not obliged to) in each year hold a general meeting as our annual general meeting.

Shareholders’ annual general meetings and any other general meetings of our shareholders may be convened by a majority of our board of directors or our chairman. Our board of directors shall give not less than seven days’ written notice of a shareholders’ meeting to those persons whose names appear as members in our register of members on the date the notice is given (or on any other date determined by our directors to be the record date for such meeting) and who are entitled to vote at the meeting.

Cayman Islands law provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association allow our shareholders holding shares representing in aggregate not less than one-third of our voting share capital in issue, to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our directors are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting; however, our post-offering memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders.

Election and Removal of Directors

Unless otherwise determined by our company in general meeting, our articles provide that our board will consist of not less than three directors. There are no provisions relating to retirement of directors upon reaching any age limit.

The directors have the power to appoint any person as a director either to fill a casual vacancy on the board or as an addition to the existing board. Our shareholders may also appoint any person to be a director by way of ordinary resolution.

A director may be removed with or without cause by ordinary resolution.

In addition, the office of any director shall be vacated if the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors, (ii) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind, (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to our company, or (iv) without special leave of absence from our board, is absent from three consecutive board meetings and our board resolves that his office be vacated.

Proceedings of Board of Directors

Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association provide that our business is to be managed and conducted by our board of directors. The quorum necessary for board meetings may be fixed by the board and, unless so fixed at another number, will be a majority of the directors.

Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association provide that the board may from time to time at its discretion exercise all powers of our company to raise or borrow money, to mortgage or charge all or any part of the undertaking, property and assets and uncalled capital of our company and issue debentures and other securities of our company, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of our company or of any third party.

Changes in Capital

Our shareholders may from time to time by ordinary resolution:

 

    increase our share capital by such sum, to be divided into shares of such classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe;

 

169


Table of Contents
    consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of a larger amount than our existing shares;

 

    sub-divide our existing shares, or any of them into shares of a smaller amount, provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced share shall be the same as it was in case of the share from which the reduced share is derived; or

 

    cancel any shares which, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person and diminish the amount of our share capital by the amount of the shares so cancelled.

Our shareholders may by special resolution, subject to confirmation by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on an application by our company for an order confirming such reduction, reduce our share capital or any capital redemption reserve in any manner permitted by law.

Exempted Company . We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Law. The Companies Law distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:

 

    does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies;

 

    is not required to open its register of members for inspection;

 

    does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

    may issue negotiable or bearer shares or shares with no par value;

 

    may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);

 

    may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

 

    may register as a limited duration company; and

 

    may register as a segregated portfolio company.

“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).

Register of Members . Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there should be entered therein:

 

    the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member;

 

    the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and

 

    the date on which any person ceased to be a member.

Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members should be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to record and give effect to the issue of shares by us to the Depositary (or its nominee) as the depositary. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name in the register of members.

 

170


Table of Contents

If the name of any person is incorrectly entered in or omitted from our register of members, or if there is any default or unnecessary delay in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a member of our company, the person or member aggrieved (or any member of our company or our company itself) may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for an order that the register be rectified, and the Court may either refuse such application or it may, if satisfied of the justice of the case, make an order for the rectification of the register.

Differences in Corporate Law

The Companies Law is derived, to a large extent, from the older Companies Acts of England but does not follow recent United Kingdom statutory enactments, and accordingly there are significant differences between the Companies Law and the current Companies Act of England. In addition, the Companies Law differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of certain significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and the comparable provisions of the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.

Mergers and Similar Arrangements . The Companies Law permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (a) “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company and (b) a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a combined company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company. In order to effect such a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. The written plan of merger or consolidation must be filed with the Registrar of Companies together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a list of the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Dissenting shareholders have the right to be paid the fair value of their shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) if they follow the required procedures, subject to certain exceptions. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation which is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures.

In addition, there are statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, provided that the arrangement is approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders or creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made, and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:

 

    the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met;

 

    the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the statutory majority are acting bona fide without coercion of the minority to promote interests adverse to those of the class;

 

    the arrangement is such that may be reasonably approved by an intelligent and honest man of that class acting in respect of his interest; and

 

    the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Law.

 

171


Table of Contents

When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares affected within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer which has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.

If an arrangement and reconstruction is thus approved, the dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.

Shareholders’ Suits . In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company and a derivative action may ordinarily not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authority, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands courts can be expected (and have had occasion) to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) so that a minority shareholder may be permitted to commence a representative action against, or derivative actions in the name of, our company to challenge:

 

  (a) an act which is ultra vires the company or illegal and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders,

 

  (b) an act which constitutes a fraud against the minority where the wrongdoers are themselves in control of the company, or

 

  (c) an act which requires a resolution with a qualified (or special) majority (i.e. more than a simple majority) which has not been obtained.

Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability . Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to indemnify our officers and directors for losses, damages, costs and expenses incurred in their capacities as such unless such losses or damages arise from dishonesty, willful default or fraud of such directors or officers. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation.

In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Directors’ Fiduciary Duties . Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director acts in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits

 

172


Table of Contents

self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.

As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director of a Cayman Islands company is in the position of a fiduciary with respect to the company and therefore it is considered that he owes the following duties to the company—a duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company, a duty not to make a personal profit based on his position as director (unless the company permits him to do so), a duty not to put himself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his personal interest or his duty to a third party and a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended. A director of a Cayman Islands company owes to the company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.

Shareholder Action by Written Consent . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. Cayman Islands law and our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.

Shareholder Proposals . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.

Cayman Islands law provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in articles of association. Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association allow our shareholders holding not less than one-third of all voting power of our share capital in issue to requisition a shareholder’s meeting, in which case our directors are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders’ meeting, our post-offering amended and restated articles of association do not provide our shareholders other right to put proposal before a meeting. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings.

Cumulative Voting . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.

Removal of Directors . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled

 

173


Table of Contents

to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, directors may be removed with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders.

Transactions with Interested Shareholders . The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting share within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.

Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, it does provide that such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company and for a proper purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.

Dissolution; Winding up . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.

Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so. Under the Companies Law and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, our company may be dissolved, liquidated or wound up by a special resolution of our shareholders, or by an ordinary resolution on the basis that our company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due.

Variation of Rights of Shares . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under Cayman Islands law and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, we may vary the rights attached to any class with the written consent of the holders of a majority of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a resolution passed by a majority of the votes cast at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.

Amendment of Governing Documents . Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under Cayman Islands law, our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended with a special resolution of our shareholders.

 

174


Table of Contents

Rights of Non-resident or Foreign Shareholders . There are no limitations imposed by our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.

History of Securities Issuances

The following is a summary of our securities issuances in the past three years.

Ordinary Shares

We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands on September 24, 2014, with an authorized share capital of US$50,000 divided into 50,000 ordinary shares, with a par value of US$1.00 each, of which 1 ordinary share was issued and outstanding, and was owned by CreditEase.

On January 5, 2015, we effected a 10,000-for-1 share split, such that our authorized share capital of US$50,000 was divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, of which 10,000 ordinary shares were issued and outstanding, and were owned by CreditEase.

On June 25, 2015, we issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 each, to CreditEase for an aggregate purchase price of US$9,999.

 

175


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

American Depositary Shares

Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as depositary, will register and deliver the ADSs. Each ADS will represent ownership of              shares, deposited with Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch, as custodian for the depositary. Each ADS will also represent ownership of any other securities, cash or other property which may be held by the depositary. The depositary’s corporate trust office at which the ADSs will be administered is located at 60 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, USA. The principal executive office of the depositary is located at 60 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, USA.

The Direct Registration System, or DRS, is a system administered by The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, pursuant to which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership shall be evidenced by periodic statements issued by the depositary to the ADS holders entitled thereto.

We will not treat ADS holders as our shareholders and accordingly, you, as an ADS holder, will not have shareholder rights. Cayman Islands law governs shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. As a holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary and you, as an ADS holder, and the beneficial owners of ADSs sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. The laws of the State of New York govern the deposit agreement and the ADSs.

The following is a summary of the material provisions of the deposit agreement. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of American Depositary Receipt. For directions on how to obtain copies of those documents, see “ Where You Can Find Additional Information .”

Holding the ADSs

How will you hold your ADSs?

You may hold ADSs either (1) directly (a) by having an American Depositary Receipt, or ADR, which is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs, registered in your name, or (b) by holding ADSs in DRS, or (2) indirectly through your broker or other financial institution. If you hold ADSs directly, you are an ADS holder. This description assumes you hold your ADSs directly. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.

Dividends and Other Distributions

How will you receive dividends and other distributions on the shares?

The depositary has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on ordinary shares or other deposited securities, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent as of the record date (which will be as close as practicable to the record date for our ordinary shares) set by the depositary with respect to the ADSs.

 

   

Cash. The depositary will convert or cause to be converted any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the ordinary shares or any net proceeds from the sale of any ordinary shares, rights, securities or other entitlements under the terms of the deposit agreement into U.S. dollars if it can do so on a practicable basis, and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States and will distribute promptly the amount thus received. If the depositary shall determine in its judgment that such conversions or transfers are not possible or lawful or if any government approval or license is needed and cannot be obtained at a reasonable cost within a reasonable period or otherwise sought, the deposit agreement

 

176


Table of Contents
 

allows the depositary to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold or cause the custodian to hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid and such funds will be held or the respective accounts of the ADS holders. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest for the respective accounts of the ADS holders.

 

    Before making a distribution, any taxes or other governmental charges, together with fees and expenses of the depositary, that must be paid, will be deducted. See “Taxation.” It will distribute only whole U.S. dollars and cents and will round fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution.

 

    Shares. For any ordinary shares we distribute as a dividend or free distribution, either (1) the depositary will distribute additional ADSs representing such ordinary shares or (2) existing ADSs as of the applicable record date will represent rights and interests in the additional ordinary shares distributed, to the extent reasonably practicable and permissible under law, in either case, net of applicable fees, charges and expenses incurred by the depositary and taxes and/or other governmental charges. The depositary will only distribute whole ADSs. It will try to sell ordinary shares which would require it to deliver a fractional ADS and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed ordinary shares sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.

 

    Elective Distributions in Cash or Shares. If we offer holders of our ordinary shares the option to receive dividends in either cash or shares, the depositary, after consultation with us and having received timely notice as described in the deposit agreement of such elective distribution by us, has discretion to determine to what extent such elective distribution will be made available to you as a holder of the ADSs. We must timely first instruct the depositary to make such elective distribution available to you and furnish it with satisfactory evidence that it is legal to do so. The depositary could decide it is not legal or reasonably practicable to make such elective distribution available to you. In such case, the depositary shall, on the basis of the same determination as is made in respect of the ordinary shares for which no election is made, distribute either cash in the same way as it does in a cash distribution, or additional ADSs representing ordinary shares in the same way as it does in a share distribution. The depositary is not obligated to make available to you a method to receive the elective dividend in shares rather than in ADSs. There can be no assurance that you will be given the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of ordinary shares.

 

    Rights to Purchase Additional Shares. If we offer holders of our ordinary shares any rights to subscribe for additional shares, the depositary shall having received timely notice as described in the deposit agreement of such distribution by us, consult with us, and we must determine whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make these rights available to you. We must first instruct the depositary to make such rights available to you and furnish the depositary with satisfactory evidence that it is legal to do so. If the depositary decides it is not legal or reasonably practicable to make the rights available but that it is lawful and reasonably practicable to sell the rights, the depositary will endeavor to sell the rights and in a riskless principal capacity or otherwise, at such place and upon such terms (including public or private sale) as it may deem proper distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. The depositary will allow rights that are not distributed or sold to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for them.

If the depositary makes rights available to you, it will establish procedures to distribute such rights and enable you to exercise the rights upon your payment of applicable fees, charges and expenses incurred by the depositary and taxes and/or other governmental charges. The Depositary shall not be obliged to make available to you a method to exercise such rights to subscribe for ordinary shares (rather than ADSs).

 

177


Table of Contents

U.S. securities laws may restrict transfers and cancellation of the ADSs represented by shares purchased upon exercise of rights. For example, you may not be able to trade these ADSs freely in the United States.

There can be no assurance that you will be given the opportunity to exercise rights on the same terms and conditions as the holders of ordinary shares or be able to exercise such rights.

 

    Other Distributions. Subject to receipt of timely notice, as described in the deposit agreement, from us with the request to make any such distribution available to you, and provided the depositary has determined such distribution is lawful and reasonably practicable and feasible and in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement, the depositary will distribute to you anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it may deem practicable, upon your payment of applicable fees, charges and expenses incurred by the depositary and taxes and/or other governmental charges. If any of the conditions above are not met, the depositary will endeavor to sell, or cause to be sold, what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash; or, if it is unable to sell such property, the depositary may dispose of such property in any way it deems reasonably practicable under the circumstances for nominal or no consideration, such that you may have no rights to or arising from such property.

The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, shares, rights or other securities under the Securities Act. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, shares, rights or anything else to ADS holders. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our shares or any value for them if we and/or the depositary determines that it is illegal or not practicable for us or the depositary to make them available to you.

Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation

How are ADSs issued?

The depositary will deliver ADSs if you or your broker deposit ordinary shares or evidence of rights to receive ordinary shares with the custodian. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will register the appropriate number of ADSs in the names you request and will deliver the ADSs to or upon the order of the person or persons entitled thereto.

How do ADS holders cancel an American Depositary Share?

You may turn in your ADSs at the depositary’s corporate trust office or by providing appropriate instructions to your broker. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will deliver the ordinary shares and any other deposited securities underlying the ADSs to you or a person you designate at the office of the custodian. Or, at your request, risk and expense, the depositary will deliver the deposited securities at its corporate trust office, to the extent permitted by law.

How do ADS holders interchange between Certificated ADSs and Uncertificated ADSs?

You may surrender your ADR to the depositary for the purpose of exchanging your ADR for uncertificated ADSs. The depositary will cancel that ADR and will send you a statement confirming that you are the owner of uncertificated ADSs. Alternatively, upon receipt by the depositary of a proper instruction from a holder of uncertificated ADSs requesting the exchange of uncertificated ADSs for certificated ADSs, the depositary will execute and deliver to you an ADR evidencing those ADSs.

 

178


Table of Contents

Voting Rights

How do you vote?

You may instruct the depositary to vote the ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying your ADSs at any meeting at which you are entitled to vote pursuant to any applicable law, the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association, and the provisions of or governing the deposited securities. Otherwise, you could exercise your right to vote directly if you withdraw the ordinary shares. However, you may not know about the meeting sufficiently enough in advance to withdraw the ordinary shares.

If we ask for your instructions and upon timely notice from us by regular, ordinary mail delivery, or by electronic transmission, as described in the deposit agreement, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming meeting at which you are entitled to vote pursuant to any applicable law, the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association, and the provisions of or governing the deposited securities, and arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. The materials will include or reproduce (a) such notice of meeting or solicitation of consents or proxies; (b) a statement that the ADS holders at the close of business on the ADS record date will be entitled, subject to any applicable law, the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association, and the provisions of or governing the deposited securities, to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the ordinary shares or other deposited securities represented by such holder’s ADSs; and (c) a brief statement as to the manner in which such instructions may be given or deemed given in accordance with the second to last sentence of this paragraph if no instruction is received, to the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us. Voting instructions may be given only in respect of a number of ADSs representing an integral number of ordinary shares or other deposited securities. For instructions to be valid, the depositary must receive them in writing on or before the date specified. The depositary will try, as far as practical, subject to applicable law and the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association, to vote or to have its agents vote the ordinary shares or other deposited securities (in person or by proxy) as you instruct. The depositary will only vote or attempt to vote as you instruct. If we timely requested the depositary to solicit your instructions but no instructions are received by the depositary from an owner with respect to any of the deposited securities represented by the ADSs of that owner on or before the date established by the depositary for such purpose, the depositary shall deem that owner to have instructed the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us with respect to such deposited securities, and the depositary shall give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to vote such deposited securities. However, no such instruction shall be deemed given and no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter if we inform the depositary we do not wish such proxy given, substantial opposition exists or the rights of holders of the ordinary shares would be materially and adversely affected.

We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. In addition, there can be no assurance that ADS holders and beneficial owners generally, or any holder or beneficial owner in particular, will be given the opportunity to vote or cause the custodian to vote on the same terms and conditions as the holders of our ordinary shares.

The depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may have no recourse if the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

In order to give you a reasonable opportunity to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to deposited securities, if we request the depositary to act, we will give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted at least 30 business days in advance of the meeting date.

 

179


Table of Contents

Compliance with Regulations

Information Requests

Each ADS holder and beneficial owner shall (a) provide such information as we or the depositary may request pursuant to law, including, without limitation, relevant Cayman Islands law, any applicable law of the United States of America, our memorandum and articles of association, any resolutions of our Board of Directors adopted pursuant to such memorandum and articles of association, the requirements of any markets or exchanges upon which the ordinary shares, ADSs or ADRs are listed or traded, or to any requirements of any electronic book-entry system by which the ADSs or ADRs may be transferred, regarding the capacity in which they own or owned ADRs, the identity of any other persons then or previously interested in such ADRs and the nature of such interest, and any other applicable matters, and (b) be bound by and subject to applicable provisions of the laws of the Cayman Islands, our memorandum and articles of association, and the requirements of any markets or exchanges upon which the ADSs, ADRs or ordinary shares are listed or traded, or pursuant to any requirements of any electronic book-entry system by which the ADSs, ADRs or ordinary shares may be transferred, to the same extent as if such ADS holder or beneficial owner held ordinary shares directly, in each case irrespective of whether or not they are ADS holders or beneficial owners at the time such request is made.

Disclosure of Interests

Each ADS holder and beneficial owner shall comply with our requests pursuant to Cayman Islands law, the rules and requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and any other stock exchange on which the ordinary shares are, or will be, registered, traded or listed or our memorandum and articles of association, which requests are made to provide information, inter alia, as to the capacity in which such ADS holder or beneficial owner owns ADS and regarding the identity of any other person interested in such ADS and the nature of such interest and various other matters, whether or not they are ADS holders or beneficial owners at the time of such requests.

Fees and Expenses

As an ADS holder, you will be required to pay the following service fees to the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs):

 

Service    Fees

•       To any person to which ADSs are issued or to any person to which a distribution is made in respect of ADS distributions pursuant to stock dividends or other free distributions of stock, bonus distributions, stock splits or other distributions (except where converted to cash)

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS issued

•       Cancellation of ADSs, including the case of termination of the deposit agreement

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS cancelled

•       Distribution of cash dividends

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS held

•       Distribution of cash entitlements (other than cash dividends) and/or cash proceeds from the sale of rights, securities and other entitlements

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS held

•       Distribution of ADSs pursuant to exercise of rights.

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS held

•       Distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS held

•       Depositary services

   Up to US$0.05 per ADS held on the applicable record date(s) established by the depositary bank

 

180


Table of Contents

As an ADS holder, you will also be responsible to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs) such as:

 

    Fees for the transfer and registration of ordinary shares charged by the registrar and transfer agent for the ordinary shares in Cayman Islands (i.e., upon deposit and withdrawal of ordinary shares).

 

    Expenses incurred for converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars.

 

    Expenses for cable, telex and fax transmissions and for delivery of securities.

 

    Taxes and duties upon the transfer of securities, including any applicable stamp duties, any stock transfer charges or withholding taxes (i.e., when ordinary shares are deposited or withdrawn from deposit).

 

    Fees and expenses incurred in connection with the delivery or servicing of ordinary shares on deposit.

 

    Fees and expenses incurred in connection with complying with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to ordinary shares, deposited securities, ADSs and ADRs.

 

    Any applicable fees and penalties thereon.

The depositary fees payable upon the issuance and cancellation of ADSs are typically paid to the depositary bank by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) receiving the newly issued ADSs from the depositary bank and by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) delivering the ADSs to the depositary bank for cancellation. The brokers in turn charge these fees to their clients. Depositary fees payable in connection with distributions of cash or securities to ADS holders and the depositary services fee are charged by the depositary bank to the holders of record of ADSs as of the applicable ADS record date.

The depositary fees payable for cash distributions are generally deducted from the cash being distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. In the case of distributions other than cash (i.e., share dividends, rights), the depositary bank charges the applicable fee to the ADS record date holders concurrent with the distribution. In the case of ADSs registered in the name of the investor (whether certificated or uncertificated in direct registration), the depositary bank sends invoices to the applicable record date ADS holders. In the case of ADSs held in brokerage and custodian accounts (via DTC), the depositary bank generally collects its fees through the systems provided by DTC (whose nominee is the registered holder of the ADSs held in DTC) from the brokers and custodians holding ADSs in their DTC accounts. The brokers and custodians who hold their clients’ ADSs in DTC accounts in turn charge their clients’ accounts the amount of the fees paid to the depositary banks.

In the event of refusal to pay the depositary fees, the depositary bank may, under the terms of the deposit agreement, refuse the requested service until payment is received or may set off the amount of the depositary fees from any distribution to be made to the ADS holder.

The depositary has agreed to pay certain amounts to us in exchange for its appointment as depositary. We may use these funds towards our expenses relating to the establishment and maintenance of the ADR program, including investor relations expenses, or otherwise as we see fit. The depositary may pay us a fixed amount, it may pay us a portion of the fees collected by the depositary from holders of ADSs, and it may pay specific expenses incurred by us in connection with the ADR program. Neither the depositary nor we may be able to determine the aggregate amount to be paid to us because (i) the number of ADSs that will be issued and outstanding and the level of dividend and/or servicing fees to be charged may vary, and (ii) our expenses related to the program may not be known at this time.

Payment of Taxes

You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable, or which become payable, on your ADSs or on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs. The depositary may refuse to register

 

181


Table of Contents

or transfer your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities represented by your ADSs until such taxes or other charges are paid. It may apply payments owed to you or sell deposited securities represented by your ADSs to pay any taxes owed and you will remain liable for any deficiency. If the depositary sells deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number of ADSs to reflect the sale and pay to you any net proceeds, or send to you any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes. You agree to indemnify us, the depositary, the custodian and each of our and their respective agents, directors, employees and affiliates for, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims with respect to taxes (including applicable interest and penalties thereon) arising from any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained for you. Your obligations under this paragraph shall survive any transfer of ADRs, any surrender of ADRs and withdrawal of deposited securities or the termination of the deposit agreement.

Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers

 

If we:    Then:

Change the nominal or par value of our ordinary shares

   The cash, shares or other securities received by the depositary will become deposited securities.
Reclassify, split up or consolidate any of the deposited securities    Each ADS will automatically represent its equal share of the new deposited securities.
Distribute securities on the ordinary shares that are not distributed to you, or    The depositary may distribute some or all of the cash, shares or other securities it received. It may also deliver new ADSs or ask you to surrender your outstanding ADRs in exchange for new ADRs identifying the new deposited securities.
Recapitalize, reorganize, merge, liquidate, sell all or substantially all of our assets, or take any similar action   
  

Amendment and Termination

How may the deposit agreement be amended?

We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the form of ADR without your consent for any reason. If an amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges or expenses of the depositary for registration fees, facsimile costs, delivery charges or similar items, including expenses incurred in connection with foreign exchange control regulations and other charges specifically payable by ADS holders under the deposit agreement, or materially prejudices a substantial existing right of ADS holders, it will not become effective for outstanding ADSs until 30 days after the depositary notifies ADS holders of the amendment. At the time an amendment becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold your ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs and the deposit agreement as amended . If any new laws are adopted which would require the deposit agreement to be amended in order to comply therewith, we and the depositary may amend the deposit agreement in accordance with such laws and such amendment may become effective before notice thereof is given to ADS holders.

How may the deposit agreement be terminated?

The depositary will terminate the deposit agreement if we ask it to do so, in which case the depositary will give notice to you at least 60 days prior to termination. The depositary may also terminate the deposit agreement if the depositary has told us that it would like to resign, or if we have removed the depositary, and in either case we have not appointed a new depositary within 90 days. In either such case, the depositary must notify you at least 30 days before termination.

After termination, the depositary and its agents will do the following under the deposit agreement but nothing else: collect distributions on the deposited securities, sell rights and other property and deliver ordinary shares and other deposited securities upon cancellation of ADSs after payment of any fees, charges, taxes or

 

182


Table of Contents

other governmental charges. Six months or more after the date of termination, the depositary may sell any remaining deposited securities by public or private sale. After that, the depositary will hold the money it received on the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding under the deposit agreement, for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. It will not invest the money and has no liability for interest. After such sale, the depositary’s only obligations will be to account for the money and other cash. After termination, we shall be discharged from all obligations under the deposit agreement except for our obligations to the depositary thereunder.

Books of Depositary

The depositary will maintain ADS holder records at its depositary office. You may inspect such records at such office during regular business hours but solely for the purpose of communicating with other holders in the interest of business matters relating to the Company, the ADRs and the deposit agreement.

The depositary will maintain facilities in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York to record and process the issuance, cancellation, combination, split-up and transfer of ADRs.

These facilities may be closed at any time or from time to time when such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the depositary in connection with the performance of its duties under the deposit agreement or at our reasonable written request.

Limitations on Obligations and Liability

Limits on our Obligations and the Obligations of the Depositary and the Custodian; Limits on Liability to Holders of ADSs

The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of the depositary and the custodian. It also limits our liability and the liability of the depositary. The depositary and the custodian:

 

    are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the deposit agreement without gross negligence or willful misconduct;

 

    are not liable if any of us or our respective controlling persons or agents are prevented or forbidden from, or subjected to any civil or criminal penalty or restraint on account of, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the deposit agreement and any ADR, by reason of any provision of any present or future law or regulation of the United States or any state thereof, Cayman Island or any other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory authority or stock exchange, or on account of the possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason of any provision, present or future, of our memorandum and articles of association or any provision of or governing any deposited securities, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control (including, without limitation, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions and computer failure);

 

    are not liable by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the deposit agreement or in our memorandum and articles of association or provisions of or governing deposited securities;

 

    are not liable for any action or inaction of the depositary, the custodian or us or their or our respective controlling persons or agents in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, any person presenting ordinary shares for deposit or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information;

 

    are not liable for the inability of any holder of ADSs to benefit from any distribution on deposited securities that is not made available to holders of ADSs under the terms of the deposit agreement;

 

183


Table of Contents
    are not liable for any indirect, special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement, or otherwise;

 

    may rely upon any documents we believe in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party;

 

    disclaim any liability for any action or inaction or inaction of any of us or our respective controlling persons or agents in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting ordinary shares for deposit, holders and beneficial owners (or authorized representatives) of ADSs, or any person believed in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information; and

 

    disclaim any liability for inability of any holder to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit made available to holders of deposited securities but not made available to holders of ADS.

The depositary and any of its agents also disclaim any liability (i) for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, the manner in which any vote is cast or the effect of any vote or failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable or for allowing any rights to lapse in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement, (ii) the failure or timeliness of any notice from us, the content of any information submitted to it by us for distribution to you or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, (iii) any investment risk associated with the acquisition of an interest in the deposited securities, the validity or worth of the deposited securities, the credit-worthiness of any third party, (iv) for any tax consequences that may result from ownership of ADSs, ordinary shares or deposited securities, or (vi) for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the depositary, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such potential liability arises the depositary performed its obligations without gross negligence or willful misconduct while it acted as depositary.

In addition, the deposit agreement provides that each party to the deposit agreement (including each holder, beneficial owner and holder of interests in the ADRs) irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any right it may have to a trial by jury in any lawsuit or proceeding against the depositary or our company related to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement.

In the deposit agreement, we and the depositary agree to indemnify each other under certain circumstances.

Requirements for Depositary Actions

Before the depositary will issue, deliver or register a transfer of an ADS, split-up, subdivide or combine ADSs, make a distribution on an ADS, or permit withdrawal of ordinary shares, the depositary may require:

 

    payment of stock transfer or other taxes or other governmental charges and transfer or registration fees charged by third parties for the transfer of any ordinary shares or other deposited securities and payment of the applicable fees, expenses and charges of the depositary;

 

    satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature or any other matters contemplated in the deposit agreement; and

 

    compliance with (A) any laws or governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery of ADRs or ADSs or to the withdrawal or delivery of deposited securities and (B) such reasonable regulations and procedures as the depositary may establish, from time to time, consistent with the deposit agreement and applicable laws, including presentation of transfer documents.

The depositary may refuse to issue and deliver ADSs or register transfers of ADSs generally when the register of the depositary or our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary or we determine that it is necessary or advisable to do so.

 

184


Table of Contents

Your Right to Receive the Shares Underlying Your ADSs

You have the right to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares at any time except:

 

    when temporary delays arise because: (1) the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books; (2) the transfer of ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting; or (3) we are paying a dividend on our ordinary shares;

 

    when you owe money to pay fees, taxes and similar charges;

 

    when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of ordinary shares or other deposited securities, or

 

    other circumstances specifically contemplated by Section I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such General Instructions may be amended from time to time); or

 

    for any other reason if the depositary or we determine, in good faith, that it is necessary or advisable to prohibit withdrawals.

The depositary shall not knowingly accept for deposit under the deposit agreement any ordinary shares or other deposited securities required to be registered under the provisions of the Securities Act, unless a registration statement is in effect as to such ordinary shares.

This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.

Pre-release of ADSs

The deposit agreement permits the depositary to deliver ADSs before deposit of the underlying ordinary shares. This is called a pre-release of the ADSs. The depositary may also deliver ordinary shares upon cancellation of pre-released ADSs (even if the ADSs are cancelled before the pre-release transaction has been closed out). A pre-release is closed out as soon as the underlying ordinary shares are delivered to the depositary. The depositary may receive ADSs instead of ordinary shares to close out a pre-release. The depositary may pre-release ADSs only under the following conditions: (1) before or at the time of the pre-release, the person to whom the pre-release is being made represents to the depositary in writing that it or its customer (a) owns the ordinary shares or ADSs to be deposited, (b) agrees to indicate the depositary as owner of such ordinary shares or ADSs in its records and to hold such ordinary shares or ADSs in trust for the depositary until such ordinary shares or ADSs are delivered to the depositary or the custodian, (c) unconditionally guarantees to deliver such ordinary shares or ADSs to the depositary or the custodian, as the case may be, and (d) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that the depositary deems appropriate; (2) the pre-release is fully collateralized with cash, United States government securities or other collateral that the depositary considers appropriate; and (3) the depositary must be able to close out the pre-release on not more than five business days’ notice. Each pre-release is subject to further indemnities and credit regulations as the depositary considers appropriate. In addition, the depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs that may be outstanding at any time as a result of pre-release to 30% of the aggregate number of ADSs then outstanding, although the depositary may disregard the limit from time to time, if it thinks it is appropriate to do so.

Direct Registration System

In the deposit agreement, all parties to the deposit agreement acknowledge that the DRS and Profile Modification System, or Profile, will apply to uncertificated ADSs upon acceptance thereof to DRS by DTC. DRS is the system administered by DTC pursuant to which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership shall be evidenced by periodic statements issued by the depositary to the ADS holders entitled thereto. Profile is a required feature of DRS which allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of an ADS holder, to direct the depositary to register a transfer of those ADSs to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those ADSs to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the depositary of prior authorization from the ADS holder to register such transfer.

 

185


Table of Contents

SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALES

Upon completion of this offering, we will have              ADSs outstanding, representing approximately         % of our outstanding ordinary shares, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option to purchase additional ADSs. All of the ADSs sold in this offering will be freely transferable by persons other than by our “affiliates” without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act. Sales of substantial amounts of our ADSs in the public market could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our ADSs. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or the ADSs. We intend to apply to list the ADSs on the NYSE, but we cannot assure you that a regular trading market will develop in the ADSs. We do not expect that a trading market will develop for our ordinary shares not represented by the ADSs.

Lock-up Agreements

We have agreed, for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale, lend or otherwise dispose of, except in this offering, any of our ordinary shares or ADSs or securities that are substantially similar to our ordinary shares or ADSs, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase our ordinary shares, ADSs or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, our ordinary shares, ADSs or any such substantially similar securities (other than pursuant to employee stock option plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date such lock-up agreement was executed), without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on behalf of the underwriters.

Furthermore, each of our directors, executive officers and existing shareholder has also entered into a similar lock-up agreement for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions, with respect to our ordinary shares, ADSs and securities that are substantially similar to our ordinary shares or ADSs. These restrictions also apply to any ADSs acquired by our directors and executive officers in the offering pursuant to the directed share program, if any. These parties collectively own all of our outstanding ordinary shares, without giving effect to this offering.

The restrictions described in the preceding paragraphs will be automatically extended under certain circumstances. See “Underwriting.”

Other than this offering, we are not aware of any plans by any significant shareholders to dispose of significant numbers of our ADSs or ordinary shares. However, one or more existing shareholders or owners of securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for our ADSs or ordinary shares may dispose of significant numbers of our ADSs or ordinary shares in the future. We cannot predict what effect, if any, future sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares, or the availability of ADSs or ordinary shares for future sale, will have on the trading price of our ADSs from time to time. Sales of substantial amounts of our ADSs or ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the trading price of our ADSs.

Rule 144

All of our ordinary shares that will be outstanding upon the completion of this offering, other than those ordinary shares sold in this offering, are “restricted securities” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act and may be sold publicly in the United States only if they are subject to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirement such as those provided by Rule 144 and Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act. In general, beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, a person (or persons whose shares are aggregated) who at the time of a sale is not, and has not been during the three months preceding the sale, an affiliate of ours and has beneficially owned our restricted securities for at least six months will be entitled to sell the restricted securities without registration under the Securities Act, subject only to the availability of current public information about us, and will be

 

186


Table of Contents

entitled to sell restricted securities beneficially owned for at least one year without restriction. Persons who are our affiliates and have beneficially owned our restricted securities for at least six months may sell a number of restricted securities within any three-month period that does not exceed the greater of the following:

 

    1% of the then outstanding ordinary shares of the same class, in the form of ADSs or otherwise, which immediately after this offering will equal ordinary shares, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option; or

 

    the average weekly trading volume of our ordinary shares of the same class, in the form of ADSs or otherwise, during the four calendar weeks preceding the date on which notice of the sale is filed with the SEC.

Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also subject to certain requirements relating to manner of sale, notice and the availability of current public information about us.

Rule 701

In general, under Rule 701 of the Securities Act as currently in effect, each of our employees, consultants or advisors who purchases our ordinary shares from us in connection with a compensatory stock plan or other written agreement executed prior to the completion of this offering is eligible to resell those ordinary shares in reliance on Rule 144, but without compliance with some of the restrictions, including the holding period, contained in Rule 144. However, the Rule 701 shares would remain subject to lock-up arrangements and would only become eligible for sale when the lock-up period expires.

 

187


Table of Contents

TAXATION

The following summary of the material Cayman Islands, PRC and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this registration statement, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares, such as the tax consequences under U.S. state and local tax laws or under the tax laws of jurisdictions other than the Cayman Islands, the People’s Republic of China and the United States.

Cayman Islands Taxation

The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us levied by the government of the Cayman Islands except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or after execution brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties that are applicable to any payments made to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.

Payments of dividends and capital in respect of the shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the Shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of a share.

People’s Republic of China Taxation

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with a “de facto management body” within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to the enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on its global income. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control over and overall management of the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In April 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued a circular, known as Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the State Administration of Taxation’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.

We believe that none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. We do not believe that Yirendai Ltd. meets all of the conditions above. Yirendai Ltd. is a company incorporated outside the PRC. As a holding company, its key assets are its ownership interests in its subsidiaries, and its key assets are located, and its records (including the resolutions of its board of directors and the resolutions of its shareholders) are maintained, outside the PRC. For the same reasons, we believe our other entities outside of China are not PRC resident enterprises either. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to

 

188


Table of Contents

determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” There can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with us.

However, if the PRC tax authorities determine that Yirendai Ltd. is a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we may be required to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises, including the holders of our ADSs. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including our ADS holders) may be subject to a 10% PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC. It is unclear whether our non-PRC individual shareholders (including our ADS holders) would be subject to any PRC tax on dividends or gains obtained by such non-PRC individual shareholders in the event we are determined to be a PRC resident enterprise. If any PRC tax were to apply to such dividends or gains, it would generally apply at a rate of 20% unless a reduced rate is available under an applicable tax treaty. However, it is also unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of Yirendai Ltd. would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that Yirendai Ltd. is treated as a PRC resident enterprise.

Provided that our Cayman Islands holding company, Yirendai Ltd., is not deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, holders of our ADSs and ordinary shares who are not PRC residents will not be subject to PRC income tax on dividends distributed by us or gains realized from the sale or other disposition of our shares or ADSs. However, under SAT Circular 698 and Circular 7, where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring taxable assets, including, in particular, equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, , the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, or the transferee or the PRC entity which directly owned such taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise,. We and our non-PRC resident investors may be at risk of being required to file a return and being taxed under SAT Circular 698 and Circular 7, and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Circular 698 and Circular 7, or to establish that we should not be taxed under these circulars. See “Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.”

United States Federal Income Tax Considerations

The following discussion is a summary of United States federal income tax considerations relating to the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares by a U.S. holder (as defined below) that acquires our ADSs in this offering and holds our ADSs or ordinary shares as “capital assets” (generally, property held for investment) under the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion is based upon existing United States federal income tax law, which is subject to differing interpretations and may be changed, possibly with retroactive effect. No ruling has been sought from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) with respect to any United States federal income tax consequences described below, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position. This discussion does not address all aspects of United States federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances, including investors subject to special tax rules (for example, certain financial institutions, insurance companies, broker-dealers, traders in securities that have elected the mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities, partnerships and their partners, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and tax-exempt organizations (including private foundations)), investors who are not U.S. holders, investors who own (directly, indirectly, or constructively) 10% or more of our voting stock, investors that will hold their ADSs or ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, constructive sale, or other

 

189


Table of Contents

integrated transaction for United States federal income tax purposes, or investors that have a functional currency other than the United States dollar, all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ significantly from those summarized below. In addition, this discussion does not discuss any non-United States, alternative minimum tax, state, or local tax considerations, or the Medicare tax on net investment income. Each U.S. holder is urged to consult its tax advisors regarding the United States federal, state, local, and non-United States income and other tax considerations of an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares.

General

For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares that is, for United States federal income tax purposes, (i) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created in, or organized under the laws of, the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and which has one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has otherwise elected to be treated as a United States person under applicable United States Treasury regulations.

If a partnership (or other entity treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our ADSs or ordinary shares and partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the particular United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares.

For United States federal income tax purposes, a U.S. holder of ADSs will generally be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying shares represented by the ADSs. The remainder of this discussion assumes that a U.S. holder of our ADSs will be treated in this manner. Accordingly, deposits or withdrawals of ordinary shares for ADSs will generally not be subject to United States federal income tax.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations

A non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be a “passive foreign investment company,” or “PFIC,” for United States federal income tax purposes, if, in any particular taxable year, either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (ii) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of its assets (as determined on the basis of fair market value) during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income. Cash is categorized as a passive asset and the company’s unbooked intangibles associated with active business activities may generally be classified as active assets. Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and gains from the disposition of passive assets. We will be treated as owning a proportionate share of the assets and earning a proportionate share of the income of any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, at least 25% (by value) of the stock.

Although the law in this regard is unclear, we intend to treat Heng Cheng as being owned by us for United States federal income tax purposes, and we treat it that way, not only because we exercise effective control over the operation of such entity but also because we are entitled to substantially all of its economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate its results of operations in our consolidated financial statements. Assuming that we are the owner of Heng Cheng for United States federal income tax purposes, and based upon our current and expected income and assets (taking into account the expected proceeds from this offering) and projections as to the value of our ADSs and ordinary shares immediately following the offering, we do not presently expect to be a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future.

While we do not expect to be or become a PFIC in the current or future taxable years, the determination of whether we are or will become a PFIC will depend in part upon the value of our goodwill and other unbooked

 

190


Table of Contents

intangibles (which will depend upon the market value of our ADSs or ordinary shares from time-to-time, which may be volatile). In estimating the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, we have taken into account our anticipated market capitalization immediately following the close of this offering. Among other matters, if our market capitalization is less than anticipated or subsequently declines, we may be or become a PFIC for the current or future taxable years. It is also possible that the IRS may challenge our classification or valuation of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, which may result in our company being or becoming a PFIC for the current or one or more future 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 may be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. If we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes or if we were treated as not owning Heng Cheng for United States federal income tax purposes, our risk of being classified as a PFIC may substantially increase. Because our PFIC status for any taxable year is a factual determination that can be made only after the close of a 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 a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. holder held our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally would continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. holder held our ADSs or ordinary shares.

The discussion below under “Dividends” and “Sale or Other Disposition of ADSs or Ordinary Shares” is written on the basis that we will not be or become a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes. The United States federal income tax rules that apply if we are a PFIC for the current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year are generally discussed below under “Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

Dividends

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, any cash distributions (including the amount of any tax withheld) paid on our ADSs or ordinary shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under United States federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. holder, in the case of ordinary shares, or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of United States federal income tax principles, any distribution paid will generally be reported as a “dividend” for United States federal income tax purposes. A non-corporate recipient of dividend income will generally be subject to tax on dividend income from a “qualified foreign corporation” at a reduced United States federal tax rate rather than the marginal tax rates generally applicable to ordinary income provided that certain holding period requirements are met.

A non-United States corporation (other than a corporation that is a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) will generally be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation (a) if it is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States which the Secretary of Treasury of the United States determines is satisfactory for purposes of this provision and which includes an exchange of information program, or (b) with respect to any dividend it pays on stock (or ADSs in respect of such stock) which is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. We intend to list the ADSs on the NYSE. Provided the listing is approved, we believe that the ADSs will be readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and that we will be a qualified foreign corporation with respect to dividends paid on the ADSs. Since we do not expect that our ordinary shares will be listed on established securities markets, we do not believe that dividends that we pay on our ordinary shares that are not backed by ADSs currently meet the conditions required for the reduced tax rate. There can be no assurance that our ADSs will continue to be considered readily tradable on an established securities market in later years. In the event we are deemed to be a resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty (which the U.S. Treasury Department has determined is satisfactory for this purpose) and in that case we would be treated as a qualified foreign corporation with respect to dividends paid on our ordinary shares or ADSs. Each non-corporate U.S. holder is advised to consult its tax advisors regarding the availability of the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income for any

 

191


Table of Contents

dividends we pay with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares. Dividends received on the ADSs or ordinary shares will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to corporations.

Dividends will generally be treated as income from foreign sources for United States foreign tax credit purposes and will generally constitute passive category income. In the event that we are deemed to be a PRC “resident enterprise” under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, a U.S. holder may be subject to PRC withholding taxes on dividends paid on our ADSs or ordinary shares. (See “Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation”) In that case, a U.S. holder may be eligible, subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on ADSs or ordinary shares. A U.S. holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign tax withheld may instead claim a deduction, for United States federal income tax purposes, in respect of such withholdings, but only for a year in which such U.S. holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex. U.S. holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

Sale or Other Disposition of ADSs or Ordinary Shares

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. holder will generally recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ADSs or ordinary shares. Any capital gain or loss will be long-term if the ADSs or ordinary shares have been held for more than one year and will generally be United States source gain or loss for United States foreign tax credit purposes. Long-term capital gain of non-corporate U.S. holders is generally eligible for a reduced rate of taxation. The deductibility of a capital loss may be subject to limitations. In the event that we are treated as a PRC “resident enterprise” under the Enterprise Income Tax Law and gain from the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares is subject to tax in the PRC, a U.S. holder that is eligible for the benefits of the income tax treaty between the United States and the PRC may elect to treat the gain as PRC source income. U.S. holders are advised to consult its tax advisors regarding the tax consequences if a foreign tax is imposed on a disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances and the election to treat any gain as PRC source.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, and unless the U.S. holder makes a mark-to-market election (as described below), the U.S. holder will generally be subject to special tax rules that have a penalizing effect, regardless of whether we remain a PFIC, for subsequent taxable years, on (i) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. holder that is greater than 125% of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the U.S. holder’s holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares), and (ii) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition, including, under certain circumstances, a pledge, of ADSs or ordinary shares. Under the PFIC rules:

 

    such excess distribution and/or gain will be allocated ratably over the U.S. holder’s holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares;

 

    such amount allocated to the current taxable year and any taxable years in the U.S. holder’s holding period prior to the first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, or pre-PFIC year, will be taxable as ordinary income;

 

    such amount allocated to each prior taxable year, other than a pre-PFIC year, will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for that year; and

 

    an interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the tax attributable to each prior taxable year, other than a pre-PFIC year.

 

192


Table of Contents

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares and any of our non-United States subsidiaries is also a PFIC, such U.S. holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of the lower-tier PFIC for purposes of the application of these rules. U.S. holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries.

As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. holder of “marketable stock” in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to our ADSs, provided that the ADSs are regularly traded on the NYSE. If a mark-to-market election is made, the U.S. holder will generally (i) include as ordinary income for each taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of ADSs held at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of such ADSs and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over the fair market value of such ADSs held at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ADSs would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. holder makes an effective mark-to-market election, in each year that we are a PFIC any gain recognized upon the sale or other disposition of the ADSs will be treated as ordinary income and loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. holder makes a mark-to-market election it will be effective for the taxable year for which the election is made and all subsequent taxable years unless the ADSs are no longer regularly traded on a qualified exchange or the Internal Revenue Service consents to the revocation of the election. It should also be noted that it is intended that only the ADSs and not the ordinary shares will be listed on the NYSE. Consequently, if a U.S. holder holds ordinary shares that are not represented by ADSs, such holder generally will not be eligible to make a mark-to-market election if we are or were to become a PFIC.

If a U.S. holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of a PFIC and such corporation ceases to be a PFIC, the U.S. holder will not be required to take into account the mark-to-market gain or loss described above during any period that such corporation is not a PFIC.

Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for any lower-tier PFICs that a PFIC may own, a U.S. holder who makes a mark-to-market election with respect to our ADSs may continue to be subject to the general PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. holder’s indirect interest in any of our non-United States subsidiaries if any of them is a PFIC.

We do not intend to provide information necessary for U.S. holders to make qualified electing fund elections, which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.

As discussed above under “Dividends,” dividends that we pay on our ADSs or ordinary shares will not be eligible for the reduced tax rate that applies to qualified dividend income if we are a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year. In addition, if a U.S. holder owns our ADSs or ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, such holder would generally be required to file an annual IRS Form 8621. Each U.S. holder is advised to consult its tax advisors regarding the potential tax consequences to such holder if we are or become a PFIC, including the possibility of making a mark-to-market election.

Information Reporting

Certain U.S. holders may be required to report information to the IRS relating to an interest in “specified foreign financial assets,” including shares issued by a non-United States corporation, for any year in which the aggregate value of all specified foreign financial assets exceeds US$50,000 (or a higher dollar amount prescribed by the IRS), subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for shares held in custodial accounts maintained with a United States financial institution). These rules also impose penalties if a U.S. holder is required to submit such information to the IRS and fails to do so.

 

193


Table of Contents

In addition, U.S. holders may be subject to information reporting to the IRS with respect to dividends on and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. Each U.S. holder is advised to consult with its tax advisor regarding the application of the United States information reporting rules to their particular circumstances.

 

194


Table of Contents

UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for whom Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of our ADSs indicated below:

 

Name

   Number of ADSs

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

  

China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited

  

Needham & Company, LLC

  
  

 

Total:

  
  

 

The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the “underwriters” and the “representatives,” respectively. The underwriters are offering the ADSs subject to their acceptance of the ADSs from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the ADSs offered by this prospectus are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated, severally and not jointly, to take and pay for all of the ADSs offered by this prospectus if any such ADSs are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the ADSs covered by the underwriters’ over-allotment option described below.

The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the ADSs directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part of the ADSs to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of US$             per ADS from the initial public offering price. After the initial offering of the ADSs, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the underwriters.

Certain of the underwriters are expected to make offers and sales both inside and outside the United States through their respective selling agents. Any offers or sales in the United States will be conducted by broker-dealers registered with the SEC.

The address of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc is 25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 4QA, United Kingdom. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc expects to make offers and sales in the United States through its registered broker-dealer affiliate in the United States, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. The address of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, United States. The address of China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited is Units 8107-08, Level 81, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong. China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited will offer ADSs in the United States through its registered broker-dealer affiliate in the United States, China Renaissance Securities (US) Inc., acting as agent pursuant to a Rule 15a-6 agreement.

Option to Purchase Additional ADSs

We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to                      additional ADSs from us at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, made in connection with the offering of the ADSs offered by this prospectus. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become severally obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase a percentage of the additional ADSs that is approximately equal to each underwriter’s share of the total initial amount reflected in the table above.

 

195


Table of Contents

Commissions and Expenses

The following table shows the per ADS and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds before expenses to us. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ADSs.

 

     Total  
     Per ADS      No Exercise      Full Exercise  

Public offering price

   US$                    US$                    US$                

Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by us

   US$         US$         US$     

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

   US$         US$         US$     

The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately US$                    .

Discretionary Sales

The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of ADSs offered by them.

New York Stock Exchange Listing

We expect the ADSs to be approved for listing on the NYSE under the symbol “YRD.”

Lock-Up Agreements

We and all of our directors, executive officers and existing shareholder have agreed that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on behalf of the underwriters, we and they will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus (the “restricted period”):

 

    offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our ordinary shares or ADSs or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our ordinary shares or ADSs;

 

    file any registration statement with the SEC relating to the offering of any of our ordinary shares or ADSs or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our ordinary shares or ADSs; or

 

    enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of our ordinary shares or ADSs,

whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of our ordinary shares or ADSs or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. In addition, we and each such person agree that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on behalf of the underwriters, we or such other person will not, during the restricted period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any of our ordinary shares or ADSs or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our ordinary shares or ADSs.

The restrictions described in the immediately preceding paragraph do not apply to:

 

    the sale of our ADSs to the underwriters; or

 

    the issuance by the Company of our ordinary shares or ADSs upon the exercise of an option or a warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date of this prospectus of which the underwriters have been advised in writing; or

 

196


Table of Contents
    transactions by any person other than us relating to our ordinary shares or ADSs or other securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the offering of the ADSs, provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act is required or voluntarily made in connection with subsequent sales of our ordinary shares or ADSs or other securities acquired in such open market transactions.

Subject to compliance with the notification and public announcement requirements under FINRA Rule 5131(d)(2) applicable to lock-up agreement with our directors and officers, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on behalf of the underwriters, in their sole discretion, may release our ordinary shares or ADSs and other securities subject to the lock-up agreements described above in whole or in part at any time with or without notice.

Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids

In order to facilitate the offering of the ADSs, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the ADSs. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more ADSs than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of ADSs available for purchase by the underwriters under the over-allotment option. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the over-allotment option or purchasing our ADSs in the open market. In determining the source of ADSs to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of our ADSs compared to the price available under the over-allotment option. The underwriters may also sell our ADSs in excess of the over-allotment option, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing our ADSs in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our ADSs in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, our ADSs in the open market to stabilize the price of our ADSs. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of our ADSs above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of our ADSs. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time.

Indemnification

We and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

Electronic Distribution

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of our ADSs to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representatives to underwriters that may make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

Relationships

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

 

197


Table of Contents

In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively traded debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investment and securities activities may involve our securities and instruments. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long or short positions in such securities and instruments.

An affiliate of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc currently holds convertible preferred shares in CreditEase, our parent company, which indirectly represents approximately                     % of our outstanding ordinary shares after this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs.

Pricing of the Offering

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or ADSs. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between us and the representatives. Among the factors to be considered in determining the initial public offering price are our future prospects and those of our industry in general, our sales, earnings and certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, and the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios, market prices of securities, and certain financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to ours.

Selling Restrictions

No action may be taken in any jurisdiction other than the United States that would permit a public offering of the ADSs or the possession, circulation or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, the ADSs may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, and neither the prospectus nor any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the ADSs may be distributed or published in or from any country or jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with any applicable laws, rules and regulations of any such country or jurisdiction.

Cayman Islands

This prospectus does not constitute an invitation or offer to the public in the Cayman Islands of the ADSs, whether by way of sale or subscription. The underwriters have not offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any ADSs in the Cayman Islands.

Hong Kong

The ADSs may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the ADSs may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to ADSs which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

 

198


Table of Contents

People’s Republic of China

This prospectus has not been and will not be circulated or distributed in the PRC, and ADSs may not be offered or sold, and will not be offered or sold to any person for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, to any resident of the PRC except pursuant to applicable laws and regulations of the PRC.

Japan

The ADSs have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan, and ADSs will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to any exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of our ADSs may not be circulated or distributed, nor may our ADSs be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore, or SFA, (ii) to a relevant person or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.

Where our ADSs are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor as defined in Section 4A of the SFA) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor; shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the ADSs under Section 275 of the SFA, except: (1) to an institutional investor (for corporations under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or (3) where the transfer is by operation of law.

Australia

This document has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to certain categories of exempt persons. Accordingly, if you receive this document in Australia:

 

  (a) you confirm and warrant that you are either:

 

  (i) “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia, or the Corporations Act;

 

199


Table of Contents
  (ii) “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the company which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made;

 

  (iii) person associated with the company under section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or

 

  (iv) “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act;

and to the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act, any offer made to you under this document is void and incapable of acceptance;

 

  (b) you warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the ADSs issued to you pursuant to this document for resale in Australia within 12 months of those ADSs being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of any shares which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus may not be made in that Relevant Member State unless the prospectus has been approved by the competent authority in such Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any shares may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

 

    to legal entities which are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;

 

    to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000 and (3) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts;

 

    by the underwriters to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than “qualified investors” as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

 

    in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive; provided that no such offer of shares shall result in a requirement for the publication by us or any representative of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.

Any person making or intending to make any offer of shares within the EEA should only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for us or any of the underwriters to produce a prospectus for such offer. Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of shares through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by the underwriters which constitute the final offering of shares contemplated in this prospectus.

For the purposes of this provision, and your representation below, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any shares, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant

 

200


Table of Contents

Member State) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU.

Each person in a Relevant Member State who receives any communication in respect of, or who acquires any shares under, the offer of shares contemplated by this prospectus will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with us and each underwriter that:

 

    it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of the law in that Relevant Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive; and

 

    in the case of any shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, (i) the shares acquired by it in the offering have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Relevant Member State other than “qualified investors” (as defined in the Prospectus Directive), or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been given to the offer or resale; or (ii) where shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, the offer of those shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Directive as having been made to such persons.

In addition, in the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer subsequently made may only be directed at persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Prospectus Directive) (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19 (5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended, or the Order, and/or (ii) who are high net worth companies (or persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated) falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not relevant persons. In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is only available to, and will be engaged in with, relevant persons.

Notice to Investors in Switzerland

This document, as well as any other offering or marketing material relating to the ADSs which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus, neither constitutes a prospectus pursuant to Article 652a or Article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations nor a simplified prospectus as such term is understood pursuant to article 5 of the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes. Neither the ADSs nor the shares underlying the ADSs will be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and, therefore, the documents relating to the ADSs, including, but not limited to, this document, do not claim to comply with the disclosure standards of the listing rules of SIX Swiss Exchange and corresponding prospectus schemes annexed to the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange.

The ADSs are being offered in Switzerland by way of a private placement, i.e. to a small number of selected investors only, without any public offer and only to investors who do not purchase the ADSs with the intention to distribute them to the public. The investors will be individually approached from time to time. This document, as well as any other offering or marketing material relating to the ADSs, is confidential and it is exclusively for the use of the individually addressed investors in connection with the offer of the ADSs in Switzerland and it does not constitute an offer to any other person. This document may only be used by those investors to whom it has been handed out in connection with the offering described herein and may neither directly nor indirectly be distributed or made available to other persons without our express consent. It may not be used in connection with any other offer and shall in particular not be copied and/or distributed to the public in or from Switzerland.

Notice to Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre

This document relates to an Exempt Offer, as defined in the Offered Securities Rules module of the DFSA Rulebook, or the OSR, in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services

 

201


Table of Contents

Authority. This document is intended for distribution only to Persons, as defined in the OSR, of a type specified in those rules. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other Person. The Dubai Financial Services Authority has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The Dubai Financial Services Authority has not approved this document nor taken steps to verify the information set out in it, and has no responsibility for it. The ADSs to which this document relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the ADSs offered should conduct their own due diligence on the ADSs. If you do not understand the contents of this document you should consult an authorized financial adviser.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

No action has been or will be taken in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that would permit a public offering or private placement of the ADSs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or possession or distribution of any offering materials in relation thereto. Our ADSs may only be offered and sold in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through persons authorized to do so in accordance of Part 5 (Exempt Offers) of the Offers of Securities Regulations dated 20/8/1425 AH corresponding to 4/10/2004 (as amended), or the Regulations, and in accordance with Part 5 (Exempt Offers) Article 16(a)(3) of the Regulations, the ADSs will be offered to no more than 60 offerees in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with each such offeree paying an amount not less than Saudi Riyals one million or an equivalent amount in another currency. Investors are informed that Article 19 of the Regulations places restrictions on secondary market activity with respect to our ADSs. Any resale or other transfer, or attempted resale or other transfer, made other than in compliance with the above-stated restrictions shall not be recognized by us. Prospective purchasers of our ADSs should conduct their own due diligence on the accuracy of the information relation to the ADSs. Investors should consult an authorized financial adviser if they do not understand the contents of this prospectus.

State of Kuwait

Our ADSs have not been authorized or licensed for offering, marketing or sale in the State of Kuwait, or Kuwait. The distribution of this prospectus and the offering, marketing and sale of the ADSs in Kuwait is restricted by law unless a license is obtained from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry in accordance with Law No. 31 of 1990, and the various Ministerial Regulations issued pursuant thereto. Persons into whose possession this prospectus comes are required by us and the underwriters to inform themselves about and to observe such restrictions. Investors in Kuwait who approach us or any of the underwriters to obtain copies of this prospectus are required by us and the underwriters to keep such prospectus confidential and not to make copies thereof nor distribute the same to any other person in Kuwait and are also required to observe the restrictions provided for in all jurisdictions with respect to offering, marketing and the sale of the ADSs.

United Arab Emirates

This prospectus is not intended to constitute an offer, sale or delivery of shares or other securities under the laws of the United Arab Emirates, or the UAE. The ADSs have not been and will not be registered under Federal Law No. 4 of 2000 Concerning the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority and the Emirates Security and Commodity Exchange, or with the UAE Central Bank, the Dubai Financial Market, the Abu Dhabi Securities Market or with any other UAE exchange.

The offering, the ADSs and interests therein have not been approved or licensed by the UAE Central Bank or any other relevant licensing authorities in the UAE, and do not constitute a public offer of securities in the UAE in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law, Federal Law No. 8 of 1984 (as amended) or otherwise.

In relation to its use in the UAE, this prospectus is strictly private and confidential and is being distributed to a limited number of investors and must not be provided to any person other than the original recipient, and may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose. The interests in the ADSs may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly to the public in the UAE.

 

202


Table of Contents

EXPENSES RELATED TO THIS OFFERING

Set forth below is an itemization of the total expenses, excluding underwriting discount, that we expect to incur in connection with this offering. With the exception of the SEC registration fee, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, filing fee, and the NYSE market entry and listing fee, all amounts are estimates.

 

SEC Registration Fee

   $                

FINRA Fee

  

NYSE Market Entry and Listing Fee

  

Printing and Engraving Expenses

  

Legal Fees and Expenses

  

Accounting Fees and Expenses

  

Miscellaneous

  
  

 

 

 

Total

   $     
  

 

 

 

 

203


Table of Contents

LEGAL MATTERS

We are being represented by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP with respect to certain legal matters as to United States federal securities and New York State law. The underwriters are being represented by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP with respect to certain legal matters as to United States federal securities and New York State law. The validity of the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs offered in this offering will be passed upon for us by Maples and Calder. Certain legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by Han Kun Law Offices and for the underwriters by Zhong Lun Law Firm. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP may rely upon Maples and Calder with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law and Han Kun Law Offices with respect to matters governed by PRC law. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP may rely upon Zhong Lun Law Firm with respect to matters governed by PRC law.

 

204


Table of Contents

EXPERTS

The financial statements as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014, included in this prospectus and the related financial statement schedule included elsewhere in the registration statement, have been audited by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report appearing herein and elsewhere in the registration statement (which report expresses an unqualified opinion on the financial statements and financial statement schedule and includes an explanatory paragraph referring to the consolidated financial statements presentation not necessarily reflecting the results of operations, financial position and cash flows if we had actually existed on a stand-alone basis during the periods presented). Such financial statements and financial statement schedule have been so included in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

The office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP is located at 8/F, W2 Tower, The Towers, Oriental Plaza, 1 East Chang An Avenue, Beijing 100738, the People’s Republic of China.

 

205


Table of Contents

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed a registration statement, including relevant exhibits, with the SEC on Form F-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the underlying ordinary shares represented by the ADSs to be sold in this offering. We have also filed a related registration statement on Form F-6 with the SEC to register the ADSs. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement on Form F-1, does not contain all of the information contained in the registration statement. You should read our registration statements and their exhibits and schedules for further information with respect to us and our ADSs.

Immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration statement on Form F-1 of which this prospectus forms a part, we will become subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. All information filed with the SEC can be obtained over the internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of documents, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing to the SEC.

 

206


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

CONTENTS

   PAGE(S)  

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

     F-2   

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS AS OF
DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

     F-3   

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

     F-4   

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

     F-5   

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

     F-6   

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

     F-7   

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

     F-8   

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION — FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SCHEDULE 1

     F-25   

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS AS OF
DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND JUNE 30, 2015

     F-31   

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

     F-32   

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS)/INCOME FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

     F-33   

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

     F-34   

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

     F-35   

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

     F-36   

 

F-1


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Yirendai Ltd.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company” and its subsidiaries and variable interest entity, collectively referred to as the “Group”) as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, changes in equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014 and the related financial statement schedule (Schedule I). These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Group’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Group as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to such consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements were prepared to present the assets and liabilities and related results of operations and cash flows of Yirendai Ltd., its subsidiaries and a consolidated variable interest entity. These consolidated financial statements may not necessarily be indicative of the conditions that would have existed or the results of operations and cash flows if Yirendai Ltd., its subsidiaries and a consolidated variable interest entity had operated as a stand-alone group during the periods presented.

/s/ Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP

Beijing, the People’s Republic of China

February 27, 2015, except as to the Organization and Principal Activities and Subsequent Events in Notes 1 and 14, respectively, as to which date is, November 16, 2015.

 

F-2


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     December 31,
2013
    December 31,
2014
 

Assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

     —          222   

Accounts receivable

     3,077        25,971   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     1,693        32,592   

Amount due from a related party

     —          5,489   

Property and equipment, net

     163        551   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

     4,933        64,825   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities:

    

Amount due to a related party (including amount due to a related party of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $258 as and $nil as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively)

     258        —     

Accrued expenses and other liabilities (including accrued expenses and other liabilities of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $1,517 and $28,813 as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively)

     1,517        28,813   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     1,775        28,813   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies (Note 12)

    

Equity:

    

Ordinary shares ($0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized, and
100,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2013 and 2014)

     —          —     

Additional paid-in capital

     13,260        50,910   

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

     50        (249

Accumulated deficit

     (10,152     (14,649
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity

     3,158        36,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and equity

     4,933        64,825   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-3


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Net revenue:

    

Loan facilitation service

     3,045        31,317   

Post-origination service

     25        405   

Others

     61        171   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenue

     3,131        31,893   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

    

Sales and marketing

     5,220        22,354   

Origination and servicing

     1,255        3,541   

General and administrative

     4,998        10,490   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

     (11,473     (36,385
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before provision for income taxes

     (8,342     (4,492

Income taxes expense

     —          (5
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (8,342     (4,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share

     (0.0834     (0.0450
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share

     100,000,000        100,000,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-4


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Net loss

     (8,342     (4,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss)
Foreign currency transaction adjustments

     49        (299
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

     (8,293     (4,796
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-5


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Ordinary
shares
     Ordinary
shares
amount
     Additional
paid-in
capital
     Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income (loss)
    Accumulated
deficit
    Total
equity
 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

     100,000,000         —           1,863         1        (1,810     54   

Capital contribution by owner

     —           —           11,397         —          —          11,397   

Other comprehensive income

     —           —           —           49        —          49   

Net loss

     —           —           —           —          (8,342     (8,342
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2013

     100,000,000         —           13,260         50        (10,152     3,158   

Capital contribution by owner

     —           —           37,650         —          —          37,650   

Other comprehensive loss

     —           —           —           (299     —          (299

Net loss

     —           —           —           —          (4,497     (4,497
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

     100,000,000         —           50,910         (249     (14,649     36,012   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-6


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands US dollars)

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

    

Net loss

     (8,342     (4,497

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     72        185   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities

    

Accounts receivable

     (3,030     (23,123

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     (1,317     (31,148

Amount due from/to a related party

     255        (5,779

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     1,088        27,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     (11,274     (36,846
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

    

Purchase of property and equipment

     (123     (580
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in other investing activities

     (123     (580
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

    

Cash contribution from owner

     11,397        37,650   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     11,397        37,650   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

     —          (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     —          222   

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year

     —          222   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-7


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

1. ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company” or “Yirendai”) was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands on September 24, 2014. Upon incorporation, the Company had 50,000 shares authorized, 1 share issued and outstanding with a par value of US$1.00 per share, which was held by CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited (“CreditEase”). Pursuant to a written resolutions of CreditEase dated January 5, 2015, the Company’s every issued and unissued share of par value of US$1.00 each in the capital of the Company is subdivided into 10,000 shares of par value US$0.0001 each, such that the Company has an authorized capital of US$50 divided into 500,000,000 shares of par value US$0.0001 each and 10,000 issued capital of par value US$0.0001 each amounted to US$1.00. On June 25, 2015, the Company issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 per share, to CreditEase, at US$0.0001 per share for an aggregate cash consideration of $10. Such issuance was accounted for as a stock split and, accordingly, all references to numbers of common shares and per-share data in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been adjusted to reflect the stock split and issuance of shares on a retroactive basis.

CreditEase is engaged in providing services for both online and offline marketplace connecting borrowers and investors as well as wealth management services in People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) through its subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities. The Company, its subsidiaries and a consolidated variable interest entity (“VIE”) (the Company, its subsidiaries and its VIE collectively referred to as the “Group”) provide services for online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors in the PRC.

In 2012, Puxin Hengye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Puxin Hengye”), a subsidiary of CreditEase began providing services through an online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors (the “Yirendai Business”), with supporting services provided by other subsidiaries and VIEs of CreditEase. In order to raise capital for this business through an initial public offering, in the first quarter 2015, CreditEase undertook a reorganization through which CreditEase transferred the Yirendai Business to the Group. Such reorganization was approved by the Board of Directors of CreditEase, with the VIE structure being in place on February 22, 2015 and completed on March 31, 2015.

In order to consummate the reorganization, new entities were setup as follows:

 

     Date of
incorporation/
establishment
   Place of
incorporation/
establishment
   Percentage
of legal
ownership
  Principal activities

Wholly owned subsidiaries

       

Yirendai Hong Kong Limited (“Yirendai HK”)

   October 8, 2014    Hong Kong    100%   Investment holding

Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Heng Ye”)

   January 8, 2015    PRC    100%   Provision of consultancy
information technology
support

Variable interest entity

          

Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (1)  (“Heng Cheng”)

   September 15, 2014    PRC    Consolidated
VIE
  Services for online
marketplace connecting
borrowers and investors

 

  (1) Heng Cheng was established on September 15, 2014 as the operating entity in PRC of the Yirendai Business in contemplating raising capital for this business through an initial public offering. CreditEase designated Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian, three PRC citizens, as the shareholders of Heng Cheng (collectively the “three designated shareholders”) on behalf of CreditEase. The capital injected into Heng Cheng by the three designated shareholders was provided by CreditEase through loans extended by Puxin Hengye. As a result, Mr. Ning Tang, Mr. Fanshun Kong and Ms. Yan Tian were considered de facto agent of CreditEase, and CreditEase should consolidate Heng Cheng as a VIE.

 

F-8


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

1. ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES — continued

 

In February 2015, soon after the establishment of Heng Ye, the wholly foreign owned enterprise of the Company, Heng Ye entered into an agreement with Puxin Hengye. Based on the agreement, the title of the loans of capital injection was transferred from Puxin Hengye to Heng Ye. And the control over Heng Cheng was transferred to Heng Ye as well through the new VIE arrangements signed with Heng Cheng, which is considered a contribution to the Yirendai Business. As a result, Heng Cheng is a VIE consolidated by CreditEase before and after signing the VIE arrangements in February 2015, and this transaction is accounted for as a transaction under common control.

As a result of the reorganization, the Yirendai Business was transferred to the Group, the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared as if the current corporate structure has been in existence throughout the periods presented. The assets and liabilities and the related results of operation and cash flows of Yirendai Business reflect the online marketplace service business connecting borrowers and investors. However, such presentation may not necessarily reflect the results of operations, financial position and cash flows if the Group had actually existed on a stand-alone basis during the periods presented. Transactions between the Group and CreditEase are herein referred to as related party transactions.

In connection with a contemplated initial public offering (“IPO”) of the Company, the Company entered into non-competition arrangement with CreditEase, under which they agreed not to compete with each other’s core business. CreditEase agreed not to compete with the Group in a business that is of the same nature as (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by us as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that the Company and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time. The Company agreed not to compete with CreditEase in the business conducted by CreditEase, other than (i) the online consumer finance marketplace business operated by the Group as of the date of the agreement and (ii) other businesses that the Company and CreditEase may mutually agree from time to time.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the Group’s direct expenses as well as allocations for various origination and servicing, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses incurred by CreditEase that are related to the Yirendai Business. These allocated expenses consist primarily of customer referral, credit assessment, collection service, customer support, payment processing, system support, and management expenses including accounting, administrative, marketing and legal support services. These allocations were made using a proportional cost allocation method and were based on headcount or transaction volume on the provision of services attributable to the Group. Management believes these allocations are reasonable. Total origination and servicing, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses allocated from CreditEase are $901, $1,328 and $72 for the year ended December 31, 2013 and $2,751, $12,329 and $980 for the year ended December 31, 2014, respectively. See Note 7 – “Related Party Transactions”. Income tax provision reflected in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations is calculated based on a separate return basis as if the Group had filed a separate tax return.

The Yirendai Business has operated within CreditEase’s corporate cash management program for all periods presented. For purposes of presentation in the consolidated statements of cash flows, the cash flow from CreditEase to support the Yirendai Business is presented as cash contribution from owner, which is included in cash flows from financing activities. This presentation results in the consolidated financial statements reflecting no cash balances as of December 31, 2013. As of December 31, 2014, the cash and cash equivalents represent bank balances held by Heng Cheng.

 

F-9


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

1. ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES — continued

 

Cash contribution from owner as disclosed under cash flows from financing activities have also been reflected as changes to the balances in total equity as presented in the consolidated statements of changes in equity.

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”).

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and a consolidated VIE. All inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.

The VIE arrangements

Foreign ownership of internet-based businesses, including distribution of online information (such as an online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors), is subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. For example, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interests in internet-based businesses (except E-Commerce) and any such foreign investor must have experience in providing internet-based businesses services overseas and maintain a good track record in accordance with the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment promulgated in 2007, as amended in 2011 and 2015, respectively, and other applicable laws and regulations. The Company is a Cayman Islands company and Heng Ye (its PRC subsidiary) is considered foreign invested enterprise. To comply with these regulations, the Company conducts the majority of its activities in PRC through Heng Cheng (its consolidated VIE).

Heng Cheng hold the requisite licenses and permits necessary to conduct the Company’s online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors business. Heng Ye has entered into the following contractual arrangement with Heng Cheng, that enable the Company to (1) have power to direct the activities that most significantly affects the economic performance of Heng Cheng, and (2) receive the economic benefits of Heng Cheng that could be significant to Heng Cheng. Accordingly, the Company is considered the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng and has consolidated Heng Cheng’s assets, liabilities, results of operations, and cash flows in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

In concluding that the Company is the primary beneficiary of Heng Cheng, the Company believes that the HengYe’s rights under the terms of the exclusive option agreements provide it with a substantive kick out right. More specifically, the Company believes the terms of the exclusive option agreements are valid, binding and enforceable under PRC laws and regulations currently in effect. A simple majority vote of the Company’s board of directors is required to pass a resolution to exercise Heng Ye’s rights under the exclusive option agreements, for which consent of the shareholders of Heng Cheng is not required. Heng Ye’s rights under the exclusive option agreements give the Company the power to control the shareholders of Heng Cheng and thus the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the Heng Cheng’s

 

F-10


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Basis of consolidation  — continued

 

The VIE arrangements  — continued

 

economic performance. In addition, Heng Ye’s rights under the powers of attorney also reinforce the Company’s abilities to direct the activities that most significantly impact Heng Cheng’s economic performance. The Company also believes that this ability to exercise control ensures that Heng Cheng will continue to execute and renew services agreements and pay service fees to the Company. The exclusive business cooperation agreement will be terminated upon the expiration of the operation term of either party if the application for renewal of its operation term is not approved by the relevant government authorities. As a result, the Company believes that it has the rights to receive substantially all of the economic benefits from Heng Cheng.

 

    Agreements that provide Heng Ye effective control over Heng Cheng

Power of attorney The shareholders of Heng Cheng have executed an irrevocable power of attorney in favour of Heng Ye, or entity or individual designated by Heng Ye. Pursuant to this powers of attorney, Heng Ye or its designee has full power and authority to exercise all of such shareholder’s rights with respect to his equity interest in Heng Cheng. The power of attorney will remain in force for so long as the shareholder remains a shareholder of Heng Cheng.

Exclusive option agreement Heng Cheng and its shareholders have also entered into an exclusive share option agreement with Heng Ye. Pursuant to this agreement, the shareholders of Heng Cheng has granted an exclusive option to Heng Ye or its designees to purchase all or part of such shareholders’ equity interest, at a purchase price equal to the higher of the registered capital of Heng Cheng or the lowest price required under PRC laws at the time of such purchase.

Equity interest pledge agreement The shareholders of Heng Cheng has also entered into an equity pledge agreement with Heng Ye, pursuant to which each shareholder pledged his interest in Heng Cheng to guarantee the performance of obligations of Heng Cheng and its shareholders under the exclusive business cooperation agreement, loan agreements, exclusive option agreements and powers of attorney.

 

    Agreements that transfer economic benefits to Heng Ye

Exclusive business cooperation agreement Heng Ye has entered into exclusive business cooperation agreement with Heng Cheng. Pursuant to this exclusive business cooperation agreement, Heng Ye provides comprehensive technical support, consulting services and other services to Heng Cheng in exchange for service fees. Heng Ye has the sole discretion to determine the amounts of the services fees.

During the term of exclusive business cooperation agreement, both Heng Ye and Heng Cheng shall renew their operation terms prior to the expiration thereof so as to enable the exclusive business cooperation agreement to remain effective. The exclusive business cooperation agreement shall be terminated upon the expiration of the operation term of either Heng Ye or Heng Cheng, if the application for renewal of their operation terms are not approved by relevant government authorities.

The agreement may be terminated only at the option of Heng Ye and Heng Cheng has no authority to terminate the exclusive business cooperation agreement.

 

F-11


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Basis of consolidation  — continued

 

Risks in relation to the VIE structure

The Company believes that the contractual arrangements with Heng Cheng and its current shareholders are in compliance with PRC laws and regulations and are legally enforceable. However, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the Company’s ability to enforce the contractual arrangements. If the legal structure and contractual arrangements were found to be in violation of PRC laws and regulations, the PRC government could:

 

    Revoke the business and operating licenses of Heng Ye and Heng Cheng;

 

    Discontinue or restrict the operations of any related-party transactions among Heng Ye and Heng Cheng;

 

    Impose fines or other requirements on Heng Ye and Heng Cheng;

 

    Require the Company or Heng Ye and Heng Cheng to revise the relevant ownership structure or restructure operations; and/or

 

    Restrict or prohibit the Company’s use of the proceeds of the additional public offering to finance the Company’s business and operations in China.

 

    Shutting down the Company’s servers or blocking the Company’s online platform;

 

    Discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on the Company’s operations; and/or

 

    Requiring the Company to undergo a costly and disruptive restructuring.

The Company’s ability to conduct its business may be negatively affected if the PRC government were to carry out of any of the aforementioned actions. As a result, the Company may not be able to consolidate Heng Cheng in its consolidated financial statements as it may lose the ability to exert effective control over Heng Cheng and its shareholder, and it may lose the ability to receive economic benefits from Heng Cheng.

The interests of the shareholders of Heng Cheng may diverge from that of the Company and that may potentially increase the risk that they would seek to act contrary to the contractual terms, for example by influencing Heng Cheng not to pay the service fees when required to do so. The Company cannot assure that when conflicts of interest arise, shareholders of Heng Cheng will act in the best interests of the Company or that conflicts of interests will be resolved in the Company’s favor. Currently, the Company does not have existing arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest the shareholders of Heng Cheng may encounter in its capacity as beneficial owners and directors of Heng Cheng, on the one hand, and as beneficial owners and directors of the Company, on the other hand. The Company believes the shareholders of Heng Cheng will not act contrary to any of the contractual arrangements and the exclusive option agreements provide the Company with a mechanism to remove the current shareholders of Heng Cheng should they act to the detriment of the Company. The Company relies on certain current shareholders of Heng Cheng to fulfill their fiduciary duties and abide by laws of the PRC and act in the best interest of the Company. If the Company cannot resolve any conflicts of interest or disputes between the Company and the shareholders of Heng Cheng, the Company would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of its business, and there is substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

 

F-12


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Basis of consolidation  — continued

 

Risks in relation to the VIE structure  — continued

 

The following financial statement amounts and balances of Heng Cheng was included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements:

 

     As of December 31,  
     2013      2014  

Total assets

     4,933         64,825   

Total liabilities

     1,775         28,813   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     For the years ended December 31,  
     2013      2014  

Net revenue

     3,131         31,893   

Net loss

     8,342         4,497   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     For the years ended December 31,  
     2013      2014  

Net cash used in operating activities

     11,274         36,846   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Heng Cheng began to provide services through an online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors in December 2014. Currently, Heng Cheng operates with website   www.yirendai.com .

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from such estimates. Significant accounting estimates reflected in the Group’s financial statements are income tax.

Revenue recognition

The Group charges fees for facilitating loan originations, for the automated investing tool to investors opting for that service, and for monthly service (covering cash processing services, collection services and SMS services), while for those who do not opt for automated investing tool, the Group charges fees for facilitating loan originations and for monthly service (covering cash processing services, collection services and SMS services) (collectively as “non-contingent fees”). The Group also receives fees contingent on future events (e.g., penalty fee for loan prepayment and late payment, fee for transferring loans over the secondary loan market, and other service fees, etc.).

In order to be more competitive by providing a certain level of assurance to the investors, the Group reimburses the loan principal and interest to the investor in case of borrower’s default and then collects the amounts either from borrowers through its collection team or a guarantee company.

 

F-13


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Revenue recognition  — continued

 

Before August 2013, the Group provided such investor protection service in the form of a risk reserve fund, under which the Group set aside some fee earned as risk reserve fund and repaid the investor in the case of default (“risk reserve model”). The Group charged investors a risk reserve fund service fee at a rate of 10% based on the monthly interest on loans and recognized such servicing fee as revenue of the investor protection service.

After August 2013, the Group introduced a guarantee arrangement with a guarantee company, under which the guarantee company provides guarantee service to the investors (“guarantee model”). The guarantee company charged the investors at a rate of 10% based on monthly interest on loans as servicing fee, which is to be collected by the Group on behalf of the guarantee company and no longer recorded these amounts as revenue. When the Group switched the investor protection service from the previous risk reserve fund model to the guarantee model, a one-time fee of $266 was paid to the guarantee company for its assumption of the obligation of the Group on the outstanding loan balances that were covered under the previous risk reserve fund model. Such fee was included in the origination and servicing expenses in 2013.

Multiple element revenue recognition

The Group considers the loan facilitation services, risk reserve fund guarantee and post-origination services as one multiple deliverable revenue arrangement and the lenders are regarded as the sole customer. All non-contingent fees are allocated between these three elements.

Under the risk reserve model, by applying the ASC 460 guidance, an amount equal to the fair value of the stand-ready liability of the risk reserve fund is first deducted from the total fees. The remaining fees are allocated based upon the relative selling price of the loan facilitation services and post origination services.

In August 2013, because the guarantee company assumed the guarantee obligation of the Group on the outstanding loan balances that were covered under the previous risk reserve fund, the Group was released from such obligation, and therefore recognized the outstanding stand-ready liability of the guarantee as revenue. The Group did not recognize revenue for the risk reserve fund service previously, as it considered that netting the changes in the guarantee with the revenue was more representative of the Company’s obligation. No separate guarantee revenue or guarantee provision expense had been recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Under the guarantee model, the total fees are allocated based upon the relative selling price of the loan facilitation services and post origination services.

The Group does not have vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price for the loan facilitation services and post-origination services because it does not provide loan facilitation services or post-origination services separately.

For cash processing services, collection services and SMS services (all of which are part of the post-origination services), the Group uses third-party evidence (“TPE”, which is the prices charged when sold separately by its service providers) as the basis of revenue allocation.

 

F-14


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Revenue recognition  — continued

 

Multiple element revenue recognition — continued

 

Although other vendors may sell these services separately, TPE of selling price of the loan facilitation services and automated investing tool services (part of post-origination services) does not exist as public information is not available regarding what our competitors may charge for those services. As a result, the Group generally uses its best estimate of selling prices (“BESP”) of loan facilitation services and automated investing tool services as the basis of revenue allocation. In estimating its selling price for the loan facilitation services and automated investing tools services, the Group considers the cost incurred to deliver such services, profit margin for similar arrangements, customer demand, effect of competitors on the Group’s services, and other market factors.

For each type of service, the Group recognizes revenues when the following four revenue recognition criteria are met for each revenue type: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, (iii) the selling price is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured.

Revenue from loan facilitation services

After August 2013, the aforementioned four criteria for revenue recognition were met upon completion of the loan facilitation services. A loan is considered originated when the funds provided by the investors are transferred to the borrower’s bank account by the external online payment network provider. The Group recognized 100% revenue and recorded no allowance for the uncollectible accounts, as all the transaction fees in relation to loan facilitated before December 31, 2014 were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An (Beijing) Guarantee Co., Ltd. (“Tian Da Xin An”).

Revenue from post-origination services

The fees allocated to post-origination services are recognized over the period of the loan on a straight line basis.

Other revenue

Other revenue includes penalty fee for loan prepayment and late payment, one-time fees for transferring loans over the secondary loan market. The penalty fee, which is a fee paid to the investors that are assigned to us by the investors, will be charged as a certain percentage of past due amount in case of late payment or a certain percentage of interest over the prepaid principal loan amount in case of prepayment.

Fair value

Fair value is the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required or permitted to be recorded at fair value, the Group considers the principal or most advantageous market in which it would transact and it considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability.

 

 

F-15


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Fair value  — continued

 

Authoritative literature provides a fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The level in the hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement as follows:

 

    Level 1-inputs are based upon unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities traded in active markets.

 

    Level 2-inputs are based upon quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active and model-based valuation techniques for which all significant assumptions are observable in the market or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

 

    Level 3-inputs are generally unobservable and typically reflect management’s estimates of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The fair values are therefore determined using model-based techniques that include option pricing models, discounted cash flow models, and similar techniques.

Fair value of financial instruments

Financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, amount due from/to a related party, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets, and accrued expenses and other liabilities. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, amount due from/to a related party, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets, and accrued expenses and other liabilities approximate their fair values reported in the consolidated balance sheets.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and demand deposit which is highly liquid.

Property and equipment, net

Furniture and equipment are recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are calculated on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives:

 

Computer and transmission equipment

   3 years

Furniture and office equipment

   5 years

Leasehold improvements

   Over the shorter of the lease term
   or expected useful lives

Gains and losses from the disposal of property and equipment are included in income from operation.

Origination and servicing expense

Origination and servicing expense consists primarily of variable expenses and vendor costs, including costs related to credit, collection, customer support and payment processing staff associated with facilitating and servicing loan.

 

F-16


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Income taxes

Current income taxes are provided for in accordance with the laws of the relevant tax authorities.

Deferred income taxes are recognized with net operating loss carry forwards and credits are applied using enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more-likely-than-not that a portion of or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

The impact of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax return is recognized at the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant tax authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. Interest and penalties on income taxes will be classified as a component of the provisions for income taxes. The Group did not recognize any income tax due to uncertain tax position or incur any interest and penalties related to potential underpaid income tax expenses for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014.

Value added taxes (“VAT”)

The Group is subject to VAT at the rate of 6% or 3%, depending on whether the entity is a general tax payer or small-scale taxpayer, and related surcharges on revenue generated from providing services. VAT is also reported as a deduction to revenue when incurred and amounted to $191 and $1,858 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Entities that are VAT general taxpayers are allowed to offset qualified input VAT paid to suppliers against their output VAT liabilities. Net VAT balance between input VAT and output VAT is recorded in the line item of accrued expense and other liabilities on the face of balance sheet.

Net income (loss) per share

Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.

Accounts receivable and allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable

Accounts receivable are stated at the historical carrying amount net of write-offs and allowance for uncollectible accounts. The Company establishes an allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable based on estimates, historical experience and other factors surrounding the credit risk of specific clients. Uncollectible accounts receivable are written off when a settlement is reached for an amount that is less than the outstanding historical balance or when the Company has determined the balance will not be collected. No allowance for uncollectible accounts receivables are recorded as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 due to all accounts receivables are guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An (Beijing) Guarantee Co., Ltd. (“Tian Da Xin An) (see Note 7).

Foreign currency translation

The functional and reporting currency of Yirendai is US dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s subsidiaries and VIE in the PRC is Renminbi (“RMB”).

 

 

F-17


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Foreign currency translation  — continued

 

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in currencies other than the functional currency during the year are converted into functional currency at the applicable rates of exchange prevailing when the transactions occurred. Transaction gains and losses are recognized in the statements of operations.

The Company with functional currency of RMB translates its operating results and financial positions into US dollar, the Company’s reporting currency. Assets and liabilities are translated using the exchange rates in effect on the balance sheet date. Equity amounts are translated at historical exchange rates. Revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rates for the year. Translation adjustments are reported as cumulative translation adjustments and are shown as a separate component in the statements of comprehensive income.

Significant risks and uncertainties

Foreign currency risk

RMB is not a freely convertible currency. The State Administration for Foreign Exchange, under the authority of the People’s Bank of China, controls the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies. The value of RMB is subject to changes in central government policies and to international economic and political developments affecting supply and demand in the China Foreign Exchange Trading System market. The cash and cash equivalents of the Group included aggregate amounts of US$ nil and US$222, which were denominated in RMB, at December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively, representing nil and 100% of the cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Concentration of credit risk

Financial instrument that potentially expose the Group to significant concentration of credit risk primarily included in the financial lines of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets. As of December 31, 2014, substantially all of the Group’s cash and cash equivalents were deposited in financial institutions located in the PRC. Accounts receivable are typically unsecured and are derived from revenue earned from customers in the PRC. The risk with respect to accounts receivable is mitigated by credit evaluations the Group performs on its customers and its ongoing monitoring process of outstanding balances.

There are no revenues from customers which individually represent greater than 10% of the total net revenues for any year of the two years period ended December 31, 2014.

There are no customers of the Group that accounted for greater than 10% of the Group’s carrying amount of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2013 and 2014.

 

F-18


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Significant risks and uncertainties  — continued

 

Recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

In April, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2014-08, which amends the definition of a discontinued operation in ASC 205-20 and requires entities to provide additional disclosures about discontinued operations as well as disposal transactions that do not meet the discontinued-operations criteria. The new guidance eliminates the second and third criteria of discontinued operation in ASC 205-20-45-1 and instead requires discontinued-operations treatment for disposals of a component or group of components that represents a strategic shift that has or will have a major impact on an entity’s operations or financial results. The ASU also expands the scope of ASC 205-20 to disposals of equity method investments and businesses that, upon initial acquisition, qualify as held for sale.

The ASU also requires entities to reclassify assets and liabilities of a discontinued operation for all comparative periods presented in the statement of financial position.

Regarding the statement of cash flows, an entity must disclose, in all periods presented, either (1) operating and investing cash flows or (2) depreciation and amortization, capital expenditures, and significant operating and investing noncash items related to the discontinued operation.

The ASU is effective prospectively for all disposals (except disposals classified as held for sale before the adoption date) or components initially classified as held for sale in periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014. Early adoption is permitted. The Group does not expect the adoption of this guidance will have a significant effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued, ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)”. The guidance substantially converges final standards on revenue recognition between the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board providing a framework on addressing revenue recognition issues and, upon its effective date, replaces almost all exiting revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance, in current U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve that core principle, an entity should apply the following steps:

 

    Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with a customer.

 

    Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract.

 

    Step 3: Determine the transaction price.

 

    Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract.

 

    Step 5: Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. The Group is in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

 

F-19


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

3. PREPAID EXPENSE AND OTHER ASSETS

 

     December 31,
2013
     December 31,
2014
 

Funds receivable from external payment network providers (i)

     1,016         30,588   

Deposits

     284         1,022   

Prepaid expense

     340         969   

Employees advance

     53         13   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     1,693         32,592   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (i) The Group opened accounts with external online payment service providers to collect and transfer loan funds and interest to investors or borrowers. The Group also uses such accounts to collect the transaction fee and service fee, and repay and collect the default loan principal and interest. The balance of funds receivable from external payment network providers mainly includes (a) fund received from investors but not yet transferred to accounts of borrowers by external payment network providers due to the settlement time lag; (b) repayment of loan principal and interest amounts received from borrowers but not yet transferred to accounts of investors by external payment network due to the settlement time lag and (c) accumulated amounts of transaction fee, service fee received, payment and collection of default loan and interest at the balance sheet date.

 

4. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET

 

     December 31,
2013
     December 31,
2014
 

Computer and transmission equipment

     214         635   

Furniture and office equipment

     6         37   

Leasehold improvements

     39         157   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total property and equipment

     259         829   

Accumulated depreciation and amortization

     96         278   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

     163         551   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization expense on property and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 were $72 and $185 respectively.

 

5. ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER LIABILITIES

 

     December 31,
2013
     December 31,
2014
 

Fund payable (i)

     812         26,622   

Accrued payroll and welfare

     682         1,138   

Other accrued expenses

     23         985   

Tax payable

     —           68   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total accrued expenses and other current liabilities

     1,517         28,813   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (i) The balance of fund payable mainly includes fund payable to investors or borrowers due to the settlement time lag by external payment network.

 

 

F-20


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

6. FAIR VALUE

Measured on recurring basis

The Group measured its financial assets and liabilities including the cash and cash equivalents at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013 and 2014. Cash and cash equivalents are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued based on the quoted market price in an active market.

The Group did not have Level 2 and Level 3 investments as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

 

7. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS

Prior to establishment of the Group and the transfer of Yirendai Business, CreditEase has provided the Yirendai Business with origination and servicing, sales and marketing, general and administrative services. The Group expects CreditEase to continue to provide certain support services, but to the extent CreditEase does not continue to provide such support, the Group established its own support systems. The Group recorded expenses of the above services on an allocation basis for the purpose of preparing the accompanying consolidated financial statements. After the Yirendai Business became a stand-alone company, the Group entered into a series of reorganization agreements with CreditEase that governed the relationship between CreditEase and the Group and provided for, among other things, the provision of services by CreditEase to the Group and the allocation of liabilities and obligations attributable or related to periods or events prior to and in connection with the IPO. These service transactions between the Group and CreditEase are herein referred to as related party transactions.

The Yirendai Business’ working capital requirements have historically been part of the corporate cash management program of CreditEase. For the purpose of cash flow presentation, please refer to Note 1 for details.

The Group accounts for such related party transactions based on the series of reorganization agreements and reflects for all periods presented herein. Below summarizes the relationship with entities in CreditEase, and their nature of services provided to the Yirendai Business. Total allocation cost and expense from CreditEase for such services were approximately $2,301 and $16,060 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively, of which including provision of collection service amounted to $8 and $54, borrowers and investors acquisition and referral fee amounted to $1,328 and $12,329 and system supporting amounted to $781 and $1,694 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively, which will be continued providing by CreditEase after completion of IPO.

During August 2013 to December 2014, Yirendai Business worked with Tian Da Xin An, a subsidiary of consolidated VIEs of CreditEase, by introducing Tian Da Xin An as the guarantor in the loan facilitation agreements. Under such agreements, Tian Da Xin An guaranteed for the principal and interest paid to investors and for transaction fees paid to the Group in case of borrower default. Because Yirendai and Tian Da Xin An are under common control of CreditEase, Yirendai did not charge commission for referral business to Tian Da Xian An. Meanwhile, Tian Da Xin An did not charge guarantee fee for the guarantee service on transaction fee. As a result, no commission of referral or guarantee expense on the transaction fee was reflected in the accompanying financial statements. In the periods prior to August 2013 and after December 2014, Yirendai provided investor protection services to investors in the form of a risk reserve fund as discussed in note 2.

 

F-21


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

7. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS — continued

 

Details of related party balances and transactions as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 are as follows:

 

  (i) Amount due from a related party

 

     December 31,
2013
     December 31,
2014
 

Tian Da Xin An

     —           5,489   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     —           5,489   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (i) Amount due to a related party

 

     December 31,
2013
     December 31,
2014
 

Tian Da Xin An

     258         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     258         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

In August 2013, when the Group switched the investor protection service from the previous risk reserve fund model to the guarantee model, a one-time fee of $266 was paid to Tian Da Xin An for its assumption of the obligation of the Group on the outstanding loan balances that were covered under the previous risk reserve fund model. Such fee was included in the origination and servicing expenses in 2013.

Under the guarantee model, for providing the guarantee service to the investors on the principle and interest, Tian Da Xin An charges the investors at a rate of 10% based on monthly interest on loans as servicing fee, which is to be collected by the Group on behalf of the guarantee company. The Group pays the investors the principal and interest on loans that default, and collects from Tian Da Xin An the associated unpaid transaction fee in accordance with the guarantee arrangement (see Note 2 service fees from investors). The balance of amount due to Tian Da Xin An as of December 31, 2013 and amount due from Tian Da Xin An as of December 31, 2014 represent the net amount of services fee payable and the receivable amount arising from guarantee fee, principal and interest on loans that defaulted as well as the associated unpaid uncollectible transaction fee.

 

8. INCOME TAXES

Yirendai is a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, they are not subject to tax on either income or capital gain.

Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, Yirendai HK is subject to 16.5% income tax on its taxable income generated from operations in Hong Kong.

Yirendai’s subsidiaries and a consolidated VIE established in the PRC are subject to income tax rate of 25%, according to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax.

 

F-22


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

8. INCOME TAXES — continued

 

Reconciliation between the income tax at statutory tax rate to income tax expense is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Loss before provision for income taxes

     (8,342     (4,492

Statutory tax rate in the PRC

     25     25

Income tax at statutory tax rate

     (2,086     (1,123

Non-deductible expenses

     17        16   

Non-deductible tax losses of the Yirendai Business

     2,069        1,112   

Income tax expense

     —          5   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

9. NET LOSS PER SHARE AND NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS

Basic net loss per share (EPS) is the amount of net loss available to each share of ordinary shares outstanding during the reporting period. Diluted EPS is the amount of net loss available to each share of ordinary shares outstanding during the reporting period adjusted to include the effect of potentially dilutive ordinary shares.

The following table details the computation of the basic and diluted net loss per share:

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
     Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Net loss

     (8,342      (4,497

Shares (denominator):

     

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share

     100,000,000         100,000,000   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share

     (0.0834      (0.0450
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

10. SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Group’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer who reviews the consolidated results of operations when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. The Group operates and manages its business as a single segment.

All of the Group’s revenues for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 were generated from the PRC.

As of December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively, all of long-lived assets of the Group were located in the PRC.

 

F-23


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND 2014

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

11. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN

Full time employees of the Company in the PRC participate in a government-mandated defined contribution plan pursuant to which certain pension benefits, medical care, unemployment insurance, employee housing fund and other welfare benefits are provided to employees. The Company accrues for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees’ salaries. The total contribution for such employee benefits were $3,811 and $6,542 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

 

12. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS

In accordance with the PRC laws and regulations, the Company’s PRC subsidiary and VIE are required to make appropriation to certain statutory reserves, namely general reserve, enterprise expansion reserve, and staff welfare and bonus reserve, all of which are appropriated from net profit as reported in their PRC statutory accounts. The Group’s PRC entity is required to appropriate at least 10% of their after-tax profits to the general reserve until such reserve has reached 50% of their respective registered capital.

Appropriations to the enterprise expansion reserve and the staff welfare and bonus reserve are to be made at the discretion of the board of directors of each of the Group’s PRC entities. There are no appropriations to these reserves by the Group’s PRC entities for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014.

As a result of PRC laws and regulations and the requirement that distributions by the PRC entity can only be paid out of distributable profits computed in accordance with the PRC GAAP, the PRC entity is restricted from transferring a portion of their net assets to the Company. Amounts restricted include paid-in capital, capital reserve and statutory reserves of the Company’s PRC entity. As of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2014, the aggregated amounts of paid-in capital, capital reserve and statutory reserves represented the amount of net assets of the relevant entity in the Group not available for distribution amounted to $13,260 and $51,796, respectively. As a result of the above restrictions, parent-only financials are presented on financial statement schedule I.

 

13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Operating lease as lessee

The Company leases certain office premises under non-cancelable leases. Rental expenses under operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 were $642, $1,053, respectively.

Future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases agreements are as follows:

 

Years ending

      

2015

     1,299   

2016

     537   

 

14. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

The Company has evaluated events subsequent to the balance sheet date of December 31, 2014 through November 16, 2015, which is the date of the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

On March 31, 2015, CreditEase transferred assets (including the facilities) and liabilities of Yirendai business from CreditEase’s subsidiaries and VIEs to Heng Cheng or Heng Ye, which was considered the completion of the reorganization. As of March 31, 2015, Heng Cheng operates with website www.yirendai.com . Up to the date of this report, CreditEase is in the process of transferring the trademark and intellectual property rights for the proprietary systems to Heng Ye.

 

F-24


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

SCHEDULE 1-CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     December 31,
2013
    December 31,
2014
 

Assets:

    

Long term investments

     3,158        36,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

     3,158        36,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Equity:

    

Ordinary shares ($0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized, and 100,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2013 and 2014)

     —          —     

Additional paid-in capital

     13,260        50,910   

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

     50        (249

Accumulated deficit

     (10,152     (14,649
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity

     3,158        36,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and equity

     3,158        36,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-25


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

SCHEDULE 1-CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Equity in earnings of subsidiaries and VIE

     (8,342     (4,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (8,342     (4,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share

     (0.0834     (0.0450
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share

     100,000,000        100,000,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-26


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

SCHEDULE 1-CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Net loss

     (8,342     (4,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss)

    

Foreign currency transaction adjustments

     49        (299
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

     (8,293     (4,796
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-27


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

SCHEDULE 1-CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Ordinary
shares
     Ordinary
shares
amount
     Additional
paid-in
capital
     Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income (loss)
    Accumulated
deficit
    Total
equity
 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

     100,000,000         —           1,863         1        (1,810     54   

Capital contribution by owner

     —           —           11,397         —          —          11,397   

Other comprehensive income

     —           —           —           49        —          49   

Net loss

     —           —           —           —          (8,342     (8,342
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2013

     100,000,000         —           13,260         50        (10,152     3,158   

Capital contribution by owner

     —           —           37,650         —          —          37,650   

Other comprehensive loss

     —           —           —           (299     —          (299

Net loss

     —           —           —           —          (4,497     (4,497
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

     100,000,000         —           50,910         (249     (14,649     36,012   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-28


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

SCHEDULE 1-CONDENSED STATEMENTS of CASH FLOW

(in thousands US dollars, except share and per share data)

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2013
    Year ended
December 31,
2014
 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

    

Net loss

     (8,342     (4,497

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

    

Equity in earnings of subsidiaries and VIE

     (8,342     (4,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

    

Investment in a subsidiary

     (11,397     (37,650
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in other investing activities

     (11,397     (37,650
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

    

Cash contribution from owner

     11,397        37,650   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     11,397        37,650   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     —          —     

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

F-29


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

SCHEDULE 1-NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF PARENT COMPANY

 

1. BASIS FOR PREPARATION

The condensed financial information of Yirendai Ltd. (“Yirendai”) has been prepared using the same accounting policies as set out in Yirendai’s consolidated financial statements, except that Yirendai used the equity method to account for investments in its subsidiaries and variable interest entity.

 

2. INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES AND VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

Yirendai, its subsidiaries and variable interest entity are included in the consolidated financial statements where the inter-company balances and transactions are eliminated upon consolidation. For the purpose of the Yirendai stand-alone financial statements, its investments in subsidiaries and variable interest entity are reported using the equity method of accounting. The Company’s share of income and losses from its subsidiaries and variable interest entity is reported as earnings from subsidiaries and variable interest entity in the accompanying condensed financial information of the Yirendai.

 

F-30


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

     As of
December 31,
2014
    As of
June 30,
2015
 

Assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

     222        17,764   

Restricted cash

     —         33,682   

Accounts receivable

     25,971        19,518   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     32,592        65,006   

Amounts due from related parties

     5,489        13,176   

Property and equipment, net

     551        1,172   

Deferred tax assets

     —         11,369   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

     64,825        161,687   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities:

    

Accounts payable (including accounts payable of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $nil and $66 as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively)

     —         66   

Amounts due to related parties (including amount due to a related party of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $nil and $5,998 as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively)

     —         8,531   

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee (including liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $nil and $39,658 as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively)

     —         39,658   

Deferred revenue (including deferred revenue of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $nil and $3,947 as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively)

     —         3,947   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities (including accrued expenses and other liabilities of the consolidated variable interest entity without recourse to the Company $28,813 and $55,215 as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively)

     28,813        56,108   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     28,813        108,310   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies (Note 9)

    

Equity:

    

Ordinary shares ($0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized, and 100,000,000 and 100,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015)

     —         10   

Additional paid-in capital

     50,910        50,910   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (249     (198

(Accumulated deficits)/retained earnings

     (14,649     2,655   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity

     36,012        53,377   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and equity

     64,825        161,687   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F-31


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

     Six months
ended
June 30, 2014
    Six months
ended
June 30, 2015
 

Net revenue:

    

Loan facilitation services

     4,941        77,229   

Post-origination services

     47        1,420   

Others

     56        358   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net revenue

     5,044        79,007   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating costs and expenses:

    

Sales and marketing

     9,095        40,890   

Origination and servicing

     1,350        5,081   

General and administrative

     3,626        9,276   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating costs and expenses

     (14,071     (55,247
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest income

     —         40   

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

     (9,027     23,800   

Income taxes expense

     —         (6,496
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss)/income

     (9,027     17,304   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share

     (0.0903     0.1730   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share

     100,000,000        100,000,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F-32


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE

(LOSS)/INCOME

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

     Six months
ended
June 30, 2014
    Six months
ended
June 30, 2015
 

Net (loss)/income

     (9,027     17,304   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income

    

Foreign currency transaction adjustments

     (144     51   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive (loss) income

     (9,171     17,355   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F-33


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

     Ordinary
shares
     Ordinary
shares
amount
     Additional
paid-in
capital
     Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income/(loss)
    (Accumulated
deficit)/retained
earnings
    Total
equity
 

Balance as of January 1, 2014

     100,000,000         —           13,260         50        (10,152     3,158   

Capital contribution by owner

     —           —           16,080         —          —          16,080   

Other comprehensive income

     —           —           —           (144     —          (144

Net loss

     —           —           —           —          (9,027     (9,027
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of June 30, 2014

     100,000,000         —           29,340         (94     (19,179     10,067   

Balance as of January 1, 2015

     100,000,000         —           50,910         (249     (14,649     36,012   

Issue of shares (Note 1)

        10        —           —          —          10   

Other comprehensive income

     —           —           —           51        —          51   

Net income

     —           —           —           —          17,304        17,304   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of June 30, 2015

     100,000,000         10         50,910         (198     2,655        53,377   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F-34


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands US dollars)

 

     Six months ended
June 30, 2014
    Six months ended
June 30, 2015
 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

    

Net (loss)/income

     (9,027     17,304   

Adjustments to reconcile net (loss)/income to net cash used in operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     64        197   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities

    

Accounts receivable

     (4,396     6,450   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     (2,872     (32,291

Amounts due from/to related parties

     (2,348     827   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     2,811        27,256   

Restricted cash

     —         (33,576

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee

     —         39,533   

Deferred tax assets

     —         (11,333

Deferred revenue

     —         3,935   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash (used in)/generated from operating activities

     (15,768     18,302   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

    

Purchase of property and equipment

     (285     (815
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (285     (815
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

    

Cash contribution from owner

     16,080        —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     16,080        —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

     (27 )     55   

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     —         17,542   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

     —         222   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

     —         17,764   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F-35


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

1. ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial information of Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company” or “Yirendai”), its subsidiaries and its consolidated variable interest entity (“VIE”) (collectively the “Group”). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Security and Exchange Commission and U.S. generally accepted accounting standards for interim financial reporting. The results of operations for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full years.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements, accounting policies and notes thereto included in the Group’s audited consolidated financial statements for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014. In the opinion of the management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments, which are necessary for a fair presentation of financial results for the interim periods presented. The Group believes that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared using the same accounting policies as used in the preparation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014.

The financial information as of December 31, 2014 presented in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements is derived from the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014.

On March 31, 2015, the Group completed the reorganization in which the assets and liabilities of Yirendai business, representing the online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors operated by a subsidiary and VIE of CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited (“CreditEase”), the 100% holding company of the Group, have been transferred to Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Heng Ye”) and Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Heng Cheng”), the wholly owned subsidiary and VIE of the Group, respectively, from CreditEase’s subsidiary and VIE. CreditEase also granted the Group a worldwide and royalty-free license to use its trademarks and the proprietary systems developed by CreditEase. Up to the date of report, the transfer of the trademark and intellectual property rights for the proprietary systems from CreditEase to Heng Ye is in process as it is subject to approval by relevant government authorities.

On June 25, 2015, the Company issued 99,990,000 ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 per share, to CreditEase, at US$0.0001 per share for an aggregate cash consideration of $10. Such issuance was accounted for as a stock split and, accordingly, all references to numbers of common shares and per-share data in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been adjusted to reflect such issuance of shares on a retroactive basis.

 

F-36


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of consolidation

The VIE arrangements

The following financial information of the Group’s VIE was included in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements after the elimination of intercompany balances and transactions as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015 and for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015:

 

     December 31, 2014      June 30, 2015  

Total assets

     64,825         153,274   

Total liabilities

     28,813         104,884   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     For the six months ended June 30  
             2014                      2015          

Net revenue

     5,044         79,087   

Net (loss)/income

     (9,027      25,535   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     For the six months ended June 30  
             2014                      2015          

Net cash (used)/provided by operating activities

     (15,768      28,779   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Heng Cheng began to provide services through an online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors in December 2014. Currently, Heng Cheng operates with website  www.yirendai.com.

Revenue recognition

The Group provides services as an online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors. The three major deliverables provided are loan facilitation services, risk reserve fund guarantee, and post-origination services (e.g. automated investing tool, cash processing, collection and SMS services).

The Group charges fees for facilitating loan originations, for the automated investing tool to investors opting for that service, and for monthly service (covering cash processing services, collection services and SMS services), while for those who do not opt for automated investing tool, the Group charges fees for facilitating loan originations and for monthly service (covering cash processing services, collection services and SMS services) (collectively as “non-contingent fees”). The Group also receives fees contingent on future events (e.g., penalty fee for loan prepayment and late payment, fee for transferring loans over the secondary loan market, and other service fees, etc.) and fee for providing borrower acquisition and referral services to CreditEase Puhui Information Consulting (Baijing) Co., Ltd. (“CreditEase Puhui”).

Multiple element revenue recognition

The Group considers the loan facilitation services, the risk reserve fund guarantee and post-origination services as a multiple deliverable revenue arrangement and the lenders are regarded as the sole customer. The Group has concluded that although it does not sell those services independently, all three deliverables have standalone value as others do sell them independently in the market and they have value to the customer independently. Thus, all non-contingent fees are allocated among these three deliverables.

The Group allocates fees to be received consistent with the guidance in ASC 605-25. It first allocates the amount equal to the fair value of the stand-ready liability from the risk reserve fund guarantee. Then the

 

F-37


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Revenue recognition  — (continued)

 

Multiple element revenue recognition — (continued)

 

 

remaining fees are allocated to the loan facilitation services and post-origination services using their relative estimated selling prices. The Group does not have vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price for the loan facilitation services and post-origination services because it does not provide loan facilitation services or post-origination services separately.

For cash processing services, collection services and SMS services (all of which are part of the post-origination services), the Group uses third-party evidence of selling price or TPE which is the prices charged when sold separately by its service providers, as the basis of revenue allocation.

Although other vendors may sell these services separately, TPE of selling price of the loan facilitation services and automated investing tool services (part of post-origination services) does not exist as public information is not available regarding what our competitors may charge for those services. As a result, the Group generally uses its best estimate of selling prices (“BESP”) of loan facilitation services and automated investing tool services as the basis of revenue allocation. In estimating its selling price for the loan facilitation services and automated investing tools services, the Group considers the cost incurred to deliver such services, profit margin for similar arrangements, customer demand, effect of competitors on the Group’s services, and other market factors.

For each type of service, the Group recognizes revenues when the following four revenue recognition criteria are met for each revenue type: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, (iii) the selling price is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured.

Collectability of fees

The Group either collects the entire amount of the loan facilitation fee upfront, or collects a portion upfront and the rest on a monthly basis over the term of the loan. The management fee charged to self-directed investors and the automated investing tool investors are collected on a monthly basis through the loan period. All the transaction fees charged before December 31, 2014 were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An (Beijing) Guarantee Co., Ltd. (“Tian Da Xin An”), a guarantee company.

Starting from January 2015, the collection of transaction fee is no longer guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An. The Group evaluated the following factors for uncertainty of the collectability: (i) credit risk of the portfolio; (ii) prepayment risk; (iii) risk profile change from launching new products and (iv) macroeconomic cycle, etc. and concluded that the collectability could not be reasonably assured. Thus fees charged on a monthly basis are not recognized until collectability could be reasonably assured.

Revenue from loan facilitation services

Prior to the end of 2014, the aforementioned four criteria for revenue recognition were met upon completion of the loan facilitation services. The Group recognized 100% of the transaction fee as revenue and recorded no allowance for the uncollectible accounts, as all the transaction fees in relation to loan facilitated before December 31, 2014 were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An. Starting from first quarter of 2015, the Group recognizes the cash received that is allocated to loan facilitation services as revenue upon completion of the related service. Cash received as upfront fees is allocated first to the risk reserve guarantee and then to loan facilitation services and post-origination services based on their relative selling prices.

 

F-38


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Revenue recognition  — (continued)

 

Revenue from post-origination services

The fees collected upfront allocated to post-origination services are deferred and recognized over the period of the loan on a straight line basis.

Other revenue

Other revenue includes penalty fee for loan prepayment (for loan originated before December 31, 2014) and late payment, one-time fees for transferring loans over the secondary loan market, and fee for providing borrower acquisition and referral services. The penalty fee, which is fees paid to the investors that are assigned to us by the investors, will be received as a certain percentage of past due amounts in case of late payment or a certain percentage of interest over the prepaid principal loan amount in case of prepayment.

Cash incentives

To expand its market presence, the Group provides cash incentives to investors whose one-time investment exceeds certain amount at the time of their investment. The cash incentives provided are accounted for as reduction of revenue in accordance with ASC subtopic 605-50.

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee

Starting from January 1, 2015, the Group terminated the relationship with Tian Da Xin An, the guarantee company, and launched a new investor protection service in the form of a financial guarantee called the risk reserve fund. If a loan originated on or after January 1, 2015 defaults, the Group guarantees the principal and accrued interest repayment of the defaulted loan up to the balance of the risk reserve fund on a portfolio basis. The risk reserve fund being set aside equals 6% of the total loan facilitation amount. The Group reserves the right to revise the percentage upwards or downwards as a result of the Group’s continuing evaluation of factors such as market dynamics as well as of its product lines, profitability and cash position.

At the inception of each loan, the Group recognizes a stand-ready liability as the fair value of the risk reserve fund guarantee in accordance with ASC 460-10-55-23 (b).

According to ASC 460-10-35-1, the stand-ready liability initially recognized would typically be reduced (by a credit to earnings) as the Group is released from risk under the guarantee either through expiry or performance. The recognition of a contingent liability results in the recognition of expenses in earnings. The Group tracks its stand-ready liability on a loan-by-loan basis to monitor the expiration. When the Group releases the stand-ready liability through performance of the guarantee (by making payments on defaulted loans), it recognizes revenue along with the loss on defaulted loans. Revenue from releasing of stand-ready liability and expenses from recognition of contingent liability related to the risk reserve fund guarantee are presented on a net basis in the income statement. On a portfolio basis, if the contingent liability exceeds the stand ready liability of the financial guarantee, the Group will record the higher amount of the two and recognize the additional amount as expense.

 

F-39


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee  —  (continued)

 

The movement of liability from risk reserve fund guarantee during the six months ended June 30, 2015 is as follows:

 

At January 1, 2015

       

Provision at the inception of new loans (Note)

     41,831   

Provision fee payouts upon default

     2,173   

Release from the guarantee through expiry or performance

     (2,173

Payment

     (2,173
  

 

 

 

At June 30, 2015

     39,658   
  

 

 

 

 

  Note: Amount represents cash received on non-contingent fees allocated to the stand-ready liability for loans generated during the period.

As of June 30, 2015, the maximum potential undiscounted future payment the Group would be required to make was 33,682, which takes into account of the amount set aside by the Group in the restricted cash balance of the risk reserve fund.

Restricted cash

Restricted cash represents the cash in risk reserve fund which is managed by the Group through a restricted bank account.

Accounts receivable and allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable

Accounts receivable are stated at the historical carrying amount net of write-offs and allowance for uncollectible accounts. The Group establishes an allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable based on estimates, historical experience and other factors surrounding the credit risk of specific clients. Uncollectible accounts receivable are written off when a settlement is reached for an amount that is less than the outstanding historical balance or when the Group has determined the balance will not be collected.

The Group recorded no allowance for the uncollectible accounts receivables as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015 due to all accounts receivables were guaranteed by Tian Da Xin An (see Note 4). With the termination of the guarantee contract in relation to loan facilitated on or after January 1, 2015 with Tian Da Xin An, the Group does not record additional accounts receivable during the six months period ended June 30, 2015 and no allowance is recorded on the balance sheet as of June 30, 2015.

Income taxes

Deferred income taxes are provided using assets and liabilities method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse.

Deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, the management consider all positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of projected future taxable income and results of recent operation.

 

F-40


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — continued

 

Income taxes  —  (continued)

 

Recent accounting pronouncements

In February 2015, the FASB issued a new pronouncement which is intended to improve targeted areas of consolidation guidance for legal entities such as limited partnerships, limited liability corporations, and securitization structures (collateralized debt obligations, collateralized loan obligations, and mortgage-backed security transactions). The ASU focuses on the consolidation evaluation for reporting organizations that are required to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. In addition to reducing the number of consolidation models from four to two, the new standard simplifies the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“Codification”) and improves current GAAP by:

 

    Placing more emphasis on risk of loss when determining a controlling financial interest. A reporting organization may no longer have to consolidate a legal entity in certain circumstances based solely on its fee arrangement, when certain criteria are met.

 

    Reducing the frequency of the application of related-party guidance when determining a controlling financial interest in a VIE.

 

    Changing consolidation conclusions for public and private companies in several industries that typically make use of limited partnerships or VIEs.

The ASU will be effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2015, for public companies. Early adoption is permitted. The Group does not expect the adoption of this guidance will have a significant effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2014, the FASB issued a new pronouncement, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date. The amendments in this ASU defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for all entities by one year. Public business entities should apply the guidance in ASU 2014-09 to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Earlier application is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. The Group does not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

 

3. FAIR VALUE OF LIABILITIES FROM FINANCIAL GUARANTEE ASSOCIATED TO RISK RESERVE FUND

The fair value of the stand-ready liability associated with the risk reserve fund guarantee recorded at the inception of the loan was estimated using a discounted cash flow model to our expected payouts from the risk reserve fund, and also by incorporating a markup margin. The Group estimates its expected future payouts based on its current product mix as well as its estimates of expected net charge-off rates and expected collection rates and a discount rate. The expected future cash payout is capped at the restricted cash balance of the risk reserve fund.

The Group estimated the expected net charge-off rates of the loan facilitated as the weighted average of the expected net charge-off rates of loan Grade A, B, C, and D. We developed the expected net charge-off rates for Grade A based on the Group’s historical experience and Grade D by reference to the past performance of similar products of CreditEase. Grade B and C loans have credit risks higher than Grade A but lower than Grade D.

 

F-41


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

4. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS

Prior to establishment of the Group and the transfer of Yirendai Business, CreditEase has provided the Yirendai Business with origination and servicing, sales and marketing, general and administrative services. The Group expects CreditEase to continue to provide certain support services, but to the extent CreditEase does not continue to provide such support, the Group established its own support systems. The Group recorded expenses of the above services on an allocation basis for the purpose of preparing the accompanying consolidated financial statements. After the Yirendai Business became a stand-alone company, the Group entered into a series of reorganization agreements with CreditEase that governed the relationship between CreditEase and the Group and provided for, among other things, the provision of services by CreditEase to the Group and the allocation of liabilities and obligations attributable or related to periods or events prior to and in connection with the initial public offering (“IPO”). These service transactions between the Group and CreditEase are herein referred to as related party transactions.

The Yirendai Business’ working capital requirements have historically been part of the corporate cash management program of CreditEase. For the purpose of cash flow presentation for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, please refer to Note 1 disclosed in F-9 for details.

The Group accounts for such related party transactions based on the series of reorganization agreements prior to the completion of reorganization and various services agreements after the completion of reorganization and reflects for all periods presented herein. Below summarizes the relationship with entities in CreditEase, and their nature of services provided to the Yirendai Business. Total allocation cost and expense from CreditEase for such services were approximately $6,819 and $29,961 for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015, respectively, of which including provision of collection service amounted to $16 and $130, borrowers and investors acquisition and referral fee amounted to $5,316 and $27,948 and system supporting amounted to $847 and $1,660 for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015, respectively, which will be continuously provided by CreditEase after completion of IPO.

The Group also provides borrower acquisition and referral services to CreditEase Puhui from April 1, 2015. The borrowers’ acquisition and referral revenue amounted to $70 for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2015.

During August 2013 to December 2014, Yirendai Business worked with Tian Da Xin An, a subsidiary of consolidated VIEs of CreditEase, by introducing Tian Da Xin An as the guarantor in the loan facilitation agreements. Under such agreements, Tian Da Xin An guaranteed for the principal and interest paid to investors and for transaction fees paid to the Group in case of borrower default. Because Yirendai and Tian Da Xin An are under common control of CreditEase, Yirendai did not charge commission for referral business to Tian Da Xin An. Meanwhile, Tian Da Xin An did not charge guarantee fee for the guarantee service on transaction fee. As a result, no commission of referral or guarantee expense on the transaction fee was reflected in the accompanying financial statements. In January 2015, Yirendai provided investor protection services to investors in the form of a risk reserve fund as discussed in Note 2.

In addition, the Group obtained a worldwide and royalty-free license from CreditEase to use its trademarks and used the proprietary systems developed by CreditEase free of charge during the six months period ended June 30, 2015.

CreditEase transferred assets and liabilities of Yirendai business to the Group in the first quarter of 2015 as discussed in Note 1.

 

F-42


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

4. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS — continued

 

The table below sets forth major related parties and their relationships with the Group:

 

Company name

  

Relationship with the Group

  

Major transaction with the Group

CreditEase Huimin Investment Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“CreditEase Huimin”)    Consolidated VIE of CreditEase    Receipts on behalf of the
Group for transactions fees
and services fess through
external payment network
Tian Da Xin An    Subsidiary of consolidated VIE of CreditEase    Guarantee services
Pucheng Credit Assessment and Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Pucheng Credit”)    Consolidated VIE of CreditEase    Credit assessment and
collection services
CreditEase Puhui    Consolidated VIE of CreditEase    Borrower acquisition and
referral services to/from the
Group
Puxin Hengye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Puxin Hengye”)    Subsidiary of CreditEase    System support services
CreditEase Zhuoyue Wealth Investment & Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“CreditEase Zhuoyue”)    Consolidated VIE of CreditEase    Investor acquisition and
referral services
Beijing Zhicheng Credit Service Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Zhicheng”)    Consolidated VIE of CreditEase    Identity verification services
CreditEase    Parent Company    Paid in capital and loan

Details of related party balances as of December 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015 are as follows:

 

  (i) Amounts due from related parties

 

     December 31,
2014
     June 30,
2015
 

Tian Da Xin An (Note a)

     5,489         2,563   

CreditEase Huimin (Note b)

     —          10,613   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     5,489         13,176   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a)

Under the guarantee model, for providing the guarantee service to the investors on the principle and interest, Tian Da Xin An charges the investors at a rate of 10% based on monthly interest on loans as servicing fee, which is to be collected by the Group on behalf of the guarantee company. The Group pays the investors the principal and interest on loans that default, and collects from

 

F-43


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

4. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS — continued

 

  Tian Da Xin An the associated unpaid transaction fee in accordance with the guarantee arrangement (see Note 2, Revenue from loan facilitation services). The balance of amount due from Tian Da Xin An as of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015 represents the net amount of services fee payable and the receivable amount arising from guarantee fee, principal and interest on loans that defaulted as well as the associated unpaid uncollectible transaction fee.

 

  (b) Amount due from CreditEase Huimin as of June 30, 2015 mainly represents the transactions fees and services fees received by CreditEase Huimin through the external payment network on behalf of the Group before carve-out.

 

  (ii) Amounts due to related parties

 

     December 31,
2014
     June 30,
2015
 

CreditEase Puhui (Notes a and b)

     —          4,920   

Puxin Hengye (Note a)

     —          343   

Beijing Zhicheng (Note a)

     —          670   

CreditEase Zhuoyue (Note a)

     —          373   

Pucheng Credit (Note a)

     —          35   

CreditEase (Note c)

     —          2,190   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     —          8,531   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) Amounts due to related parties represented the provision of credit assessment, collection, system support, investors acquisition and referral and identity verification services by the related parties to Heng Cheng and Heng Ye as of June 30, 2015. Heng Cheng and Heng Ye operated as standalone entities since January 2015 and did not rely on the corporate cash management program of CreditEase.

 

  (b) Since April 2015, the Group also provides borrower acquisition and referral service to CreditEase Puhui, receivables from CreditEase Puhui in relation to provision of borrower acquisition and referral service is netted off with amount due to CreditEase Puhui.

 

  (c) Amount due to CreditEase represents the netted off balance of (i) loan advance from CreditEase of US$2,200 for daily operation pursuant to loan agreement dated May 1, 2015; and (ii) issuance of 99,990,000 ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 per share, to CreditEase, at US$0.0001 per share for an aggregate cash consideration of $10 on June 25, 2015. The cash consideration was subsequently collected.

 

5. INCOME TAXES

Yirendai is a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, Yirendai is not subject to tax on either income or capital gain.

Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, Yirendai HK is subject to 16.5% income tax on its taxable income generated from operations in Hong Kong.

Yirendai’s subsidiaries and a consolidated VIE established in the PRC are subject to income tax rate of 25%, according to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax.

 

F-44


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

5. INCOME TAXES — continued

 

Reconciliation between the income tax at statutory tax rate to income tax expense is as follows:

 

     Six months
ended
June 30,
2014
    Six months
ended
June 30,
2015
 

(Loss)/income before provision for income taxes

     (9,027     23,800   

Statutory tax rate in the PRC

     25     25

Income tax at statutory tax rate

     (2,257     5,950   

Non-deductible expenses

     16        515   

Non-deductible tax losses

     2,241        23   

Effect of different tax rates of subsidiaries operating in other jurisdictions

     —         8   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax expense

     —         6,496   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax comprised of:

 

     December 31,
2014
     June 30,
2015
 

Current tax

     —          17,829   

Deferred tax

     —          (11,333
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     —          6,496   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The components of the deferred tax assets are as follows:

 

     December 31,
2014
     June 30,
2015
 

Liabilities from risk reserve fund guarantee

     —          9,914   

Deferred revenue

     —          987   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     —          468   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     —          11,369   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to utilize the existing deferred tax assets. On the basis of this evaluation, as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, no allowance has been recorded for the deferred tax assets.

The Group did not identify significant unrecognized tax benefits for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014 and 2015. The Group did not incur any interest related to unrecognized tax benefits, did not recognize any penalties as income tax expenses and also does not anticipate any significant change in unrecognized tax benefits within 12 months from June 30, 2015.

 

F-45


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

6. NET (LOSS)/INCOME PER SHARE AND NET (LOSS)/INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS

Basic net (loss)/income per share (EPS) is the amount of net (loss)/income available to each share of ordinary shares outstanding during the reporting period. Diluted EPS is the amount of net (loss)/income available to each share of ordinary shares outstanding during the reporting period adjusted to include the effect of potentially dilutive ordinary shares.

The following table details the computation of the basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share:

 

     Six months
ended
June 30,
2014
     Six months
ended
June 30,
2015
 

Net (loss)/income

     (9,027      17,304   

Shares (denominator):

     

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share

     100,000,000         100,000,000   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Basic and diluted (loss)/income per share

     (0.0903      0.1730   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

7. SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Group’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer who reviews the consolidated results of operation when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. The Group operates and manages its business as a single segment.

All of the Group’s revenue for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 were generated from the PRC.

As of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively, all of long-lived assets of the Group were located in the PRC.

 

8. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS

In accordance with the PRC laws and regulations, the Group’s PRC subsidiary and VIE are required to make appropriation to certain statutory reserves, namely general reserve, enterprise expansion reserve, and staff welfare and bonus reserve, all of which are appropriated from net profit as reported in their PRC statutory accounts. The Group’s PRC entity is required to appropriate at least 10% of their after-tax profits to the general reserve until such reserve has reached 50% of their respective registered capital.

Appropriations to the enterprise expansion reserve and the staff welfare and bonus reserve are to be made at the discretion of the board of directors of each of the Group’s PRC entities. There are no appropriations to these reserves by the Group’s PRC entities for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015.

As a result of PRC laws and regulations and the requirement that distributions by the PRC entity can only be paid out of distributable profits computed in accordance with the PRC GAAP, the PRC entity is restricted from transferring a portion of their net assets to the Company. Amounts restricted include paid-in capital,

 

F-46


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — continued

FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2015

(in thousands US dollars, except share, per share data and basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share)

 

8. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS — continued

 

capital reserve and statutory reserves of the Group’s PRC entity. As of December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, the aggregated amounts of paid-in capital, capital reserve and statutory reserves represented the amount of net assets of the relevant entity in the Group not available for distribution amounted to $51,796 and $54,777, respectively.

 

9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Operating lease as lessee

The Group leases certain office premises under non-cancelable leases. Rental expenses under operating leases for the six- month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2015 were $407, $710, respectively.

Future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases agreements are as follows:

 

Years ending

      

2015

     830   

2016

     939   

Risk reserve fund guarantee

As of June 30, 2015, the Group records liability from risk reserve fund guarantee of $39,658 as disclosed in Note 2. As of December 31, 2014, the Group had no such liabilities.

 

10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

In the fourth quarter of 2015, in order to continue to attact new and retain existing investors and to remain consistent with the current industry practice in China, the Group revised its previous risk reserve funding policy of setting aside for the risk reserve fund equivalent to 6% of all loans facilitated through its online marketplace. From the fourth quarter of 2015, it will set aside more cash in the risk reserve fund so that the balance in the risk reserve fund is enough to cover the expected payouts. The Group intends to continue this practice for the foreseeable future. To achieve that, the Group monitors the balance of the risk reserve fund on a monthly basis, and adjusts on a quarterly basis by putting an appropriate additional amount of cash into the risk reserve fund as needed to ensure the expected payouts can be sufficiently covered. The cash used to replenish the risk reserve fund may come from loans facilitated during the relevant period, or from other sources of cash.

The change in the policy related to the risk reserve fund will lead to a change in the fair value of the risk reserve fund stand-ready liability because the amounts in the fund will be sufficient to cover the expected payouts. As a result, starting in the fourth quarter of 2015, the risk reserve fund stand-ready liability associated with the new loan from the fourth quarter of 2015 will be calculated based upon the expected payouts adjusted for the time value of money and a mark-up for a service margin. The Group will also evaluate the contingent liability related to the risk reserve fund in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will record additional expense to the extent that the contingent liability exceeds the stand ready obligation.

 

F-47


Table of Contents

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

 

 

 

LOGO

 

 

 


Table of Contents

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime.

The post-offering memorandum and articles of association that we expect to adopt and to become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering provide that we shall indemnify our directors and officers (each an indemnified person) against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such indemnified person, other than by reason of such person’s own dishonesty, willful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such indemnified person in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.

Pursuant to the indemnification agreements the form of which is filed as Exhibit 10.2 to this registration statement, we agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being such a director or officer.

The underwriting agreement, the form of which will be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement, will also provide for indemnification by the underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act, but only to the extent that such liabilities are caused by information relating to the underwriters furnished to us in writing expressly for use in this registration statement and certain other disclosure documents.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

ITEM 7. RECENT SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES.

During the past three years, we have issued the following securities. We believe that each of the following issuances was exempt from registration under the Securities Act pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act regarding transactions not involving a public offering or in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act regarding sales by an issuer in offshore transactions. No underwriters were involved in these issuances of securities.

 

Purchaser

   Date of Sale or
Issuance
   Number of
Securities
    Consideration  

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited

   September 24, 2014      1 (1)     US$ 1.00   
   June 25, 2015      99,990,000      US$ 9,999   

 

(1)   On January 5, 2015, we effected a 10,000-for-1 share split, and the 1 ordinary share owned by CreditEase was subdivided into 10,000 ordinary shares.

 

II-1


Table of Contents
ITEM 8. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

 

(a) Exhibits

See Exhibit Index beginning on page II-7 of this registration statement.

The agreements included as exhibits to this registration statement contain representations and warranties by each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations and warranties were made solely for the benefit of the other parties to the applicable agreement and (i) were not intended to be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate; (ii) may have been qualified in such agreement by disclosure that was made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement; (iii) may apply contract standards of “materiality” that are different from “materiality” under the applicable securities laws; and (iv) were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement.

We acknowledge that, notwithstanding the inclusion of the foregoing cautionary statements, we are responsible for considering whether additional specific disclosure of material information regarding material contractual provisions is required to make the statements in this registration statement not misleading.

 

(b) Financial Statement Schedules

Schedules, expect for Schedule 1, have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the Consolidated Financial Statements or the Notes thereto.

 

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be

 

II-2


Table of Contents

part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

(4) For the purpose of determining any liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

II-3


Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-1 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Beijing, China, on November 16, 2015.

 

Yirendai Ltd.
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

 

II-4


Table of Contents

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Ning Tang, Yihan Fang and Yu Cong as attorneys-in-fact with full power of substitution for him or her in any and all capacities to do any and all acts and all things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or desirable to enable the registrant to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and any rules, regulations and requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of ordinary shares of the registrant (the “Shares”), including, without limitation, the power and authority to sign the name of each of the undersigned in the capacities indicated below to the Registration Statement on Form F-1 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to such Shares, to any and all amendments or supplements to such Registration Statement, whether such amendments or supplements are filed before or after the effective date of such Registration Statement, to any related Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, and to any and all instruments or documents filed as part of or in connection with such Registration Statement or any and all amendments thereto, whether such amendments are filed before or after the effective date of such Registration Statement; and each of the undersigned hereby ratifies and confirms all that such attorney and agent shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature

  

Title

 

Date

/s/    Ning Tang

  

Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

  November 16, 2015
Ning Tang     

/s/    Huan Chen

   Director   November 16, 2015
Huan Chen     

/s/    Quan Zhou

   Director   November 16, 2015
Quan Zhou     

/s/    Tina Ju

   Director   November 16, 2015
Tina Ju     

/s/    Yihan Fang

   Chief Executive Officer   November 16, 2015
Yihan Fang    (Principal Executive Officer)  

/s/    Yu Cong

   Chief Financial Officer   November 16, 2015
Yu Cong    (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)  

 

II-5


Table of Contents

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Yirendai Ltd. has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York on November 16, 2015.

 

 

Authorized U.S. Representative

By:  

/s/ Giselle Manon

Name:   Giselle Manon, on behalf of Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc.
Title:   Service of Process Officer

 

II-6


Table of Contents

YIRENDAI LTD.

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number

 

Description of Document

  1.1*   Form of Underwriting Agreement
  3.1   Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant, as currently in effect
  3.2   Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant, effective upon the closing of this offering
  4.1*   Registrant’s Specimen American Depositary Receipt (included in Exhibit 4.3)
  4.2*   Registrant’s Specimen Certificate for Ordinary Shares
  4.3*   Form of Deposit Agreement, among the Registrant, the depositary and holder of the American Depositary Receipts
  5.1   Opinion of Maples and Calder regarding the validity of the ordinary shares being registered and certain Cayman Islands tax matters
  8.1   Opinion of Maples and Calder regarding certain Cayman Islands tax matters (included in Exhibit 5.1)
  8.2   Opinion of Han Kun Law Offices regarding certain PRC tax matters (included in Exhibit 99.2)
10.1   Form of Employment Agreement between the Registrant and its executive officers
10.2   Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its directors and executive officers
10.3   Master Transaction Agreement between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited and Yirendai Ltd. dated November 9, 2015.
10.4   Transitional Services Agreement between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited and Yirendai Ltd. dated November 9, 2015.
10.5   Non-Competition Agreement between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited and Yirendai Ltd. dated November 9, 2015.
10.6   Cooperation Framework Agreement between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited and Yirendai Ltd. dated November 9, 2015.
10.7   Intellectual Property License Agreement between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited and Yirendai Ltd. dated November 9, 2015.
10.8   English translation of Loan Agreements among Heng Ye and the shareholders of Heng Cheng dated February 22, 2015
10.9   English translation of Equity Interest Pledge Agreements among Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and the shareholders of Heng Cheng dated February 22, 2015
10.10   English translation of Powers of Attorney granted to Heng Ye by the shareholders of Heng Cheng dated February 22, 2015
10.11   English translation of Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between Heng Ye and Heng Cheng dated February 22, 2015
10.12   English translation of Exclusive Option Agreement among Heng Ye, Heng Cheng and the shareholders of Heng Cheng dated February 22, 2015
10.13   2015 Share Incentive Plan
21.1   Subsidiaries of the Registrant

 

II-7


Table of Contents

Exhibit Number

 

Description of Document

23.1   Consent of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm
23.2   Consent of Maples and Calder (included in Exhibit 5.1)
23.3   Consent of Han Kun Law Offices (included in Exhibit 99.2)
23.4   Consent of Sam Hanhui Sun
23.5   Consent of Jingsheng Huang
23.6   Consent of Qing Li
24.1   Powers of Attorney (included on signature page)
99.1   Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of the Registrant
99.2   Opinion of Han Kun Law Offices regarding certain PRC law matters
99.3   Consent of iResearch

 

* To be filed by amendment.

 

II-8

Exhibit 3.1

THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

THE COMPANIES LAW (AS AMENDED)

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

OF

Yirendai Ltd.

(the “Company”)

 

1. Name
The name of the Company is Yirendai Ltd.
2. Registered Office
The registered office of the Company shall be situated at the Office of Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 2547, Cassia Court, Camana Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, or such other place in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may, from time to time decide, being the registered office of the Company.
3. General Objects and Powers
The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by Section 7(4) of The Companies Law (As Amended) or as the same may be amended from time to time, or any other law of the Cayman Islands.
4. Limitations on the Company’s Business
4.1 For the purposes of the Companies Law (As Amended) the Company has no power to:
(a) carry on the business of a Bank or Trust Company without being licensed in that behalf under the provisions of the Banks & Trust Companies Law (2013 Revision); or
(b) to carry on Insurance Business from within the Cayman Islands or the business of an Insurance Manager, Agent, Sub-agent or Broker without being licensed in that behalf under the provisions of the Insurance Law (2010 Revision); or
(c) to carry on the business of Company Management without being licensed in that behalf under the provisions of the Companies Management Law (2003 Revision).
4.2 The Company shall not trade in the Cayman Islands with any person, firm or corporation except in furtherance of the business of the Company carried on outside the Cayman Islands; provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as to prevent the Company effecting and concluding contracts in the Cayman Islands, and exercising in the Cayman Islands all of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside the Cayman Islands.
5. Company Limited by Shares
The Company is a company limited by shares. The liability of each member is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares held by such member.

 

1


6. Authorised Shares
The capital of the Company is USD50,000.00 divided into 50,000 shares of a nominal or par value of USD1.00 each. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law (As Amended) and the Articles of Association of the Company, the Company shall have power to redeem or purchase any of its shares and to increase, reduce, sub-divide or consolidate the share capital and to issue all or any part of its capital whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced with or without any preference, priority or special privilege or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions whatsoever and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly provide every issue of shares whether stated to be ordinary, preference or otherwise shall be subject to the powers on the part of the Company hereinbefore provided.
7. Continuation
Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law (As Amended) and the Articles of Association of the Company, the Company may exercise the power contained in Section 206 of The Companies Law (As Amended) to deregister in the Cayman Islands and be registered by way of continuation under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands.
We, the undersigned, whose name and address are hereto given below are desirous of being formed into a Company in pursuance of this Memorandum of Association, and agree to take the number of shares in the capital of the Company set opposite our name.

 

2


THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

THE COMPANIES LAW (AS AMENDED)

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

Yirendai Ltd.

(the “Company”)

 

8. Table A
The Table ‘A’ in the First Schedule of The Companies Law (As Amended) shall not apply to this Company and the following shall constitute the Articles of Association of the Company.
9. Definitions and Interpretation
9.1 References in these Articles of Association (“ Articles ”) to the “ Companies Law ” shall mean The Companies Law (As Amended) of the Cayman Islands and any statutory amendments or re-enactment thereof. In these Articles, save where the content otherwise requires:
Directors ” and “ Board of Directors ” means the Directors of the Company for the time being, or as the case may be, the Directors assembled as a board or as a committee thereof, and “Director” means any one of the Directors;
Members ” means those persons whose names are entered in the register of members as the holders of shares and includes each subscriber of the Memorandum pending the issue to him of the subscriber share or shares, and “Member” means any one of them;
Memorandum of Association ” means the Memorandum of Association of the Company, as amended and re-stated from time to time;
Ordinary Resolution ” means a resolution:
passed by a simple majority of such Members as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Member is entitled; or
approved in writing by all of the Members entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Members and the effective date of the resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument, or the last of such instruments if more than one, is executed;
Paid up ” means paid up as to the par value and any premium payable in respect of the issue of any shares and includes credited as paid up;
Register of Members ” means the register to be kept by the Company in accordance with Section 40 of the Companies Law;
Seal ” means the Common Seal of the Company (if any) including any facsimile thereof;
Shares ” means shares in the capital of the Company, including a fraction of any of them and
Share ” means any one of them;


Special Resolution ” means a resolution passed in accordance with Section 60 of the Companies Law, being a resolution:
(a) passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of such Members as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a Special Resolution has been duly given and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Member is entitled, or
(b) approved in writing by all of the Members entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Members and the effective date of the Special Resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument or the last of such instruments if more than one, is executed.
9.2 In these Articles, words and expressions defined in the Companies Law shall have the same meaning and, unless otherwise required by the context, (a) the singular shall include the plural and vice versa; (b) the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter and references to persons shall include companies and all legal entities capable of having a legal existence; (c) “may” shall be construed as permissive and “shall” shall be construed as imperative; (d) a reference to a dollar or dollars (or $) is a reference to dollars of the United States of America; and (e) references to a statutory enactment shall include reference to any amendment or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.
10. Share Certificates
10.1 Every person whose name is entered as a Member in the Register of Members, shall without payment, be entitled to a share certificate signed by a Director of the Company specifying the share or shares held and the amount paid up thereof, provided that in respect of a share or shares held jointly by several persons, the Company shall not be bound to issue more than one share certificate and delivery of a certificate for a share to one of several joint holders shall be sufficient delivery to all.
10.2 If a share certificate is worn out, lost or defaced, it may be renewed on production of the worn out or defaced certificate, or on satisfactory proof of its loss together with such indemnity as the Directors may reasonably require. Any Member receiving a share certificate shall indemnify and hold the Company and its officers harmless from any loss or liability which it or they may incur by reason of wrongful or fraudulent use or representation made by any person by virtue of the possession of such a share certificate.
11. Issue of Shares
11.1 Subject to the provisions of these Articles, the unissued shares of the Company (whether forming part of the original or any increased authorised shares) shall be at the disposal of the Directors who may offer, allot, grant options over or otherwise dispose of them to such persons at such times and for such consideration, and upon such terms and conditions as the Directors may determine.
11.2 The Company may in so far as may be permitted by Companies Law, pay a commission to any person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe whether absolutely or conditionally for any shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the lodgement of fully or partly paid-up shares or partly in one way and partly in the other. The Company may also on any issue of shares pay such brokerage as may be lawful.


12. Variation of Rights Attaching to Shares
12.1 If at any time the share capital of the Company is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attaching to any class (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class) may be varied or abrogated with the consent in writing of the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class, or with the sanction of a resolution passed by at least a two-thirds majority of the holders of shares of the class present in person or by proxy at a separate general meeting of the holders of the shares of the class. To every such separate general meeting the provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings of the Company shall mutatis mutandis apply, but so that the necessary quorum shall be at least one person holding or representing by proxy at least one-third of the issued shares of the class and that any holder of shares of the class present in person or by proxy may demand a poll.
12.2 The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further shares ranking pari passu therewith or by the redemption or purchase of shares of any class by the Company.
12.3 The Company shall not issue shares to bearer form.
13. Transfer of Shares
13.1 Subject to such of the restriction of these Articles as may be applicable, any Member may transfer all or any of his shares by an instrument in writing in any usual or common form or any other form which the Directors may approve or on behalf of the transferor and if in respect of a nil or partly paid up share or if so required by the Directors shall also be executed on behalf of the transferee and shall be accompanied by the certificate of the shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer. The transferor shall be deemed to remain a holder of the share until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register of Members in respect thereof.
13.2 The Directors may in their absolute discretion to decline to register any transfer of any share, whether or not it is a fully paid share, without assigning any reason for so doing. If the Directors refuse to register a transfer they shall within 2 months of the date on which the transfer was lodged with the Company send to the transferor and transferee notice of the refusal.
13.3 All instruments of transfer which shall be registered shall be retained by the Company, but any instrument of transfer which the Directors may decline to register shall (except in any case of fraud) be returned to the person depositing the same.
13.4 The registration of transfers may be suspended at such times and for such periods as the Directors may from time to time determine, provided always that such registration shall not be suspended for more than 45 days in any year.
14. Transmission of Shares
14.1 In case of the death of a Member, the survivor or survivors, or the legal personal representatives of the deceased survivor, where the deceased was a joint holder, and the legal personal representatives of the deceased, where he was a sole holder, shall be the only persons recognized by the Company as having any title to the shares.
14.2 Any person becoming entitled to a share in consequence of the death, bankruptcy, liquidation or dissolution of a Member shall, upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be properly required by the Directors, and subject as hereinafter provided, elect either to be registered himself as holder of the share or to have some person nominated by him registered as the transferee thereof, but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the share by that Member before his death or bankruptcy, as the case may be.


14.3 A person becoming entitled to a share by reason of the death, bankruptcy, liquidation or dissolution of the holder shall be entitled to the same dividends and other advantages to which he would be entitled if he were the registered holder of the share, except that he shall not, before being registered as a Member in respect of the share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company.
15. Redemption and Purchase of Own Shares
15.1 Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law, the Company may:
(a) issue shares on terms that they are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Company on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine before the issue of such shares;
(b) purchase its own shares (including any redeemable shares) on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine and agree with the Member; and
(c) make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own shares in any manner permitted by the Companies Law, including out of capital.
15.2 A share which is liable to be redeemed by the Company shall be redeemed by the Company giving to the Member notice in writing of the intention to redeem such shares (a “Redemption Notice”) and specifying the date of such redemption which must be a day on which banks in the Cayman Islands are open for business.
15.3 Any share in respect of which Redemption Notice has been given shall not be entitled to participate in the profits of the Company in respect of the period after the date specified as the date of redemption in the Redemption Notice.
15.4 The redemption or purchase of any share shall not be deemed to give rise to the redemption or purchase of any other share.
15.5 At the date specified in the Redemption Notice, or the date on which the shares are to be purchased, the holder of the shares being redeemed or purchased shall be bound to deliver up to the Company at its Registered Office the certificate thereof for cancellation and thereupon the Company shall pay to him the redemption or purchase moneys in respect thereof.
15.6 The Directors may when making payments in respect of redemption or purchase of shares, if authorised by the terms of issue of the shares being redeemed or purchased or with the agreement of the holder of such shares, make such payment either in cash or in specie.
16. Fractional Shares
16.1 The Directors may issue fractions of a share of any class of shares, and, if so issued, a fraction of a share (calculated to three decimal points) shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to any unpaid amount thereon, contribution, calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights (including, without limitation, voting and participation rights) and other attributes of a whole share of the same class of shares. If more than one fraction of a share of the same class is issued to or acquired by the same Member such fractions shall be accumulated. For the avoidance of doubt, in these Articles the expression “share” shall include a fraction of a share.


17. Lien
17.1 The Company shall have a first priority lien and charge on every share (not being a fully paid up share) for all moneys (whether presently payable or not) called or payable at a fixed time in respect of that share, and the Company shall also have a first priority lien and charge on all shares (other than fully paid up shares) registered in the name of a member for all moneys presently payable by him or his estate to the Company, but the Directors may at any time declare any share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The Company’s lien, if any, on a share shall extend to all dividends and other moneys payable in respect thereon.
17.2 The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors think fit, any shares on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless some sum in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable, nor until the expiration of 14 days after a notice in writing, stating and demanding payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, has been given to the registered holder for the time being of the share, or the persons entitled thereto of which the Company has notice, by reason of his death or bankruptcy, winding up or otherwise by operation of Companies Law or court order.
17.3 To give effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise some person to transfer the shares sold to the purchaser thereof. The purchaser shall be registered as the holder of the shares comprised in any such transfer, and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the sale.
17.4 The proceeds of the sale shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, and the residue, if any, shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the shares prior to the sale) be paid to the person entitled to the shares at the date of the sale.
18. Calls on Shares
18.1 The Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Members in respect of any moneys unpaid on their shares (whether on account of the nominal value of the shares or by way of premium or otherwise), and each Member shall (subject to receiving at least 14 days’ notice in writing specifying the time or times and place of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times and place so specified the amount called on his shares. The non-receipt of a notice of any call by, or the accidental omission to give notices of a call to, any Members shall not invalidate the call. A call may be revoked or postponed as the Directors may determine.
18.2 The joint holders of a share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all calls in respect thereof.
18.3 If a sum called in respect of a share is remain unpaid before or on the day appointed for payment thereof, the person from whom the sum is due shall pay interest on the sum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment at such rate not exceeding 10 percent per annum as the Directors may determine, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of that interest wholly or in part.
18.4 Any sum which by the terms of issue of a share becomes payable on allotment or at any fixed date, whether on account of the nominal value of the share or by way of premium or otherwise, shall for the purposes of these Articles be deemed to be a call duly made, notified and payable on the date on which by the terms of issue the same becomes payable, and in case of non-payment all the relevant provisions of these Articles as to payment of interest and expenses, forfeiture or otherwise shall apply as if such sum had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.


18.5 The provisions of these Articles as to the liability of joint holders and as to payment of interest shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the amount of the share, or by way of premium, as if the same had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.
18.6 The Directors may make arrangements on the issue of shares, differentiate between the Members, as to the amount of calls to be paid and the times of payment.
18.7 The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Member willing to advance the same, all or any part of the moneys uncalled and unpaid upon any shares held by him, and upon all or any of the moneys so advanced may (until the same would, but for such advance, become presently payable) pay interest at such rate not exceeding 10 percent per annum (unless the Company in general meeting shall otherwise direct), as may be agreed between the Directors and the Member paying the sum in advance.
19. Forfeiture of Shares
19.1 If a Member fails to pay any call or instalment of a call with any interest on the day appointed for payment thereof, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of such call or instalment remains unpaid, serve a notice in writing on him requiring payment of so much of the call or instalment as is unpaid, together with any interest accrued and expenses incurred by the reason of such non-payment.
19.2 The notice shall name a further day (not earlier than the expiration of 14 days from the date of the service of the notice) on or before which the payment required by the notice is to be made, and shall state that in the event of non-payment at or before the time appointed the shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited.
19.3 If the requirements of any such notice as aforesaid are not complied with, any share in respect of which the notice has been given may at any time thereafter, before the payment required by notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect and such forfeiture shall extend to all dividends declared in respect of the share so forfeited but not actually paid before such forfeiture.
19.4 A forfeited share may be sold, cancelled or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors in their absolute discretion think fit, and at any time before a sale, cancellation or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors in their absolute discretion think fit.
19.5 A person whose shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Member in respect of the forfeited shares, but shall, notwithstanding, remain liable to pay to the Company all moneys which, at the date of forfeiture, were payable by him to the Company in respect of the shares, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company receives payment in full of the fully paid up amount of the shares.
19.6 A statutory declaration in writing that the declarant is a Director of the Company, and that a share in the Company has been duly forfeited or surrendered or sold to satisfy a lien of the Company on a date stated in the declaration, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts therein stated as against all persons claiming to be entitled to the share. The Company may receive the consideration, if any, given for the share on any sale or disposition thereof and may execute a transfer of the share in favour of the person to whom the share is sold or disposed of and he shall thereupon be registered as the holder of the share, and shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the share be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the forfeiture, sale or disposal of the share.


19.7 When any shares have been forfeited, an entry shall be made in the Register of Members recording the forfeiture and the date thereof, and so soon as the shares so forfeited have been sold or otherwise disposed of, an entry shall be made of the manner and date of the sale or disposal thereof.
19.8 The provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum, which by the terms of issue of a share, becomes due and payable at any time, whether on account of the amount of the share, or by way of premium, as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.
20. Alteration of Share Capital
20.1 The Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution increase the share capital by such sum, to be divided into shares of such classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe.
20.2 The Company may by Ordinary Resolution:
(a) consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into shares of larger amount than its existing shares;
(b) subdivide its existing shares, or any of them, into shares of a smaller amount provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced share shall be the same as it was in case of the share from which the reduced share is derived;
(c) cancel any shares which, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the shares so cancelled; and
(d) convert all or any of its paid up shares into stock and reconvert that stock into paid up shares of any denomination.
20.3 The Company may by Special Resolution reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner, authorised and consent required by Companies Law.
21. Closing Register of Members or Fixing Record Date
21.1 For the purpose of determining those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at any meeting of Members or any adjournment thereof, or those Members that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination as to who is a Member for any other purpose, the Directors may provide that the Register of Members shall be closed for transfers for a stated period but not to exceed in any case 40 days. If the Register of Members shall be so closed for the purpose of determining those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Members such register shall be so closed for at least 10 days immediately preceding such meeting and the record date for such determination shall be the first day of the closure of the Register of Members.


21.2 In lieu of or apart from closing the Register of Members, the Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of the Members and for the purpose of determining those Members that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend the Directors may, at or within 90 days prior to the date of declaration of such dividend fix a subsequent date as the record date for such determination.
21.3 If the Register of Members is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Members or those Members that are entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is posted or the date on which the resolution of the Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Members. When a determination of those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Members has been made as provided in this section, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof.
22. General Meeting of Members
22.1 The Directors, whenever they consider necessary or desirable, may convene meetings of the Members of the Company. The Directors shall convene a meeting of Members upon the written requisition of any Members or Members entitled to attend and vote at general meeting of the Company who hold not less than 10 percent of the paid up voting share capital of the Company in respect to the matter for which the meeting is requested, deposited at the registered office of the Company specifying the objects of the meeting for a date no later than 21 days from the date of deposit of the requisition signed by the requisitionists. If the Directors do not convene such meeting for a date not later than 30 days after the date of such deposit, the requisitionists themselves may convene the general meeting in the same manner, as nearly as possible, as that in which meetings may be convened by the Directors, and all reasonable expenses incurred by the requisitionists as a result of the failure of the Directors shall be reimbursed to them by the Company.
22.2 If at any time there are no Directors of the Company, any two Members (or if there is only one Member then that Member) entitled to vote at general meetings of the Company may convene a general meeting in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which meetings may be convened by the Directors.
23. Notice of General Meetings
23.1 At least seven days’ notice counting from the date service is deemed to take place as provided in these Articles specifying the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and, in case of special business, the general nature of that business, shall be given in manner hereinafter provided or in such other manner (if any) as may be prescribed by the Company by Ordinary Resolution to such persons as are, under these Articles, entitled to receive such notices from the Company.
23.2 Notwithstanding the aforesaid Article, a meeting of Members is held in contravention of the requirement to give notice shall be deemed to have been validly held if the consent of all Members entitled to receive notice of some particular meeting and attend and vote thereat, that meeting may be convened by such shorter notice or without notice and in such manner as those Members may think fit.
23.3 The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to, or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any Member shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting.


24. Proceedings at General Meetings
24.1 No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of Members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. Save as otherwise provided by these Articles, a quorum shall consist of one or more Members present in person or by proxy holding at least a majority of the paid up voting share capital of the Company. If the Company has only one Member, that only Member present in person or by proxy shall be a quorum for all purposes.
24.2 If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of Members, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week, at the same time and place or to such other day and at such other time and place as the Directors may decide, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting the Member or Members present and entitled to vote shall be a quorum.
24.3 At every meeting the Members present shall choose someone of their number to be the chairman (the “Chairman”). If the Members are unable to choose a Chairman for any reason, then the person representing the greatest number of voting shares present at the meeting shall preside as Chairman, failing which the oldest individual Member present at the meeting or failing any Member personally attending the meeting, the proxy present at the meeting representing the oldest Member of the Company, shall take the chair.
24.4 The Chairman may, with the consent of any meeting, at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting) adjourn any meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. When a meeting is adjourned for 10 days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original meeting. Save as aforesaid, it shall not be necessary to give any notice of an adjournment or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting.
24.5 All business carried out at a general meeting shall be deemed special with the exception of declaring a dividend, the consideration of the accounts, balance sheets, and reports of the Directors and the Company’s auditors, the appointment and removal of Directors, and the appointment and the fixing of the remuneration of the Company’s auditors. No special business shall be transacted at any general meeting without the consent of all Members entitled to receive notice of that meeting unless notice of such special business has been given in the notice convening that meeting.
24.6 Any one or more Members may participate in a general meeting by means of a conference telephone or similar communications equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time. Participating by such means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting. A resolution in writing signed by all the Members for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings (or being corporations by their duly authorized representatives) shall be as valid and effective as if the same had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held.
25. Votes of Members
25.1 Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of shares, on a show of hands every Member present in person and every person representing a Member by proxy shall at a general meeting of the Company have one vote and on a poll every Member and every person representing a Member by proxy shall have one vote for each share of which he or the person represented by proxy is the holder.


25.2

At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands by a simple majority, unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands) demanded by the Chairman; or one or more Members present in person or by proxy entitled to vote and who together hold not less than 10 percent of the paid up voting share capital of the Company. Unless a poll is so demanded, a declaration by the Chairman that a resolution has, on a show of hands, been carried, or carried unanimously, or by a particular majority, or lost, and an entry to that effect in the book of the proceedings of the Company, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact, without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of or against such resolution.

25.3

If a poll is duly demanded it shall be taken in such manner as the Chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting at which the poll was demanded. The demand for a poll may be withdrawn.

25.4

In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands, or on a poll, the Chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place, or at which the poll is demanded, shall be entitled to a second or casting vote.

25.5

A poll demanded on the election of a Chairman of a meeting or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith. A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken at such time as the Chairman of the meeting directs, and any business other than that upon which a poll has been demanded may be proceeded with pending the taking of the poll.

25.6

In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior who tenders a vote whether in person or by proxy shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the joint holders and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the Register of Members.

25.7

A Member of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction in lunacy, may vote, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, or other person in the nature of a committee appointed by that court, and any such committee or other person, may on a poll, vote by proxy.

25.8

No Member shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting unless all calls or other sums presently payable by him in respect of shares in the Company held by him and carrying the right to vote have been paid.

26.

Members’ Proxies

26.1

The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the appointor is a corporation, either under seal or under the hand of an officer or attorney duly authorised. A proxy need not be a Member of the Company. An instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to confer authority to demand or join in demanding a poll.

26.2

On a poll votes may be given either personally or by proxy. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited at the Registered Office or at such other place appointed for the meeting before the time for holding the meeting at which the person named in such instrument proposes to vote.

27.

Corporations Acting by Representatives at Meetings
Any corporation or other form of corporate legal entity which is a Member or a Director of the Company may, by resolution of its directors or other governing body, authorise such person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Members or any class of Members of the Company or of the Board of Directors or of a Committee of Directors, and the person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of such corporation which he represents as that corporation could exercise if it were an individual Member or Director of the Company.


28. Directors
28.1 The name of the first Director(s) shall either be determined in writing by a majority (or in the case of a sole subscriber that subscriber) of, or elected at a meeting of, the subscribers of the Memorandum of Association. The Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any person to be a Director.
28.2 Subject to the provisions of these Articles, a Director shall hold office until such time as he is removed from office by the Company by Ordinary Resolution.
28.3 Unless and until otherwise determined by an Ordinary Resolution of the Company, the Directors shall not be less than one in number, and there shall be no maximum number of Directors.
28.4 The remuneration of the Directors shall from time to time be determined by the Company by Ordinary Resolution.
28.5 The shareholding qualification for Directors may be fixed by the Company by Ordinary Resolution and unless and until so fixed no share qualification shall be required.
28.6 The Directors shall have power at any time and from time to time to appoint any other person as a Director, either to fill a casual vacancy or as an additional Director, subject to the maximum number (if any) imposed by the Company by Ordinary Resolution.
29. Alternate Director
29.1 Any Director may in writing appoint another Director or another person to be his alternate to act in his place at any meeting of the Directors at which he is unable to be present and may at any time in writing to revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. Every such alternate shall be entitled to be given notice of meetings of the Directors and to attend and vote thereat as a Director at any such meeting at which the person appointing him is not personally present and generally at such meeting to have and exercise all the powers, right, duties and authorises of the Director appointing him.
29.2 An alternate shall not be an officer of the Company and shall be deemed to be the agent of the Director appointing him. A Director may at any time in writing revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. The remuneration of such alternate shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing him and the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them. If a Director shall die or cease to hold the office of Director, the appointment of his alternate shall thereupon cease and terminate.
29.3 Any Director may appoint any person, whether or not a Director, to be the proxy of that Director to attend and vote on his behalf, in accordance with instructions given by that Director, or in the absence of such instructions at the discretion of the proxy, at a meeting or meetings of the Directors which that Director is unable to attend personally. The instrument appointing the proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointing Director and shall be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve, and must be lodged with the chairman of the meeting of the Directors at which such proxy is to be used, or first used, prior to the commencement of the meeting.


30.

Officers

30.1

The Directors of the Company may, by resolution of Directors, appoint officers of the Company at such times as shall be considered necessary or expedient, and such officers may consist of a president, one or more vice presidents, a secretary, and a treasurer and/or such other officers as may from time to time be deemed desirable. The officers shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed at the time of their appointment subject to any modifications in such duties as may be prescribed by the Directors thereafter, but in the absence of any specific allocation of duties it shall be the responsibility of the president to manage the day to day affairs of the Company, the vice presidents to act in order of seniority in the absence of the president, but otherwise to perform such duties as may be delegated to them by the president, the secretary to maintain the registers, minute books and records (other than financial records) of the Company and to ensure compliance with all procedural requirements imposed on the Company by applicable law, and the treasurer to be responsible for the financial affairs of the Company.

30.2

Any person may hold more than one office and no officer need be a Director or Member of the Company. The officers shall remain in relevant office until removed from the said office by the Directors, whether or not a successor is appointed.

30.3

Any officer who is a body corporate may appoint any person its duly authorised representative for the purpose of representing it and of transacting any of the business of the officers.

31.

Powers and Duties of Directors

31.1

The business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors who may pay all expenses incurred preliminary to and in connection with the setup and registration of the Company, and may exercise all such powers of the Company necessary for managing and for directing and supervising, the business affairs of the Company as are not required by the Companies Law or by these Articles required to be exercised by the Members subject to any delegation of such powers as may be authorised by these Articles and permitted by the Companies Law and to such requirements as may be prescribed by resolution of the Members, but no requirement made by resolution of the Members shall prevail if it was inconsistent with these Articles nor shall such resolution invalidate any prior act of the Directors which would have been valid if such resolution had not been made.

31.2

The Directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney or otherwise appoint any company, firm or person or body of persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys of the Company for such purposes and with such powers, authorities and discretion (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under these Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such powers of attorney may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of persons dealing with any such attorney as the Directors may think fit and may also authorise any such attorney to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in him.

31.3

The Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property, assets (present and future) and uncalled capital or any part thereof, to issue debentures, debenture stock and other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party.


32.

Committees of Directors

32.1

The Directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Directors.

32.2

The Directors may establish any committees, local boards or agencies for managing any of the businesses and affairs of the Company, and may appoint any persons to be members of such committees, local boards, managers or agents for the Company and may fix their remuneration and may delegate to any committees, local board, manager or agent any of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in the Directors, with the power to sub-delegate, and may authorise the members of any committees, local boards or agencies, or any of them, to fill any vacancies therein and to act notwithstanding vacancies, and any such appointment and delegation may be made upon such terms and subject to such conditions as the Directors may think fit, and the Directors may remove any person so appointed and may annul or vary any such delegation, but no person dealing in good faith and without notice of any such annulment or variation shall be affected thereby.

33.

Disqualification of Directors
The office of Director shall be automatically vacated, if the Director:
(a) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors;
(b) is found to be or becomes of unsound mind;
(c) resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company;
(d) is removed from office by Ordinary Resolution;
(e) is convicted of an arrestable offence; or
(f) dies.

34.

Proceedings of Directors

34.1

The meetings of the Board of Directors and any committee thereof shall be held at such place or places as the Directors shall decide.

34.2

The Directors may elect a chairman of their meetings and determine the period for which he is to hold office. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the Directors present may choose one of their number to be chairman for the meeting. If the Directors are unable to choose a chairman, for any reason, then the seniority Director present at the meeting shall preside as the chairman of the meeting.

34.3

The Directors may meet together (either within or without the Cayman Islands) for the dispatch of business, adjourn and otherwise regulate their meetings and proceedings as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. In case of an equality in votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote. A Director may at any time summon a meeting of the Directors. If the Company shall have only one Director, the provisions hereinafter contained for meetings of the Directors shall not apply but such sole Director shall have full power to represent and act for the Company in all matters and in lieu of minutes of a meeting shall record written resolutions and sign as a resolution of the Directors. Such note or memorandum shall constitute sufficient evidence of such resolution for all purposes.


34.4 Any one or more members of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof may participate in a meeting of such Board of Directors or committee by means of a conference telephone or similar communications equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time. Participating by such means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting.

 

34.5 The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors, and unless so fixed, if there be more than two Directors shall be two, and if there be two or less Directors shall be one. A Director represented by proxy or by an alternate Director at any meeting shall be deemed to be present for the purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present.

 

34.6 A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with the Company shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Directors by any Director to the effect that he is a member of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract so made. A Director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he may be interested therein and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the Directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement shall come before the meeting for consideration.

 

34.7 A Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms (as to remuneration and otherwise) as the Directors may determine and no Director or intending Director shall be disqualified by his office from contracting with the Company either with regard to his tenure of any such other office or place of profit or as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or arrangement entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director is in any way interested, be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by any such contract or arrangement by reason of such Director holding that office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established. A Director, notwithstanding his interest, may be counted in the quorum present at any meeting whereat he or any other Director is appointed to hold any such office or place of profit under the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged and he may vote on any such appointment or arrangement.

 

34.8 The Directors shall cause to be entered and kept in books or files provided for the purpose minutes or memoranda of the following (where applicable): -

 

  (a) all appointments of officers made by the Directors;

 

  (b) the names of the Directors, and any alternate Director who is not also a Director, present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; and

 

  (c) all resolutions and proceedings of all meetings of the Members, all meetings of the Directors and all meetings of committees and, where the Company has only one Member and/or one Director, all written resolutions of the decisions of the sole Member and/or the sole Director; and any such minutes or memoranda of any meeting or decisions of the Directors, or any committee, or of the Company, if purporting to be signed by the chairman of such meeting, or by the chairman of the next succeeding meeting, shall be receivable as prima facie evidence of the matters stated therein.


34.9 When the Chairman of a meeting of the Directors signs the minutes of such meeting the same shall be deemed to have been duly held notwithstanding that all the Directors have not actually come together or that there may have been a technical defect in the proceedings.
34.10 A resolution in writing signed by a majority of the Directors for the time being shall be as valid and effectual for all purposes as a resolution of the Directors passed at a meeting of the Directors duly called and constituted. Such resolution in writing may consist of several documents each signed by one or more of the Directors.
34.11 The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body but if and so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to the Articles of the Company as the necessary quorum of Directors, the continuing Directors may act for the purpose of increasing the number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose.
34.12 A committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within 15 minutes after the time appointed for holding the same, the members present may choose one of their number to be chairman of their meetings.
34.13 A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present and in case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
34.14 All acts done bona fide by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, or by any person acting as a Director, shall notwithstanding that it was afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any such Director or person acting as aforesaid, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a Director.
35. Dividends
35.1 Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of shares, the Directors may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and other distributions on shares of the Company in issue and authorise payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor.
35.2 Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of shares, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution declare final dividends, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Directors.
35.3 The Directors may, before recommending or declaring any dividend, set aside out of the funds legally available for distribution of the Company such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, at the absolute discretion of the Directors be applicable for meeting contingencies, or for equalising dividends or for any other purpose to which those funds may be properly applied and may pending such application, in the Directors’ absolute discretion, either be employed in the business of the Company or be invested in such investments (other than shares of the Company) as the Directors may from time to time think fit.


35.4 No dividend shall be paid otherwise than out of profits or, subject to the restrictions of the Companies Law, the share premium account.
35.5 Any dividend may be paid by cheque or warrant sent through the post directed to the registered address of the Member or person entitled thereto (or in case of joint holders, to the registered address of any one of such joint holders whose name stands first on the Register of Members of the Company in respect of the joint holding) or addressed to such person at such address as the holder or joint holders may in writing direct. Every such cheque or warrant shall be made payable to the order of the person to whom it is sent, but in any event the Company shall not be liable or responsible for any cheque or warrant lost in transmission nor for any dividend, bonus, interest or other monies lost to the Member or person entitled thereto by the forged endorsement of any cheque or warrant. Any payment of the cheque or warrant by the Company’s banker on whom it is drawn shall be a good discharge to the Company.
35.6 The Directors when paying dividends to the Members in accordance with the foregoing provisions may make such payment either in cash or in specie.
35.7 Subject to the rights of persons, if any, entitled to shares with special rights as to dividend, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid or credited as paid on the shares in respect whereof the dividend is paid, but no amount paid or credited as paid on a share in advance of calls shall be treated for the purposes of this article as paid on the share. All dividends shall be apportioned and paid proportionately to the amounts paid or credited as paid on the shares during any portion or portions of the period in respect of which the dividend is paid but if any share is issued on terms providing that it shall rank for dividend as from a particular date that share shall rank for dividend accordingly.
35.8 If several persons are registered as joint holders of any share, any of them may give effectual receipts for any dividend or other moneys payable on or in respect of the share.
35.9 No dividend shall bear interest against the Company.
36. Accounts and Audit
36.1 The Directors shall cause books of account relating to the Company’s affairs to be kept in such manner as may be determined from time to time by the Directors.
36.2 The books of account shall be kept at the registered office of the Company, or at such other place or places as the Directors think fit, and shall always be open to the inspection of the Directors.
36.3 The Directors shall from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Members not being Directors, and no Member (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by the Companies Law or authorised by the Directors or by the Company by ordinary resolution.
36.4 The Directors shall from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions the records, documents and registers of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Members not being Directors, and no Member (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any records, documents or registers of the Company except as conferred by the Companies Law or authorised by resolution of the Directors.


37. Capitalisation of Profits

 

37.1 Subject to the Companies Law, the Directors may, with the authority of an Ordinary Resolution, resolve that it is desirable to capitalise any part of the amount for the time being standing to the credit of any of the Company’s reserve accounts (including a share premium account and capital redemption reserve), or to the credit of the profit and loss account or otherwise available for distribution, and accordingly that such sum be set free for distribution, amongst the Members who would have been entitled thereto if distributed by way of dividend and in the same proportion, on condition that the same be not paid in cash but be applied either in or towards paying up any amounts (if any) for the time being unpaid on any shares held by such Members respectively, or paying up in full unissued shares or debentures of the Company to be allotted and distributed credited as fully paid up to and amongst such Members in the proportion aforesaid or partly in the one way and partly in the other. Provided that a share premium account and a capital redemption reserve fund may, for the purposes of this Article, only be applied in the paying up of unissued shares to be allotted to Members of the Company as fully paid bonus shares.

 

37.2 Whenever such a resolution as aforesaid shall have been passed the Directors shall make all appropriations and applications of the undivided profits resolved to be capitalised thereby, and all allotments and issues of fully paid shares or debentures, if any and generally shall do all acts and things required to give effect thereto, with full power to the Directors to make such provision by the issue of fractional certificates by payment in cash or otherwise as they think fit for the case of shares or debentures becoming distributable in fractions, and also to authorise any person to enter on behalf of all the Members entitled thereto into an agreement with the Company providing for the allotment to them respectively, credited as fully paid up, of any further shares or debentures to which they may be entitled upon such capitalisation, or as the case may require, for the payment up by the Company on their behalf, by the application thereto of their respective proportions of the profits resolved to be capitalised, of the amounts or any part of the amounts remaining unpaid on their existing shares, and any agreement made under such authority shall be effective and binding on all such Members.

 

38. Share Premium Account

 

38.1 The Board of Directors shall in accordance with the Companies Law establish a share premium account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any share.

 

38.2 There shall be debited to any share premium account on the redemption or purchase of a share the difference between the nominal value of such share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the discretion of the Board of Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by the Companies Law, out of capital.

 

39. Indemnity

 

     Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law and in the absence of fraud or wilful default, the Company may indemnify against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings any person who:

 

  (a) is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that the person is or was a Director, managing director, agent, auditor, secretary and other officer for the time being of the Company; or


  (b) is or was, at the request of the Company, serving as a Director, managing director, agent, auditor, secretary and other officer for the time being of, or in any other capacity is or was acting for, another company or a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise.

 

40. Notices

 

40.1 Notice shall be in writing and may be given by the Company or by the person entitled to give notice to any Member either personally by electronic mail, by facsimile or by sending it through the post in a prepaid letter or via a recognised courier service, fees prepaid, addressed to the Member at his address as appearing in the Register of Members. Notices posted to addresses outside the Cayman Islands shall be forwarded by prepaid airmail. A notice may be given by the Company to the joint holders of a share by giving the notice to the joint holder first named in the Register of Members in respect of the share.

 

40.2 Any Member present, either personally or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have received due notice of such meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which such meeting was convened.

 

40.3 Any notice, if served by (a) post, shall be deemed to have been served 5 days after the time when the letter containing the same is posted and if served by courier, shall be deemed to have been served 5 days after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier or, (b) facsimile, shall be deemed to have been served upon confirmation of receipt or (c) electronic mail, shall be deemed to have been served upon confirmation of receipt, or (d) recognised delivery service, shall be deemed to have been served 48 hours after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier service provider.

 

40.4 A notice may be given by the Company to the persons entitled to a share in consequence of the death, bankruptcy or insolvency of a Member by sending it through the post in a prepaid letter, by airmail if appropriate addressed to them by name or by the title of representatives of the deceased or assignee or trustee of the bankrupt or insolvent or by a like description at the address, if any, supplied for the purpose by the persons claiming to be so entitled, or, until such an address has been so supplied, by giving the notice in any manner in which the same might have been given if the death, bankruptcy or insolvency had not occurred.

 

40.5 Notice of every general meeting shall be given in the manner hereinbefore authorised to:

 

  (a) all Members who have a right to receive notice and who have supplied the Company with an address for the giving of notices to them and in case of joint holder, the notice shall be sufficient if given to the first named joint holder in the Register of Members; and

 

  (b) every person entitled to a share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member, who but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting.

 

     No other person shall be entitled to receive notice of general meetings.

 

41. Seal

 

41.1 The Directors shall provide for the safe custody of the Seal of the Company. The Seal when affixed to any instrument shall be witnessed by a Director or the secretary or officer of the Company or any other person so authorised from time to time by the Directors or of a committee of the Directors authorised by the Directors on that behalf. The Directors may provide for a facsimile of the Seal and approve the signature of any Director or authorised person which may be reproduced by printing or other means on any instrument and it shall have the same force and validity as if the Seal has been affixed to such instrument and the same had been signed as hereinbefore described.


41.2 Notwithstanding the foregoing, a director or officer, representative or attorney of the Company shall have the authority to affix the Seal, or a duplicate of the Seal, over his signature alone on any instrument or document required to be authenticated by him under Seal or to be filed with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere wheresoever.
42. Winding Up
42.1 If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, with the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution of the Company and any other sanction required by the Companies Law, divide amongst the Members in specie or cash the whole or any part of the assets of the Company whether they shall consist of property of the same kind or not and may, for such purpose set such value as he deems fair upon any property to be divided as aforesaid and may determine how such division shall be carried out as between the Members or different classes of Members. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the contributors as the liquidator shall think fit, but so that no Member shall be compelled to accept any shares or other securities whereon there is any liability.
42.2 Without prejudice to the rights of holders of shares issued upon special terms and conditions, if the Company shall be wound up, and the assets available for distribution among the Members as such shall be insufficient to repay the whole of the paid-up capital, such assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be borne by the Members in proportion to the capital paid-up, or which ought to have been paid-up, at the commencement of the winding up on the shares held by them respectively. If on a winding up the assets available for distribution among the Members shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the capital paid-up at the commencement of the winding up, the excess shall be distributed among the Members in proportion to the capital paid up at the commencement of the winding up on the shares held by them respectively.
43. Amendment of Memorandum and Articles of Association
The Company may alter or modify the provisions contained in these Memorandum and Articles of Association as originally drafted or as amended from time to time by a Special Resolution and subject to the Companies Law and the rights attaching to the various classes of shares.
44. Registration By Way of Continuation
The Company may by Special Resolution resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing. In furtherance of a resolution adopted pursuant to this Article. The Directors may cause an application to be made to the Registrar of Companies to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing and may cause all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken in accordance to the Companies Law to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company.

Exhibit 3.2

THE COMPANIES LAW (2013 REVISION)

OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

YIRENDAI LTD.

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 7 September 2015 and conditional upon and effective

immediately prior to the completion of the Company’s initial public offering of American Depository

Shares representing its Ordinary Shares)


THE COMPANIES LAW (2013 REVISION)

OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

OF

YIRENDAI LTD.

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 7 September 2015 and conditional upon and effective

immediately prior to the completion of the Company’s initial public offering of American Depository

Shares representing its Ordinary Shares)

 

1. The name of the Company is Yirendai Ltd.

 

2. The Registered Office of the Company shall be situated at the offices of Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 2547, Cassia Court, Camana Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, or such other place in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may, from time to time decide, being the registered office of the Company.

 

3. The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the Companies Law or any other law of the Cayman Islands.

 

4. The Company shall have and be capable of exercising all the functions of a natural person of full capacity irrespective of any question of corporate benefit as provided by the Companies Law.

 

5. The Company will not trade in the Cayman Islands with any person, firm or corporation except in furtherance of the business of the Company carried on outside the Cayman Islands; provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as to prevent the Company effecting and concluding contracts in the Cayman Islands, and exercising in the Cayman Islands all of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside the Cayman Islands.

 

6. The liability of each Shareholder of the Company is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the Shares held by such Shareholder.

 

7. The authorised share capital of the Company is US$50,000.00 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares of a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each, provided always that subject to the Companies Law and the Articles of Association the Company shall have power to redeem or purchase any of its shares and to sub-divide or consolidate the said shares or any of them and to issue all or any part of its capital whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced with or without any preference, priority, special privilege or other rights or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions whatsoever and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly provide every issue of shares whether stated to be ordinary, preference or otherwise shall be subject to the powers on the part of the Company hereinbefore provided.


8. The Company has the power to deregister in the Cayman Islands and be registered by way of continuation in some other jurisdiction.

 

9. Capitalized terms that are not defined in this Memorandum of Association bear the same meanings as those given in the Articles of Association of the Company.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CLAUSE    PAGE  

TABLE A

     1   

INTERPRETATION

     1   

PRELIMINARY

     5   

SHARES

     6   

MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS

     8   

CERTIFICATES

     8   

FRACTIONAL SHARES

     9   

LIEN

     9   

CALLS ON SHARES

     9   

FORFEITURE OF SHARES

     10   

TRANSFER OF SHARES

     11   

TRANSMISSION OF SHARES

     12   

ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL

     12   

REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES

     13   

TREASURY SHARES

     13   

GENERAL MEETINGS

     13   

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS

     14   

PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

     15   

VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS

     16   

CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS

     17   

DEPOSITARY AND CLEARING HOUSES

     17   

DIRECTORS

     18   

ALTERNATE DIRECTOR OR PROXY

     19   

POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

     19   

BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS

     20   

THE SEAL

     20   

DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

     21   

PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS

     21   

PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT

     23   

DIVIDENDS

     23   

ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION

     24   

CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES

     25   

SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT

     26   

NOTICES

     26   

INDEMNITY

     28   

 

i


NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS

     29   

WINDING UP

     29   

AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

     29   

CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE

     29   

REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION

     30   

DISCLOSURE

     30   

 

ii


THE COMPANIES LAW (2013 REVISION)

OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

YIRENDAI LTD.

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 7 September 2015 and conditional upon and effective

immediately prior to the completion of the Company’s initial public offering of American Depository

Shares representing its Ordinary Shares)

TABLE A

The Regulations contained or incorporated in Table ‘A’ in the First Schedule of the Law shall not apply to the Company and the following Articles shall comprise the Articles of Association of the Company.

INTERPRETATION

 

1. In these Articles the following defined terms will have the meanings ascribed to them, if not inconsistent with the subject or context:

 

“ADS”

   means an American Depositary Share representing Ordinary Shares;

“Affiliate”

   means in respect of a person or entity, any other person or entity that, directly or indirectly (including through one or more intermediaries), controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such person or entity, and (i) in the case of a natural person, shall include, without limitation, such person’s spouse, parents, children, siblings, mother-in-law and father-in-law and brothers and sisters-in-law, a trust solely for the benefit of any of the foregoing, a company, partnership or any natural person or entity wholly owned by one or more of the foregoing, and (ii) in the case of an entity, shall include a partnership, a corporation or any natural person or entity which directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such entity. The term “control” shall mean the ownership, directly or indirectly, of securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of the corporation, or the partnership or other entity (other than, in the case of corporation, securities having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency not within the reasonable control of such partnership, corporation, natural person or entity), or having the power to control the management or elect a majority of members to the board of directors or equivalent decision-making body of such corporation, partnership or other entity;

 

1


“Articles”

   means these articles of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time;

“Board and “Board of Directors and “Directors

   means the directors of the Company for the time being, or as the case may be, the directors assembled as a board or as a committee thereof;

“Chairman

   means the chairman of the Board of Directors;

“Class or “Classes

   means any class or classes of Shares as may from time to time be issued by the Company;

Commission

   means the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America or any other federal agency for the time being administering the Securities Act;

Company

   means Yirendai Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company;

“Companies Law”

   means the Companies Law (2013 revision) of the Cayman Islands and any statutory amendment or re-enactment thereof;

Company’s Website”

   means the main corporate and investors relations website of the Company, the address or domain name of which has been notified to Shareholders;

Designated Stock

Exchange

   means the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ in the United States or any other stock exchange on which the ADSs are listed for trading;

“Designated Stock

Exchange Rules

   means the relevant code, rules and regulations, as amended, from time to time, applicable as a result of the original and continued listing of any Shares or ADSs on the Designated Stock Exchange;

“electronic

   means the meaning given to it in the Electronic Transactions Law and any amendment thereto or re-enactments thereof for the time being in force and includes every other law incorporated therewith or substituted therefor;

 

2


“electronic communication”

   means electronic posting to the Company’s Website, transmission to any number, address or internet website or other electronic delivery methods as otherwise decided and approved by not less than two-thirds of the vote of the Board;

“Electronic Transactions Law

   means the Electronic Transactions Law (2003 Revision) of the Cayman Islands and any statutory amendment or re-enactment thereof;

Independent Director

   means a director who is an independent director as defined in the Designated Stock Exchange Rules;

Law

   means the Companies Law and every other law and regulation of the Cayman Islands for the time being in force concerning companies and affecting the Company;

Memorandum

   means the memorandum of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time;

Month

   means calendar month;

Ordinary Resolution

  

means a resolution:

 

(a)    passed by a simple majority of votes cast by the Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company, and where a poll is taken, in computing a majority, regard shall be had to the number of votes to which each Shareholder is entitled; or

 

(b)    approved in writing by all of the Shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Shareholders and the effective date of the resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument, or the last of such instruments, if more than one, is executed;

Ordinary Shares

   means an ordinary share of a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each in the capital of the Company, having the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions set out in the Memorandum and these Articles;

paid up

   means paid up as to the par value in respect of the issue of any Shares and includes credited as paid up;

“Person

   means any natural person, firm, company, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association or other entity (whether or not having a separate legal personality) or any of them as the context so requires;

 

3


“Register”

   means the register of Members of the Company maintained in accordance with the Companies Law;

Registered Office

   means the registered office of the Company as required by the Companies Law;

Seal

   means the common seal of the Company (if adopted) including any facsimile thereof;

Secretary

   means any Person appointed by the Directors to perform any of the duties of the secretary of the Company;

Securities Act

   means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States of America, as amended, or any similar federal statute and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, all as the same shall be in effect at the time;

Share

   means a share in the capital of the Company. All references to “Shares” herein shall be deemed to be Shares of any or all Classes as the context may require. For the avoidance of doubt in these Articles the expression “Share” shall include a fraction of a Share;

Shareholder or

Member

   means a Person who is registered as the holder of Shares in the Register;

Share Premium

Account

   means the share premium account established in accordance with these Articles and the Companies Law;

signed

   means bearing a signature or representation of a signature affixed by mechanical means or an electronic symbol or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic communication and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the electronic communication;

“Special Resolution”

  

means a special resolution of the Company passed in accordance with the Law, being a resolution:

 

(a)    passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been duly given, and where a poll is taken, in computing a majority, regard shall be had to the number of votes to which each Shareholder is entitled; or

 

(b)    approved in writing by all of the Shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Shareholders and the effective date of the special resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument or the last of such instruments, if more than one, is executed;

 

4


“Treasury Share”

   means a Share held in the name of the Company as a treasury share in accordance with the Companies Law;

United States

   means the United States of America, its territories, its possessions and all areas subject to its jurisdiction; and

year

   means calendar year.

 

2. In these Articles, save where the context requires otherwise:

 

  (a) words importing the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa;

 

  (b) words importing the masculine gender only shall include the feminine gender and any Person as the context may require;

 

  (c) the word “may” shall be construed as permissive and the word “shall” shall be construed as imperative;

 

  (d) reference to a dollar or dollars (or US$) and to a cent or cents is reference to dollars and cents of the United States of America;

 

  (e) reference to a statutory enactment shall include reference to any amendment or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force;

 

  (f) reference to any determination by the Directors shall be construed as a determination by the Directors in their sole and absolute discretion and shall be applicable either generally or in any particular case;

 

  (g) reference to “in writing” shall be construed as written or represented by any means reproducible in writing, including any form of print, lithograph, email, facsimile, photograph or telex or represented by any other substitute or format for storage or transmission for writing or partly one and partly another;

 

  (h) any requirements as to delivery under the Articles include delivery in the form of an electronic record (as defined in the Electronic Transactions Law) or an electronic communication;

 

  (i) any requirements as to execution or signature under the Articles including the execution of the Articles themselves can be satisfied in the form of an electronic signature as defined in the Electronic Transactions Law; and

 

  (j) Sections 8 and 19 of the Electronic Transactions Law shall not apply.

 

3. Subject to the last two preceding Articles, any words defined in the Companies Law shall, if not inconsistent with the subject or context, bear the same meaning in these Articles.

PRELIMINARY

 

4. The business of the Company may be conducted as the Directors see fit.

 

5


5. The Registered Office shall be at such address in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may from time to time determine. The Company may in addition establish and maintain such other offices and places of business and agencies in such places as the Directors may from time to time determine.

 

6. The expenses incurred in the formation of the Company and in connection with the offer for subscription and issue of Shares shall be paid by the Company. Such expenses may be amortised over such period as the Directors may determine and the amount so paid shall be charged against income and/or capital in the accounts of the Company as the Directors shall determine.

 

7. The Directors shall keep, or cause to be kept, the Register at such place as the Directors may from time to time determine and, in the absence of any such determination, the Register shall be kept at the Registered Office.

SHARES

 

8. Subject to these Articles, all Shares for the time being unissued shall be under the control of the Directors who may:

 

  (a) issue, allot and dispose of the same to such Persons, in such manner, on such terms and having such rights and being subject to such restrictions as they may from time to time determine; and

 

  (b) grant options with respect to such Shares and issue warrants or similar instruments with respect thereto;

 

     and, for such purposes, the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued. For the avoidance of double, the Directors may in their absolute discretion and without approval of the existing Members, issue shares, grant rights over existing shares or issue other securities in one or more series as they deem necessary and appropriate and determine designations, powers, preferences, privileges and other rights, including dividend rights, conversion rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the powers and rights associated with the shares held by existing Members, at such times and on such other terms as they think proper. The Company shall not issue Shares to bearer.

 

9. The Directors may authorise the division of Shares into any number of Classes and the different Classes shall be authorised, established and designated (or re-designated as the case may be) and the variations in the relative rights (including, without limitation, voting, dividend and redemption rights), restrictions, preferences, privileges and payment obligations as between the different Classes (if any) may be fixed and determined by the Directors or by a Special Resolution. The Directors may issue Shares with such preferred or other rights, all or any of which may be greater than the rights of Ordinary Shares, at such time and on such terms as they may think appropriate. With respect to any series of preference shares, the Directors may determine the terms and rights of that series, including:

 

  (a) the designation of such series, the number of preferred shares to constitute such series and the subscription price thereof if different from the par value thereof;

 

  (b) whether the shares of such series shall have voting rights, in addition to any voting rights provided by law, and, if so, the terms of such voting rights, which may be general or limited;

 

6


  (c) the dividends, if any, payable on such series, whether any such dividends shall be cumulative, and, if so, from what dates, the conditions and dates upon which such dividends shall be payable, the preference or relation which such dividends shall bear to the dividends payable on any shares of any other class or any other series of preferred shares;

 

  (d) whether the preferred shares of such series shall be subject to redemption by the Company, and, if so, the times, prices and other conditions of such redemption;

 

  (e) the amount or amounts payable upon preferred shares of such series upon, and the rights of the holders of such series in, a voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, or upon any distribution of the assets, of the Company;

 

  (f) whether the preferred shares of such series shall be subject to the operation of a retirement or sinking fund and, if so, the extent to and manner in which any such retirement or sinking fund shall be applied to the purchase or redemption of the preferred shares of such series for retirement or other corporate purposes and the terms and provisions relative to the operation thereof;

 

  (g) whether the preferred shares of such series shall be convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or any other series of preferred shares or any other securities and, if so, the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion or exchange and the method, if any, of adjusting the same, and any other terms and conditions of conversion or exchange;

 

  (h) the limitations and restrictions, if any, to be effective while any preferred shares of such series are outstanding upon the payment of dividends or the making of other distributions on, and upon the purchase, redemption or other acquisition by the Company of, the existing shares or shares of any other class of shares or any other series of preferred shares;

 

  (i) the conditions or restrictions, if any, upon the creation of indebtedness of the Company or upon the issue of any additional shares, including additional shares of such series or of any other class of shares or any other series of preferred shares; and

 

  (j) any other powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof.

 

10. The Company may insofar as may be permitted by law, pay a commission to any Person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe whether absolutely or conditionally for any Shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the lodgement of fully or partly paid-up Shares or partly in one way and partly in the other. The Company may also pay such brokerage as may be lawful on any issue of Shares.

 

11. The Directors may refuse to accept any application for Shares, and may accept any application in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason.

 

7


MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS

 

12. Whenever the capital of the Company is divided into different Classes the rights attached to any such Class may, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any Class, be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of a majority of the issued Shares of that Class or with the sanction of a Special Resolution passed at a separate general meeting of the holders of the Shares of that Class. To every such separate meeting all the provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings of the Company or to the proceedings thereat shall, mutatis mutandis , apply, except that the necessary quorum shall be one or more Persons at least holding or representing by proxy one-third in nominal or par value amount of the issued Shares of the relevant Class (but so that if at any adjourned meeting of such holders a quorum as above defined is not present, those Shareholders who are present shall form a quorum) and that, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, every Shareholder of the Class shall on a poll have one vote for each Share of the Class held by him. For the purposes of this Article the Directors may treat all the Classes or any two or more Classes as forming one Class if they consider that all such Classes would be affected in the same way by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate Classes.

 

13. The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any Class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, be deemed to be varied by, inter alia, the creation, allotment or issue of further Shares ranking pari passu with or in priority or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any Shares of any Class by the Company. The rights of the holders of Shares shall not be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of Shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of Shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights.

CERTIFICATES

 

14. Every Person whose name is entered as a Member in the Register may, in the discretion of the Directors, receive without payment a certificate within two months after allotment or lodgement of transfer (or within such other period as the conditions of issue shall provide) in the form determined by the Directors. All certificates shall specify the Share or Shares held by that Person and the amount paid up thereon, provided that in respect of a Share or Shares held jointly by several persons the Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate, and delivery of a certificate for a Share to one of several joint holders shall be sufficient delivery to all. All certificates for Shares shall be delivered personally or sent through the post addressed to the Member entitled thereto at the Member’s registered address as appearing in the Register.

 

15. Every share certificate of the Company shall bear legends required under the applicable laws, including the Securities Act.

 

16. Any two or more certificates representing Shares of any one Class held by any Member may at the Member’s request be cancelled and a single new certificate for such Shares issued in lieu on payment (if the Directors shall so require) of US$1.00 or such smaller sum as the Directors shall determine.

 

17. If a share certificate shall be damaged or defaced or alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, a new certificate representing the same Shares may be issued to the relevant Member upon request subject to delivery up of the old certificate or (if alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed) compliance with such conditions as to evidence and indemnity and the payment of out-of-pocket expenses of the Company in connection with the request as the Directors may think fit.

 

18. In the event that Shares are held jointly by several persons, any request may be made by any one of the joint holders and if so made shall be binding on all of the joint holders.

 

8


FRACTIONAL SHARES

 

19. The Directors may issue fractions of a Share and, if so issued, a fraction of a Share shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to nominal or par value, premium, contributions, calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights (including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, voting and participation rights) and other attributes of a whole Share. If more than one fraction of a Share of the same Class is issued to or acquired by the same Shareholder such fractions shall be accumulated.

LIEN

 

20. The Company has a first and paramount lien on every Share (whether or not fully paid) for all amounts (whether presently payable or not) payable at a fixed time or called in respect of that Share. The Company also has a first and paramount lien on every Share registered in the name of a Person indebted or under liability to the Company (whether he is the sole registered holder of a Share or one of two or more joint holders) for all amounts owing by him or his estate to the Company (whether or not presently payable). The Directors may at any time declare a Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The Company’s lien on a Share extends to any amount payable in respect of it.

 

21. The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors in their absolute discretion think fit, any Share on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless an amount in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable nor until the expiration of fourteen days after a notice in writing, demanding payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, has been given to the registered holder for the time being of the Share, or the Persons entitled thereto by reason of his death or bankruptcy.

 

22. For giving effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise a Person to transfer the Shares sold to the purchaser thereof. The purchaser shall be registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the sale.

 

23. The proceeds of the sale after deduction of expenses, fees and commission incurred by the Company shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, and the residue shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the Shares prior to the sale) be paid to the Person entitled to the Shares immediately prior to the sale.

CALLS ON SHARES

 

24. Subject to the terms of the allotment, the Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Shareholders in respect of any moneys unpaid on their Shares, and each Shareholder shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen days’ notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on such Shares.

 

25. The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay calls in respect thereof.

 

9


26. If a sum called in respect of a Share is not paid before or on the day appointed for payment thereof, the Person from whom the sum is due shall pay interest upon the sum at the rate of eight percent per annum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of that interest wholly or in part.

 

27. The provisions of these Articles as to the liability of joint holders and as to payment of interest shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.

 

28. The Directors may make arrangements with respect to the issue of partly paid Shares for a difference between the Shareholders, or the particular Shares, in the amount of calls to be paid and in the times of payment.

 

29. The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Shareholder willing to advance the same all or any part of the moneys uncalled and unpaid upon any partly paid Shares held by him, and upon all or any of the moneys so advanced may (until the same would, but for such advance, become presently payable) pay interest at such rate (not exceeding without the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution, eight percent per annum) as may be agreed upon between the Shareholder paying the sum in advance and the Directors.

FORFEITURE OF SHARES

 

30. If a Shareholder fails to pay any call or instalment of a call in respect of partly paid Shares on the day appointed for payment, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of such call or instalment remains unpaid, serve a notice on him requiring payment of so much of the call or instalment as is unpaid, together with any interest which may have accrued.

 

31. The notice shall name a further day (not earlier than the expiration of fourteen days from the date of the notice) on or before which the payment required by the notice is to be made, and shall state that in the event of non-payment at or before the time appointed the Shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited.

 

32. If the requirements of any such notice as aforesaid are not complied with, any Share in respect of which the notice has been given may at any time thereafter, before the payment required by notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect.

 

33. A forfeited Share may be sold or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit, and at any time before a sale or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit.

 

34. A Person whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Shareholder in respect of the forfeited Shares, but shall, notwithstanding, remain liable to pay to the Company all moneys which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to the Company in respect of the Shares forfeited, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company receives payment in full of the amount unpaid on the Shares forfeited.

 

35. A certificate in writing under the hand of a Director of the Company that a Share has been duly forfeited on a date stated in the certificate, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts in the declaration as against all Persons claiming to be entitled to the Share.

 

10


36. The Company may receive the consideration, if any, given for a Share on any sale or disposition thereof pursuant to the provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture and may execute a transfer of the Share in favour of the Person to whom the Share is sold or disposed of and that Person shall be registered as the holder of the Share, and shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the disposition or sale.

 

37. The provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which by the terms of issue of a Share becomes due and payable, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.

TRANSFER OF SHARES

 

38. The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in writing and in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, approve and be executed by or on behalf of the transferor and if in respect of a nil or partly paid up Share, or if so required by the Directors, shall also be executed on behalf of the transferee and shall be accompanied by the certificate (if any) of the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer. The transferor shall be deemed to remain a Shareholder until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register in respect of the relevant Shares.

 

39.    

(a)    The Directors may in their absolute discretion decline to register any transfer of Shares which is not fully paid up or on which the Company has a lien.

 

(b)    The Directors may also decline to register any transfer of any Share unless:

 

  i. the instrument of transfer is lodged with the Company, accompanied by the certificate for the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Board may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer;

 

  ii. the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one Class of Shares;

 

  iii. the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required;

 

  iv. in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the Share is to be transferred does not exceed four; and

 

  v. a fee of such maximum sum as the Designated Stock Exchange may determine to be payable, or such lesser sum as the Board of Directors may from time to time require, is paid to the Company in respect thereof.

 

40. The registration of transfers may, on 14 days’ notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers, by electronic means or by any other means in accordance with the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, be suspended and the Register closed at such times and for such periods as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, from time to time determine, provided always that such registration of transfer shall not be suspended nor the Register of Members closed for more than 30 days in any year.

 

41. All instruments of transfer that are registered shall be retained by the Company. If the Directors refuse to register a transfer of any Shares, they shall within three months after the date on which the transfer was lodged with the Company send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of the refusal.

 

11


TRANSMISSION OF SHARES

 

42. The legal personal representative of a deceased sole holder of a Share shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. In the case of a Share registered in the name of two or more holders, the survivors or survivor, or the legal personal representatives of the deceased survivor, shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share.

 

43. Any Person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be required by the Directors, have the right either to be registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share or, instead of being registered himself, to make such transfer of the Share as the deceased or bankrupt Person could have made; but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the deceased or bankrupt Person before the death or bankruptcy.

 

44. A Person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall be entitled to the same dividends and other advantages to which he would be entitled if he were the registered Shareholder, except that he shall not, before being registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company, provided however, that the Directors may at any time give notice requiring any such person to elect either to be registered himself or to transfer the Share, and if the notice is not complied with within ninety days, the Directors may thereafter withhold payment of all dividends, bonuses or other monies payable in respect of the Share until the requirements of the notice have been complied with.

REGISTRATION OF EMPOWERING INSTRUMENTS

 

45. The Company shall be entitled to charge a fee not exceeding one dollar (US$1.00) on the registration of every probate, letters of administration, certificate of death or marriage, power of attorney, notice in lieu of distringas, or other instrument.

ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL

 

46. The Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution increase the share capital by such sum, to be divided into Shares of such Classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe.

 

47. The Company may by Ordinary Resolution:

 

  (a) consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of a larger amount than its existing Shares;

 

  (b) convert all or any of its paid up Shares into stock and reconvert that stock into paid up Shares of any denomination;

 

  (c) subdivide its existing Shares, or any of them into Shares of a smaller amount provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced Share shall be the same as it was in case of the Share from which the reduced Share is derived; and

 

12


  (d) cancel any Shares that, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any Person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled.

 

48. The Company may by Special Resolution reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorised by law.

REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES

 

49. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law and these Articles, the Company may:

 

  (a) issue Shares that are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Shareholder or the Company. The redemption of Shares shall be effected in such manner and upon such terms as may be determined, before the issue of such Shares, by either the Board or by the Members by Special Resolution;

 

  (b) purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) in such manner and upon such terms as have been approved by the Board or by the Members by Ordinary Resolution, or are otherwise authorized by these Articles; and

 

  (c) make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner permitted by the Companies Law, including out of capital.

 

50. The purchase of any Share shall not oblige the Company to purchase any other Share other than as may be required pursuant to applicable law and any other contractual obligations of the Company.

 

51. The holder of the Shares being purchased shall be bound to deliver up to the Company the certificate(s) (if any) thereof for cancellation and thereupon the Company shall pay to him the purchase or redemption monies or consideration in respect thereof.

 

52. The Directors may accept the surrender for no consideration of any fully paid Share.

TREASURY SHARES

 

53. The Directors may, prior to the purchase, redemption or surrender of any Share, determine that such Share shall be held as a Treasury Share.

 

54. The Directors may determine to cancel a Treasury Share or transfer a Treasury Share on such terms as they think proper (including, without limitation, for nil consideration).

GENERAL MEETINGS

 

55. All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings.

 

56.    (a)            The Company may, but shall not (unless required by the Companies Law) be obliged to, in each year hold a general meeting as its annual general meeting and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. The annual general meeting shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by the Directors.

 

13


 

(b)    At these meetings the report of the Directors (if any) shall be presented.

57.    

(a)    The Directors (acting by a majority of the Directors on the Board) or the Chairman may call general meetings. In addition, the Directors shall, on a Members’ requisition, forthwith proceed to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company.

 

(b)    A Members’ requisition is a requisition of Members holding, at the date of deposit of the requisition, Shares which represent, in aggregate, not less than one-third of the votes attaching to all issued and outstanding Shares which, as at that date of the deposit, carry the right to vote at general meetings of the Company.

 

(c)    The requisition must state the objects of the meeting and must be signed by the requisitionists and deposited at the Registered Office, and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more requisitionists.

 

(d)    If the Directors do not within 21 days from the date of the deposit of the requisition duly proceed to convene a general meeting to be held within a further 21 days, the requisitionists, or any of them representing more than one-half of the total voting rights of all of them, may themselves convene a general meeting, but any meeting so convened shall not be held after the expiration of three months after the expiration of the said 21 days.

 

(e)    A general meeting convened as aforesaid by requisitionists shall be convened in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which general meetings are to be convened by Directors.

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS

 

58. At least 7 days’ notice shall be given for any general meeting. Every notice shall be exclusive of the day on which it is given or deemed to be given and of the day for which it is given and shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business and shall be given in the manner hereinafter mentioned or in such other manner if any as may be prescribed by the Company, provided that a general meeting of the Company shall, whether or not the notice specified in this Article has been given and whether or not the provisions of these Articles regarding general meetings have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if it is so agreed:

 

  (a) in the case of an annual general meeting by all the Shareholders (or their proxies) entitled to attend and vote thereat; and

 

  (b) in the case of an extraordinary general meeting by a majority in number of the Shareholders (or their proxies) having a right to attend and vote at the meeting, being a majority together holding not less than ninety five per cent in par value of the Shares giving that right.

 

59. The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any Shareholder shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting.

 

14


PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

 

60. No business except for the appointment of a chairman for the meeting shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of Members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. One or more Members holding shares which represent, in aggregate, not less than one-third of the votes attaching to all issued and outstanding Shares and entitled to vote, present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorised representative, shall be a quorum for all purposes.

 

61. If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of Shareholders, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week, at the same time and place, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting the Shareholder or Shareholders present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum.

 

62. If the Directors wish to make this facility available for a specific general meeting or all general meetings of the Company, participation in any general meeting of the Company may be by means of a telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting.

 

63. The Chairman, if any, of the Board of Directors shall preside as chairman at every general meeting of the Company.

 

64. If there is no such Chairman of the Board of Directors, or if at any general meeting he is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting or is unwilling to act as chairman, any Director or Person nominated by the Directors shall preside as chairman of that meeting, failing which the Shareholders present in person or by proxy shall choose any Person present to be chairman of that meeting.

 

65. The chairman may with the consent of any general meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting) adjourn a meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. When a meeting, or adjourned meeting, is adjourned for fourteen days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original meeting. Save as aforesaid it shall not be necessary to give any notice of an adjournment or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting.

 

66. The Directors may cancel or postpone any duly convened general meeting at any time prior to such meeting, except for general meetings requisitioned by the Shareholders in accordance with these Articles, for any reason or for no reason, upon notice in writing to Shareholders. A postponement may be for a stated period of any length or indefinitely as the Directors may determine.

 

67. At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands unless before, or on the declaration of the result of, the show of hands, the chairman demands a poll, or any other Member or Members collectively present in person or by proxy (or in the case of a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorised representative or proxy) and holding at least ten per cent. (10%) in par value of the issued shares carrying the right to attend and vote at the general meeting demand a poll.

 

68. Unless a poll is duly demanded and the demand is not withdrawn a declaration by the chairman that a resolution has been carried or carried unanimously, or by a particular majority, or lost or not carried by a particular majority, an entry to that effect in the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting shall be conclusive evidence of that fact without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of or against such resolution.

 

15


69. The demand for a poll may be withdrawn.

 

70. Except on a poll demanded on the election of a chairman or on a question of adjournment, a poll shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the general meeting at which the poll was demanded.

 

71. In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place or at which the poll is demanded, shall be entitled to a second or casting vote.

 

72. A poll demanded on the election of a chairman of the meeting or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith. A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken at such date, time and place as the chairman of the general meeting directs.

VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS

 

73. Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Share, on a show of hands every Shareholder present in person and every Person representing a Shareholder by proxy shall, at a general meeting of the Company, each have one vote and on a poll every Shareholder and every Person representing a Shareholder shall have one vote for each Share of which such Shareholder or the Person represented by proxy is the holder.

 

74. In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior who tenders a vote whether in person or by proxy shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the Register.

 

75. A Shareholder of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction in lunacy, may vote in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, or other Person in the nature of a committee appointed by that court, and any such committee or other Person, may vote in respect of such Shares by proxy.

 

76. No Shareholder shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting of the Company unless all calls, if any, or other sums presently payable by him in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him have been paid.

 

77. Votes may be given either personally or by proxy.

 

78. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the appointor is a corporation, either under Seal or under the hand of an officer or attorney duly authorised. A proxy need not be a Shareholder.

 

79. An instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve.

 

16


80. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited at the Registered Office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting or in any instrument of proxy sent out by the Company:

 

  (a) not less than 48 hours before the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the person named in the instrument proposes to vote; or

 

  (b) in the case of a poll taken more than 48 hours after the meeting, be deposited as aforesaid not less than 24 hours before the time appointed for the taking of the poll; or

 

  (c) where the poll is not taken forthwith but is taken not more than 48 hours after the meeting, be delivered at the meeting to the chairman or to the secretary or to any Director;

 

     provided that the Directors may in the notice convening the meeting, or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, direct that the instrument appointing a proxy may be deposited (no later than the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting) at the registered office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting, or in any instrument of proxy sent out by the Company. The Chairman may in any event at his discretion direct that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed to have been duly deposited. An instrument of proxy that is not deposited in the manner permitted shall be invalid.

 

81. [intentionally left blank]

 

82. A resolution in writing signed by all the Shareholders for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings of the Company (or being corporations by their duly authorised representatives) shall be as valid and effective as if the same had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held.

CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS

 

83. Any corporation which is a Shareholder or a Director may by resolution of its directors or other governing body authorise such Person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any meeting of holders of a Class or of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, and the Person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he represents as that corporation could exercise if it were an individual Shareholder or Director.

DEPOSITARY AND CLEARING HOUSES

 

84. If a recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)) is a Member of the Company it may, by resolution of its directors or other governing body or by power of attorney, authorise such Person(s) as it thinks fit to act as its representative(s) at any general meeting of the Company or of any Class of Shareholders of the Company provided that, if more than one Person is so authorised, the authorisation shall specify the number and Class of Shares in respect of which each such Person is so authorised. A Person so authorised pursuant to this Article shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)) which he represents as that recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)) could exercise if it were an individual Member holding the number and Class of Shares specified in such authorisation.

 

17


DIRECTORS

 

85.    

(a)    Unless otherwise determined by the Company in general meeting, the number of Directors shall not be less than three (3), and there shall be no maximum number of Directors. For so long as Shares or ADSs are listed on the Designated Stock Exchange, the Directors shall include such number of Independent Directors as applicable law, rules or regulations or the Designated Stock Exchange Rules require, unless the Board resolves to follow any available exceptions or exemptions.

 

  (b) Each Director shall hold office until the expiration of his term as provided in the written agreement relating to the Director’s term, if any, and until his successor shall have been elected or appointed.

 

  (c) The Board of Directors shall have a Chairman elected and appointed by a majority of the Directors then in office. The period for which the Chairman will hold office will also be determined by a majority of all of the Directors then in office. The Chairman shall preside as chairman at every meeting of the Board of Directors. To the extent the Chairman is not present at a meeting of the Board of Directors within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the same, the attending Directors may choose one of their number to be the chairman of the meeting.

 

  (d) The Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any person to be a Director either to fill a casual vacancy or as an addition to the existing Board.

 

  (e) The Board may appoint any person to be a Director either to fill a casual vacancy or as an addition to the existing Board.

 

86. A Director may be removed from office by Ordinary Resolution, notwithstanding anything in these Articles or in any agreement between the Company and such Director (but without prejudice to any claim for damages under such agreement).

 

87. The Board may, from time to time, and except as required by applicable law or the listing rules of the Designated Stock Exchange, adopt, institute, amend, modify or revoke the corporate governance policies or initiatives, which shall be intended to set forth the policies of the Company and the Board on various corporate governance related matters as the Board shall determine by resolution from time to time.

 

88. A Director shall not be required to hold any Shares in the Company by way of qualification. A Director who is not a Member of the Company shall nevertheless be entitled to attend and speak at general meetings.

 

89. The remuneration of the Directors may be determined by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution.

 

90. The Directors shall be entitled to be paid their travelling, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by them in going to, attending and returning from meetings of the Directors, or any committee of the Directors, or general meetings of the Company, or otherwise in connection with the business of the Company, or to receive such fixed allowance in respect thereof as may be determined by the Directors from time to time, or a combination partly of one such method and partly the other.

 

18


ALTERNATE DIRECTOR OR PROXY

 

91. Any Director may in writing appoint another Person to be his alternate and, save to the extent provided otherwise in the form of appointment, such alternate shall have authority to sign written resolutions on behalf of the appointing Director, but shall not be required to sign such written resolutions where they have been signed by the appointing director, and to act in such Director’s place at any meeting of the Directors at which the appointing Director is unable to be present. Every such alternate shall be entitled to attend and vote at meetings of the Directors as a Director when the Director appointing him is not personally present and where he is a Director to have a separate vote on behalf of the Director he is representing in addition to his own vote. A Director may at any time in writing revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. Such alternate shall be deemed for all purposes to be a Director of the Company and shall not be deemed to be the agent of the Director appointing him. The remuneration of such alternate shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing him and the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them.

 

92. Any Director may appoint any Person, whether or not a Director, to be the proxy of that Director to attend and vote on his behalf, in accordance with instructions given by that Director, or in the absence of such instructions at the discretion of the proxy, at a meeting or meetings of the Directors which that Director is unable to attend personally. The instrument appointing the proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointing Director and shall be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve, and must be lodged with the chairman of the meeting of the Directors at which such proxy is to be used, or first used, prior to the commencement of the meeting.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

 

93. Subject to the Companies Law, these Articles and to any resolutions passed in a general meeting, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors, who may pay all expenses incurred in setting up and registering the Company and may exercise all powers of the Company. No resolution passed by the Company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors that would have been valid if that resolution had not been passed.

 

94. Subject to these Articles, the Directors may from time to time appoint any natural person or corporation, whether or not a Director to hold such office in the Company as the Directors may think necessary for the administration of the Company, including but not limited to, the office of chief executive officer, one or more other executive officers, vice-presidents, treasurer, assistant treasurer, manager or controller, and for such term and at such remuneration (whether by way of salary or commission or participation in profits or partly in one way and partly in another), and with such powers and duties as the Directors may think fit. Any natural person or corporation so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors. The Directors may also appoint one or more of their number to the office of managing director upon like terms, but any such appointment shall ipso facto terminate if any managing director ceases for any cause to be a Director, or if the Company by Ordinary Resolution resolves that his tenure of office be terminated.

 

95. The Directors may appoint any natural person or corporation to be a Secretary (and if need be an assistant Secretary or assistant Secretaries) who shall hold office for such term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions and with such powers as they think fit. Any Secretary or assistant Secretary so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution.

 

19


96. The Directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Directors.

 

97. The Directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney (whether under Seal or under hand) or otherwise appoint any company, firm or Person or body of Persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys or authorised signatory (any such person being an “ Attorney ” or “ Authorised Signatory ”, respectively) of the Company for such purposes and with such powers, authorities and discretion (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under these Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such power of attorney or other appointment may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of Persons dealing with any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory as the Directors may think fit, and may also authorise any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretion vested in him.

 

98. The Directors may from time to time provide for the management of the affairs of the Company in such manner as they shall think fit and the provisions contained in the three next following Articles shall not limit the general powers conferred by this Article.

 

99. The Directors from time to time and at any time may establish any committees, local boards or agencies for managing any of the affairs of the Company and may appoint any natural person or corporation to be a member of such committees or local boards and may appoint any managers or agents of the Company and may fix the remuneration of any such natural person or corporation.

 

100. The Directors from time to time and at any time may delegate to any such committee, local board, manager or agent any of the powers, authorities and discretions for the time being vested in the Directors and may authorise the members for the time being of any such local board, or any of them to fill any vacancies therein and to act notwithstanding vacancies and any such appointment or delegation may be made on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Directors may think fit and the Directors may at any time remove any natural person or corporation so appointed and may annul or vary any such delegation, but no Person dealing in good faith and without notice of any such annulment or variation shall be affected thereby.

 

101. Any such delegates as aforesaid may be authorised by the Directors to sub-delegate all or any of the powers, authorities, and discretion for the time being vested in them.

BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS

 

102. The Directors may from time to time at their discretion exercise all the powers of the Company to raise or borrow money and to mortgage or charge all or any part of its undertaking, property and assets and uncalled capital, and to issue debentures and other securities of the Company, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party.

THE SEAL

 

103. The Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of the Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of the Seal. The Seal shall be affixed in the presence of a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose and every Person as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the Seal is so affixed in their presence.

 

20


104. The Company may maintain a facsimile of the Seal in such countries or places as the Directors may appoint and such facsimile Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of such facsimile Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of such facsimile Seal. The facsimile Seal shall be affixed in the presence of such Person or Persons as the Directors shall for this purpose appoint and such Person or Persons as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the facsimile Seal is so affixed in their presence and such affixing of the facsimile Seal and signing as aforesaid shall have the same meaning and effect as if the Seal had been affixed in the presence of and the instrument signed by a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose.

 

105. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Secretary or any assistant Secretary shall have the authority to affix the Seal, or the facsimile Seal, to any instrument for the purposes of attesting authenticity of the matter contained therein but which does not create any obligation binding on the Company.

DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

 

106. The office of Director shall be vacated, if the Director:

 

  (a) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors;

 

  (b) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind;

 

  (c) resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company;

 

  (d) without special leave of absence from the Board, is absent from meetings of the Board for three consecutive meetings and the Board resolves that his office be vacated; or

 

  (e) is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of these Articles.

PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS

 

107. The Directors may meet together (either within or outside the Cayman Islands) for the despatch of business, adjourn, and otherwise regulate their meetings and proceedings as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. At any meeting of the Directors, each Director present in person or represented by his proxy or alternate shall be entitled to one vote. In case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote. A Director may, and a Secretary or assistant Secretary on the requisition of a Director shall, at any time summon a meeting of the Directors.

 

108. A Director may participate in any meeting of the Directors, or of any committee appointed by the Directors of which such Director is a member, by means of telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting.

 

21


109. The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors, and unless so fixed, the quorum shall be a majority of Directors then in office. A Director represented by proxy or by an alternate Director at any meeting shall be deemed to be present for the purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present.

 

110. A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract, arrangement or transaction (or proposed contract, arrangement or transaction) with the Company shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Directors by any Director to the effect that he is a member of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract, arrangement or transaction which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract, arrangement or transaction so made or consummated. A Director may vote in respect of any contract, arrangement or transaction (or any proposed contract, arrangement or transaction) notwithstanding that he may be interested therein and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the Directors at which any such contract, arrangement or transaction (or proposed contract, arrangement or transaction) shall come before the meeting for consideration.

 

111. A Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms (as to remuneration and otherwise) as the Directors may determine and no Director or intending Director shall be disqualified by his office from contracting with the Company either with regard to his tenure of any such other office or place of profit or as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract, arrangement or transaction entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director is in any way interested, be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by any such contract, arrangement or transaction by reason of such Director holding that office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established. A Director, notwithstanding his interest, may be counted in the quorum present at any meeting of the Directors whereat he or any other Director is appointed to hold any such office or place of profit under the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged and he may vote on any such appointment or arrangement.

 

112. Any Director may act by himself or through his firm in a professional capacity for the Company, and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he were not a Director; provided that nothing herein contained shall authorise a Director or his firm to act as auditor to the Company.

 

113. The Directors shall cause minutes to be made for the purpose of recording:

 

  (a) all appointments of officers made by the Directors;

 

  (b) the names of the Directors present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; and

 

  (c) all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of the Company, and of the Directors and of committees of Directors.

 

114. When the Chairman of a meeting of the Directors signs the minutes of such meeting the same shall be deemed to have been duly held notwithstanding that all the Directors have not actually come together or that there may have been a technical defect in the proceedings.

 

22


115. A resolution in writing signed by all the Directors or all the members of a committee of Directors entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be (an alternate Director, subject as provided otherwise in the terms of appointment of the alternate Director, being entitled to sign such a resolution on behalf of his appointer), shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a duly called and constituted meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be. When signed a resolution may consist of several documents each signed by one or more of the Directors or his duly appointed alternate.

 

116. The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body but if and for so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to these Articles as the necessary quorum of Directors, the continuing Directors may act for the purpose of increasing the number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose.

 

117. Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, a committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the committee members present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

 

118. A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper. Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present and in case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

 

119. All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, or by any Person acting as a Director, shall notwithstanding that it be afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any such Director or Person acting as aforesaid, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such Person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a Director.

PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT

 

120. A Director of the Company who is present at a meeting of the Board of Directors at which an action on any Company matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the action taken unless his dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he shall file his written dissent from such action with the person acting as the chairman or secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered post to such person immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to a Director who voted in favour of such action.

DIVIDENDS

 

121. Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, the Directors may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and other distributions on Shares in issue and authorise payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor.

 

122. Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, the Company by Ordinary Resolution may declare dividends, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Directors.

 

23


123. The Directors may, before recommending or declaring any dividend, set aside out of the funds legally available for distribution such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, in the absolute discretion of the Directors be applicable for meeting contingencies, or for equalising dividends or for any other purpose to which those funds may be properly applied and pending such application may in the absolute discretion of the Directors, either be employed in the business of the Company or be invested in such investments (other than Shares of the Company) as the Directors may from time to time think fit.

 

124. Any dividend payable in cash to the holder of Shares may be paid in any manner determined by the Directors. If paid by cheque it will be sent by mail addressed to the holder at his address in the Register, or addressed to such person and at such addresses as the holder may direct. Every such cheque or warrant shall, unless the holder or joint holders otherwise direct, be made payable to the order of the holder or, in the case of joint holders, to the order of the holder whose name stands first on the Register in respect of such Shares, and shall be sent at his or their risk and payment of the cheque or warrant by the bank on which it is drawn shall constitute a good discharge to the Company.

 

125. The Directors may determine that a dividend shall be paid wholly or partly by the distribution of specific assets (which may consist of the shares or securities of any other company) and may settle all questions concerning such distribution. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Directors may fix the value of such specific assets, may determine that cash payment shall be made to some Shareholders in lieu of specific assets and may vest any such specific assets in trustees on such terms as the Directors think fit.

 

126. Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid up on the Shares, but if and for so long as nothing is paid up on any of the Shares dividends may be declared and paid according to the par value of the Shares. No amount paid on a Share in advance of calls shall, while carrying interest, be treated for the purposes of this Article as paid on the Share.

 

127. If several Persons are registered as joint holders of any Share, any of them may give effective receipts for any dividend or other moneys payable on or in respect of the Share.

 

128. No dividend shall bear interest against the Company.

 

129. Any dividend unclaimed after a period of six years from the date of declaration of such dividend may be forfeited by the Board of Directors and, if so forfeited, shall revert to the Company.

ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION

 

130. The books of account relating to the Company’s affairs shall be kept in such manner as may be determined from time to time by the Directors.

 

131. The books of account shall be kept at the Registered Office, or at such other place or places as the Directors think fit, and shall always be open to the inspection of the Directors.

 

132. The Directors may from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Shareholders not being Directors, and no Shareholder (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by law or authorised by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution.

 

24


133. The accounts relating to the Company’s affairs shall be audited in such manner and with such financial year end as may be determined from time to time by the Directors or failing any determination as aforesaid shall not be audited.

 

134. The Directors may appoint an auditor of the Company who shall hold office until removed from office by a resolution of the Directors and may fix his or their remuneration.

 

135. Every auditor of the Company shall have a right of access at all times to the books and accounts and vouchers of the Company and shall be entitled to require from the Directors and officers of the Company such information and explanation as may be necessary for the performance of the duties of the auditors.

 

136. The auditors shall, if so required by the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company during their tenure of office at the next annual general meeting following their appointment, and at any time during their term of office, upon request of the Directors or any general meeting of the Members.

 

137. The Directors in each year shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an annual return and declaration setting forth the particulars required by the Companies Law and deliver a copy thereof to the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands.

CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES

 

138. Subject to the Companies Law, the Directors may:

 

  (a) resolve to capitalise an amount standing to the credit of reserves (including the Share Premium Account, capital redemption reserve and profit and loss account), whether or not available for distribution;

 

  (b) appropriate the sum resolved to be capitalised to the Shareholders in proportion to the nominal amount of Shares (whether or not fully paid) held by them respectively and apply that sum on their behalf in or towards:

 

  (i) paying up the amounts (if any) for the time being unpaid on Shares held by them respectively, or

 

  (ii) paying up in full unissued Shares or debentures of a nominal amount equal to that sum,

 

       and allot the Shares or debentures, credited as fully paid, to the Shareholders (or as they may direct) in those proportions, or partly in one way and partly in the other, but the Share Premium Account, the capital redemption reserve and profits which are not available for distribution may, for the purposes of this Article, only be applied in paying up unissued Shares to be allotted to Shareholders credited as fully paid;

 

  (c) make any arrangements they think fit to resolve a difficulty arising in the distribution of a capitalised reserve and in particular, without limitation, where Shares or debentures become distributable in fractions the Directors may deal with the fractions as they think fit;

 

  (d) authorise a Person to enter (on behalf of all the Shareholders concerned) into an agreement with the Company providing for either:

 

25


  (i) the allotment to the Shareholders respectively, credited as fully paid, of Shares or debentures to which they may be entitled on the capitalisation, or

 

  (ii) the payment by the Company on behalf of the Shareholders (by the application of their respective proportions of the reserves resolved to be capitalised) of the amounts or part of the amounts remaining unpaid on their existing Shares,

 

       and any such agreement made under this authority being effective and binding on all those Shareholders; and

 

  (e) generally do all acts and things required to give effect to the resolution.

 

139. Notwithstanding any provisions in these Articles, the Directors may resolve to capitalise an amount standing to the credit of reserves (including the Share Premium Account, capital redemption reserve and profit and loss account) or otherwise available for distribution by applying such sum in paying up in full unissued shares of the Company to be allotted and issued to:

 

  (a) employees (including Directors) or service providers of the Company or its Affiliates upon exercise or vesting of any options or awards granted under any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme or other arrangement which relates to such persons that has been adopted or approved by the Directors or the Members;

 

  (b) any trustee of any trust or administrator of any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme to whom shares are to be allotted and issued by the Company in connection with the operation of any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme or other arrangement which relates to such persons that has been adopted or approved by the Directors or Members; or

 

  (c) any depositary of the Company for the purposes of the issue, allotment and delivery by the depositary of ADSs to employees (including Directors) or service providers of the Company or its Affiliates upon exercise or vesting of any options or awards granted under any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme or other arrangement which relates to such persons that has been adopted or approved by the Directors or the Members.

SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT

 

140. The Directors shall in accordance with the Companies Law establish a Share Premium Account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share.

 

141. There shall be debited to any Share Premium Account on the redemption or purchase of a Share the difference between the nominal value of such Share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the discretion of the Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by the Companies Law, out of capital.

NOTICES

 

142. Except as otherwise provided in these Articles, any notice or document may be served by the Company or by the Person entitled to give notice to any Shareholder either personally, or by posting it by airmail or air courier service in a prepaid letter addressed to such Shareholder at his address as appearing in the Register, or by electronic mail to any electronic mail address such Shareholder may have specified in writing for the purpose of such service of notices, or by facsimile or by placing it on the Company’s Website should the Directors deem it appropriate. In the case of joint holders of a Share, all notices shall be given to that one of the joint holders whose name stands first in the Register in respect of the joint holding, and notice so given shall be sufficient notice to all the joint holders.

 

26


143. Notices posted to addresses outside the Cayman Islands shall be forwarded by prepaid airmail.

 

144. Any Shareholder present, either personally or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have received due notice of such meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which such meeting was convened.

 

145. Any notice or other document, if served by:

 

  (a) post, shall be deemed to have been served five days after the time when the letter containing the same is posted;

 

  (b) facsimile, shall be deemed to have been served upon production by the transmitting facsimile machine of a report confirming transmission of the facsimile in full to the facsimile number of the recipient;

 

  (c) recognised courier service, shall be deemed to have been served 48 hours after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier service; or

 

  (d) electronic mail, shall be deemed to have been served immediately upon the time of the transmission by electronic mail.

 

     In proving service by post or courier service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice or documents was properly addressed and duly posted or delivered to the courier service.

 

146. Any notice or document delivered or sent by post to or left at the registered address of any Shareholder in accordance with the terms of these Articles shall notwithstanding that such Shareholder be then dead or bankrupt, and whether or not the Company has notice of his death or bankruptcy, be deemed to have been duly served in respect of any Share registered in the name of such Shareholder as sole or joint holder, unless his name shall at the time of the service of the notice or document, have been removed from the Register as the holder of the Share, and such service shall for all purposes be deemed a sufficient service of such notice or document on all Persons interested (whether jointly with or as claiming through or under him) in the Share.

 

147. Notice of every general meeting of the Company shall be given to:

 

  (a) all Shareholders holding Shares with the right to receive notice and who have supplied to the Company an address for the giving of notices to them; and

 

  (b) every Person entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder, who but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting.

 

     No other Person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.

 

27


INFORMATION

 

148. No Member shall be entitled to require discovery of any information in respect of any detail of the Company’s trading or any information which is or may be in the nature of a trade secret or secret process which may relate to the conduct of the business of the Company and which in the opinion of the Board would not be in the interests of the Members of the Company to communicate to the public.

 

149. The Board shall be entitled to release or disclose any information in its possession, custody or control regarding the Company or its affairs to any of its Members including, without limitation, information contained in the Register and transfer books of the Company.

INDEMNITY

 

150. Every Director (including for the purposes of this Article any alternate Director appointed pursuant to the provisions of these Articles), Secretary, assistant Secretary, or other officer for the time being and from time to time of the Company (but not including the Company’s auditors) and the personal representatives of the same (each an “ Indemnified Person ”) shall be indemnified and secured harmless against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such Indemnified Person, other than by reason of such Indemnified Person’s own dishonesty, wilful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of the Company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such Indemnified Person in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning the Company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.

 

151. No Indemnified Person shall be liable:

 

  (a) for the acts, receipts, neglects, defaults or omissions of any other Director or officer or agent of the Company; or

 

  (b) for any loss on account of defect of title to any property of the Company; or

 

  (c) on account of the insufficiency of any security in or upon which any money of the Company shall be invested; or

 

  (d) for any loss incurred through any bank, broker or other similar Person; or

 

  (e) for any loss occasioned by any negligence, default, breach of duty, breach of trust, error of judgement or oversight on such Indemnified Person’s part; or

 

  (f) for any loss, damage or misfortune whatsoever which may happen in or arise from the execution or discharge of the duties, powers, authorities, or discretions of such Indemnified Person’s office or in relation thereto;

 

     unless the same shall happen through such Indemnified Person’s own dishonesty, wilful default or fraud.

 

28


FINANCIAL YEAR

 

152. Unless the Directors otherwise prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on December 31st in each year and shall begin on January 1st in each year.

NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS

 

153. No Person shall be recognised by the Company as holding any Share upon any trust and the Company shall not, unless required by law, be bound by or be compelled in any way to recognise (even when having notice thereof) any equitable, contingent, future or partial interest in any Share or (except only as otherwise provided by these Articles or as the Companies Law requires) any other right in respect of any Share except an absolute right to the entirety thereof in each Shareholder registered in the Register.

WINDING UP

 

154. If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, with the sanction of a Special Resolution of the Company and any other sanction required by the Companies Law, divide amongst the Members in species or in kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether they shall consist of property of the same kind or not) and may for that purpose value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the Members or different classes of Members. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the Members as the liquidator, with the like sanction, shall think fit, but so that no Member shall be compelled to accept any asset upon which there is a liability.

 

155. If the Company shall be wound up, and the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be insufficient to repay the whole of the share capital, such assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be borne by the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them. If in a winding up the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up subject to a deduction from those Shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to the Company for unpaid calls or otherwise. This Article is without prejudice to the rights of the holders of Shares issued upon special terms and conditions.

AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

 

156. Subject to the Companies Law, the Company may at any time and from time to time by Special Resolution alter or amend the Memorandum or these Articles in whole or in part.

CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE

 

157. For the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at any meeting of Shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination as to who is a Shareholder for any other purpose, the Directors may provide that the Register shall be closed for transfers for a stated period which shall not exceed in any case 40 days. If the Register shall be so closed for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders the Register shall be so closed for at least ten days immediately preceding such meeting and the record date for such determination shall be the date of the closure of the Register.

 

29


158. In lieu of or apart from closing the Register, the Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of the Shareholders and for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend the Directors may, at or within 90 days prior to the date of declaration of such dividend, fix a subsequent date as the record date for such determination.

 

159. If the Register is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of those Shareholders entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is posted or the date on which the resolution of the Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Shareholders. When a determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders has been made as provided in this Article, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof.

REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION

 

160. The Company may by Special Resolution resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing. In furtherance of a resolution adopted pursuant to this Article, the Directors may cause an application to be made to the Registrar of Companies to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing and may cause all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company.

DISCLOSURE

 

161. The Directors, or any service providers (including the officers, the Secretary and the registered office agent of the Company) specifically authorised by the Directors, shall be entitled to disclose to any regulatory or judicial authority any information regarding the affairs of the Company including without limitation information contained in the Register and books of the Company.

 

30

Exhibit 5.1

 

Our ref    RDS/700887-000001/8173106v3
Direct tel    +852 2971 3046
Email    richard.spooner@maplesandcalder.com

Yirendai Ltd.

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

People’s Republic of China

16 November 2015

Dear Sirs

Yirendai Ltd.

We have acted as Cayman Islands legal advisers to Yirendai Ltd. (the “ Company ”) in connection with the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the “ Registration Statement ”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended to date relating to the offering by the Company of certain American Depositary Shares (the “ ADSs ”) representing the Company’s ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 each (the “ Shares ”).

We are furnishing this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement.

 

1 Documents Reviewed

For the purposes of this opinion, we have reviewed only originals, copies or final drafts of the following documents and such other documents as we have deemed necessary in order to render the opinions below:

 

1.1 The certificate of incorporation of the Company dated 24 September 2014 issued by the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands.

 

1.2 The memorandum and articles of association of the Company as registered on 24 September 2014 and amended by special resolution dated 5 January 2015 (the “ Pre-IPO M&A ”).

 

1.3 The amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company as adopted by a special resolution passed on 7 November 2015 and effective immediately prior to the completion of the Company’s initial public offering of the ADSs representing the Shares (the “ IPO M&A ”).

 

1.4 The written resolutions of the directors of the Company dated 7 November 2015 (the “ Directors’ Resolutions ”).

 

1.5 The written resolutions of the sole shareholder of the Company dated 7 November 2015 (the “ Shareholder’s Resolutions ”).


1.6 A certificate from a Director of the Company addressed to this firm dated 16 November 2015, a copy of which is attached hereto (the “ Director’s Certificate ”).

 

1.7 A certificate of good standing dated 6 November 2015, issued by the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands (the “ Certificate of Good Standing ”).

 

1.8 The Registration Statement.

 

2 Assumptions

The following opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving these opinions we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy of the Director’s Certificate and the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:

 

2.1 Copy documents or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals.

 

2.2 The genuineness of all signatures and seals.

 

2.3 There is nothing contained in the minute book or corporate records of the Company (which we have not inspected) which would or might affect the opinions set out below.

 

2.4 There is nothing under any law (other than the law of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out below.

 

3 Opinion

Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set out below and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:

 

3.1 The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

 

3.2 The authorised share capital of the Company, with effect immediately upon the completion of the Company’s initial public offering of the ADSs representing the Shares, will be US$50,000.00 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each.

 

3.3 The issue and allotment of the Shares have been duly authorised and when allotted, issued and paid for as contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Shares will be legally issued and allotted, fully paid and non-assessable. As a matter of Cayman law, a share is only issued when it has been entered in the register of members (shareholders).

 

3.4 The statements under the caption “Taxation” in the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement, to the extent that they constitute statements of Cayman Islands law, are accurate in all material respects and that such statements constitute our opinion.

 

2


4 Qualifications

Except as specifically stated herein, we make no comment with respect to any representations and warranties which may be made by or with respect to the Company in any of the documents or instruments cited in this opinion or otherwise with respect to the commercial terms of the transactions the subject of this opinion.

In this opinion the phrase “non-assessable” means, with respect to Shares in the Company, that a shareholder shall not, solely by virtue of its status as a shareholder, be liable for additional assessments or calls on the Shares by the Company or its creditors (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our name under the headings “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities”, “Taxation” and “Legal Matters” and elsewhere in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.

Yours faithfully

 

/s/ Maples and Calder

Encl

 

3

Exhibit 10.1

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

This EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (the “ Agreement” ) is entered into as of                     , 2015 by and between Yirendai Ltd., an exempted company incorporated and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”) and                     , an individual (the “ Executive ”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Company desires to employ the Executive and to assure itself of the services of the Executive during the term of Employment (as defined below) and under the terms and conditions of the Agreement;

WHEREAS, the Executive desires to be employed by the Company during the term of Employment and under the terms and conditions of the Agreement;

AGREEMENT

NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the Company and the Executive agree as follows:

 

1. EMPLOYMENT

The Company hereby agrees to employ the Executive and the Executive hereby accepts such employment, on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth (the “ Employment ”).

 

2. TERM

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, the initial term of the Employment shall be      years, commencing on                     , 2015 (the “ Effective Date ”) and ending on                     ,          (the “ Initial Term ”), unless terminated earlier pursuant to the terms of the Agreement. Upon expiration of the Initial Term of the Employment, the Employment shall be automatically extended for successive periods of      months each (each, an “ Extension Period ”) unless either party shall have given 60 days advance written notice to the other party, in the manner set forth in Section 19 below, prior to the end of the Extension Period in question, that the term of this Agreement that is in effect at the time such written notice is given is not to be extended or further extended, as the case may be (the period during which this Agreement is effective being referred to hereafter as the “ Term ”).

 

3. POSITION AND DUTIES

 

  (a) During the Term, the Executive shall serve as                      of the Company or in such other position or positions with a level of duties and responsibilities consistent with the foregoing with the Company and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates as the Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) may specify from time to time and shall have the duties, responsibilities and obligations customarily assigned to individuals serving in the position or positions in which the Executive serves hereunder and as assigned by the Board, or with the Board’s authorization, by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.


  (b) The Executive agrees to serve without additional compensation, if elected or appointed thereto, as a director of the Company or any subsidiaries or affiliated entity of the Company (collectively, the “ Group ”) and as a member of any committees of the board of directors of any such entity, provided that the Executive is indemnified for serving in any and all such capacities on a basis no less favorable than is currently provided to any other director of any member of the Group.

 

  (c) The Executive agrees to devote all of his/her working time and efforts to the performance of his/her duties for the Company and to faithfully and diligently serve the Company in accordance with the Agreement and the guidelines, policies and procedures of the Company approved from time to time by the Board.

 

4. NO BREACH OF CONTRACT

The Executive hereby represents to the Company that: (i) the execution and delivery of the Agreement by the Executive and the performance by the Executive of the Executive’s duties hereunder shall not constitute a breach of, or otherwise contravene, the terms of any other agreement or policy to which the Executive is a party or by which the Executive is otherwise bound, except that the Executive does not make any representation with respect to agreements required to be entered into by and between the Executive and any member of the Group pursuant to the applicable law of the jurisdiction in which the Executive is based, if any; (ii) that the Executive is not in possession of any information (including, without limitation, confidential information and trade secrets) the knowledge of which would prevent the Executive from freely entering into the Agreement and carrying out his/her duties hereunder; and (iii) that the Executive is not bound by any confidentiality, trade secret or similar agreement with any person or entity other than any member of the Group.

 

5. LOCATION

 

  The Executive will be based in                     ,          or any other location as requested by the Company during the Term.

 

6. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

 

  (a) Cash Compensation . As compensation for the performance by the Executive of his/her obligations hereunder, during the Term, the Company shall pay the Executive cash compensation (inclusive of the statutory benefit contributions that the Company is required to set aside for the Executive under applicable law) pursuant to Schedule A hereto, subject to annual review and adjustment by the Board or any committee designated by the Board.

 

2


  (b) Equity Incentives . During the Term, the Executive shall be eligible to participate, at a level comparable to similarly situated executives of the Company, in such long-term compensation arrangements as may be authorized from time to time by the Board, including any share incentive plan the Company may adopt from time to time in its sole discretion.

 

  (c) Benefits . During the Term, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in all of the employee benefit plans and arrangements made available by the Company to its similarly situated executives, including, but not limited to, any retirement plan, medical insurance plan and travel/holiday policy, subject to and on a basis consistent with the terms, conditions and overall administration of such plans and arrangements.

 

7. TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT

The Employment may be terminated as follows:

 

  (a) Death . The Employment shall terminate upon the Executive’s death.

 

  (b) Disability . The Employment shall terminate if the Executive has a disability, including any physical or mental impairment which, as reasonably determined by the Board, renders the Executive unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position at the Company, even with reasonable accommodation that does not impose an undue burden on the Company, for more than 180 days in any 12-month period, unless a longer period is required by applicable law, in which case that longer period shall apply.

 

  (c) Cause . The Company may terminate the Executive’s employment hereunder for Cause. The occurrence of any of the following, as reasonably determined by the Company, shall be a reason for Cause, provided that, if the Company determines that the circumstances constituting Cause are curable, then such circumstances shall not constitute Cause unless and until the Executive has been informed by the Company of the existence of Cause and given an opportunity of ten business days to cure, and such Cause remains uncured at the end of such ten-day period:

 

  (1) continued failure by the Executive to satisfactorily perform his/her duties;

 

  (2) willful misconduct or gross negligence by the Executive in the performance of his/her duties hereunder, including insubordination;

 

  (3) the Executive’s conviction or entry of a guilty or nolo contendere plea of any felony or any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;

 

  (4) the Executive’s commission of any act involving dishonesty that results in material financial, reputational or other harm, monetary or otherwise, to any member of the Group, including but not limited to an act constituting misappropriation or embezzlement of the property of any member of the Group as determined in good faith by the Board; or

 

  (5) any material breach by the Executive of this Agreement.

 

3


  (d) Good Reason . The Executive may terminate his/her employment hereunder for “Good Reason” upon the occurrence, without the written consent of the Executive, of an event constituting a material breach of this Agreement by the Company that has not been fully cured within ten business days after written notice thereof has been given by the Executive to the Company setting forth in sufficient detail the conduct or activities the Executive believes constitute grounds for Good Reason, including but not limited to:

 

  (1) the failure by the Company to pay to the Executive any portion of the Executive’s current compensation or to pay to the Executive any portion of an installment of deferred compensation under any deferred compensation program of the Company, within 20 business days of the date such compensation is due; or

 

  (2) any material breach by the Company of this Agreement.

 

  (e) Without Cause by the Company; Without Good Reason by the Executive . The Company may terminate the Executive’s employment hereunder at any time without Cause upon 60-day prior written notice to the Executive. The Executive may terminate the Executive’s employment voluntarily for any reason or no reason at any time by giving 60-day prior written notice to the Company.

 

  (f) Notice of Termination. Any termination of the Executive’s employment under the Agreement shall be communicated by written notice of termination (“ Notice of Termination ”) from the terminating party to the other party. The notice of termination shall indicate the specific provision(s) of the Agreement relied upon in effecting the termination.

 

  (g) Date of Termination . The “ Date of Termination ” shall mean (i) the date set forth in the Notice of Termination, or (ii) if the Executive’s employment is terminated by the Executive’s death, the date of his/her death.

 

  (h) Compensation upon Termination .

 

  (1) Death . If the Executive’s employment is terminated by reason of the Executive’s death, the Company shall have no further obligations to the Executive under this Agreement and the Executive’s benefits shall be determined under the Company’s retirement, insurance and other benefit and compensation plans or programs then in effect in accordance with the terms of such plans and programs.

 

4


  (2) By Company without Cause or by the Executive for Good Reason . If the Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company other than for Cause or by the Executive for Good Reason, the Company shall (i) continue to pay and otherwise provide to the Executive, during any notice period, all compensation, base salary and previously earned but unpaid incentive compensation, if any, and shall continue to allow the Executive to participate in any benefit plans in accordance with the terms of such plans during such notice period; and (ii) pay to the Executive, in lieu of benefits under any severance plan or policy of the Company, any such amount as may be agreed between the Company and the Executive.

 

  (3) By Company for Cause or by the Executive other than for Good Reason . If the Executive’s employment shall be terminated by the Company for Cause or by the Executive other than for Good Reason, the Company shall pay the Executive his/her base salary at the rate in effect at the time Notice of Termination is given through the Date of Termination, and the Company shall have no additional obligations to the Executive under this Agreement.

 

  (i) Return of Company Property . The Executive agrees that following the termination of the Executive’s employment for any reason, or at any time prior to the Executive’s termination upon the request of the Company, he/she shall return all property of the Group that is then in or thereafter comes into his/her possession, including, but not limited to, any Confidential Information (as defined below) or Intellectual Property (as defined below), or any other documents, contracts, agreements, plans, photographs, projections, books, notes, records, electronically stored data and all copies, excerpts or summaries of the foregoing, as well as any automobile or other materials or equipment supplied by the Group to the Executive, if any.

 

  (j) Requirement for a Release . Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company’s obligations to pay or provide any benefits shall (1) cease as of the date the Executive breaches any of the provisions of Sections 8, 9 and 11 hereof, and (2) be conditioned on the Executive signing the Company’s customary release of claims in favor of the Group and the expiration of any revocation period provided for in such release.

 

5


8. CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE

 

  (a) Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure.

 

  (1) The Executive acknowledges and agrees that: (A) the Executive holds a position of trust and confidence with the Company and that his/her employment by the Company will require that the Executive have access to and knowledge of valuable and sensitive information, material, and devices relating to the Company and/or its business, activities, products, services, customers and vendors, including, but not limited to, the following, regardless of the form in which the same is accessed, maintained or stored: the identity of the Company’s actual and prospective customers and, as applicable, their representatives; prior, current or future research or development activities of the Company; the products and services provided or offered by the Company to customers or potential customers and the manner in which such services are performed or to be performed; the product and/or service needs of actual or prospective customers; pricing and cost information; information concerning the development, engineering, design, specifications, acquisition or disposition of products and/or services of the Company; user base personal data, programs, software and source codes, licensing information, personnel information, advertising client information, vendor information, marketing plans and techniques, forecasts, and other trade secrets (“Confidential Information”); and (B) the direct and indirect disclosure of any such Confidential Information would place the Company at a competitive disadvantage and would do damage, monetary or otherwise, to the Company’s business.

 

  (2) During the Term and at all times thereafter, the Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, whether individually, as a director, stockholder, owner, partner, employee, consultant, principal or agent of any business, or in any other capacity, publish or make known, disclose, furnish, reproduce, make available, or utilize any of the Confidential Information without the prior express written approval of the Company, other than in the proper performance of the duties contemplated herein, unless and until such Confidential Information is or shall become general public knowledge through no fault of the Executive.

 

  (3) In the event that the Executive is required by law to disclose any Confidential Information, the Executive agrees to give the Company prompt advance written notice thereof and to provide the Company with reasonable assistance in obtaining an order to protect the Confidential Information from public disclosure.

 

  (4) The failure to mark any Confidential Information as confidential shall not affect its status as Confidential Information under this Agreement.

 

6


  (c) Third Party Information in the Executive’s Possession . The Executive agrees that he/she shall not, during the Term, (i) improperly use or disclose any proprietary information or trade secrets of any former employer or other person or entity with which the Executive has an agreement or duty to keep in confidence information acquired by Executive, if any, or (ii) bring into the premises of Company any document or confidential or proprietary information belonging to such former employer, person or entity unless consented to in writing by such former employer, person or entity. The Executive will indemnify the Company and hold it harmless from and against all claims, liabilities, damages and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation, arising out of or in connection with any violation of the foregoing.

 

  (d) Third Party Information in the Company’s Possession . The Executive recognizes that the Company may have received, and in the future may receive, from third parties their confidential or proprietary information subject to a duty on the Company’s part to maintain the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes. The Executive agrees that the Executive owes the Company and such third parties, during the Term and thereafter, a duty to hold all such confidential or proprietary information in strict confidence and not to disclose such information to any person or firm, or otherwise use such information, in a manner inconsistent with the limited purposes permitted by the Company’s agreement with such third party.

This Section 8 shall survive the termination of the Agreement for any reason. In the event the Executive breaches this Section 8, the Company shall have right to seek remedies permissible under applicable law.

 

9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

 

  (a) Prior Inventions. The Executive has attached hereto, as Schedule B , a list describing all inventions, ideas, improvements, designs and discoveries, whether or not patentable and whether or not reduced to practice, original works of authorship and trade secrets made or conceived by or belonging to the Executive (whether made solely by the Executive or jointly with others) that (i) were developed by Executive prior to the Executive’s employment by the Company (collectively, “ Prior Inventions ”), (ii) relate to the Company’ actual or proposed business, products or research and development, and (iii) are not assigned to the Company hereunder; or, if no such list is attached, the Executive represents that there are no such Prior Inventions. Except to the extent set forth in Schedule B , the Executive hereby acknowledges that, if in the course of his/her service for the Company, the Executive incorporates into a Company product, process or machine a Prior Invention owned by the Executive or in which he/she has an interest, the Company is hereby granted and shall have a nonexclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right and license (which may be freely transferred by the Company to any other person or entity) to make, have made, modify, use, sell, sublicense and otherwise distribute such Prior Invention as part of or in connection with such product, process or machine.

 

7


  (b) Assignment of Intellectual Property. The Executive hereby assigns to the Company or its designees, without further consideration and free and clear of any lien or encumbrance, the Executive’s entire right, title and interest (within the United States and all foreign jurisdictions) to any and all inventions, discoveries, improvements, developments, works of authorship, concepts, ideas, plans, specifications, software, formulas, databases, designees, processes and contributions to Confidential Information created, conceived, developed or reduced to practice by the Executive (alone or with others) during the Term which (i) are related to the Company’s current or anticipated business, activities, products, or services, (ii) result from any work performed by Executive for the Company, or (iii) are created, conceived, developed or reduced to practice with the use of Company property, including any and all Intellectual Property Rights (as defined below) therein (“ Work Product ”). Any Work Product which falls within the definition of “work made for hire”, as such term is defined in the U.S. Copyright Act, shall be considered a “work made for hire”, the copyright in which vests initially and exclusively in the Company. The Executive waives any rights to be attributed as the author of any Work Product and any “droit morale” (moral rights) in Work Product. The Executive agrees to immediately disclose to the Company all Work Product. For purposes of this Agreement, “ Intellectual Property ” shall mean any patent, copyright, trademark or service mark, trade secret, or any other proprietary rights protection legally available.

 

  (c) Patent and Copyright Registration. The Executive agrees to execute and deliver any instruments or documents and to do all other things reasonably requested by the Company in order to more fully vest the Company with all ownership rights in the Work Product. If any Work Product is deemed by the Company to be patentable or otherwise registrable, the Executive shall assist the Company (at the Company’s expense) in obtaining letters of patent or other applicable registration therein and shall execute all documents and do all things, including testifying (at the Company’s expense) as necessary or appropriate to apply for, prosecute, obtain, or enforce any Intellectual Property right relating to any Work Product. Should the Company be unable to secure the Executive’s signature on any document deemed necessary to accomplish the foregoing, whether due to the Executive’s disability or other reason, the Executive hereby irrevocably designates and appoints the Company and each of its duly authorized officers and agents as the Executive’s agent and attorney-in-fact to act for and on the Executive’s behalf and stead to take any of the actions required of Executive under the previous sentence, with the same effect as if executed and delivered by the Executive, such appointment being coupled with an interest.

This Section 9 shall survive the termination of the Agreement for any reason. In the event the Executive breaches this Section 9, the Company shall have right to seek remedies permissible under applicable law.

 

10. CONFLICTING EMPLOYMENT

The Executive hereby agrees that, during the Term, he/she will not engage in any other employment, occupation, consulting or other business activity related to the business in which the Company is now involved or becomes involved during the Term, nor will the Executive engage in any other activities that conflict with his/her obligations to the Company without the prior written consent of the Company.

 

8


11. NON-COMPETITION AND NON-SOLICITATION

 

  (a) Non-Competition . In consideration of the compensation provided to the Executive by the Company hereunder, the adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by the parties hereto, the Executive agree that during the Term and for a period of one year following the termination of the Employment for whatever reason, the Executive shall not engage in Competition (as defined below) with the Group. For purposes of this Agreement, “Competition” by the Executive shall mean the Executive’s engaging in, or otherwise directly or indirectly being employed by or acting as a consultant or lender to, or being a director, officer, employee, principal, agent, stockholder, member, owner or partner of, or permitting the Executive’s name to be used in connection with the activities of, any other business or organization which competes, directly or indirectly, with the Group in the Business; provided , however , it shall not be a violation of this Section 11(a) for the Executive to become the registered or beneficial owner of up to five percent (5%) of any class of the capital stock of a publicly traded corporation in Competition with the Group, provided that the Executive does not otherwise participate in the business of such corporation.

For purposes of this Agreement, “ Business ” means the operation of online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers and facilitating unsecured loan products, provision of related services and any other business which the Group engages in, or is preparing to become engaged in, during the Term.

 

  (b) Non-Solicitation; Non-Interference . During the Term and for a period of one year following the termination of the Executive’s employment for any reason, the Executive agrees that he/she will not, directly or indirectly, for the Executive’s benefit or for the benefit of any other person or entity, do any of the following:

 

  (1) solicit from any customer doing business with the Group during the Term business of the same or of a similar nature to the Business;

 

  (2) solicit from any known potential customer of the Group business of the same or of a similar nature to that which has been the subject of a known written or oral bid, offer or proposal by the Group, or of substantial preparation with a view to making such a bid, proposal or offer;

 

  (3) solicit the employment or services of, or hire or engage, any person who is known to be employed or engaged by the Group; or

 

9


  (4) otherwise interfere with the business or accounts of the Group, including, but not limited to, with respect to any relationship or agreement between the Group and any vendor or supplier.

 

  (c) Injunctive Relief; Indemnity of Company . The Executive agrees that any breach or threatened breach of subsections (a) and (b) of this Section 11 would result in irreparable injury and damage to the Company for which an award of money to the Company would not be an adequate remedy. The Executive therefore also agrees that in the event of said breach or any reasonable threat of breach, the Company shall be entitled to seek an immediate injunction and restraining order to prevent such breach and/or threatened breach and/or continued breach by the Executive and/or any and all persons and/or entities acting for and/or with the Executive. The terms of this paragraph shall not prevent the Company from pursuing any other available remedies for any breach or threatened breach hereof, including, but not limited to, remedies available under this Agreement and the recovery of damages. The Executive and the Company further agree that the provisions of this Section 11 are reasonable. The Executive agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company from and against all reasonable expenses (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) which may be incurred by the Company in connection with, or arising out of, any violation of this Agreement by the Executive. This Section 11 shall survive the termination of the Agreement for any reason.

 

12. WITHHOLDING TAXES

Notwithstanding anything else herein to the contrary, the Company may withhold (or cause there to be withheld, as the case may be) from any amounts otherwise due or payable under or pursuant to the Agreement such national, state, provincial, local or any other income, employment, or other taxes as may be required to be withheld pursuant to any applicable law or regulation.

 

13. ASSIGNMENT

The Agreement is personal in its nature and neither of the parties hereto shall, without the consent of the other, assign or transfer the Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder; provided, however, that the Company may assign or transfer the Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder to any member of the Group without such consent. If the Executive should die while any amounts would still be payable to the Executive hereunder if the Executive had continued to live, all such amounts unless otherwise provided herein shall be paid in accordance with the terms of this Agreement to the Executive’s devisee, legatee, or other designee or, if there be no such designee, to the Executive’s estate. The Company will require any and all successors (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company to expressly assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform it if no such succession had taken place. Failure of the Company to obtain such assumption and agreement prior to the effectiveness of any such succession shall be a breach of this Agreement and shall entitle the Executive to compensation from the Company in the same amount and on the same terms as the Executive would be entitled to hereunder if the Company had terminated the Executive’s employment other than for Cause, except that for purposes of implementing the foregoing, the date on which any such succession becomes effective shall be deemed the Date of Termination. As used in this Section 13, “Company” shall mean the Company as herein before defined and any successor to its business and/or assets as aforesaid which executes and delivers the agreement provided for in this Section 13 or which otherwise becomes bound by all the terms and provisions of this Agreement by operation of law.

 

10


14. SEVERABILITY

If any provision of the Agreement or the application thereof is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Agreement which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications and to this end the provisions of the Agreement are declared to be severable.

 

15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

The Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the Executive and the Company regarding the terms of the Employment and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements concerning such subject matter. The Executive acknowledges that he/she has not entered into the Agreement in reliance upon any representation, warranty or undertaking which is not set forth in the Agreement.

 

16. GOVERNING LAW

The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the State of New York, U.S.A.

 

17. AMENDMENT

The Agreement may not be amended, modified or changed (in whole or in part), except by a formal, definitive written agreement expressly referring to the Agreement, which agreement is executed by both of the parties hereto.

 

18. WAIVER

Neither the failure nor any delay on the part of a party to exercise any right, remedy, power or privilege under the Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege preclude any other or further exercise of the same or of any right, remedy, power or privilege, nor shall any waiver of any right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any occurrence be construed as a waiver of such right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any other occurrence. No waiver shall be effective unless it is in writing and is signed by the party asserted to have granted such waiver.

 

11


19. NOTICES

All notices, requests, demands and other communications required or permitted under the Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and made if (i) delivered by hand, (ii) otherwise delivered against receipt therefor, (iii) sent by a recognized courier with next-day or second-day delivery to the last known address of the other party; or (iv) sent by e-mail with confirmation of receipt.

 

20. COUNTERPARTS

The Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original as against any party whose signature appears thereon, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The Agreement shall become binding when one or more counterparts hereof, individually or taken together, shall bear the signatures of all of the parties reflected hereon as the signatories. Photographic copies of such signed counterparts may be used in lieu of the originals for any purpose.

 

21. NO INTERPRETATION AGAINST DRAFTER

Each party recognizes that the Agreement is a legally binding contract and acknowledges that such party has had the opportunity to consult with legal counsel of choice. In any construction of the terms of the Agreement, the same shall not be construed against either party on the basis of that party being the drafter of such terms.

[Remainder of the page intentionally left blank.]

 

12


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Agreement has been executed as of the date first written above.

 

COMPANY:

   

Yirendai Ltd.

a Cayman Islands exempted company

    By:    
    Name:  
    Title:  

EXECUTIVE:

   

 

    Name:  
    Address:  


Schedule A

Cash Compensation

 

    

Amount

  

Pay Period

Base Salary

     

Cash Bonus

     

 

14


Schedule B

List of Prior Inventions

 

Title

 

Date

 

Identifying Number

or Brief Description

 

______ No inventions or improvements

______ Additional Sheets Attached

Signature of Executive: ________________

Print Name of Executive: ______________

Date: __________________

Exhibit 10.2

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of                     , 2015 by and between Yirendai Ltd., an exempted company incorporated and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”), and                      ([Passport/ID] Number )                      (the “ Indemnitee ”).

WHEREAS, the Indemnitee has agreed to serve as a director or officer of the Company and in such capacity will render valuable services to the Company; and

WHEREAS, in order to induce and encourage highly experienced and capable persons such as the Indemnitee to render valuable services to the Company, the board of directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) has determined that this Agreement is not only reasonable and prudent, but necessary to promote and ensure the best interests of the Company and its shareholders;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual agreements hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, including, without limitation, the service of the Indemnitee, the receipt of which hereby is acknowledged, and in order to induce the Indemnitee to render valuable services the Company, the Company and the Indemnitee hereby agree as follows:

1. Definitions. As used in this Agreement:

(a) Change in Control ” shall mean a change in control of the Company of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or in response to any similar item on any similar or successor schedule or form) promulgated under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “ Act ”), whether or not the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement; provided, however, that, without limitation, such a Change in Control shall be deemed to have occurred (irrespective of the applicability of the initial clause of this definition) if (i) any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Act, but excluding any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities pursuant to an employee benefit or welfare plan or employee share plan of the Company or any subsidiary or affiliate of the Company, or any entity organized, appointed, established or holding securities of the Company with voting power for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 30% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities without the prior approval of at least two-thirds of the Continuing Directors (as defined below) in office immediately prior to such person’s attaining such interest; (ii) the Company is a party to a merger, consolidation, scheme of arrangement, sale of assets or other reorganization, or a proxy contest, as a consequence of which Continuing Directors in office immediately prior to such transaction or event constitute less than a majority of the Board of the Company (or any successor entity) thereafter; or (iii) during any period of two (2) consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board of the Company (including for this purpose any new director whose election or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who were directors at the beginning of such period) (such directors being referred to herein as “ Continuing Directors ”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board of the Company.


(b) Disinterested Director ” with respect to any request by the Indemnitee for indemnification or advancement of expenses hereunder shall mean a director of the Company who neither is nor was a party to the Proceeding (as defined below) in respect of which indemnification or advancement is being sought by the Indemnitee.

(c) The term “ Expenses ” shall mean, without limitation, expenses of Proceedings, including attorneys’ fees, disbursements and retainers, accounting and witness fees, expenses related to preparation for service as a witness and to service as a witness, travel and deposition costs, expenses of investigations, judicial or administrative proceedings and appeals, amounts paid in settlement of a Proceeding by or on behalf of the Indemnitee, costs of attachment or similar bonds, any expenses of attempting to establish or establishing a right to indemnification or advancement of expenses, under this Agreement, the Company’s Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association as currently in effect (the “ Articles ”), applicable law or otherwise, and reasonable compensation for time spent by the Indemnitee in connection with the investigation, defense or appeal of a Proceeding or action for indemnification for which the Indemnitee is not otherwise compensated by the Company or any third party. The term “Expenses” shall not include the amount of judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually levied against or sustained by the Indemnitee to the extent sustained after final adjudication.

(d) The term “ Independent Legal Counsel ” shall mean any firm of attorneys reasonably selected by the Board of the Company, so long as such firm has not represented the Company, the Company’s subsidiaries or affiliates, the Indemnitee, any entity controlled by the Indemnitee, or any party adverse to the Company, within the preceding five (5) years. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Legal Counsel” shall not include any person who, under applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or the Indemnitee in an action to determine the Indemnitee’s right to indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Agreement, the Company’s Articles, applicable law or otherwise.

(e) The term “ Proceeding ” shall mean any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, or other proceeding (including, without limitation, an appeal therefrom), formal or informal, whether brought in the name of the Company or otherwise, whether of a civil, criminal, administrative or investigative nature, and whether by, in or involving a court or an administrative, other governmental or private entity or body (including, without limitation, an investigation by the Company or its Board), by reason of (i) the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, whether or not the Indemnitee is serving in such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification or reimbursement is to be provided under this Agreement, (ii) any actual or alleged act or omission or neglect or breach of duty, including, without limitation, any actual or alleged error or misstatement or misleading statement, which the Indemnitee commits or suffers while acting in any such capacity, or (iii) the Indemnitee attempting to establish or establishing a right to indemnification or advancement of expenses pursuant to this Agreement, the Company’s Articles, applicable law or otherwise.

 

- 2 -


(f) The phrase “ serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise ” or any similar terminology shall mean, unless the context otherwise requires, serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, employee benefit or welfare plan or other enterprise, foreign or domestic. The phrase “serving at the request of the Company” shall include, without limitation, any service as a director/an executive officer of the Company which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director/executive officer with respect to the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries, affiliates, employee benefit or welfare plans, such plan’s participants or beneficiaries or any other enterprise, foreign or domestic. In the event that the Indemnitee shall be a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, employee benefit or welfare plan or other enterprise, foreign or domestic, 50% or more of the ordinary shares, combined voting power or total equity interest of which is owned by the Company or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, then it shall be presumed conclusively that the Indemnitee is so acting at the request of the Company.

2. Services by the Indemnitee . The Indemnitee agrees to serve as a director or officer of the Company under the terms of the Indemnitee’s agreement with the Company for so long as the Indemnitee is duly elected or appointed or until such time as the Indemnitee tenders a resignation in writing or is removed from the Indemnittee’s position; provided, however, that the Indemnitee may at any time and for any reason resign from such position (subject to any other contractual obligation or other obligation imposed by operation of law).

3. Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company . The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee if the Indemnitee is a party to or threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, against all Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, and excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with the defense or settlement of such a Proceeding, if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company; except that no indemnification under this section shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudicated by final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to be liable to the Company for willful misconduct in the performance of his/her duty to the Company, unless and only to the extent that the court in which such Proceeding was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such amounts which such other court shall deem proper.

4. Proceeding Other Than a Proceeding by or in the Right of the Company . The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee if the Indemnitee is a party to or threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding (other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company), by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, against all Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, and excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such a Proceeding, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law; provided, however, that any settlement of a Proceeding must be approved in advance in writing by the Company (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld).

 

- 3 -


5. Indemnification for Costs, Charges and Expenses of Witness or Successful Party . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement (except as set forth in subparagraph 9(a) hereof), and without a requirement for determination as required by Paragraph 8 hereof, to the extent that the Indemnitee (a) has prepared to serve or has served as a witness in any Proceeding in any way relating to (i) the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries, affiliates, employee benefit or welfare plans or such plan’s participants or beneficiaries or (ii) anything done or not done by the Indemnitee as a director or officer of the Company or in connection with serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, or (b) has been successful in defense of any Proceeding or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, on the merits or otherwise, including the dismissal of a Proceeding without prejudice or the settlement of a Proceeding without an admission of liability, the Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection therewith to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

6. Partial Indemnification . If the Indemnitee is entitled under any provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for a portion of the Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in the investigation, defense, appeal or settlement of any Proceeding, but not, however, for the total amount of the Indemnitee’s Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, then the Company shall nevertheless indemnify the Indemnitee for the portion of such Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties or excise taxes to which the Indemnitee is entitled.

7. Advancement of Expenses . The Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee in any Proceeding shall be paid promptly by the Company in advance of the final disposition of the Proceeding at the written request of the Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law; provided, however, that the Indemnitee shall set forth in such request reasonable evidence that such Expenses have been incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding, a statement that such Expenses do not relate to any matter described in subparagraph 9(a) of this Agreement, and an undertaking in writing to repay any advances if it is ultimately determined as provided in subparagraph 8(b) of this Agreement that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement.

8. Indemnification Procedure; Determination of Right to Indemnification .

(a) Promptly after receipt by the Indemnitee of notice of the commencement of any Proceeding, the Indemnitee shall, if a claim for indemnification or advancement of Expenses in respect thereof is to be made against the Company under this Agreement, notify the Company of the commencement thereof in writing. The omission to so notify the Company will not relieve the Company from any liability which the Company may have to the Indemnitee under this Agreement unless the Company shall have lost significant substantive or procedural rights with respect to the defense of any Proceeding as a result of such omission to so notify.

 

- 4 -


(b) The Indemnitee shall be conclusively presumed to have met the relevant standards of conduct, if any, as defined by applicable law, for indemnification pursuant to this Agreement and shall be absolutely entitled to such indemnification, unless a determination is made that the Indemnitee has not met such standards by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c) If a claim for indemnification or advancement of Expenses under this Agreement is not paid by the Company within thirty (30) days after receipt by the Company of written notice thereof, the rights provided by this Agreement shall be enforceable by the Indemnitee in any court of competent jurisdiction. Such judicial proceeding shall be made de novo. The burden of proving that indemnification or advances are not appropriate shall be on the Company. Neither the failure of the directors or shareholders of the Company or Independent Legal Counsel to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification or advancement of Expenses is proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct, if any, nor an actual determination by the directors or shareholders of the Company or Independent Legal Counsel that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct shall be a defense to an action by the Indemnitee or create a presumption for the purpose of such an action that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct. The termination of any Proceeding by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself (i) create a presumption that the Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the Company and/or its shareholders, and, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that the Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful or (ii) otherwise adversely affect the rights of the Indemnitee to indemnification or advancement of Expenses under this Agreement, except as may be provided herein.

(d) If a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that the Indemnitee is entitled to any indemnification or advancement of Expenses hereunder, the Company shall pay all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such adjudication (including, but not limited to, any appellate proceedings).

(e) With respect to any Proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of Expenses is requested, the Company will be entitled to participate therein at its own expense and, except as otherwise provided below, to the extent that it may wish, the Company may assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnitee. After notice from the Company to the Indemnitee of its election to assume the defense of a Proceeding, the Company will not be liable to the Indemnitee under this Agreement for any Expenses subsequently incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with the defense thereof, other than as provided below. The Company shall not settle any Proceeding in any manner which would impose any penalty or limitation on the Indemnitee without the Indemnitee’s written consent. The Indemnitee shall have the right to employ his/her own counsel in any Proceeding, but the fees and expenses of such counsel incurred after notice from the Company of its assumption of the defense of the Proceeding shall be at the expense of the Indemnitee, unless (i) the employment of counsel by the Indemnitee has been authorized by the Company, (ii) the Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and the Indemnitee in the conduct of the defense of a Proceeding, or (iii) the Company shall not in fact have employed counsel to assume the defense of a proceeding, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of the Indemnitee’s counsel shall be advanced by the Company. The Company shall not be entitled to assume the defense of any Proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Company or as to which the Indemnitee has reasonably concluded that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and the Indemnitee.

 

- 5 -


9. Limitations on Indemnification . No payments pursuant to this Agreement shall be made by the Company:

(a) To indemnify or advance funds to the Indemnitee for Expenses with respect to (i) Proceedings initiated or brought voluntarily by the Indemnitee and not by way of defense, except with respect to Proceedings brought to establish or enforce a right to indemnification under this Agreement or any other statute or law or otherwise as required under applicable law or (ii) Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with preparing to serve or serving, prior to a Change in Control, as a witness in cooperation with any party or entity who or which has threatened or commenced any action or proceeding against the Company, or any director, officer, employee, trustee, agent, representative, subsidiary, parent corporation or affiliate of the Company, but such indemnification or advancement of Expenses in each such case may be provided by the Company if the Board finds it to be appropriate;

(b) To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, sustained in any Proceeding for which payment is actually made to the Indemnitee under a valid and collectible insurance policy, except in respect of any excess beyond the amount of payment under such insurance;

(c) To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties sustained in any Proceeding for an accounting of profits made from the purchase or sale by the Indemnitee of securities of the Company pursuant to the provisions of Section 16(b) of the Act or similar provisions of any foreign or United States federal, state or local statute or regulation;

(d) To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, for which the Indemnitee is indemnified by the Company otherwise than pursuant to this Agreement;

(e) To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses (including without limitation any Expenses relating to a Proceeding attempting to enforce this Agreement), judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, on account of the Indemnitee’s conduct if such conduct shall be finally adjudged to have been knowingly fraudulent, deliberately dishonest or willful misconduct, including, without limitation, breach of the duty of loyalty; or

(f) If a court of competent jurisdiction finally determines that any indemnification hereunder is unlawful. In this respect, the Company and the Indemnitee have been advised that the Securities and Exchange Commission takes the position that indemnification for liabilities arising under securities laws is against public policy and is, therefore, unenforceable and that claims for indemnification should be submitted to appropriate courts for adjudication;

 

- 6 -


(g) To indemnify the Indemnitee in connection with Indemnitee’s personal tax matter; or

(h) To indemnify the Indemnitee with respect to any claim related to any dispute or breach arising under any contract or similar obligation between the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates and such Indemnitee.

10. Continuation of Indemnification . All agreements and obligations of the Company contained herein shall continue during the period that the Indemnitee is a director or officer of the Company (or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, foreign or domestic) and shall continue thereafter so long as the Indemnitee shall be subject to any possible Proceeding by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee was a director or officer of the Company or serving in any other capacity referred to in this Paragraph 10.

11. Indemnification Hereunder Not Exclusive . The indemnification provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed to be exclusive of any other rights to which the Indemnitee may be entitled under the Company’s Articles, any agreement, vote of shareholders or vote of Disinterested Directors, provisions of applicable law, or otherwise, both as to action or omission in the Indemnitee’s official capacity and as to action or omission in another capacity on behalf of the Company while holding such office.

12. Successors and Assigns .

(a) This Agreement shall be binding upon the Indemnitee, and shall inure to the benefit of, the Indemnitee and the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, whether or not the Indemnitee has ceased to be a director or officer, and the Company and its successors and assigns. Upon the sale of all or substantially all of the business, assets or share capital of the Company to, or upon the merger of the Company into or with, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other person, this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon both the Indemnitee and such purchaser or successor person. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the prior written consent of the other party hereto.

(b) If the Indemnitee is deceased and is entitled to indemnification under any provision of this Agreement, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee’s estate and the Indemnitee’s spouse, heirs, executors, administrators and assigns against, and the Company shall, and does hereby agree to assume, any and all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by or for the Indemnitee or the Indemnitee’s estate, in connection with the investigation, defense, appeal or settlement of any Proceeding. Further, when requested in writing by the spouse of the Indemnitee, and/or the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, the Company shall provide appropriate evidence of the Company’s agreement set out herein to indemnify the Indemnitee against and to itself assume such Expenses.

13. Subrogation . In the event of payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of the Indemnitee, who shall execute all documents required and shall do all acts that may be necessary to secure such rights and to enable the Company effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights.

 

- 7 -


14. Severability . Each and every paragraph, sentence, term and provision of this Agreement is separate and distinct so that if any paragraph, sentence, term or provision thereof shall be held to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable for any reason, such invalidity, unlawfulness or unenforceability shall not affect the validity, unlawfulness or enforceability of any other paragraph, sentence, term or provision hereof. To the extent required, any paragraph, sentence, term or provision of this Agreement may be modified by a court of competent jurisdiction to preserve its validity and to provide the Indemnitee with the broadest possible indemnification permitted under applicable law. The Company’s inability, pursuant to a court order or decision, to perform its obligations under this Agreement shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement.

15. Savings Clause . If this Agreement or any paragraph, sentence, term or provision hereof is invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, the Company shall nevertheless indemnify the Indemnitee as to any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are incurred with respect to any Proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by any (a) applicable paragraph, sentence, term or provision of this Agreement that has not been invalidated or (b) applicable law.

16. Interpretation; Governing Law . This Agreement shall be construed as a whole and in accordance with its fair meaning and any ambiguities shall not be construed for or against either party. Headings are for convenience only and shall not be used in construing meaning. This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof.

17. Amendments . No amendment, waiver, modification, termination or cancellation of this Agreement shall be effective unless in writing signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. The indemnification rights afforded to the Indemnitee hereby are contract rights and may not be diminished, eliminated or otherwise affected by amendments to the Company’s Articles, or by other agreements, including directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies, of the Company.

18. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other.

19. Notices . Any notice required to be given under this Agreement shall be directed to the Chief Financial Officer of the Company at 4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, People’s Republic of China, and to the Indemnitee at                                                                                   or to such other address as either shall designate to the other in writing.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]

 

- 8 -


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Indemnification Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

YIRENDAI LTD.
By:    
Name:  
Title:  

 

INDEMNITEE
By:    
Name:  

[Signature Page to Indemnification Agreement]

Exhibit 10.3

MASTER TRANSACTION AGREEMENT

Between

CREDITEASE HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED

And

YIRENDAI LTD.

Dated as of November 9, 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1   
DEFINITIONS.   

Section 1.1

  Defined Terms      1   
ARTICLE 2   
DOCUMENTS AND ITEMS TO BE DELIVERED PRIOR TO F-1 FILING.   

Section 2.1

  Documents to be delivered by CreditEase      6   

Section 2.2

  Documents to be delivered by Yirendai      6   
ARTICLE 3   
THE IPO AND ACTIONS PENDING THE IPO.   

Section 3.1

  Transactions prior to the IPO      6   

Section 3.2

  Cooperation      7   
ARTICLE 4   
COVENANTS AND OTHER MATTERS   

Section 4.1

  Other Agreements and Instruments      7   

Section 4.2

  Further Instruments      7   

Section 4.3

  Agreement on Exchange of Information      8   

Section 4.4

  Auditors and Audits; Financial Statements; Accounting Matters      10   

Section 4.5

  Confidentiality      14   

Section 4.6

  Privileged Matters      16   

Section 4.7

  Future Litigation and Other Proceedings      17   

Section 4.8

  Mail and other Communications      18   

Section 4.9

  Other Inter-Company Services Agreements      18   

Section 4.10

  Payment of Expenses      18   
ARTICLE 5   
MUTUAL RELEASES; INDEMNIFICATION   

Section 5.1

  Release of Claims      18   

Section 5.2

  Indemnification by Yirendai      19   

Section 5.3

  Indemnification by CreditEase      20   

Section 5.4

  Procedures for Defense, Settlement and Indemnification of the Third Party Claims      21   

Section 5.5

  Additional Matters      22   

Section 5.6

  Survival of Indemnities      22   

 

i


ARTICLE 6   
DISPUTE RESOLUTION   

Section 6.1

  Dispute Resolution      22   
ARTICLE 7   
MISCELLANEOUS.   

Section 7.1

  Consent      23   

Section 7.2

  Limitation of Liability      23   

Section 7.3

  Termination      24   

Section 7.4

  Amendment      24   

Section 7.5

  Notices      24   

Section 7.6

  Governing Law      24   

Section 7.7

  Authority      24   

Section 7.8

  Entire Agreement      25   

Section 7.9

  Severability      25   

Section 7.10

  Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Remedies Cumulative      25   

Section 7.11

  Binding Effect; Assignment      25   

Section 7.12

  No Third Party Beneficiaries      25   

Section 7.13

  Inconsistency      25   

Section 7.14

  Interpretation      26   

Section 7.15

  Counterparts      26   

 

ii


MASTER TRANSACTION AGREEMENT

This Master Transaction Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 9, 2015, by and between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ CreditEase ”), and Yirendai Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Yirendai ”) (each of CreditEase and Yirendai a “ Party ” and, together, the “ Parties ”).

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Article 1 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Yirendai is a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase;

WHEREAS, CreditEase has been engaged in the Yirendai Business through Yirendai and/or Yirendai’s subsidiaries and VIE, as more fully described in a draft Registration Statement on Form F-1 confidentially submitted for review and comment by the SEC under the Securities Act (as so submitted and as amended from time to time prior to the Public Filing Date, the “ Draft IPO Registration Statement ”) to be filed publicly with the SEC via its EDGAR system (the date of such public filing, the “ Public Filing Date ”) following the substantial completion of such review and comment and as financial market conditions permit (as so filed, and as amended thereafter from time to time, the “ IPO Registration Statement ”);

WHEREAS, prior to the date hereof, all the then existing assets and liabilities in connection with the Yirendai Business have already been transferred to or assumed by Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE;

WHEREAS, the Parties currently contemplate that Yirendai will make an initial public offering (“ IPO ”) pursuant to the IPO Registration Statement;

WHEREAS, the Parties intend in this Agreement to set forth and memorialize the principal arrangements between CreditEase and Yirendai regarding the relationship of the Parties from and after the filing of the IPO Registration Statement and the consummation of the IPO; and

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements, covenants and provisions contained in this Agreement, the Parties, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1

DEFINITIONS.

Section 1.1 Defined Terms . The following capitalized terms have the meanings given to them in this Section 1.1:

 

1


Action ” means any demand, action, suit, countersuit, claim, counterclaim, arbitration, inquiry, proceeding or investigation by or before any Governmental Authority or any arbitration or mediation tribunal.

ADSs ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(c) of this Agreement.

Agreement ” means this Master Transaction Agreement, as may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions hereof.

Confidential Business Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(b)(iii) of this Agreement.

Confidential Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(b)(i) of this Agreement.

Confidential Technical Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(b)(ii) of this Agreement.

Contract ” means any contract, agreement, lease, license, sales order, purchase order, instrument or other commitment that is binding on any Person or any part of its property under applicable law.

Control Ending Date ” means the earlier of (i) the first date upon which members of the CreditEase Group no longer collectively own at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Yirendai and (ii) the first date upon which CreditEase, collectively with the other members of the CreditEase Group, ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of the then outstanding voting securities of Yirendai (for purposes of this clause (ii), without considering holdings of institutional investors that have acquired Yirendai securities in the ordinary course of their business and not with a purpose nor with the effect of changing or influencing the control of Yirendai).

Cooperation Framework Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.

CreditEase ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

CreditEase Business ” means any business conducted by CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than the Yirendai Business.

CreditEase Group ” means CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

CreditEase Indemnitees ” means CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs (excluding Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE) and each of their respective directors, officers and employees.

CreditEase Liabilities ” means (without duplication) the following Liabilities:

(i) all Liabilities, whether arising before, on or after the Public Filing Date, that relate to, arise or result from the operation of the CreditEase Business, other than Yirendai Liabilities; and

 

2


(ii) Liabilities of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs under this Agreement or any of the Inter-Company Agreements.

CreditEase’s Auditors ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.4(a)(i) of this Agreement.

Direct Costs ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9 of this Agreement.

Dispute ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) of this Agreement.

Dispute Resolution Commencement Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) of this Agreement.

Draft IPO Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Exchange Act ” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Governmental Authority ” shall mean any national, state or local, foreign or international court, government, department, commission, board, bureau, agency, official or other regulatory, administrative or governmental authority.

Indemnifying Party ” means any party which may be obligated to provide indemnification to an Indemnitee pursuant to Section 5.2 or Section 5.3 hereof or any other section of this Agreement or any Inter-Company Agreement.

Indemnitee ” means any party which may be entitled to indemnification from an Indemnifying Party pursuant to Article 5 hereof or any other section of this Agreement or any Inter-Company Agreement.

Indirect Costs ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9 of this Agreement.

Information ” means information, whether or not patentable or copyrightable, in written, oral, electronic or other tangible or intangible forms, stored in any medium, including studies, reports, records, books, contracts, instruments, surveys, discoveries, ideas, concepts, know-how, techniques, designs, specifications, drawings, blueprints, diagrams, models, prototypes, samples, flow charts, data, computer data, disks, diskettes, tapes, computer programs or other software, marketing plans, customer names, communications by or to attorneys (including attorney-client privileged communications), memos and other materials prepared by attorneys or under their direction (including attorney work product), and other technical, financial, employee or business information or data.

Intellectual Property License Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.

Inter-Company Agreements ” means the Transitional Services Agreement, the Non-Competition Agreement, the Cooperation Framework Agreement and the Intellectual Property License Agreement.

IPO ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

 

3


IPO Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Liabilities ” means all debts, liabilities, guarantees, assurances, commitments and obligations, whether fixed, contingent or absolute, asserted or unasserted, matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, accrued or not accrued, known or unknown, due or to become due, whenever or however arising (including, without limitation, whether arising out of any Contract or tort based on negligence or strict liability) and whether or not the same would be required by U.S. GAAP to be reflected in financial statements or disclosed in the notes thereto.

Loss ” and “ Losses ” mean any and all damages, losses, deficiencies, Liabilities, obligations, penalties, judgments, settlements, claims, payments, fines, interest, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, the costs and expenses of any and all Actions and demands, assessments, judgments, settlements and compromises relating thereto and the reasonable costs and expenses of attorneys’, accountants’, consultants’ and other professionals’ fees and expenses incurred in the investigation or defense thereof or the enforcement of rights hereunder), but excluding punitive damages (other than punitive damages awarded to any third party against an indemnified party).

Non-Competition Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.

Ordinary Shares ” means the shares of Yirendai, par value $0.0001 per share (including shares represented by ADSs and held of record by the depositary bank for the ADSs).

Party ” or “ Parties ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble of this Agreement.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization or a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Privileged Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.6(a) of this Agreement.

Privileges ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.6(a) of this Agreement.

Public Filing Date ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Rule 10A-3(b)(2) ” means Rule 10A-3(b)(2) (or any successor rule to similar effect) promulgated under the Exchange Act.

SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Third Party Claim ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(a) of this Agreement.

 

4


Transitional Services Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.

U.S. GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time.

Underwriters ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(a) of this Agreement.

Underwriting Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(a) of this Agreement.

VIE ” of any Person means any entity that is controlled by such Person and is deemed to be a variable interest entity consolidated with such Person for purposes of U.S. GAAP. As used herein, “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such entity, whether through ownership of voting securities or other interests, by contract or otherwise.

Yirendai ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Yirendai Balance Sheet ” means Yirendai’s unaudited consolidated balance sheet as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal quarter prior to the Public Filing Date.

Yirendai Business ” means (a) the operation of online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers and facilitating unsecured loan products, and provision of related services, as currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE anywhere in the world, as more completely described in the IPO Registration Statement, and (b) other businesses that the Parties may mutually agree from time to time to be part of Yirendai Business.

Yirendai Indemnitees ” means Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE and each of their respective directors, officers and employees.

Yirendai Liabilities ” means (without duplication) the following Liabilities:

(i) all Liabilities reflected in the Yirendai Balance Sheet;

(ii) all Liabilities of CreditEase or its subsidiaries and VIEs that arise after the date of the Yirendai Balance Sheet that would be reflected in a Yirendai balance sheet as of the date of such Liabilities, if such balance sheet was prepared using the same principles and accounting policies under which the Yirendai Balance Sheet was prepared;

(iii) all Liabilities that should have been reflected in the Yirendai Balance Sheet but are not reflected in the Yirendai Balance Sheet due to mistake or unintentional omission;

(iv) all Liabilities, whether arising before, on or after the Public Filing Date, that relate to, arise or result from: (1) the operation of the Yirendai Business or (2) the operation of any business conducted by Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE at any time after the Public Filing Date; and

 

5


(v) Liabilities of Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE under this Agreement or any of the Inter-Company Agreements.

Yirendai’s Auditors ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.4(a)(i) of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 2

DOCUMENTS AND ITEMS TO BE DELIVERED PRIOR TO F-1 FILING.

Section 2.1 Documents to be delivered by CreditEase . CreditEase has delivered and its subsidiaries and VIEs have delivered, as appropriate, or CreditEase will deliver, or will cause its subsidiaries and VIEs to deliver, as appropriate, prior to the Public Filing Date, to Yirendai or its subsidiaries or VIE, as appropriate: (a) a duly executed Transitional Services Agreement, substantially in the form attached to the Draft IPO Registration Statement as an exhibit, with such changes, if any, to such form as may be agreed to by the Parties prior to such execution (the “ Transitional Services Agreement ”); (b) duly executed Non-Competition Agreement, substantially in the form attached to the Draft IPO Registration Statement as an exhibit, with such changes, if any, to such form as may be agreed to by the Parties prior to such execution (the “ Non-Competition Agreement ”); (c) a duly executed Cooperation Framework Agreement, substantially in the form attached to the Draft IPO Registration Statement as an exhibit, with such changes, if any, to such form as may be agreed to by the Parties prior to such execution (the “ Cooperation Framework Agreement ”); (d) a duly executed Intellectual Property License Agreement, substantially in the form attached to the Draft IPO Registration Statement as an exhibit, with such changes, if any, to such form as may be agreed to by the Parties prior to such execution (the “ Intellectual Property License Agreement ”); and (e) such other agreements, documents or instruments as the Parties may agree are necessary or desirable in order to achieve the purposes hereof. For purposes of this Agreement, Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE will not be considered subsidiaries and VIE of CreditEase.

Section 2.2 Documents to be delivered by Yirendai . Yirendai has delivered and its subsidiaries and VIE have delivered, as appropriate, or Yirendai will deliver, or will cause its subsidiaries and VIE to deliver, as appropriate, prior to the Public Filing Date, to CreditEase or its subsidiaries or VIEs, as appropriate: (a) in each case where Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries or VIE is a party to any agreement or instrument referred to in Section 2.1, a duly executed counterpart of such agreement or instrument; and (b) such other agreements, documents or instruments as the Parties may agree are necessary or desirable in order to achieve the purposes hereof.

ARTICLE 3

THE IPO AND ACTIONS PENDING THE IPO.

Section 3.1 Transactions prior to the IPO . Subject to the occurrence of the events described in this Article 3, the Parties intend to consummate the IPO and to take, or cause to be taken, the actions specified in this Section 3.1.

 

6


(a) Registration Statement . Yirendai has submitted or plans to submit on a confidential basis for review by the SEC the Draft IPO Registration Statement, and intends to submit such amendments or supplements thereto as may be requested by the SEC staff in connection with such review and agreed to by Yirendai, and subsequently to file with the SEC the IPO Registration Statement and make such amendments and supplements thereto as may be necessary or desirable in order to cause the same to comply with the Securities Act and other applicable law, to become and remain effective under the Securities Act, or as may be requested by the representatives of the underwriters for the IPO (the “ Underwriters ”), including, without limitation, filing such amendments or supplements to the IPO Registration Statement as may be required by the underwriting agreement to be entered into among Yirendai and the Underwriters (the “ Underwriting Agreement ”) following the effectiveness of the IPO Registration Statement under the Securities Act.

(b) Underwriting Agreement . Following the effectiveness of the IPO Registration Statement, Yirendai will enter into the Underwriting Agreement, which shall in form and substance be satisfactory to Yirendai, as determined by its board of directors or authorized designees, as appropriate, and Yirendai shall comply with its obligations thereunder.

(c) NASDAQ or NYSE Listing . Yirendai plans to prepare, file and have approved an application for listing on NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange of the American depositary shares, representing Ordinary Shares, to be offered and sold in the IPO (the “ ADSs ”).

Section 3.2 Cooperation . CreditEase and Yirendai shall each consult with, and cooperate in all respects with, the other in connection with the marketing, including any roadshow presentations, and pricing of the ADSs and shall take any and all actions as may be reasonably necessary or desirable to consummate the IPO as contemplated by the IPO Registration Statement and the Underwriting Agreement.

ARTICLE 4

COVENANTS AND OTHER MATTERS

Section 4.1 Other Agreements and Instruments . Each of the Parties agrees to execute or cause to be executed by the appropriate parties and deliver, as appropriate, such other agreements, instruments and other documents as may be necessary or desirable in order to effect the purposes of this Agreement and the Inter-Company Agreements.

Section 4.2 Further Instruments

(a) To the extent it has not been done prior to the date hereof, CreditEase will execute and deliver, and will cause its subsidiaries and VIEs to execute and deliver, to Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE, as the case may be, such instruments of transfer, conveyance, assignment, substitution and confirmation, and will take such action as may be reasonably necessary or desirable in order to transfer, convey and assign to Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE and confirm Yirendai’s and/or its subsidiaries’ and VIE’s title to all assets, rights, interests and other things of value used in or necessary for the conduct and operation of the Yirendai Business on or prior to the Public Filing Date or to be transferred or licensed to Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE pursuant to this Agreement or any document referred to herein, to put Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE in actual possession and operating control thereof and to permit Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE to exercise all rights with respect thereto (including, without limitation, rights under Contracts and other arrangements as to which the consent of any third party to the transfer thereof have not previously been obtained) relating to the Yirendai Business; provided, however, that in the absence of such execution and delivery by CreditEase and/or its subsidiaries or VIEs, such execution and delivery shall be deemed for all purposes to have occurred subject only to Yirendai’s obligation to pay to CreditEase or its applicable subsidiaries or VIEs an amount equal to the book value thereof to the extent not previously so paid.

 

7


(b) CreditEase will execute and deliver, and will cause its appropriate subsidiaries and VIEs to execute and deliver, to Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE, as the case may be, all instruments, assumptions, novations, undertakings, substitutions or other documents and take such other action as may be reasonably necessary or desirable in order to have CreditEase and/or its subsidiaries and VIEs, as the case may be, fully and unconditionally assume the CreditEase Liabilities; provided, however, that in the absence of such execution and delivery by CreditEase and/or such appropriate subsidiaries and VIEs, such execution and delivery shall be deemed for all purposes to have occurred.

(c) Yirendai will, and will cause its appropriate subsidiaries and VIE to, execute and deliver to CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs all instruments, assumptions, novations, undertakings, substitutions or other documents and take such other action as may be reasonably necessary or desirable in order to have Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE, as the case may be, fully and unconditionally assume the Yirendai Liabilities; provided, however, that in the absence of such execution and delivery by Yirendai and/or such appropriate subsidiaries and VIE, such execution and delivery shall be deemed for all purposes to have occurred.

(d) Except as hereinabove provided, neither CreditEase, Yirendai, nor their respective subsidiaries and VIEs shall be obligated, in connection with the foregoing matters set forth in this Section, to expend money other than reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, attorneys’ fees and recording or similar fees, unless reimbursed by the other relevant Party. Furthermore, each Party, at the request of the other Party hereto, shall execute and deliver such other instruments and do and perform such other acts and things as may be necessary or desirable for effecting completely the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.

Section 4.3 Agreement on Exchange of Information .

(a) Generally . Each of the Parties agrees to provide, or cause to be provided, to the other Party, at any time, promptly after written request therefor, all reports and other Information regularly provided by one Party to the other Party prior to the Public Filing Date and any Information in the possession or under the control of such Party to the extent reasonably requested by the requesting Party (i) to comply with reporting, disclosure, filing or other requirements imposed on the requesting Party (including under applicable securities laws) by a Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the requesting Party, (ii) for use in any other judicial, regulatory, administrative or other proceeding or in order to satisfy audit, accounting, claims, regulatory, litigation or other similar requirements, (iii) to comply with its obligations under this Agreement or any Inter-Company Agreement or (iv) at any time after the Public Filing Date to the extent such Information and cooperation are necessary to comply with such reporting, filing and disclosure obligations, for the preparation of financial statements or completing an audit, and as reasonably necessary to conduct the ongoing businesses of CreditEase or Yirendai, as the case may be. Each of the Parties agrees to make their respective personnel available to discuss the Information exchanged pursuant to this Section 4.3. In the event that any Party determines that any such provision of Information or other actions contemplated by this Section 4.3 could be commercially detrimental, violate any law or agreement, or waive any attorney-client privilege, the Parties shall take all reasonable measures to permit the compliance with such obligations in a manner that avoids any such harm or consequence.

 

8


(b) Internal Accounting Controls; Financial Information . After the Public Filing Date, (i) each Party shall maintain in effect at its own cost and expense adequate systems and controls for its business to the extent necessary to enable the other Party to satisfy its reporting, tax return, accounting, audit and other obligations, and (ii) each Party shall provide, or cause to be provided, to the other Party and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) in such form as such requesting Party shall request, at no charge to the requesting Party, all financial and other data and Information as the requesting Party determines necessary or advisable in order to prepare its financial statements and reports or filings with any Governmental Authority.

(c) Ownership of Information . Any Information owned by a Party that is provided to a requesting Party pursuant to this Section 4.3 shall be deemed to remain the property of the providing Party. Unless specifically set forth herein, nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed as granting or conferring rights of license or otherwise in any such Information.

(d) Record Retention . To facilitate the possible exchange of Information pursuant to this Section 4.3 and other provisions of this Agreement, each Party agrees to use its reasonable best efforts for a period of ten years to retain all Information in its respective possession or control substantially in accordance with its respective record retention policies and/or practices as in effect on the Public Filing Date, and for such longer period as may be required by any Governmental Authority, any litigation matter, any applicable law or any Inter-Company Agreement. However, at any time after such 10-year period each Party may amend its respective record retention policies at such Party’s discretion; provided, however, that the amending Party must give thirty (30) days prior written notice of such change in the policy to the other Party. No Party will destroy, or permit any of its subsidiaries or VIE(s) to destroy, any Information that exists on the Public Filing Date (other than Information that is permitted to be destroyed under the current respective record retention policies of each Party) and that falls under the categories listed in Section 4.3(a), without first notifying the other Party of the proposed destruction and giving the other Party the opportunity to take possession or make copies of such Information prior to such destruction.

(e) Limitation of Liability . Each Party will use its reasonable best efforts to ensure that Information provided to the other Party hereunder is accurate and complete; provided, however, that no Party shall have any liability to the other Party if any Information exchanged or provided pursuant to this Section 4.3 is found to be inaccurate, in the absence of gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct by the Party providing the Information. No Party shall have any liability to the other Party if any Information is destroyed or lost after the relevant Party has complied with the provisions of Section 4.3(d).

 

9


(f) Other Agreements Providing for Exchange of Information . The rights and obligations granted under this Section 4.3 are subject to any specific limitations, qualifications or additional provisions on the sharing, exchange or confidential treatment of Information set forth in this Agreement and any Inter-Company Agreement.

(g) Production of Witnesses; Records; Cooperation . For a period of five (5) years after the Control Ending Date, and except in the case of a legal or other proceeding by one Party against the other Party, each Party shall use its reasonable best efforts to make available to the other Party, upon written request, the former, current and future directors, officers, employees, other personnel and agents of such Party as witnesses and any books, records or other documents within its control or which it otherwise has the ability to make available, to the extent that any such individual (giving consideration to business demands of such directors, officers, employees, other personnel and agents) or books, records or other documents may reasonably be required in connection with any legal, administrative or other proceeding in which the requesting Party may from time to time be involved, regardless of whether such legal, administrative or other proceeding is a matter with respect to which indemnification may be sought hereunder. The requesting Party shall bear all costs and expenses in connection therewith.

Section 4.4 Auditors and Audits; Financial Statements; Accounting Matters . Each Party agrees that:

(a) Selection of Auditors .

(i) Until the first CreditEase fiscal year end occurring after the Control Ending Date, Yirendai shall use its reasonable best efforts to engage the independent registered public accounting firm used by CreditEase (“ CreditEase’s Auditors ” and, for the avoidance of doubt, should CreditEase at any time change the independent registered public accounting firm serving as its auditors, “ CreditEase’s Auditors ” shall thereafter mean the new firm serving as CreditEase’s auditors) to serve as its auditors (“ Yirendai’s Auditors ”) for purposes of providing an opinion on its consolidated financial statements; provided, however, that Yirendai’s Auditors may be different from CreditEase’s Auditors if necessary to comply with applicable laws regarding auditor independence and qualifications ( provided, however, that Yirendai shall not take any actions, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause its directors, officers and employees not to take any actions, that could reasonably be expected to require Yirendai to engage auditors other than CreditEase’s Auditors). After the Public Filing Date, the foregoing shall not be construed so as to unlawfully limit any responsibility of the audit committee of Yirendai’s board of directors, pursuant to SEC Rule 10A-3(b)(2) and rules of NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange, as applicable, to appoint, compensate, retain and oversee the work of the registered public accounting firm Yirendai engages.

(ii) Until the first CreditEase fiscal year end occurring after the Control Ending Date, Yirendai shall provide to CreditEase as much prior notice as reasonably practical of any change in Yirendai’s Auditors for purposes of providing an opinion on its consolidated financial statements.

 

10


(b) Date of Auditors’ Opinion and Quarterly Reviews . Until the first CreditEase fiscal year end occurring after the Control Ending Date, and thereafter to the extent necessary for the purpose of preparing financial statements or completing a financial statement audit, Yirendai shall use its reasonable best efforts to enable Yirendai’s Auditors to complete their audit such that they will date their opinion on Yirendai’s audited annual financial statements no later than the date that CreditEase’s Auditors date their opinion on CreditEase’s audited annual financial statements, and to enable CreditEase to meet its timetable for the printing, filing and public dissemination of CreditEase’s annual financial statements, if applicable. Until the first CreditEase fiscal year end occurring after the Control Ending Date, and thereafter to the extent necessary for the purpose of preparing financial statements or completing a financial statement audit, Yirendai shall use its reasonable best efforts to enable Yirendai’s Auditors to complete their annual audit and quarterly review procedures such that they will provide clearance on such Party’s annual and quarterly financial statements no later than the date that CreditEase’s Auditors provide clearance on CreditEase’s annual and quarterly financial statements, if any.

(c) Annual and Quarterly Financial Statements . Until the Control Ending Date, Yirendai shall not change its fiscal year and, until the first CreditEase fiscal year end occurring after the Control Ending Date, and thereafter to the extent necessary for the purpose of preparing financial statements or completing a financial statement audit, shall provide to CreditEase on a timely basis all Information that CreditEase reasonably requires to meet its schedule for the preparation, printing, filing, and public dissemination of CreditEase’s annual and quarterly financial statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Yirendai will provide all required financial Information with respect to Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE to Yirendai’s Auditors in a sufficient and reasonable time and in sufficient detail to permit Yirendai’s Auditors to take all steps and perform all procedures necessary to provide sufficient assistance to CreditEase’s Auditors with respect to financial Information to be included or contained in CreditEase’s annual and quarterly financial statements. Similarly, CreditEase shall provide to Yirendai on a timely basis all financial Information that Yirendai reasonably requires to meet its schedule for the preparation, printing, filing, and public dissemination of Yirendai’s annual and quarterly financial statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, CreditEase will provide all required financial Information with respect to CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs to CreditEase’s Auditors in a sufficient and reasonable time and in sufficient detail to permit CreditEase’s Auditors to take all steps and perform all procedures necessary to provide sufficient assistance to Yirendai’s Auditors with respect to Information to be included or contained in Yirendai’s annual and quarterly financial statements.

(d) Certifications and Attestations .

(i) Until the first CreditEase fiscal year end occurring after the Control Ending Date, and thereafter to the extent necessary for the timely filing by CreditEase of annual and quarterly reports under the Exchange Act or other applicable law or in connection with any investigations of prior periods, Yirendai shall cause its principal executive officer and principal financial officer to provide to CreditEase on a timely basis and as reasonably requested by CreditEase (A) any certificates requested as support for the certifications and attestations required by Sections 302, 906 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or other applicable law to be filed with such annual and quarterly reports, (B) any certificates or other written Information which such principal executive officer or principal financial officer received as support for the certificates provided to CreditEase and (C) a reasonable opportunity to discuss with such principal financial officer and other appropriate officers and employees of Yirendai any issues reasonably related to the foregoing.

 

11


(ii) To the extent necessary for the timely filing by Yirendai of annual and quarterly reports under the Exchange Act or other applicable law or in connection with any investigations of prior periods, CreditEase shall cause its appropriate officers and employees to provide to Yirendai on a timely basis and as reasonably requested by such Party (A) any certificates requested as support for the certifications and attestations required by Sections 302, 906 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or other applicable law to be filed with such annual and quarterly reports, (B) any certificates or other Information which such appropriate officers and employees received as support for the certificates provided to Yirendai and (C) a reasonable opportunity to discuss with such appropriate officers and employees any issues reasonably related to the foregoing.

(e) Compliance With Laws, Policies and Regulations . Until the Control Ending Date, Yirendai shall comply with all financial accounting and reporting rules, policies and directives of CreditEase, to the extent such rules, policies and directives have been previously communicated to Yirendai, and fulfill all timing and reporting requirements, applicable to CreditEase subsidiaries and VIEs that are consolidated with CreditEase for financial statement purposes. Without limiting the foregoing, Yirendai shall comply with all financial accounting and reporting rules and policies, and fulfill all timing and reporting requirements, under applicable federal securities laws and the rules of NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange, as applicable. Yirendai shall not be deemed to be in breach of its obligations set forth in this provision to the extent that it is unable to comply with such obligations as a result of the actions or inactions of CreditEase.

(f) Identity of Personnel Performing the Annual Audit and Quarterly Reviews . Until the Control Ending Date, and thereafter to the extent such information and cooperation is necessary for the preparation of financial statements or completing a financial statements audit, Yirendai shall authorize Yirendai’s Auditors to make available to CreditEase’s Auditors both the personnel who performed or will perform the annual audits and quarterly reviews of Yirendai and work papers related to the annual audits and quarterly reviews of Yirendai, in all cases within a reasonable time prior to Yirendai’s Auditors’ opinion date, so that CreditEase’s Auditors are able to perform the procedures they consider necessary to take responsibility for the work of Yirendai’s Auditors as it relates to CreditEase’s Auditors’ report on CreditEase’s financial statements, all within sufficient time to enable CreditEase to meet its timetable for the printing, filing and public dissemination of CreditEase’s annual and quarterly financial statements. Similarly, CreditEase shall authorize CreditEase’s Auditors to make available to Yirendai’s Auditors both the personnel who performed or will perform the annual audits and quarterly reviews of CreditEase and work papers related to the annual audits and quarterly reviews of CreditEase, in all cases within a reasonable time prior to CreditEase’s Auditors’ opinion date, so that Yirendai’s Auditors are able to perform the procedures they consider necessary to take responsibility for the work of CreditEase’s Auditors as it relates to Yirendai’s Auditors’ report on Yirendai’s financial statements, all within sufficient time to enable Yirendai to meet its timetable for the printing, filing and public dissemination of Yirendai’s annual and quarterly financial statements.

 

12


(g) Access to Books and Records . Until the Control Ending Date, and thereafter to the extent such information and cooperation is necessary for the preparation of financial statements or completing a financial statements audit, Yirendai shall provide CreditEase’s internal auditors, counsel and other designated representatives of CreditEase access during normal business hours to (i) the premises of Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE and all Information (and duplicating rights) within the knowledge, possession or control of Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE and (ii) the officers and employees of Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE, so that CreditEase may conduct reasonable audits relating to the financial statements provided by Yirendai pursuant hereto as well as to the internal accounting controls and operations of Yirendai. Similarly, CreditEase shall provide Yirendai’s internal auditors, counsel and other designated representatives of Yirendai access during normal business hours to (x) the premises of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs and all Information (and duplicating rights with respect thereto) within the knowledge, possession or control of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs and (y) the officers and employees of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, so that Yirendai may conduct reasonable audits relating to the financial statements provided by CreditEase pursuant hereto as well as to the internal accounting controls and operations of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs.

(h) Notice of Change in Accounting Principles . Until the Control Ending Date, and thereafter if a change in accounting principles by a Party would affect the historical financial statements of the other Party, no such Party shall make or adopt any significant changes in its accounting estimates or accounting principles from those in effect on the Public Filing Date without first consulting with the other Party, and if requested by the other Party, such other Party’s independent registered public accounting firm with respect thereto. CreditEase shall give Yirendai as much prior notice as reasonably practical of any proposed determination of, or any significant changes in, its accounting estimates or accounting principles from those in effect on the Public Filing Date. CreditEase will consult with Yirendai and, if requested by Yirendai, Yirendai’s independent registered public accounting firm with respect thereto. Yirendai shall give CreditEase as much prior notice as reasonably practical of any proposed determination of, or any significant changes in, its accounting estimates or accounting principles from those in effect on the Public Filing Date. Yirendai will consult with CreditEase and, if requested by CreditEase, CreditEase’s independent registered public accounting firm with respect thereto.

(i) Conflict With Third-Party Agreements . Nothing in Section 4.3 or this Section 4.4 shall require a Party to violate any agreement with any third party regarding the confidentiality of confidential and proprietary Information relating to that third party or its business; provided, however, that in the event that a Party is required under Section 4.3 or this Section 4.4 to disclose any such Information, such Party shall use its reasonable best efforts to seek to obtain such third party’s consent to the disclosure of such Information.

 

13


Section 4.5 Confidentiality . Each of the Parties shall hold and shall cause each of their respective subsidiaries and VIE(s) to hold, and shall each cause their respective officers, employees, agents, consultants and advisors and those of their respective subsidiaries and VIE(s) to hold, in strict confidence and not to disclose or release without the prior written consent of the other Party, any and all Confidential Information concerning such other Party and its respective subsidiaries and VIE(s); provided, that each of the Parties may disclose, or may permit disclosure of, Confidential Information (i) to their respective subsidiaries and VIE(s), auditors, attorneys, financial advisors, bankers and other appropriate consultants and advisors who have a need to know such information and, in each case, are informed of their obligation to hold such information confidential to the same extent as is applicable to the Parties hereto and in respect of whose failure to comply with such obligations, Yirendai or CreditEase, as the case may be, will be responsible, (ii) if the Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries or VIE(s) are compelled to disclose any such Confidential Information by judicial or administrative process or (iii) if the Parties reasonably determine in good faith that such

disclosure is required by other requirements of law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any demand or request for disclosure of Confidential Information is made in connection with any judicial or administrative process, or a Party determines in good faith that disclosure is otherwise required by law, such Party shall promptly notify the other Party of the existence of such request, demand, or conclusion, and shall provide such other Party a reasonable opportunity to seek an appropriate protective order or other remedy, which the notifying Party will cooperate in obtaining. In the event that an appropriate protective order or other remedy is not obtained, the Party whose Confidential Information is required to be disclosed shall or shall cause the notifying Party to furnish, or cause to be furnished, only that portion of the Confidential Information that is required to be disclosed and shall use its reasonable best efforts to obtain reasonable assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Information.

(b) As used in this Section 4.5:

(i) “ Confidential Information ” shall mean Confidential Business Information and Confidential Technical Information concerning one Party which, prior to, on or following the Public Filing Date, has been disclosed by such Party or its subsidiaries or VIE(s), that (1) is in written, recorded, graphical or other tangible form and is marked “Proprietary,” “Confidential” or “Trade Secret,” or where it is evident from the nature and content of such Information that the disclosing Party considers it to be confidential, (2) is in oral form and identified by the disclosing Party as “Proprietary”, “Confidential” or “Trade Secret” at the time of oral disclosure, including pursuant to the access provisions of Section 4.3 or Section 4.4 hereof or any other provision of this Agreement or where it is evident from the nature and content of such Information that the disclosing Party considers it to be confidential, or (3) in the case of such Information disclosed on or prior to the date hereof, either such Information is identified by the owning Party to the other relevant Party as Confidential Business Information or Confidential Technical Information, orally or in writing on or prior to the Public Filing Date, or it is evident from the nature and content of such Information that the disclosing Party considers it to be confidential, and includes any modifications or derivatives prepared by the receiving Party that contain or are based upon any Confidential Information obtained from the disclosing Party, including any analysis, reports, or summaries of the Confidential Information. Confidential Information may also include Information disclosed to a disclosing Party by third parties. Confidential Information shall not, however, include any information which (A) was publicly known and made generally available in the public domain prior to the time of disclosure by the disclosing Party; (B) becomes publicly known and made generally available after disclosure by the disclosing Party to the receiving Party through no action or inaction of the receiving Party; (C) is obtained by the receiving Party from a third party without a breach of such third party’s obligations of confidentiality; or (D) is on or after the Public Filing Date independently developed by the receiving Party without use of or reference to the disclosing Party’s Confidential Information.

 

14


(ii) “ Confidential Technical Information ” shall mean all proprietary scientific, engineering, mathematical or design information, data and material of the disclosing Party including, without limitation, (a) specifications, ideas, concepts, models, and strategies for products or services, (b) quality assurance policies, procedures and specifications, (c) source code and object code, (d) training materials and information, and (e) all other know-how, methodology, processes, procedures, techniques and trade secrets related to product or service design, development, manufacture, implementation, use, support and maintenance.

(iii) “ Confidential Business Information ” shall mean all proprietary information, data or material of the disclosing Party other than Confidential Technical Information, including, but not limited to (a) proprietary earnings reports and forecasts, (b) proprietary macro-economic reports and forecasts, (c) proprietary business plans, (d) proprietary general market evaluations and surveys, (e) proprietary financing and credit-related information, and (f) customer information.

(c) Nothing in this Agreement shall restrict (i) the disclosing Party from using, disclosing, or disseminating its own Confidential Information in any way, or (ii) reassignment of the receiving Party’s employees. Moreover, nothing in the Agreement supersedes any restriction imposed by third parties on their Confidential Information, and there is no obligation on the disclosing Party to conform third party agreements to the terms of this Agreement except as expressly set forth therein.

(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, (i) a Party and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) shall be deemed to have satisfied their obligations hereunder with respect to Confidential Information if they exercise the same degree of care (but no less than a reasonable degree of care) as they take to preserve confidentiality for their own similar Information and (ii) confidentiality obligations provided for in any agreement between a Party or any of its subsidiaries or VIE(s) and any employee of such Party or any of its subsidiaries or VIE(s) shall remain in full force and effect.

(e) Confidential Information of a Party and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) in the possession of and used by the other Party as of the Public Filing Date may continue to be used by such Party in possession of the Confidential Information in and only in the operation of the CreditEase Business, in the case of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIE(s), or the Yirendai Business, in the case of Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE, and may be used only so long as the Confidential Information is maintained in confidence and not disclosed in violation of Section 4.5(b). Such continued right to use Confidential Information may not be transferred, including by merger, consolidation, reorganization, operation of law, or otherwise, to any third party unless such third party (A) purchases all or substantially all of the business or business line and assets in one transaction or in a series of related transactions for which or in which the relevant Confidential Information is used or employed and (B) expressly agrees in writing to be bound by the provisions of this Section 4.5. In the event that such right to use is transferred in accordance with the preceding sentence, the transferring Party shall not disclose the source of the relevant Confidential Information.

 

15


Section 4.6 Privileged Matters . The Parties agree that their respective rights and obligations to maintain, preserve, assert or waive any or all privileges belonging to each such Party or its subsidiaries or VIE(s) including but not limited to the attorney-client and work product privileges (collectively, “ Privileges ”), shall be governed by the provisions of this Section 4.6. With respect to Privileged Information (as defined below) of CreditEase, CreditEase shall have sole authority in perpetuity to determine whether to assert or waive any or all Privileges, and Yirendai shall take no action (nor permit any of its subsidiaries or VIE to take action) without the prior written consent of CreditEase that could result in any waiver of any Privilege that could be asserted by CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs under applicable law and this Agreement. With respect to Privileged Information of Yirendai, Yirendai shall have sole authority in perpetuity to determine whether to assert or waive any or all Privileges, and CreditEase shall take no action (nor permit any of its subsidiaries or VIEs to take action) without the prior written consent of Yirendai that could result in any waiver of any Privilege that could be asserted by Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries or VIE under applicable law and this Agreement.

(a) The rights and obligations created by this Section 4.6 shall apply to all Information as to which the Parties or their respective subsidiaries or VIE(s) would be entitled to assert or has asserted a Privilege (“ Privileged Information ”). Privileged Information of CreditEase includes but is not limited to (i) any and all Information regarding the business of CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs (other than Information regarding the Yirendai Business), whether or not it is in the possession of Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries and VIE; (ii) all communications subject to a Privilege between counsel for CreditEase (including in-house counsel) and any individual who, at the time of the communication, was an employee of CreditEase, regardless of whether such employee is or becomes an employee of Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries and VIE and (iii) all Information generated, received or arising after the Public Filing Date that refers or relates to Privileged Information of CreditEase generated, received or arising prior to the Public Filing Date. Privileged Information of Yirendai includes but is not limited to (x) any and all Information regarding the Yirendai Business, whether or not it is in the possession of CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries and VIEs; (y) all communications subject to a Privilege occurring after the Public Filing Date between counsel for Yirendai (including in-house counsel and former in-house counsel who are or were employees of CreditEase) and any person who, at the time of the communication, was an employee of Yirendai, regardless of whether such employee was, is or becomes an employee of CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs and (z) all Information generated, received or arising after the Public Filing Date that refers or relates to Privileged Information of Yirendai generated, received or arising prior to the Public Filing Date.

(b) Upon receipt by a Party or its subsidiaries or VIE(s) of any subpoena, discovery or other request from any third party that actually or arguably calls for the production or disclosure of Privileged Information of the other Party or its subsidiaries or VIE(s), or if a Party or any of its subsidiaries or VIE(s) obtains knowledge that any of its current or former employees has received any subpoena, discovery or other request from any third party that actually or arguably calls for the production or disclosure of Privileged Information of the other Party or its subsidiaries or VIE(s), such Party shall promptly notify that other Party of the existence of the request and shall provide that other Party a reasonable opportunity to review the Information and to assert any rights such other Party may have under this Section 4.6 or otherwise to prevent the production or disclosure of Privileged Information. CreditEase or its subsidiaries or VIEs, or Yirendai or its subsidiaries and VIE, as the case may be, will not produce or disclose to any third party any of the other Party’s Privileged Information under this Section 4.6 unless (a) such other Party has provided its express written consent to such production or disclosure or (b) a court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order not subject to interlocutory appeal or review finding that the Information is not entitled to protection from disclosure under any applicable privilege, doctrine or rule.

 

16


(c) CreditEase’s transfer of books and records pertaining to the Yirendai Business and other Information pertaining to Yirendai, if any, CreditEase’s agreement to permit Yirendai to obtain Information existing prior to the Public Filing Date, Yirendai’s transfer of books and records and other Information pertaining to CreditEase, if any, and Yirendai’s agreement to permit CreditEase to obtain Information existing prior to the Public Filing Date are made in reliance on CreditEase’s and Yirendai’s respective agreements, as set forth in Section 4.5 and this Section 4.6, to maintain the confidentiality of such Information and to take the steps provided herein for the preservation of all Privileges that may belong to or be asserted by CreditEase, or Yirendai, as the case may be. The access to Information, witnesses and individuals being granted pursuant to Section 4.3 and Section 4.4 and the disclosure to one Party of Privileged Information relating to the other Party’s businesses pursuant to this Agreement shall not be asserted by CreditEase or Yirendai to constitute, or otherwise be deemed, a waiver of any Privilege that has been or may be asserted under this Section 4.6 or otherwise. Nothing in this Agreement shall operate to reduce, minimize or condition the rights granted to, or the obligations imposed upon, CreditEase and Yirendai by this Section 4.6.

Section 4.7 Future Litigation and Other Proceedings . In the event that Yirendai (or any of its subsidiaries or VIE or any of its or their respective officers or directors) or CreditEase (or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs or any of its or their respective officers or directors) at any time after the date hereof initiates or becomes subject to any litigation or other proceedings before any Governmental Authority or arbitration panel with respect to which the Parties have no prior agreements (as to indemnification or otherwise), the Party (and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) and its and their respective officers and directors) that has not initiated and is not subject to such litigation or other proceedings shall comply, at the litigant Party’s expense, with any reasonable requests by the litigant Party for assistance in connection with such litigation or other proceedings (including by way of provision of Information and making available of employees as witnesses). In the event that Yirendai (or any of its subsidiaries or VIE or any of its or their respective officers or directors) and CreditEase (or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs or any of its or their respective officers or directors), or any combination thereof, at any time after the date hereof initiate or become subject to any litigation or other proceedings before any Governmental Authority or arbitration panel with respect to which the litigant Parties have no prior agreements (as to indemnification or otherwise), each litigant Party (and its officers and directors) shall, at their own expense, coordinate their strategies and actions with respect to such litigation or other proceedings to the extent such coordination would not be detrimental to their respective interests and shall comply, at the expense of the requesting Party, with any reasonable requests of such Party for assistance in connection therewith (including by way of provision of information and making available of employees as witnesses).

 

17


Section 4.8 Mail and other Communications . Each of CreditEase and Yirendai may receive mail, facsimiles, packages and other communications properly belonging to the other. Accordingly, each Party authorizes each of the other Party to receive and open all mail, telegrams, packages and other communications received by it and not unambiguously intended for the other Party or any of the other Party’ officers or directors, and to retain the same to the extent that they relate to the business of the receiving Party or, to the extent that they do not relate to the business of the receiving Party, the receiving Party shall promptly deliver such mail, telegrams, packages or other communications, including, without limitation, notices of any liens or encumbrances on any asset transferred to Yirendai or its subsidiaries or VIE in connection with the separation from CreditEase, if any, (or, in case the same relate to both businesses, copies thereof) to the other Party as provided for in Section 7.5 hereof. The provisions of this Section 4.8 are not intended to, and shall not, be deemed to constitute (a) an authorization by either CreditEase or Yirendai to permit the other to accept service of process on its behalf and no Party is or shall be deemed to be the agent of the other Party for service of process purposes or (b) a waiver of any Privilege with respect to Privileged Information contained in such mail, telegrams, packages or other communications.

Section 4.9 Other Inter-Company Services Agreements . To the extent not covered under the Inter-Company Agreements, CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, on the one hand, and Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE, on the other, may enter into other services agreements from time to time covering the provision of various services, if any, including financial, accounting, legal, and other services by CreditEase (and its subsidiaries and VIEs) to Yirendai (and its subsidiaries and VIE) or, in certain circumstances, vice versa.

Section 4.10 Payment of Expenses . Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Inter-Company Agreements or any other agreement between the Parties relating to the IPO, (i) all costs and expenses of the Parties in connection with the IPO (including costs associated with drafting this Agreement, the Inter-Company Agreements and the documents relating to the formation of Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE) shall be paid by Yirendai and (ii) all costs and expenses of the Parties in connection with any matter not relating to the IPO shall be paid by the Party which incurs such cost or expense. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Yirendai and CreditEase shall each be responsible for their own internal fees, costs and expenses (e.g., salaries of personnel) incurred in connection with the IPO.

ARTICLE 5

MUTUAL RELEASES; INDEMNIFICATION

Section 5.1 Release of Claims .

(a) Yirendai Release . Except as provided in Section 5.1(c), Yirendai, for itself and as agent for each of its subsidiaries and VIE, does hereby assume, and does hereby remise, release and forever discharge the CreditEase Indemnitees from, any and all Liabilities whatsoever, whether at law or in equity (including any right of contribution), whether arising under any contract or agreement, by operation of law or otherwise, existing or arising from any past acts or events occurring or failing to occur or alleged to have occurred or to have failed to occur or any conditions existing or alleged to have existed on or before the Public Filing Date, including in connection with the transactions and all other activities to implement the IPO.

 

18


(b) CreditEase Release . Except as provided in Section 5.1(c), CreditEase, for itself and as agent for each of its subsidiaries and VIEs, does hereby remise, release and forever discharge the Yirendai Indemnitees from any and all Liabilities whatsoever, whether at law or in equity (including any right of contribution), whether arising under any contract or agreement, by operation of law or otherwise, existing or arising from any past acts or events occurring or failing to occur or alleged to have occurred or to have failed to occur or any conditions existing or alleged to have existed on or before the Public Filing Date, including in connection with the transactions and all other activities to implement the IPO.

(c) No Impairment . Nothing contained in Section 5.1(a) or Section 5.1(b) shall limit or otherwise affect any Party’s rights or obligations pursuant to or contemplated by this Agreement or any Inter-Company Agreement, in each case in accordance with its terms, including, without limitation, any obligations relating to indemnification, including indemnification pursuant to Section 5.2 and Section 5.3 of this Agreement.

Section 5.2 Indemnification by Yirendai . Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, Yirendai shall, for itself and as agent for each of its subsidiaries and VIE, indemnify, defend (or, where applicable, pay the defense costs for) and hold harmless the CreditEase Indemnitees from and against, and shall reimburse the CreditEase Indemnitees with respect to, any and all Losses that any third party seeks to impose upon the CreditEase Indemnitees, or which are imposed upon the CreditEase Indemnitees, and that relate to, arise or result from, whether prior to, on or following the Public Filing Date, any of the following items (without duplication):

(a) any Yirendai Liability;

(b) any breach by Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries and VIE of this Agreement or any of the Inter-Company Agreements; and

(c) any Liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, with respect to all information (i) contained in the IPO Registration Statement, any issuer free writing prospectus or any preliminary, final or supplemental prospectus forming a part of the IPO Registration Statement (other than information provided in writing by CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs to Yirendai specifically for inclusion in the IPO Registration Statement, any issuer free writing prospectus or any preliminary, final or supplemental prospectus forming a part of the IPO Registration Statement), (ii) contained in any public filings made by Yirendai with the SEC following the Public Filing Date or (iii) provided in writing by Yirendai or its subsidiaries or VIE to CreditEase specifically for inclusion in CreditEase’s annual or quarterly reports (if any) following the Public Filing Date to the extent (A) such information pertains to (x) Yirendai or its subsidiaries or VIE or (y) the Yirendai Business or (B) CreditEase has provided prior written notice to Yirendai that such information will be included in one or more annual or quarterly reports (if any), specifying how such information will be presented, and the information is included in such annual or quarterly reports; provided that this sub-clause (B) shall not apply to the extent that any such Liability arises out of or results from, or in connection with, any action or inaction of CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs, including as a result of any misstatement or omission of any information by CreditEase or its subsidiaries or VIEs to Yirendai.

 

19


In the event that Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries or VIE makes a payment to the CreditEase Indemnitees hereunder, and any of the CreditEase Indemnitees subsequently diminishes the Liability on account of which such payment was made, either directly or through a third-party recovery (other than a recovery indirectly from CreditEase or its subsidiaries or VIEs), CreditEase will promptly repay (or will procure an CreditEase Indemnitee to promptly repay) Yirendai (or its subsidiaries or VIE that has made the payment) the amount by which the payment made by Yirendai (or its subsidiaries or VIE that has made the payment) exceeds the actual cost of the associated indemnified Liability.

Section 5.3 Indemnification by CreditEase . Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, CreditEase shall, for itself and as agent for each of its subsidiaries and VIEs, indemnify, defend (or, where applicable, pay the defense costs for) and hold harmless the Yirendai Indemnitees from and against, and shall reimburse each such Yirendai Indemnitee with respect to, any and all Losses that any third party seeks to impose upon the Yirendai Indemnitees or which are imposed upon the Yirendai Indemnitees to the extent relating to, arising from or resulting from, whether prior to, on or following the Public Filing Date, any of the following items (without duplication):

(a) any Liability of CreditEase or its subsidiaries or VIEs and all Liabilities arising out of the operation or conduct of the CreditEase Business (in each case excluding the Yirendai Liabilities);

(b) any breach by CreditEase or any member of the CreditEase Group of this Agreement or any of the Inter-Company Agreements; and

(c) any Liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, with respect to all information (i) contained in the IPO Registration Statement, any issuer free writing prospectus or any preliminary, final or supplemental prospectus forming a part of the IPO Registration Statement and provided in writing by CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs to Yirendai specifically for inclusion in the IPO Registration Statement, any issuer free writing prospectus or any preliminary, final or supplemental prospectus forming a part of the IPO Registration Statement), (ii) contained in any public filings made by CreditEase with the SEC following the Public Filing Date, if any, or (iii) provided in writing by CreditEase or its subsidiaries or VIEs to Yirendai specifically for inclusion in Yirendai’s annual or quarterly reports following the Public Filing Date to the extent (A) such information pertains to (x) CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs or (y) the CreditEase Business or (B) Yirendai has provided prior written notice to CreditEase that such information will be included in one or more annual or quarterly reports, specifying how such information will be presented, and the information is included in such annual or quarterly reports; provided that this sub-clause (B) shall not apply to the extent that any such Liability arises out of or results from, or in connection with, any action or inaction of Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries or VIE, including as a result of any misstatement or omission of any information by Yirendai or any of its subsidiaries or VIE to CreditEase.

 

20


In the event that CreditEase or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs makes a payment to the Yirendai Indemnitees hereunder, and any of the Yirendai Indemnitees subsequently diminishes the Liability on account of which such payment was made, either directly or through a third-party recovery (other than a recovery indirectly from Yirendai or its subsidiaries or VIE), Yirendai will promptly repay (or will procure a Yirendai Indemnitee to promptly repay) CreditEase (or any of its subsidiaries or VIEs that has made the payment) the amount by which the payment made by CreditEase (or any its subsidiaries or VIEs that has made the payment) exceeds the actual cost of the indemnified Liability.

Section 5.4 Procedures for Defense, Settlement and Indemnification of the Third Party Claims .

(a) Notice of Claims. If an Indemnitee shall receive notice or otherwise learn of the assertion by a Person (including any Governmental Authority) other than CreditEase, Yirendai and their respective subsidiaries and VIE(s) of any claim or of the commencement by any such Person of any Action (collectively, a “ Third Party Claim ”) with respect to which an Indemnifying Party may be obligated to provide indemnification, CreditEase or Yirendai, as applicable, will ensure that such Indemnitee shall give such Indemnifying Party written notice thereof within thirty (30) days after becoming aware of such Third Party Claim. Any such notice shall describe the Third Party Claim in reasonable detail. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the delay or failure of any Indemnitee or other Person to give notice as provided in this Section 5.4 shall not relieve the related Indemnifying Party of its obligations under this Article 5, except to the extent that such Indemnifying Party is actually and substantially prejudiced by such delay or failure to give notice.

(b) Defense by Indemnifying Party . An Indemnifying Party shall be entitled to participate in the defense of any Third Party Claim and, to the extent that it wishes, at its cost, risk and expense, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnitee, unless the Indemnifying Party is also a party to such proceeding and the Indemnitee determines in good faith that joint representation would be materially prejudicial to the Indemnitee’s defense. After timely notice from the Indemnifying Party to the Indemnitee of such election to so assume the defense thereof, the Indemnifying Party shall not be liable to the Indemnitee for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses subsequently incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with the defense thereof. The Indemnitee agrees to cooperate in all reasonable respects with the Indemnifying Party and its counsel in the defense against any Third Party Claim. The Indemnifying Party shall be entitled to compromise or settle any Third Party Claim as to which it is providing indemnification, provided that any compromise or settlement shall be made only with the written consent of the Indemnitee, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.

(c) Defense by Indemnitee . If an Indemnifying Party fails to assume the defense of a Third Party Claim within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of such claim, the Indemnitee will, upon delivering notice to such effect to the Indemnifying Party, have the right to undertake the defense, compromise or settlement of such Third Party Claim on behalf of and for the account of the Indemnifying Party subject to the limitations as set forth in this Section 5.4; provided, however, that such Third Party Claim shall not be compromised or settled without the written consent of the Indemnifying Party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. If the Indemnitee assumes the defense of any Third Party Claim, it shall keep the Indemnifying Party reasonably informed of the progress of any such defense, compromise or settlement. The Indemnifying Party shall reimburse all such costs and expenses of the Indemnitee in the event it is ultimately determined that the Indemnifying Party is obligated to indemnify the Indemnitee with respect to such Third Party Claim. In no event shall an Indemnifying Party be liable for any settlement effected without its consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.

 

21


Section 5.5 Additional Matters .

(a) Cooperation in Defense and Settlement . With respect to any Third Party Claim that implicates both Yirendai and CreditEase in a material way due to the allocation of Liabilities, responsibilities for management of defense and related indemnities set forth in this Agreement or any of the Inter-Company Agreements, the Parties agree to cooperate fully and maintain a joint defense (in a manner that will preserve the attorney-client privilege, joint defense or other privilege with respect thereto) so as to minimize such Liabilities and defense costs associated therewith. Any Party that is not responsible for managing the defense of such Third Party Claims shall, upon reasonable request, be consulted with respect to significant matters relating thereto and may, if necessary or helpful, engage counsel to assist in the defense of such claims.

(b) Subrogation . In the event of payment by or on behalf of any Indemnifying Party to or on behalf of any Indemnitee in connection with any Third Party Claim, such Indemnifying Party shall be subrogated to and shall stand in the place of such Indemnitee, in whole or in part based upon whether the Indemnifying Party has paid all or only part of the Indemnitee’s Liability, as to any events or circumstances in respect of which such Indemnitee may have any right, defense or claim relating to such Third Party Claim against any claimant or plaintiff asserting such Third Party Claim or against any other person. Such Indemnitee shall cooperate with such Indemnifying Party in a reasonable manner, and at the cost and expense of such Indemnifying Party, in prosecuting any subrogated right, defense or claim.

Section 5.6 Survival of Indemnities . The rights and obligations of the Parties under this Article 5 shall survive the sale or other transfer by any Party of any of its assets or businesses or the assignment by it of any Liabilities or the acquisition of control of such Party (by sale of capital stock or other equity interests, merger, consolidation or otherwise).

ARTICLE 6

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Section 6.1 Dispute Resolution .

(a) Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach, termination or validity thereof (“ Dispute ”) which arises between the Parties shall first be negotiated between appropriate senior executives of each Party who shall have the authority to resolve the matter. Such executives shall meet to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute prior to pursuing other available remedies, within ten (10) days of receipt by a Party of written notice of a Dispute, which date of receipt shall be referred to herein as the “ Dispute Resolution Commencement Date .” Discussions and correspondence relating to trying to resolve such Dispute shall be treated as Confidential Information and Privileged Information of each of CreditEase and Yirendai developed for the purpose of settlement and shall be exempt from discovery or production and shall not be admissible in any subsequent proceeding between the Parties.

 

22


(b) If the senior executives are unable to resolve the Dispute within 60 days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, then, the Dispute will be submitted to the boards of directors of CreditEase and Yirendai. Representatives of each board of directors shall meet as soon as practicable to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute.

(c) If the representatives of the two boards of directors are unable to resolve the Dispute within 120 days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, on the request of any Party, the Dispute will be mediated by a mediator appointed pursuant to the mediation rules of the American Arbitration Association. Both Parties will share the administrative costs of the mediation and the mediator’s fees and expenses equally, and each Party shall bear all of its other costs and expenses related to the mediation, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, witness fees, and travel expenses. The mediation shall take place in Beijing, China or in whatever alternative forum on which the Parties may agree.

(d) If the Parties cannot resolve any Dispute through mediation within 45 days after the appointment of the mediator (or the earlier withdrawal thereof), each Party shall be entitled to submit the Dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre for arbitration in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules in force at the time when the Dispute is submitted. There shall be three (3) arbitrators. The third and presiding arbitrator shall be qualified to practice law in New York. The place or seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto, and the prevailing party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Parties will continue to provide service and honor all other commitments under this Agreement and each Inter-Company Agreement during the course of dispute resolution pursuant to the provisions of this Section 6.1 with respect to all matters not subject to such dispute, controversy or claim.

ARTICLE 7

MISCELLANEOUS.

Section 7.1 Consent . Any consent of a Party pursuant to this Agreement or any of the Inter-Company Agreements shall not be effective unless it is in writing and evidenced by the signature of the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of such Party (or such other person that the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or board of directors of such Party has specifically authorized in writing to give such consent).

Section 7.2 Limitation of Liability . IN NO EVENT SHALL CREDITEASE OR ANY MEMBER OF THE CREDITEASE GROUP OR YIRENDAI OR ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES OR VIE BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY, OR ITS AFFILIATED COMPANIES FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS, HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER OR NOT SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; PROVIDED , HOWEVER , THAT THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS SHALL NOT LIMIT EACH PARTY’S INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS FOR LIABILITIES AS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT OR IN ANY INTER-COMPANY AGREEMENT.

 

23


Section 7.3 Termination . This Agreement may be terminated by mutual consent of the Parties, evidenced by an instrument in writing signed on behalf of each of the Parties. In the event of termination pursuant to this Section 7.3, no Party shall have any liability of any kind to the other Party. This Agreement shall terminate on the date that is five (5) years after the Control Ending Date; provided , however , that (i) the provisions of Section 4.7 shall survive for a period of seven (7) years after the termination of this Agreement, and (ii) the provisions of Section 4.5, Article 5, Article 6 and Article 7 shall survive indefinitely after the termination of this Agreement. For avoidance of doubt, the termination of this Agreement shall not affect the validity and effectiveness of the Inter-Company Agreements.

Section 7.4 Amendment . This Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing executed by a duly authorized representative of each party.

Section 7.5 Notices . Notices, offers, requests or other communications required or permitted to be given by a Party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be given in writing to the other Party to the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified in a notice given in accordance with this Section):

if to CreditEase:

16/F, Tower C, SOHO New Town,

88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing, 100022

The People’s Republic of China

if to Yirendai:

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing

The People’s Republic of China

or to such other address, facsimile number or email address as the Party to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the other in writing as provided herein. Any notice involving non-performance or termination shall be sent by hand delivery or recognized courier. All other notices may also be sent by facsimile or email, confirmed by mail. All notices shall be deemed to have been given when received, if hand delivered; when transmitted, if transmitted by facsimile or email; upon confirmation of delivery, if sent by recognized courier; and upon receipt if mailed.

If any of such notice or other correspondences is transmitted by facsimile or telex, it shall be treated as delivered immediately upon transmission; if delivered in person, it shall be treated as delivered at the time of delivery; if posted by mail, it shall be treated as delivered five (5) days after posting.

Section 7.6 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A.

Section 7.7 Authority . Each of the Parties hereto represents to the others that (a) it has the corporate or other requisite power and authority to execute, deliver and perform this Agreement, (b) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by it have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or other actions, (c) it has duly and validly executed and delivered this Agreement, and (d) this Agreement is a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and general equity principles.

 

24


Section 7.8 Entire Agreement . This Agreement, the Inter-Company Agreements and the Exhibits and Schedules referenced or attached hereto and thereto constitute the entire agreement among the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all previous agreements, negotiations, discussions, writings, understandings, commitments and conversations with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof.

Section 7.9 Severability . If any term of this Agreement is determined by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any Party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.

Section 7.10 Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Remedies Cumulative . No failure or delay on the part of any Party hereto in the exercise of any right hereunder shall impair such right or be construed to be a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any breach of any representation, warranty or agreement herein, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other right. All rights and remedies existing under this Agreement are cumulative to, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies otherwise available.

Section 7.11 Binding Effect; Assignment . This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties hereto and their respective legal representatives and successors, and nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any other Person any rights or remedies of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement. No Party may assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of the other Party, and any such assignment shall be void; provided, however, each Party may assign this Agreement to a successor entity in conjunction with such Party’s reincorporation in another jurisdiction or into another business form.

Section 7.12 No Third Party Beneficiaries . None of the provisions of this Agreement shall be for the benefit of or enforceable by any third party, including any creditor of any Person. No such third party shall obtain any right under any provision of this Agreement or shall by reasons of any such provision make any claim in respect of any Liability (or otherwise) against either Party hereto.

Section 7.13 Inconsistency . None of the provisions of this Agreement is intended to supersede any provision in any Inter-Company Agreement or any other agreement with respect to the respective subject matters thereof. In the event of conflict between this Agreement and any Inter-Company Agreement or other agreement executed in connection herewith, the provisions of such other agreement shall prevail.

 

25


Section 7.14 Interpretation . The headings contained in this Agreement and in the table of contents to this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. For all purposes of this Agreement: (i) all references in this Agreement to designated “Sections” and other subdivisions are to the designated Sections and other subdivisions of the body of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated; (ii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other subdivision; (iii) “or” is not exclusive; (iv) “including” and “includes” will be deemed to be followed by “but not limited to” and “but is not limited to”, respectively; (v) any definition of, or reference to, any law, agreement, instrument or other document herein will be construed as referring to such law, agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified; and (vi) any definition of, or reference to, any statute will be construed as referring also to any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Section 7.15 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which shall constitute one and the same agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or other electronic imaging means will be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

[Signature page follows]

 

26


WHEREFORE, the Parties have signed this Master Transaction Agreement effective as of the date first set forth above.

 

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Director
Yirendai Ltd.
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

[Signature Page to Master Transaction Agreement]

Exhibit 10.4

TRANSITIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT

Between

CREDITEASE HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED

and

YIRENDAI LTD.

Dated as of November 9, 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1

  

DEFINITIONS.

  

Section 1.1

  Capitalized terms      1   

ARTICLE 2

  

SERVICES.

  

Section 2.1

  Initial Services      4   

Section 2.2

  Additional Services      4   

Section 2.3

  Scope of Services      5   

Section 2.4

  Limitation on Provision of Services      5   

Section 2.5

  Standard of Performance; Standard of Care      6   

Section 2.6

  Changes in Services      7   

Section 2.7

  Services Performed by Third Parties      8   

Section 2.8

  Responsibility for Provider Personnel      8   

Section 2.9

  Services Rendered as a Work-For-Hire; Return of Equipment; Internal Use; No Sale, Transfer, Assignment; Copies      8   

Section 2.10

  Cooperation      9   

ARTICLE 3

  

PRICES AND PAYMENT.

  

Section 3.1

  Prices for Services      9   

Section 3.2

  Procedure      9   

Section 3.3

  Late Payments      9   

ARTICLE 4

  

TERM AND TERMINATION.

  

Section 4.1

  Termination Dates      9   

Section 4.2

  Early Termination by the Recipient      9   

Section 4.3

  Termination by the Provider      10   

Section 4.4

  Effect of Termination of Services      10   

Section 4.5

  Data Transmission      10   

ARTICLE 5

  

MISCELLANEOUS.

  

Section 5.1

  Disclaimer of Warranties      11   

Section 5.2

  Limitation of Liability; Indemnification      11   

Section 5.3

  Compliance with Law and Governmental Regulations      12   

 

i


Section 5.4

  No Partnership or Joint Venture; Independent Contractor      12   

Section 5.5

  Non-Exclusivity      13   

Section 5.6

  Expenses      13   

Section 5.7

  Further Assurances      13   

Section 5.8

  Confidentiality      13   

Section 5.9

  Amendments      14   

Section 5.10

  Notices      14   

Section 5.11

  Governing Law      14   

Section 5.12

  Dispute Resolution      15   

Section 5.13

  Incorporation by Reference      15   

Section 5.14

  Entire Agreement      16   

Section 5.15

  Severability      16   

Section 5.16

  Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Remedies Cumulative      16   

Section 5.17

  Assignment; No Third-Party Beneficiaries      16   

Section 5.18

  Inconsistency      16   

Section 5.19

  Interpretation      17   

Section 5.20

  Counterparts      17   

 

ii


TRANSITIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT

This Transitional Services Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 9, 2015, by and between, CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ CreditEase ”), on behalf of itself and other members of CreditEase Group, and Yirendai Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Yirendai ”), on behalf of itself and other members of Yirendai Group.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Yirendai is a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase;

WHEREAS, the parties currently contemplate that Yirendai will make an initial public offering (“ IPO ”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form F-1 confidentially submitted for review and comment by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to be filed publicly with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via its EDGAR system following the substantial completion of such review and comment and as financial market conditions permit (as so filed, and as amended thereafter from time to time, the “ IPO Registration Statement ”);

WHEREAS, CreditEase and Yirendai have entered into that certain Master Transaction Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (the “ Master Transaction Agreement ”), which sets forth and memorializes the principal arrangements between CreditEase and Yirendai regarding their relationship from and after the filing of the IPO Registration Statement and the consummation of the IPO, including the entering into of this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the parties desire that members of CreditEase Group will continue to provide certain services to members of Yirendai Group and that members of Yirendai Group will also provide certain services to members of CreditEase Group.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual covenants and undertakings contained herein and the transactions contemplated by the Master Transaction Agreement, the receipt and sufficiency of which are acknowledged, the parties hereby mutually agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1

DEFINITIONS.

Section 1.1 Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein will have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Master Transaction Agreement. Capitalized terms used in the Schedule but not otherwise defined therein, will have the meaning ascribed to such word in this Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, the following words and phrases will have the following meanings:

Actual Cost ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1 of this Agreement.

 

1


Additional Services ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2 of this Agreement.

Affiliate ” of any Person means a Person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Person; provided that , under this Agreement, “Affiliate” of any member of CreditEase Group excludes members of Yirendai Group, and “Affiliate” of any member of Yirendai Group excludes members of CreditEase Group. As used herein, “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such entity, whether through ownership of voting securities or other interests, by contract or otherwise.

Agreement ” means this Transitional Services Agreement, together with the Schedule hereto, as the same may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions hereof.

Claims ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.2(d) of this Agreement.

Control Ending Date ” means the earlier of (i) the first date upon which members of the CreditEase Group no longer collectively own at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Yirendai and (ii) the first date upon which CreditEase, collectively with the other members of the CreditEase Group, ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of the then outstanding voting securities of Yirendai (for purposes of this clause (ii), without considering holdings of institutional investors that have acquired Yirendai securities in the ordinary course of their business and not with a purpose nor with the effect of changing or influencing the control of Yirendai).

CreditEase ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble of this Agreement.

CreditEase Group ” means CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

Dispute ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.12 of this Agreement.

Dispute Resolution Commencement Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.12 of this Agreement.

Force Majeure Event ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(b) of this Agreement.

Governmental Authority ” means any federal, state, local, foreign or international court, government, department, commission, board, bureau, agency, official or other regulatory, administrative or governmental authority.

Indemnitee ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.2(d) of this Agreement.

Indemnitor ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.2(d) of this Agreement.

Information ” means information in written, oral, electronic or other tangible or intangible forms, stored in any medium, including studies, reports, records, books, contracts, instruments, surveys, discoveries, ideas, concepts, know-how, techniques, designs, specifications, drawings, blueprints, diagrams, models, prototypes, samples, flow charts, data, computer data, disks, diskettes, tapes, computer programs or other software, marketing plans, customer names, communications by or to attorneys (including attorney-client privileged communications), memoranda and other materials prepared by attorneys or under their direction (including attorney work product), and other technical, financial, employee or business information or data.

 

2


Initial Services ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.

IPO ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

IPO Completion Date ” means the closing date of the IPO, on which the delivery of and payment for the securities offered by Yirendai (excluding securities offered by Yirendai upon underwriter(s)’ exercise of over-allotment option) in connection with the IPO will take place.

IPO Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Law ” means any law, statute, rule, regulation or other requirement imposed by a Governmental Authority.

Master Transaction Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Person ” means an individual, a general or limited partnership, a corporation, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization, a limited liability entity, any other entity and any Governmental Authority.

PRC ” means the People’s Republic of China, which, for purposes of this Agreement only, does not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan.

Provider ” means, with respect to any particular Service, the entity or entities identified on the Schedule as the party to provide such Service.

Provider Personnel ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8 of this Agreement.

Recipient ” means, with respect to any particular Service, the entity or entities identified on the Schedule as the party to receive such Service.

Review Meetings ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.10 of this Agreement.

Schedule ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.

Service Period ” means, with respect to any Service, the period commencing on the IPO Completion Date, and ending on the earlier of (i) the date the Recipient terminates the provision of such Service pursuant to Section 4.2, (ii) the date the Provider terminates the provision of such Service pursuant to Section 4.3, (iii) the fifth anniversary of the IPO Completion Date, and (iv) one year after the Control Ending Date.

Services ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2 of this Agreement.

 

3


System ” means the software, hardware, data store or maintenance and support components or portions of such components of a set of information assets identified in a Schedule.

Tax ” means all forms of direct and indirect taxation or duties imposed, or required to be collected or withheld, including charges, together with any related interest, penalties or other additional amounts.

Termination Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2 of this Agreement.

U.S. GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time.

VIE ” of any Person means any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Person and is deemed to be a variable interest entity consolidated with such Person for purposes of U.S. GAAP.

Work Product ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.9 of this Agreement.

Yirendai ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble of this Agreement.

Yirendai Group ” means Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

ARTICLE 2

SERVICES.

Section 2.1 Initial Services . Except as otherwise provided herein, during the applicable Service Period, each Provider agrees to provide, or with respect to any service to be provided by an Affiliate of such Provider, to cause such Affiliate to provide, to the Recipient, or with respect to any service to be provided to an Affiliate of the Recipient, to such Affiliate, the services that have been provided by the Provider and/or its Affiliates to the Recipient or its Affiliate (the “ Initial Services ”), including but not limited to the services set forth on the Schedule (the “ Schedule ”) annexed hereto.

Section 2.2 Additional Services . From time to time during the applicable Service Period, the parties may identify additional services that the Provider will provide to the Recipient in accordance with the terms of this Agreement (the “ Additional Services ” and, together with the Initial Services, the “ Services ”). If the parties agree to add any Additional Services, the parties will mutually create a Schedule or amend the existing Schedule for each such Additional Service setting forth the identities of the Provider and the Recipient, a description of such Service, the term during which such Service will be provided, the cost, if any, for such Service and any other provisions applicable thereto. In order to become a part of this Agreement, such amendment to the Schedule must be executed by a duly authorized representative of each party, at which time such Additional Service will, together with the Initial Services, be deemed to constitute a “Service” for the purposes hereof and will be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The parties may, but are not required to, agree on Additional Services during the applicable Service Period. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing or anywhere else in this Agreement, any service actually performed by the Provider upon written or oral request by the Recipient in connection with this Agreement will be deemed to constitute a “Service” for the purposes of Article 3 and Section 5.2, but such “Service” will only be incorporated into this Agreement by an amendment as set forth in this Section 2.2 and Section 5.11. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither party will have any obligation to agree to provide Additional Services.

 

4


Section 2.3 Scope of Services . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, (i) neither the Provider nor any of its Affiliates will be required to perform or to cause to be performed any of the Services for the benefit of any third party or any other person other than the applicable Recipient or its Affiliates, and (ii) the Provider makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the Services, except as provided in Section 2.5.

Section 2.4 Limitation on Provision of Services

(a) Except as expressly contemplated in the Schedule, neither the Provider nor any of its Affiliates will be obligated to perform or to cause to be performed any Service in a volume or quantity that exceeds a maximum amount that is mutually agreed by the Provider and the Recipient based on the needs of Recipient’s business; provided, however, that if the Recipient wishes to increase the volume or quantity of such Services provided under this Agreement so as to exceed such maximum amount, the Recipient will make a request to the appropriate Provider in writing in accordance with Section 5.13 at least fifteen (15) days prior to the next Review Meeting setting out in as much detail as reasonably possible the change requested and the reason for requesting the change, which request will be considered at the next Review Meeting. The Provider may, in its sole discretion, choose to accommodate or not to accommodate any such request in part or in full.

(b) In case performance of any terms or provisions hereof will be delayed or prevented, in whole or in part, because of, or related to, compliance with any Law, decree, request or order of any Governmental Authority, either local, state, federal or foreign, or because of riots, war, public disturbance, strike, labor dispute, fire explosion, storm, flood, acts of God, major breakdown or failure of transportation, manufacturing, distribution or storage facilities, or for any other reason which is not within the control of the party whose performance is interfered with and which by the exercise of reasonable diligence such party is unable to prevent (each, a “ Force Majeure Event ”), then upon prompt notice by the party so suffering to the other party, the party suffering will be excused from its obligations hereunder during the period such Force Majeure Event continues, and no liability will attach against either party on account thereof. No party will be excused from performance if such party fails to use reasonable diligence to remedy the situation and remove the cause and effect of the Force Majeure Event.

(c) If the Provider is unable to provide a Service hereunder because it does not have the necessary assets because such asset was transferred from the Provider to the Recipient, the parties will determine a mutually acceptable arrangement to provide the necessary access to such asset and until such time as access is provided, the Provider’s failure to provide such Service will not be a breach of this Agreement.

(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, this Agreement will not constitute an agreement for the Provider to provide Services to the Recipient to the extent that the provision of any such Services would not be in compliance with applicable Laws.

 

5


Section 2.5 Standard of Performance; Standard of Care

(a) The Provider will use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide and cause its Affiliates to provide the Services in a manner which is substantially similar in nature, quality and timeliness to the services provided by the applicable Provider to the applicable Recipient immediately prior to the date hereof; provided, however , that nothing in this Agreement will require the Provider to prioritize or otherwise favor the Recipient over any third parties or any of the Provider’s or the Provider’s Affiliates’ business operations. The Recipient acknowledges that the Provider’s obligation to provide the Services is contingent upon the Recipient (A) providing in a timely manner all information, documentation, materials, resources and access requested by the Provider and (B) making timely decisions, approvals and acceptances and taking in a timely manner such other actions requested by the Provider, in each case that the Provider (in its reasonable business judgment) believes is necessary or desirable to enable the Provider to provide the Services; provided, however , that the Provider requests such approvals, information, materials or services with reasonable prior notice to the extent practicable. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Provider shall not be responsible for any failure to provide any Service in the event that the Recipient has not fully complied with the immediately preceding sentence. The parties acknowledge and agree that nothing contained in the Schedule will be deemed to (A) increase or decrease the standard of care imposed on the Provider, (B) expand the scope of the Services to be provided as set forth in Article 2, except to the extent that the Schedule references a Service that was not provided immediately prior to the date hereof, or (C) limit Sections 5.1 and 5.2.

(b) In providing the Services, except to the extent necessary to maintain the level of Service provided on the date hereof (or with respect to any Additional Service, the agreed-upon level), the Provider will not be obligated to: (A) hire any additional employees or (B) purchase, lease or license any additional equipment, software or other assets; and in no event will the Provider be obligated to (x) maintain the employment of any specific employee or (y) pay any costs related to the transfer or conversion of the Recipient’s data to the Provider or any alternate supplier of Services. Further, the Provider will have the right to designate which personnel it will assign to perform the Services, and it will have the right to remove and replace any such personnel at any time or designate any of its Affiliates or a third party provider at any time to perform the Services. At the Recipient’s request, the Provider will consult in good faith with the Recipient regarding the specific personnel to provide any particular Services; provided, however , that the Provider’s decision will control and be final and binding.

(c) The Provider’s sole responsibility to the Recipient for errors or omissions committed by the Provider in performing the Services will be to correct such errors or omissions in the Services at no additional cost to the Recipient; provided, however , that the Recipient must promptly advise the Provider of any such error or omission of which it becomes aware after having used commercially reasonable efforts to detect any such errors or omissions.

 

6


(d) The parties and their respective Affiliates will use good faith efforts to cooperate with each other in connection with the performance of the Services hereunder, including producing on a timely basis all information that is reasonably requested with respect to the performance of Services; provided, however , that such cooperation not unreasonably disrupt the normal operations of the parties and their respective Affiliates; provided further, that the party requesting cooperation will pay all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by the party furnishing cooperation, unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or the Master Transaction Agreement. Such cooperation will include exchanging information, providing electronic access to systems used in connection with the Services and obtaining or granting all consents, licenses, sublicenses or approvals necessary to permit each party to perform its obligations hereunder. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Recipient will be solely responsible for paying for the costs of obtaining such consents, licenses, sublicenses or approvals, including reasonable legal fees and expenses. Either party providing electronic access to systems used in connection with Services may limit the scope of access to the applicable requirements of the relevant matter through any reasonable means available, and any such access will be subject to the terms of Section 5.8. The exchange of information or records (in any format, electronic or otherwise) related to the provision of Services under this Agreement will be made to the extent that (A) such records/information exist and are created in the ordinary course, (B) do not involve the incurrence of any material expense, and (C) are reasonably necessary for any such party to comply with its obligations hereunder or under applicable Law. Subject to the foregoing terms, the parties will cooperate with each other in making information available as needed in the event of a Tax audit or in connection with statutory or governmental compliance issues, whether in the PRC or any other country; provided, however , that the provision of such information will be without representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. For the avoidance of doubt, and without limiting any privilege or protection that now or hereafter may be shared by the Provider and the Recipient, neither party will be required to provide any document if the party who would provide such document reasonably believes that so doing would waive any privilege or protection (e.g., attorney-client privilege) applicable to such document.

(e) If the Provider reasonably believes it is unable to provide any Service because of a failure to obtain necessary consents (e.g., third-party approvals or instructions or approvals from the Recipient required in the ordinary course of providing a Service), licenses, sublicenses or approvals contemplated by Section 2.5(d), such failure shall not constitute a breach hereof by the Provider and the parties will cooperate to determine the best alternative approach; provided, however , that in no event will the Provider be required to provide such Service until an alternative approach reasonably satisfactory to the Provider is found or the consents, licenses, sublicenses or approvals have been obtained.

Section 2.6 Changes in Services . The parties agree and acknowledge that any Provider may make changes from time to time in the manner of performing the applicable Services if such Provider is making similar changes in performing similar services for itself, its Affiliates or other third parties, if any, and if such Provider furnishes to the Recipient substantially the same notice (in content and timing) as such Provider provides to its Affiliates or other third parties, if any, respecting such changes. In addition, and without limiting the immediately preceding sentence in any way, and notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, such Provider may make any of the following changes without obtaining the prior consent of the Recipient: (i) changes to the process of performing a particular Service that do not adversely affect the benefits to the Recipient of such Provider’s provision or quality of such Service in any material respect or materially increase the charge for such Service; (ii) emergency changes on a temporary and short-term basis; and (iii) changes to a particular Service in order to comply with applicable Law or regulatory requirements.

 

7


Section 2.7 Services Performed by Third Parties . Nothing in this Agreement will prevent the Provider from using its Affiliates or third parties to perform all or any part of a Service hereunder. The Provider will remain fully responsible for the performance of its obligations under this Agreement in accordance with its terms, including any obligations it performs through its Affiliates or third parties, and the Provider will be solely responsible for payments due any such Affiliates or third parties.

Section 2.8 Responsibility for Provider Personnel . All personnel employed, engaged or otherwise furnished by the Provider in connection with its rendering of the Services will be the Provider’s employees, agents or subcontractors, as the case may be (collectively, “ Provider Personnel ”). The Provider will have the sole and exclusive responsibility for Provider Personnel, will supervise Provider Personnel and will cause Provider Personnel to cooperate with the Recipient in performing the Services in accordance with the terms and conditions of Section 2.5. The Provider will pay and be responsible for the payment of any and all premiums, contributions and taxes for workers’ compensation insurance, unemployment compensation, disability insurance, and all similar provisions now or hereafter imposed by any Governmental Authority with respect to, or measured by, wages, salaries or other compensation paid, or to be paid, by the Provider to Provider Personnel.

Section 2.9 Services Rendered as a Work-For-Hire; Return of Equipment; Internal Use; No Sale, Transfer, Assignment; Copies . All materials, software, tools, data, inventions, works of authorship, documentation, and other innovations of any kind, including any improvements or modifications to the Provider’s proprietary computer software programs and related materials, that the Provider, or personnel working for or through the Provider, may make, conceive, develop or reduce to practice, alone or jointly with others, in the course of performing Services or as a result of such Services, whether or not eligible for patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret or other legal protection (collectively the “ Work Product ”), as between the Provider and the Recipient, will be solely owned by the Provider. Upon the termination of any of the Services, (i) the Recipient will return to the Provider, as soon as practicable, any equipment or other property of the Provider relating to such terminated Services which is owned or leased by the Provider and is, or was, in the Recipient’s possession or control; and (ii) the Provider will transfer to the Recipient, as soon as practicable, any and all supporting, back-up or organizational data or information of the Recipient used in supplying the Service to the Recipient. In addition, the parties will use good-faith efforts at the termination of this Agreement or any specific Service provided hereunder, to ensure that all user identifications and passwords related thereto, if any, are canceled, and that any other data (as well as any and all back-up of that data) pertaining solely to the other party and related to such Service will be returned to such other party and deleted or removed from the applicable computer systems. All systems, procedures and related materials provided to the Recipient are for the Recipient’s internal use only and only as related to the Services or any of the underlying Systems used to provide the Services, and unless the Provider gives its prior written consent in each and every instance (in its sole discretion), the Recipient may not sell, transfer, assign or otherwise use the Services provided hereunder, in whole or in part, for the benefit of any person other than an Affiliate of the Recipient. The Recipient will not copy, modify, reverse engineer, decompile or in any way alter Systems without the Provider’s express written consent (in its sole discretion).

 

8


Section 2.10 Cooperation . Each party will designate in writing to the other party one (1) representative to act as a contact person with respect to all issues relating to the provision of the Services pursuant to this Agreement. Such representatives will hold review meetings by telephone or in person, as mutually agreed upon, approximately once every quarter to discuss issues relating to the provision of the Services under this Agreement (“ Review Meetings ”). In the Review Meetings such representatives will be responsible for (A) discussing any problems identified relating to the provision of Services and, to the extent changes are agreed upon, implementing such changes and (B) providing notice that any Service has since the prior Review Meeting for the first time exceeded, or is anticipated to exceed, the usual and customary volume for such Service as described in the Schedule.

ARTICLE 3

PRICES AND PAYMENT.

Section 3.1 Prices for Services . Services provided to any Recipient pursuant to the terms of this Agreement will be charged at the prices set forth for such Service on the Schedule. At a time during the Service Period to be separately agreed by the Provider and the Recipient, the Provider will review the charges, costs and expenses actually incurred by the Provider in providing any Service (collectively, “ Actual Cost ”) during the period preceding such review up to the last review, if any. In the event the Provider determines that the Actual Cost for any service materially differs from the aggregate costs charged to Recipient for that Service for that period, the Provider will deliver to Recipient documentation for such Actual Cost and the parties will renegotiate in good faith to adjust the appropriate costs charged to the Recipient prospectively.

Section 3.2 Procedure . Amounts payable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement will be paid by the Recipient to the Provider on a quarterly basis.

Section 3.3 Late Payments . Charges not paid within thirty (30) days after the date when payable will bear interest at the rate of 0.75% per month for the period commencing on the due date and ending on the date that is thirty (30) days after such due date, and thereafter at the rate of 1.5% per month until the date payment is received in full by the Provider.

ARTICLE 4

TERM AND TERMINATION.

Section 4.1 Termination Dates . Unless otherwise terminated pursuant to this Article 4, this Agreement will terminate with respect to any Service at the close of business on the last day of the Service Period for such Service, unless the parties have agreed in writing to an extension of the Service Period.

Section 4.2 Early Termination by the Recipient . As provided in the Schedule (regarding the required number of days for written notice), the Recipient may terminate this Agreement with respect to either all or any one or more of the Services, at any time and from time to time (except in the event such termination will constitute a breach by Provider of a third party agreement related to providing such Services), by giving the required written notice to the Provider of such termination (each, a “ Termination Notice ”). Unless provided otherwise in the Schedule, all Services of the same type must be terminated simultaneously. As soon as reasonably practicable after its receipt of a Termination Notice, the Provider will advise the Recipient as to whether early termination of such Services will require the termination or partial termination, or otherwise affect the provision of, certain other Services. If this will be the case, the Recipient may withdraw its Termination Notice within ten (10) days. If the Recipient does not withdraw the Termination Notice within such period, such termination will be final and the Recipient will be deemed to have agreed to the termination, partial termination or affected provision of such other Services and to pay the fees provided in Section 4.4.

 

9


Section 4.3 Termination by the Provider . Upon the Control Ending Date, the Provider may terminate this Agreement with respect to either all or any one or more of the Services, at any time and from time to time, by giving the required written notice to the Recipient of such termination as provided in the Schedule (regarding the required number of days of written notice). Additionally, the Provider may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice of such termination to the Recipient, if the Recipient breaches any material provision of this Agreement (including a failure to timely pay an invoiced amount); provided, however, that the Recipient will have thirty (30) days after receiving such written notice to cure any breach which is curable before the termination becomes effective.

Section 4.4 Effect of Termination of Services . In the event of any termination with respect to one or more, but less than all, of the Services, this Agreement will continue in full force and effect with respect to any Services not so terminated. Upon the termination of any or all of the Services, the Provider will cease, or cause its applicable Affiliates or third-party providers to cease, providing the terminated Services. Upon each such termination, the Recipient will promptly (i) pay to the Provider all fees accrued through the effective date of the Termination Notice, and (ii) reimburse the Provider for the termination costs actually incurred by the Provider resulting from the Recipient’s early termination of such Services, if any, including those costs owed to third-party providers, but excluding costs related to the termination of any particular Provider employees in connection with such termination of Services (including wrongful termination claims) unless the Recipient was notified in writing that such particular employees were being engaged in order for the Provider to provide such Services.

Section 4.5 Data Transmission . In connection with the termination of a particular Service, on or prior to the last day of each relevant Service Period, the Provider will cooperate fully and will cause its Affiliates to cooperate fully to support any transfer of data concerning the relevant Services to the applicable Recipient. If requested by the Recipient in connection with the prior sentence, the Provider will deliver and will cause its Affiliates to deliver to the applicable Recipient, within such time periods as the parties may reasonably agree, all records, data, files and other information received or computed for the benefit of such Recipient during the Service Period, in electronic and/or hard copy form; provided, however, that (i) the Provider will not have any obligation to provide or cause to provide data in any non-standard format and (ii) if the Provider, in its sole discretion, upon request of the Recipient, chooses to provide data in any non-standard format, the Provider and its Affiliates will be reimbursed for their reasonable out-of-pocket costs for providing data electronically in any format other than its standard format, unless expressly provided otherwise in the Schedule.

 

10


ARTICLE 5

MISCELLANEOUS.

Section 5.1 Disclaimer of Warranties . NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY IN THIS AGREEMENT, THE PROVIDER MAKES NO AND DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICES, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE PROVIDER MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE QUALITY, SUITABILITY OR ADEQUACY OF THE SERVICES FOR ANY PURPOSE OR USE.

Section 5.2 Limitation of Liability; Indemnification

(a) Each party acknowledges and agrees that the obligations of the other party hereunder are exclusively the obligations of such other party and are not guaranteed directly or indirectly by such other party’s shareholders, members, managers, officers, directors, agents or any other person. Except as otherwise specifically set forth in the Master Transaction Agreement, and subject to the terms of this Agreement, each party will look only to the other party and not to any manager, director, officer, employee or agent for satisfaction of any claims, demands or causes of action for damages, injuries or losses sustained by any party as a result of the other party’s action or inaction.

(b) Notwithstanding (A) the Provider’s agreement to perform the Services in accordance with the provisions hereof, or (B) any term or provision of the Schedule to the contrary, the Recipient acknowledges that performance by the Provider of the Services pursuant to this Agreement will not subject the Provider, any of its Affiliates or their respective members, shareholders, managers, directors, officers, employees or agents to any liability whatsoever, except as directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the Provider or any of its members, shareholders, managers, directors, officers, employees and agents; provided, however , that the Provider’s liability as a result of such gross negligence or willful misconduct will be limited to an amount not to exceed the lesser of (i) the price paid for the particular Service, (ii) the Recipient’s or its Affiliate’s cost of performing the Service itself during the remainder of the applicable Service Period or (iii) the Recipient’s cost of obtaining the Service from a third party during the remainder of the applicable Service Period; provided further that the Recipient and its Affiliates will exercise their commercially reasonable efforts to minimize the cost of any such alternatives to the Services by selecting the most cost effective alternatives which provide the functional equivalent of the Services replaced.

(c) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT TO THE CONTRARY, IN NO EVENT WILL EITHER PARTY OR ITS RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, COLLATERAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS SUFFERED BY THE OTHER PARTY OR ITS AFFILIATES, HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, IN CONNECTION WITH ANY DAMAGES ARISING HEREUNDER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER , THAT TO THE EXTENT EITHER PARTY OR ITS RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES IS REQUIRED TO PAY (A) ANY AMOUNT ARISING OUT OF THE INDEMNITY SET FORTH IN SECTION 5.2(b) AND (B) ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, COLLATERAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS TO A THIRD PARTY WHO IS NOT AN AFFILIATE OF EITHER PARTY, IN EACH CASE IN CONNECTION WITH A THIRD-PARTY CLAIM, SUCH DAMAGES WILL CONSTITUTE DIRECT DAMAGES OF THE INDEMNIFIED PARTY AND WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE LIMITATION SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION 5.2(c).

 

11


(d) The Recipient agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Provider, the Provider or its Affiliates and their respective members, shareholders, managers, directors, officers, employees and agents with respect to any claims or liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) (“ Claims ”), which may be asserted or imposed against the Provider or such persons by a third party who is not an affiliate of either party, as a result of (A) the provision of the Services pursuant to this Agreement, or (B) the material breach by the Recipient of a third-party agreement that causes or constitutes a material breach of such agreement by the Provider, except (with respect to both of the foregoing) for any claims which are directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Provider or such persons. Each party as indemnitee (“ Indemnitee ”) will give the other party as indemnitor (“ Indemnitor ”) prompt written notice of any Claims. If Indemnitor does not notify Indemnitee within a reasonable period after Indemnitor’s receipt of notice of any Claim that Indemnitor is assuming the defense of Indemnitee, then until such defense is assumed by Indemnitor, Indemnitee shall have the right to defend, contest, settle or compromise such Claim in the exercise of its reasonable judgment and all costs and expenses of such defense, contest, settlement or compromise (including reasonable outside attorneys’ fees and expenses) will be reimbursed to Indemnitee by Indemnitor. Upon assumption of the defense of any such Claim, Indemnitor will, at its own cost and expense, select legal counsel, conduct and control the defense and settlement of any suit or action which is covered by Indemnitor’s indemnity. Indemnitee shall render all cooperation and assistance reasonably requested by the Indemnitor and Indemnitor will keep Indemnitee fully apprised of the status of any Claim. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Indemnitee may, at its election and sole expense, be represented in such action by separate counsel and Indemnitee may, at its election and sole expense, assume the defense of any such action, if Indemnitee hereby waives Indemnitor’s indemnity hereunder. Unless Indemnitee waives the indemnity hereunder, in no event shall Indemnitee, as part of the settlement of any claim or proceeding covered by this indemnity or otherwise, stipulate to, admit or acknowledge any liability or wrongdoing (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) of any issue which may be covered by this indemnity without the consent of the Indemnitor (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

Section 5.3 Compliance with Law and Governmental Regulations . The Recipient will be solely responsible for (i) compliance with all Laws affecting its business and (ii) any use the Recipient may make of the Services to assist it in complying with such Laws. Without limiting any other provisions of this Agreement, the parties agree and acknowledge that neither party has any responsibility or liability for advising the other party with respect to, or ensuring the other party’s compliance with, any public disclosure, compliance or reporting obligations of such other party (including the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and rules and regulations promulgated under such Acts or any successor provisions), regardless of whether any failure to comply results from information provided hereunder.

Section 5.4 No Partnership or Joint Venture; Independent Contractor . Nothing contained in this Agreement will constitute or be construed to be or create a partnership or joint venture between the parties or any of their respective Affiliates, successors or assigns. The parties understand and agree that this Agreement does not make either of them an agent or legal representative of the other for any purpose whatsoever. No party is granted, by this Agreement or otherwise, any right or authority to assume or create any obligation or responsibilities, express or implied, on behalf of or in the name of any other party, or to bind any other party in any manner whatsoever. The parties expressly acknowledge that the Provider is an independent contractor with respect to the Recipient in all respects, including with respect to the provision of the Services.

 

12


Section 5.5 Non-Exclusivity . The Provider and its Affiliates may provide services of a nature similar to the Services to any other Person. There is no obligation for the Provider to provide the Services to the Recipient on an exclusive basis.

Section 5.6 Expenses . Except as otherwise provided herein, each party will pay its own expenses incident to the negotiation, preparation and performance of this Agreement, including the fees, expenses and disbursements of their respective investment bankers, accountants and counsel.

Section 5.7 Further Assurances . From time to time, each party will use its commercially reasonable efforts to take or cause to be taken, at the cost and expense of the requesting party, such further actions as may be reasonably necessary to consummate or implement the transactions contemplated hereby or to evidence such matters.

Section 5.8 Confidentiality .

(a) Subject to Section 5.8(c), each party, on behalf of itself and its respective Affiliates, agrees to hold, and to cause its respective directors, officers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives to hold, in strict confidence, with at least the same degree of care that applies to such party’s confidential and proprietary information pursuant to policies in effect as of the date hereof, all Information concerning the other party and its Affiliates that is either in its possession (including Information in its possession prior to the date hereof) or furnished by the other party, its Affiliates or their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives at any time pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise, and will not use any such Information other than for such purposes as will be expressly permitted hereunder or thereunder, except, in each case, to the extent that such Information has been (i) in the public domain through no fault of such party or its Affiliates or any of their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives, (ii) later lawfully acquired from other sources by such party (or its Affiliates) which sources are not themselves bound by a confidentiality obligation, or (iii) independently generated without reference or prior access to any proprietary or confidential Information of the other party.

(b) Each party agrees not to release or disclose, or permit to be released or disclosed, any Information of the other party or its Affiliates to any other Person, except its directors, officers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives who need to know such Information (who will be advised of their obligations hereunder with respect to such Information), except in compliance with Section 5.8(c); provided, however , that any Information may be disclosed to third parties (who will be advised of their obligation hereunder with respect to such Information) retained by the Provider as the Provider reasonably deems necessary to perform the Services.

 

13


(c) In the event that any party or any of its Affiliates either determines on the advice of its counsel that it is required to disclose any Information pursuant to applicable Law (including pursuant to any rule or regulation of any Governmental Authority) or receives any demand under lawful process or from any Governmental Authority to disclose or provide Information of any other party (or of the other party’s Affiliates) that is subject to the confidentiality provisions hereof, such party will notify the other party prior to disclosing or providing such Information and will cooperate at the expense of such other party in seeking any reasonable protective arrangements (including by seeking confidential treatment of such Information) requested or required by such other party. Subject to the foregoing, the person that received such a request or determined that it is required to disclose Information may thereafter disclose or provide Information to the extent required by such Law (as so advised by counsel) or by lawful process or such Governmental Authority; provided, however , that such Person provides the other party upon request with a copy of the Information so disclosed.

Section 5.9 Amendments . This Agreement (including the Schedule) may not be amended except by an instrument in writing executed by a duly authorized representative of each Party.

Section 5.10 Notices . Notices, offers, requests or other communications required or permitted to be given by a Party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be given in writing to the other Party to the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as shall be specified in a notice given in accordance with this Section):

if to CreditEase:

16/F, Tower C, SOHO New Town,

88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing, 100022

The People’s Republic of China

if to Yirendai:

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing

The People’s Republic of China

or to such other address, facsimile number or email address as the party to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the other in writing as provided herein. Any notice involving non-performance or termination shall be sent by hand delivery or recognized courier. All other notices may also be sent by facsimile or email, confirmed by mail. All notices shall be deemed to have been given when received, if hand delivered; when transmitted, if transmitted by facsimile or email; upon confirmation of delivery, if sent by recognized courier; and upon receipt if mailed.

If any of such notice or other correspondences is transmitted by facsimile or telex, it shall be treated as delivered immediately upon transmission; if delivered in person, it shall be treated as delivered at the time of delivery; if posted by mail, it shall be treated as delivered five (5) days after posting.

Section 5.11 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A.

 

14


Section 5.12 Dispute Resolution . (a) Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination or validity thereof (“ Dispute ”) which arises between the Parties shall first be negotiated between appropriate senior executives of each party who shall have the authority to resolve the matter. Such executives shall meet to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute prior to pursuing other available remedies, within ten (10) days of receipt by a party of written notice of a Dispute, which date of receipt shall be referred to herein as the “ Dispute Resolution Commencement Date .” Discussions and correspondence relating to trying to resolve such Dispute shall be treated as confidential information and privileged information of each of party developed for the purpose of settlement and shall be exempt from discovery or production and shall not be admissible in any subsequent proceeding between the Parties.

(b) If the senior executives are unable to resolve the Dispute within sixty (60) days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, then, the Dispute will be submitted to the boards of directors of each party. Representatives of each board of directors shall meet as soon as practicable to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute.

(c) If the representatives of the two boards of directors are unable to resolve the Dispute within 120 days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, on the request of any party, the Dispute will be mediated by a mediator appointed pursuant to the mediation rules of the American Arbitration Association. Both Parties will share the administrative costs of the mediation and the mediator’s fees and expenses equally, and each party shall bear all of its other costs and expenses related to the mediation, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, witness fees, and travel expenses. The mediation shall take place in Beijing, China or in whatever alternative forum on which the Parties may agree.

(d) If the Parties cannot resolve any Dispute through mediation within forty five (45) days after the appointment of the mediator (or the earlier withdrawal thereof), each party shall be entitled to submit the Dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre for arbitration in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules in force at the time when the Dispute is submitted. There shall be three (3) arbitrators. The third and presiding arbitrator shall be qualified to practice law in New York. The place or seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the Parties thereto, and the prevailing party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Parties will continue to honor all commitments under this Agreement during the course of dispute resolution pursuant to the provisions of this Section 5.12 with respect to all matters not subject to such dispute, controversy or claim.

Section 5.13 Incorporation by Reference . The Schedule to this Agreement is incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Agreement as if set forth in full herein.

 

15


Section 5.14 Entire Agreement . This Agreement and the Schedule attached hereto constitute the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all previous agreements, negotiations, discussions, writings, understandings, commitments and conversations with respect to the subject matter hereof.

Section 5.15 Severability . If any term of this Agreement or the Schedule attached hereto is determined by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.

Section 5.16 Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Remedies Cumulative . No failure or delay on the part of any party hereto in the exercise of any right hereunder shall impair such right or be construed to be a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any breach of any representation, warranty or agreement herein, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other right. All rights and remedies existing under this Agreement or the Schedule attached hereto are cumulative to, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies otherwise available.

Section 5.17 Assignment; No Third-Party Beneficiaries . Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights and obligations of the parties may be assigned by any party without the prior written consent of the other party, except that (i) the Recipient may assign its rights under this Agreement to any Affiliate or Affiliates of the Recipient without the prior written consent of the Provider, (ii) the Provider may assign any rights and obligations hereunder to (A) any Affiliate or Affiliates of the Provider capable of providing such Services hereunder or (B) third parties to the extent such third parties are routinely used to provide the Services to Affiliates and businesses of the Provider, in either case without the prior written consent of the Recipient, and (iii) an assignment by operation of Law in connection with a merger or consolidation will not require the consent of the other party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each party will remain liable for all of its respective obligations under this Agreement. Subject to the first sentence of this Section 5.17, this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their respective successors and assigns and no other person will have any right, obligation or benefit hereunder. Any attempted assignment or transfer in violation of this Section 5.17 will be void.

Section 5.18 Inconsistency . Neither the making nor the acceptance of this Agreement will enlarge, restrict or otherwise modify the terms of the Master Transaction Agreement or constitute a waiver or release by any party of any liabilities, obligations or commitments imposed upon them by the terms of the Master Transaction Agreement, including the representations, warranties, covenants, agreements and other provisions of the Master Transaction Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement (including the Schedule), on the one hand, and the terms of the Master Transaction Agreement, on the other hand, with respect to the subject matters of this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement will control. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms of this Agreement, on the one hand, and the Schedule, on the other hand, the terms of this Agreement (other than charges for Services) will control.

 

16


Section 5.19 Interpretation . The headings contained in this Agreement and in the table of contents to this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. For all purposes of this Agreement: (i) all references in this Agreement to designated “Sections,” “Schedules” and other subdivisions are to the designated Sections, Schedules and other subdivisions of the body of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated; (ii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other subdivision; (iii) “or” is not exclusive; (iv) “including” and “includes” will be deemed to be followed by “but not limited to” and “but is not limited to”, respectively; (v) any definition of, or reference to, any law, agreement, instrument or other document herein will be construed as referring to such law, agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified; and (vi) any definition of, or reference to, any statute will be construed as referring also to any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Section 5.20 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which shall constitute one and the same agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or other electronic imaging means will be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

[Signature page follows]

 

17


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties has caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first written above.

 

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited

By:

 

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:

  Ning Tang

Title:

  Director

Yirendai Ltd.

By:

 

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:

  Ning Tang

Title:

  Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

[Signature Page to Transitional Services Agreement]


SCHEDULE 1

SERVICES

Types of Services :

 

1. Operational Management Support Services, including but not limited to management, supervision and instruction of the operation of sales and marketing, product development, customer service and general administration;

 

2. Administrative Support Services, including but not limited to secretarial support, event management, conference management, and other day-to-day office support services;

 

3. Legal Support Services, including but not limited to support services in respective of contract management, risk control, compliance and other corporate legal matters;

 

4. Human Resources Support Services, including but not limited to recruitment, employee service center, workforce administration, employee data management, payroll and other employment-related matters; and

 

5. Accounting, Internal Control and Internal Audit Support Services.

Provider : CreditEase or an Affiliate of CreditEase

Recipient : Yirendai or an Affiliate of Yirendai

Scope and Annual Volume of Each Type of Services : Based on the Recipient’s reasonable request subject to the terms of this Agreement, provided that the Provider actually performs such Services for itself or its Affiliates.

Price : The actual Direct Costs and Indirect Costs of providing such Services. “ Direct Costs ” shall include compensation and travel expenses attributable to employees, temporary workers, and contractors directly engaged in performing the Services, materials and supplies consumed in and agency fees arising from performing the Services. “ Indirect Costs ” shall include office occupancy, information technology support and other overhead costs of the department incurring the direct costs of providing the Service.

Required Notice Period for Termination by Recipient Pursuant to Section 4.2 of this Agreement : 90 days

Required Notice Period for Termination by Provider Pursuant to Section 4.3 of this Agreement : 90 days

 

Schedule-1-1

Exhibit 10.5

NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT

Between

CREDITEASE HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED

And

YIRENDAI LTD.

Dated as of November 9, 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1

  

DEFINITIONS.

  

Section 1.1

  Defined Terms      1   

ARTICLE 2

  

NON-COMPETITION.

  

Section 2.1

  Undertaking of the CreditEase Group      3   

Section 2.2

  Undertaking of the Yirendai Group      4   

ARTICLE 3

  

NON-SOLICITATION.

  

Section 3.1

  Non-Solicitation by CreditEase      4   

Section 3.2

  Non-Solicitation by Yirendai      4   

ARTICLE 4

  

MISCELLANEOUS.

  

Section 4.1

  Consent      5   

Section 4.2

  Limitation of Liability      5   

Section 4.3

  Termination      5   

Section 4.4

  Amendment      5   

Section 4.5

  Notices      5   

Section 4.6

  Governing Law      6   

Section 4.7

  Dispute Resolution      6   

Section 4.8

  Authority      6   

Section 4.9

  Entire Agreement      7   

Section 4.10

  Severability      7   

Section 4.11

  Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Specific Performance; Remedies Cumulative      7   

Section 4.12

  Binding Effect; Assignment      7   

Section 4.13

  Inconsistency      7   

Section 4.14

  Interpretation      8   

Section 4.15

  Counterparts      8   

 

i


NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT

This Non-Competition Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 9, 2015, by and between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ CreditEase ”), and Yirendai Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Yirendai ”) (each of CreditEase and Yirendai a “ Party ” and, together, the “ Parties ”).

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Article 1 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Yirendai is a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase;

WHEREAS, CreditEase has been engaged in the Yirendai Business through Yirendai and/or Yirendai’s subsidiaries and VIE, as more fully described in a draft Registration Statement on Form F-1 confidentially submitted for review and comment by the SEC under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to be filed publicly with the SEC via its EDGAR system following the substantial completion of such review and comment and as financial market conditions permit (as so filed, and as amended thereafter from time to time, the “ IPO Registration Statement ”);

WHEREAS, prior to the date hereof, all of the then existing assets and liabilities in connection with the Yirendai Business have already been transferred to or assumed by Yirendai and/or its subsidiaries and VIE;

WHEREAS, the Parties currently contemplate that Yirendai will make an initial public offering (the “ IPO ”) pursuant to the IPO Registration Statement; and

WHEREAS, the Parties intend in this Agreement to set forth the principal terms and conditions with respect to their agreement not to compete with each other or solicit the employees of each other following the IPO Completion Date;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements, covenants and provisions contained in this Agreement, the Parties, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1

DEFINITIONS.

Section 1.1 Defined Terms . The following capitalized terms have the meanings given to them in this Section 1.1:

ADSs means American depositary shares representing Ordinary Shares.

Agreement ” means this Non-Competition Agreement, as the same may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions hereof.

 

1


Control Ending Date ” means the earlier of (i) the first date upon which members of the CreditEase Group no longer collectively own at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Yirendai and (ii) the first date upon which CreditEase, collectively with the other members of the CreditEase Group, ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of the then outstanding voting securities of Yirendai (for purposes of this clause (ii), without considering holdings of institutional investors that have acquired Yirendai securities in the ordinary course of their business and not with a purpose nor with the effect of changing or influencing the control of Yirendai).

CreditEase ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

CreditEase Business ” means any business conducted by CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than the Yirendai Business.

CreditEase Group ” means CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

Dispute ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.7 of this Agreement.

Dispute Resolution Commencement Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.7 of this Agreement.

IPO ” has the meaning ascribed to it in the recitals to this Agreement.

IPO Completion Date ” means the closing date of the IPO, on which the delivery of and payment for the securities offered by Yirendai (excluding securities offered by Yirendai upon underwriter(s)’ exercise of over-allotment option) in connection with the IPO will take place.

IPO Registration Statement ” has the meaning ascribed to it in the recitals to this Agreement.

Master Transaction Agreement ” means the Master Transaction Agreement between the Parties dated the date hereof, as the same may be amended and supplemented in accordance with the provisions thereof.

Non-Competition Period ” means the period beginning from the IPO Completion Date and ending on the earlier of:

(a) one year after the Control Ending Date;

(b) the date on which the ADSs representing Ordinary Shares of Yirendai cease to be listed on NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange (except for temporary suspension of trading of the ADSs); and

(c) the fifteenth anniversary of the IPO Completion Date.

Ordinary Shares ” means the shares of Yirendai, par value $0.0001 per share (including shares represented by ADSs and held of record by the depositary bank for the ADSs).

 

2


Party ” or “ Parties ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble of this Agreement.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization or a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

VIE ” of any Person means any entity that is controlled by such Person and is deemed to be a variable interest entity consolidated with such Person for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time. As used herein, “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such entity, whether through ownership of voting securities or other interests, by contract or otherwise.

Yirendai ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Yirendai Business ” means (a) the operation of online consumer finance marketplace connecting investors and individual borrowers and facilitating unsecured loan products, and provision of related services, as currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE anywhere in the world, as more completely described in the IPO Registration Statement, and (b) other businesses that the Parties may mutually agree from time to time to be part of Yirendai Business.

Yirendai Group ” means Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

ARTICLE 2

NON-COMPETITION.

Section 2.1 Undertaking of the CreditEase Group . During the Non-Competition Period, CreditEase will not, and will cause each of the other members of the CreditEase Group not to, other than through the Yirendai Group, directly or indirectly be engaged, invest, participate or otherwise be interested in, whether on its own account or with each other or in conjunction with or on behalf of any person, (i) the Yirendai Business or (ii) any business that is of the same nature as the Yirendai Business. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any member of the CreditEase Group shall not be prohibited from:

(a) being engaged in the Yirendai Business or any business that is of the same nature as the Yirendai Business through contracts, engagements with or on behalf of any member of the Yirendai Group;

(b) continuing to engage in the CreditEase Business that the CreditEase Group engages as of the date of this Agreement; or

(c) holding shares, invest or otherwise being interested in, beneficially or of record, no more than 50% (calculated on an aggregate basis combining any such ownership by any members of the CreditEase Group) of the equity or its equivalent of any company (other than Yirendai) that engages in any business that is of the same nature as the Yirendai Business; provided that the CreditEase Group does not have board or management control of such company.

 

3


Section 2.2 Undertaking of the Yirendai Group . During the Non-Competition Period, Yirendai will not, and will cause each of the other members of the Yirendai Group not to, directly or indirectly be engaged, invest, participate or otherwise be interested in, whether on its own account or with each other or in conjunction with or on behalf of any person, (i) the CreditEase Business or (ii) any business that is of the same nature as the CreditEase Business. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any member of the Yirendai Group shall not be prohibited from:

(a) being engaged in CreditEase Business or any business that is of the same nature as the CreditEase Business through contracts, engagements with or on behalf of any member of the CreditEase Group; or

(b) holding shares, invest or otherwise being interested in, beneficially or of record, no more than 50% (calculated on an aggregate basis combining any such ownership by any members of the Yirendai Group) of the equity or its equivalent of any company that engages in any business that is of the same nature as the CreditEase Business; provided that the Yirendai Group does not have board or management control of such company.

ARTICLE 3

NON-SOLICITATION.

Section 3.1 Non-Solicitation by CreditEase . During the Non-Competition Period, CreditEase will not, and will cause each other member of the CreditEase Group not to, directly or indirectly, hire, or solicit for hire, any active employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the Yirendai Group, or any former employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the Yirendai Group within six months of the termination of their employment with or consulting services to the member of the Yirendai Group, without Yirendai’s consent; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any solicitation activities through generalized non-targeted advertisement not directed to such employees or individuals that do not result in the hiring of any such employees or individuals by the CreditEase Group within the Non-Competition Period.

Section 3.2 Non-Solicitation by Yirendai . During the Non-Competition Period, Yirendai will not, and will cause each other member of the Yirendai Group not to, directly or indirectly, solicit or hire any active employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the CreditEase Group, or any former employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the CreditEase Group within six months of the termination of their employment with or consulting to the member of the CreditEase Group, without CreditEase’s consent; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any solicitation activities through generalized non-targeted advertisement not directed to such employees or individuals that do not result in the hiring of any such employees or individuals by the Yirendai Group within the Non-Competition Period.

 

4


ARTICLE 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

Section 4.1 Consent . Any consent of a Party pursuant to this Agreement shall not be effective unless it is in writing and evidenced by the signature of the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of such Party (or such other person that the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or board of directors of such Party has specifically authorized in writing to give such consent).

Section 4.2 Limitation of Liability . In no event shall any Party be liable to the other Party, or its affiliated companies for any special, consequential, indirect, incidental or punitive damages or lost profits, however caused and on any theory of liability (including negligence) arising in any way out of this Agreement, whether or not such Party has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Subject to the forgoing, nothing in this Agreement limits a Party’s right to seek for remedies such Party is entitled to for any breach of this Agreement, whether at law or in equity, including without limitation the right to terminate this Agreement in the event that the other Party materially breaches this Agreement.

Section 4.3 Termination . This Agreement may be terminated by mutual written consent of the Parties, evidenced by an instrument in writing signed on behalf of each of the Parties. This Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the expiration of the Non-Competition Period.

Section 4.4 Amendment . This Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing executed by a duly authorized representative of each Party.

Section 4.5 Notices . Notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by a Party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be given in writing to the other Party to the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as shall be specified in a notice given in accordance with this Section):

if to CreditEase:

16/F, Tower C, SOHO New Town,

88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing, 100022

The People’s Republic of China

if to Yirendai:

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing

The People’s Republic of China

or to such other address, facsimile number or email address as the Party to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the other in writing as provided herein. Any notice involving non-performance or termination shall be sent by hand delivery or recognized courier. All other notices may also be sent by facsimile or email, confirmed by mail. All notices shall be deemed to have been given when received, if hand delivered; when transmitted, if transmitted by facsimile or email; upon confirmation of delivery, if sent by recognized courier; and upon receipt if mailed.

 

5


If any of such notice or other correspondences is transmitted by facsimile or telex, it shall be treated as delivered immediately upon transmission; if delivered in person, it shall be treated as delivered at the time of delivery; if posted by mail, it shall be treated as delivered five (5) days after posting.

Section 4.6 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A.

Section 4.7 Dispute Resolution . (a) Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination or validity thereof (“ Dispute ”) which arises between the Parties shall first be negotiated between appropriate senior executives of each Party who shall have the authority to resolve the matter. Such executives shall meet to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute prior to pursuing other available remedies, within ten (10) days of receipt by a Party of written notice of a Dispute, which date of receipt shall be referred to herein as the “ Dispute Resolution Commencement Date .” Discussions and correspondence relating to trying to resolve such Dispute shall be treated as confidential information and privileged information of each of CreditEase and Yirendai developed for the purpose of settlement and shall be exempt from discovery or production and shall not be admissible in any subsequent proceeding between the Parties.

(b) If the senior executives are unable to resolve the Dispute within sixty (60) days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, then, the Dispute will be submitted to the boards of directors of CreditEase and Yirendai. Representatives of each board of directors shall meet as soon as practicable to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute.

(c) If the representatives of the two boards of directors are unable to resolve the Dispute within 120 days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, on the request of any Party, the Dispute will be mediated by a mediator appointed pursuant to the mediation rules of the American Arbitration Association. Both Parties will share the administrative costs of the mediation and the mediator’s fees and expenses equally, and each Party shall bear all of its other costs and expenses related to the mediation, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, witness fees, and travel expenses. The mediation shall take place in Beijing, China or in whatever alternative forum on which the Parties may agree.

(d) If the Parties cannot resolve any Dispute through mediation within forty five (45) days after the appointment of the mediator (or the earlier withdrawal thereof), each Party shall be entitled to submit the Dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre for arbitration in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules in force at the time when the Dispute is submitted. There shall be three (3) arbitrators. The third and presiding arbitrator shall be qualified to practice law in New York. The place or seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto, and the prevailing party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award.

Section 4.8 Authority . Each of the Parties hereto represents to the others that (a) it has the corporate or other requisite power and authority to execute, deliver and perform this Agreement, (b) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by it have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or other actions, (c) it has duly and validly executed and delivered this Agreement, and (d) this Agreement is a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and general equity principles.

 

6


Section 4.9 Entire Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all previous agreements, negotiations, discussions, writings, understandings, commitments and conversations with respect to the subject matter hereof.

Section 4.10 Severability . If any term or other provision of this Agreement is determined by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any Party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner in order that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.

Section 4.11 Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Specific Performance; Remedies Cumulative . No failure or delay on the part of any Party in the exercise of any right hereunder shall impair such right or be construed to be a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any breach of any representation, warranty or agreement herein, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other right. Each Party recognizes and agrees that the other Party’s remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement would be inadequate and that the non-breaching Party shall, in addition to such other remedies as may be available to it at law or in equity, be entitled to injunctive relief and to enforce its rights by an action for specific performance to the extent permitted by law (without the posting of any bond and without proof of actual damages). All rights and remedies existing under this Agreement are cumulative to, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies otherwise available.

Section 4.12 Binding Effect; Assignment . This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties hereto and their respective legal representatives and successors, and nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any other Person any rights or remedies of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement. No Party may assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of the other Party, and any such assignment without such consent shall be void; provided, however, each Party may assign this Agreement to a successor entity in conjunction with such Party’s reincorporation in another jurisdiction or into another business form.

Section 4.13 Inconsistency . Neither the making nor the acceptance of this Agreement will enlarge, restrict or otherwise modify the terms of the Master Transaction Agreement or constitute a waiver or release by any Party of any liabilities, obligations or commitments imposed upon them by the terms of the Master Transaction Agreement, including the representations, warranties, covenants, agreements and other provisions of the Master Transaction Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement, on the one hand, and the terms of the Master Transaction Agreement, on the other hand, with respect to the subject matters of this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement will control.

 

7


Section 4.14 Interpretation . The headings contained in this Agreement and in the table of contents of this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. For all purposes of this Agreement: (i) all references in this Agreement to designated “Sections” and other subdivisions are to the designated Sections and other subdivisions of the body of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated; (ii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other subdivision; (iii) “or” is not exclusive; (iv) “including” and “includes” will be deemed to be followed by “but not limited to” and “but is not limited to”, respectively; (v) any definition of, or reference to, any law, agreement, instrument or other document herein will be construed as referring to such law, agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified; and (vi) any definition of, or reference to, any statute will be construed as referring also to any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Section 4.15 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which shall constitute one and the same agreement.

[Signature page follows]

 

8


WHEREFORE, the Parties have signed this Non-Competition Agreement effective as of the date first set forth above.

 

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited

By:

 

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:

  Ning Tang

Title:

  Director

Yirendai Ltd.

By:

 

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:

  Ning Tang

Title:

  Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

[Signature Page to Non-Competition Agreement]

Exhibit 10.6

COOPERATION FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

Between

CREDITEASE HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED

And

YIRENDAI LTD.

Dated as of November 9, 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS

     1   

ARTICLE 2 COOPERATION

     2   

ARTICLE 3 REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

     3   

ARTICLE 4 TERM

     4   

ARTICLE 5 CONFIDENTIALITY

     4   

ARTICLE 6 NOTICES

     5   

ARTICLE 7 DEFAULTING LIABILITY

     6   

ARTICLE 8 FORCE MAJEURE

     6   

ARTICLE 9 MISCELLANEOUS

     6   

 

i


COOPERATION FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

This Cooperation Framework Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 9, 2015, by and between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ CreditEase ”), and Yirendai Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Yirendai ”) (each of CreditEase and Yirendai a “ Party ” and, together, the “ Parties ”).

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Article 1 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Yirendai is a wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase;

WHEREAS, the parties currently contemplate that Yirendai will make an initial public offering (“ IPO ”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form F-1 confidentially submitted for review and comment by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to be filed publicly with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via its EDGAR system following the substantial completion of such review and comment and as financial market conditions permit (as so filed, and as amended thereafter from time to time, the “ IPO Registration Statement ”);

WHEREAS, CreditEase and Yirendai have entered into certain Master Transaction Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (the “ Master Transaction Agreement ”), which sets forth and memorializes the principal arrangements between CreditEase and Yirendai regarding their relationship from and after the filing of the IPO Registration Statement and the consummation of the IPO, including the entering into of this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Parties desire to continue to cooperate with each other in various aspects of their businesses.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements, covenants and provisions contained in this Agreement, the Parties, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1

DEFINITIONS

Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein will have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Master Transaction Agreement. Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings prescribed thereto below.

Control Ending Date ” means the earlier of (i) the first date upon which members of the CreditEase Group no longer collectively own at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Yirendai and (ii) the first date upon which CreditEase, collectively with the other members of the CreditEase Group, ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of the then outstanding voting securities of Yirendai (for purposes of this clause (ii), without considering holdings of institutional investors that have acquired Yirendai securities in the ordinary course of their business and not with a purpose nor with the effect of changing or influencing the control of Yirendai).


CreditEase ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

CreditEase Group ” means CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than the Yirendai Group.

Dispute ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.4 of this Agreement.

Dispute Resolution Commencement Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.4 of this Agreement.

Governmental Authority ” means any federal, state, local, foreign or international court, government, department, commission, board, bureau, agency, official or other regulatory, administrative or governmental authority.

IPO Completion Date ” means the closing date of the IPO, on which the delivery of and payment for the securities offered by Yirendai (excluding securities offered by Yirendai upon underwriter(s)’ exercise of over-allotment option) in connection with the IPO will take place.

Term ” has the meaning prescribed thereto in Section 4.1 hereof.

Yirendai ” means Yirendai Ltd., a company established under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

Yirendai Group ” means Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

ARTICLE 2

COOPERATION

Section 2.1 During the Term of this Agreement, CreditEase agrees to provide, or cause any other member of the CreditEase Group to provide, Yirendai Group with services and supports in the following aspects:

(a) user acquisition : borrower and investor acquisition through CreditEase Group’s on-the-ground sales network;

(b) collection : loan collection support through CreditEase Group’s in-house collection team and/or any third-party collection team hired by CreditEase Group;

(c) technology support : technology support, including but not limited to access to CreditEase Group’s settlement system and/or any third-party payment platform that is used by CreditEase Group, network design, optimization and maintenance, support and upgrade of business support systems, management of information technology equipment, technical support and disaster recovery, and complementary product development, technology and infrastructure support.

 

2


Section 2.2 The Parties further agree the following principle and procedure for service and support in relation to user acquisition:

(a) As far as borrower acquisition is concerned, Yirendai Group shall submit their request for borrower leads to CreditEase Group on a monthly basis, and CreditEase Group shall provide borrower leads in accordance with the borrower criteria submitted by Yirendai Group. CreditEase Group shall direct all the borrowers that meet Yirendai Group’s borrower criteria to Yirendai Group per the aforesaid request, and only when Yirendai Group rejects a borrower and so informs CreditEase Group can CreditEase Group offer the borrower any loan products and services of CreditEase Group.

(b) As far as investor acquisition is concerned, if it comes to CreditEase Group’s attention that any of existing or potential investors is interested in or considers investment opportunities through an online consumer finance marketplace, CreditEase Group shall, at its discretion, share that information with Yirendai Group, or direct such investor to Yirendai Group or take other measures as it deems appropriate and advisable for the purposes of supporting, promoting and/or facilitating the business of Yirendai Group.

Section 2.3 The Parties agree that fee rate, if any, charged by one party to the other party in relation to the foregoing aspects of cooperation, shall not be higher than the fee rate charged by or to an unrelated third party in an arm’s length transaction. With respect to the foregoing aspects of cooperation, the Parties will enter into separate specific agreements from time to time as necessary and appropriate for the purpose of cooperation. Terms and conditions of such specific agreements will be subject to the consultation and mutual agreement of the Parties.

ARTICLE 3

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

Section 3.1 Each Party represents and warrants to the other Party that:

(a) it is a limited liability company lawfully incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands, having independent legal person status;

(b) it has full and independent legal status and legal capacity to execute, deliver and perform this Agreement, and may be an independent party to a lawsuit;

(c) it has full internal corporate power and authorization to execute and deliver this Agreement and all other documents related to the transaction contemplated by this Agreement and to be executed by it; it has full power and authorization to consummate the transaction contemplated by this Agreement;

(d) this Agreement is lawfully and duly executed and delivered by it; this Agreement constitutes its lawful and binding obligations, enforceable against it according to the terms of this Agreement;

(e) its execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not (i) violate its articles of association or any other constitutional documents, (ii) conflict with any agreement or contract or other document to which it is a party or its property is subject, or (iii) violate or conflict with any applicable law.

 

3


ARTICLE 4

TERM

Section 4.1 This Agreement shall come into effect on the IPO Completion Date. Unless this Agreement is terminated pursuant to the express provisions of this Agreement or as agreed by the Parties in writing, the valid term of this Agreement shall end on the earlier of (i) the fifteenth anniversary of the IPO Completion Date, or (ii) one year after the Control Ending Date (the “ Term ”). At least one (1) month prior to the expiration of the Term set forth above, the Parties shall consult each other on the extension of the Term, which shall be mutually agreed to by the Parties in writing.

Section 4.2 The Parties shall complete the approval formalities to extend the business term three (3) months before the expiration of their respective business term, so as to enable the Term to continue.

Section 4.3 Within one (1) year after termination of this Agreement, the Parties shall still comply with the obligations under Article 5 of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 5

CONFIDENTIALITY

Section 5.1 Subject to Section 5.3, each party agrees to hold, and to cause its respective directors, officers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives to hold, in strict confidence, with at least the same degree of care that applies to such Party’s confidential and proprietary information pursuant to policies in effect as of the date hereof, all information concerning the other Party that is either in its possession (including information in its possession prior to the date hereof) or furnished by the other Party or its directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives at any time pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise, and will not use any such information other than for such purposes as will be expressly permitted hereunder or thereunder, except, in each case, to the extent that such information has been i) in the public domain through no fault of such Party or its directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives, ii) later lawfully acquired from other sources by such Party which sources are not themselves bound by a confidentiality obligation, or iii) independently generated without reference or prior access to any proprietary or confidential information of the other Party.

Section 5.2 Each Party agrees not to release or disclose, or permit to be released or disclosed, any information of the other Party to any other Person, except its directors, officers, employees, agents, accountants, counsel and other advisors and representatives who need to know such information (who will be advised of their obligations hereunder with respect to such information), except in compliance with Section 5.3; provided, however, that any information may be disclosed to third parties (who will be advised of their obligation hereunder with respect to such information) retained by the Provider as the Provider reasonably deems necessary to perform the Services.

 

4


Section 5.3 In the event that any Party either determines on the advice of its counsel that it is required to disclose any information pursuant to applicable law (including pursuant to any rule or regulation of any Governmental Authority) or receives any demand under lawful process or from any Governmental Authority to disclose or provide information of any other Party that is subject to the confidentiality provisions hereof, such Party will notify the other Party prior to disclosing or providing such information and will cooperate at the expense of such other Party in seeking any reasonable protective arrangements (including by seeking confidential treatment of such information) requested or required by such other Party. Subject to the foregoing, the person that received such a request or determined that it is required to disclose information may thereafter disclose or provide information to the extent required by such law (as so advised by counsel) or by lawful process or such Governmental Authority; provided, however, that such Person provides the other Party upon request with a copy of the information so disclosed.

ARTICLE 6

NOTICES

Section 6.1 Any notice, request, demand and other correspondences required by this Agreement or made in accordance with this Agreement shall be delivered in writing to the relevant Party to the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified in a notice given in accordance with this Section):

if to CreditEase:

16/F, Tower C, SOHO New Town,

88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing, 100022

The People’s Republic of China

if to Yirendai:

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing

The People’s Republic of China

or to such other address, facsimile number or email address as the Party to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the other in writing as provided herein. Any notice involving non-performance or termination shall be sent by hand delivery or recognized courier. All other notices may also be sent by facsimile or email, confirmed by mail. All notices shall be deemed to have been given when received, if hand delivered; when transmitted, if transmitted by facsimile or email; upon confirmation of delivery, if sent by recognized courier; and upon receipt if mailed.

Section 6.2 If any of such notice or other correspondences is transmitted by facsimile or telex, it shall be treated as delivered immediately upon transmission; if delivered in person, it shall be treated as delivered at the time of delivery; if posted by mail, it shall be treated as delivered five (5) days after posting.

 

5


ARTICLE 7

DEFAULTING LIABILITY

Section 7.1 The Parties agree and confirm that, if any Party (the “ Defaulting Party ”) substantially violates any agreement herein or substantially fails to perform or delays performance of any of the obligations hereunder, such violation, failure or delay shall constitute a default under this Agreement. The non-defaulting Party shall have the right to request the Defaulting Party to rectify or take remedial actions within a reasonable period. If the Defaulting Party fails to rectify or take remedial actions within such reasonable period or within fifteen (15) days after the non-defaulting Party notifies the Defaulting Party in writing requiring rectification, then the non-defaulting Party is entitled to decide at its own discretion to:

(a) terminate this Agreement and require the Defaulting Party to indemnify all of its damages; or

(b) request the Defaulting Party to perform its obligations under this Agreement and require the Defaulting Party to indemnify all of its damages.

ARTICLE 8

FORCE MAJEURE

If the performance by one Party of this Agreement is directly affected or if one Party cannot perform this Agreement in accordance with the agreed conditions due to any unforeseeable force majeure event or an force majeure event whose consequences cannot be prevented or avoided, including earthquakes, typhoons, floods, fires, wars, computer viruses, design loopholes in software tools, hacker attacks on the Internet, changes to policies or laws, etc, the affected Party shall immediately give a notice by fax to the other Party and shall within fifteen (15) days provide the other Party with supporting documents released by the relevant government authorities or a reliable third-party source describing the details of the force majeure event, and explain the reason why this Agreement cannot be performed or why the performance needs to be postponed. If the force majeure event lasts more than thirty (30) days, the Parties hereto shall negotiate amicably and as soon as possible determine whether or not part of this Agreement shall be released from performance or whether or not the performance of this Agreement shall be postponed, depending on the degree of impact of this force majeure event on the performance of this Agreement. Each Party shall not be held liable for any economic losses of the other Party caused by such Party’s failure to perform this Agreement completely due to a force majeure event.

ARTICLE 9

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 9.1 Each Party shall pay its own costs and expenses incurred in connection with the negotiation, preparation and execution of this Agreement. Each Party shall be responsible for all taxes payable by it under applicable laws incurred from the execution, performance and consummation of transactions as contemplated hereby.

 

6


Section 9.2 This Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing executed by a duly authorized representative of each party.

Section 9.3 This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A.

Section 9.4 (a) Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination or validity thereof (“ Dispute ”) which arises between the Parties shall first be negotiated between appropriate senior executives of each Party who shall have the authority to resolve the matter. Such executives shall meet to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute prior to pursuing other available remedies, within ten (10) days of receipt by a Party of written notice of a Dispute, which date of receipt shall be referred to herein as the “ Dispute Resolution Commencement Date .” Discussions and correspondence relating to trying to resolve such Dispute shall be treated as confidential information and privileged information of each of CreditEase and Yirendai developed for the purpose of settlement and shall be exempt from discovery or production and shall not be admissible in any subsequent proceeding between the Parties.

(b) If the senior executives are unable to resolve the Dispute within sixty (60) days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, then, the Dispute will be submitted to the boards of directors of CreditEase and Yirendai. Representatives of each board of directors shall meet as soon as practicable to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute.

(c) If the representatives of the two boards of directors are unable to resolve the Dispute within 120 days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, on the request of any Party, the Dispute will be mediated by a mediator appointed pursuant to the mediation rules of the American Arbitration Association. Both Parties will share the administrative costs of the mediation and the mediator’s fees and expenses equally, and each Party shall bear all of its other costs and expenses related to the mediation, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, witness fees, and travel expenses. The mediation shall take place in Beijing, China or in whatever alternative forum on which the Parties may agree.

(d) If the Parties cannot resolve any Dispute through mediation within forty five (45) days after the appointment of the mediator (or the earlier withdrawal thereof), each Party shall be entitled to submit the Dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre for arbitration in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules in force at the time when the Dispute is submitted. There shall be three (3) arbitrators. The third and presiding arbitrator shall be qualified to practice law in New York. The place or seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto, and the prevailing party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Parties will continue to honor all commitments under this Agreement during the course of dispute resolution pursuant to the provisions of this Section with respect to all matters not subject to such dispute, controversy or claim.

 

7


Section 9.5 If any term of this Agreement or the Schedules attached hereto is determined by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any Party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.

Section 9.6 This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties hereto and their respective legal representatives and successors, and nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any other Person any rights or remedies of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement.

Section 9.7 No Party may assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of the other Party, and any such assignment shall be void; provided , however , each Party may assign this Agreement to a successor entity in conjunction with such Party’s reincorporation in another jurisdiction or into another business form.

Section 9.8 The headings contained in this Agreement and in the table of contents to this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

Section 9.9 This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which shall constitute one and the same agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or other electronic imaging means will be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

[Signature page follows]

 

8


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , this Cooperation Framework Agreement is executed by the following Parties on the date first written above.

 

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Director
Yirendai Ltd.
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

[Signature Page to Cooperation Framework Agreement]

Exhibit 10.7

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSE AGREEMENT

Between

CREDITEASE HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED

And

YIRENDAI LTD.

Dated as of November 9, 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS

     2   

ARTICLE 2 GRANT AND SCOPE OF LICENSE

     4   

ARTICLE 3 AGREEMENT ON SHARING OF INFORMATION AND DATA

     5   

ARTICLE 4 MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT

     6   

ARTICLE 5 IMPROVEMENTS; DELIVERY

     6   

ARTICLE 6 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

     7   

ARTICLE 7 TERM AND TERMINATION

     7   

ARTICLE 8 DISCLAIMER

     7   

ARTICLE 9 LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

     8   

ARTICLE 10 MISCELLANEOUS

     8   

SCHEDULE A CREDITEASE OWNED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

     A-1   

SCHEDULE B YIRENDAI OWNED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

     B-1   

 

i


INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSE AGREEMENT

This Intellectual Property License Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 9, 2015, by and between CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ CreditEase ”), and Yirendai Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Yirendai ”) (each of CreditEase and Yirendai a “ Party ” and, together, the “ Parties ”).

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Article 1 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Yirendai is the wholly owned subsidiary of CreditEase;

WHEREAS, the parties currently contemplate that Yirendai will make an initial public offering (“ IPO ”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form F-1 confidentially submitted for review and comment by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to be filed publicly with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via its EDGAR system following the substantial completion of such review and comment and as financial market conditions permit (as so filed, and as amended thereafter from time to time, the “ IPO Registration Statement ”);

WHEREAS, CreditEase and Yirendai have entered into certain Master Transaction Agreement, dated as of the date hereof which sets forth and memorializes the principal arrangements between CreditEase and Yirendai regarding their relationship from and after the filing of the IPO Registration Statement and the consummation of the IPO, including the entering into of this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, each Party is willing to enter into this Agreement and grant the licenses contemplated hereby on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants hereinafter contained, the Parties hereto agree as follows:

AGREEMENT

DEFINITIONS.

Confidential Information ” means proprietary business or technical information disclosed by one Party to the other Party hereunder which 1) if disclosed in written, recorded, graphical or other tangible form, is marked “Proprietary,” “Confidential” or “Trade Secret,” or where it is evident from the nature and content of such information that the disclosing Party considers it to be confidential, 2) if disclosed in oral form, is identified by the disclosing Party as “Proprietary”, “Confidential” or “Trade Secret” at the time of oral disclosure, or 3) is evident from the nature and content of such information that the disclosing Party considers it to be confidential.

 

2


Control Ending Date ” means the earlier of (i) the first date upon which members of the CreditEase Group no longer collectively own at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Yirendai and (ii) the first date upon which CreditEase, collectively with the other members of the CreditEase Group, ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of the then outstanding voting securities of Yirendai (for purposes of this clause (ii), without considering holdings of institutional investors that have acquired Yirendai securities in the ordinary course of their business and not with a purpose nor with the effect of changing or influencing the control of Yirendai).

CreditEase ” means CreditEase, Inc., a company established under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

CreditEase Group ” means CreditEase and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property ” means any Intellectual Property owned by the CreditEase or any member of the CreditEase Group.

Dispute ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.6 of this Agreement.

Dispute Resolution Commencement Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.6 of this Agreement.

Governmental Authority ” means any federal, state, local, foreign or international court, government, department, commission, board, bureau, agency, official or other regulatory, administrative or governmental authority.

Improvement ” means any improvement, modification, translation, update, upgrade, new version, enhancement or other derivative work.

Intellectual Property ” means intellectual property rights recognized in any jurisdiction of the world, including (a) inventions, patents and patent applications; (b) trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress, Internet domain names, logos, designs, symbol and other source indicators, together with the goodwill associated exclusively therewith; (c) copyrights, Software, websites; (d) registrations and applications for registration of any of the foregoing in (a) – (c); and (e) trade secrets, know-how and proprietary or confidential information.

IPO Completion Date ” means the closing date of the IPO, on which the delivery of and payment for the securities offered by Yirendai (excluding securities offered by Yirendai upon underwriter(s)’ exercise of over-allotment option) in connection with the IPO will take place.

Software ” means any and all computer programs, software (in object and source code), firmware, middleware, applications, APIs, web widgets, code and related algorithms, models and methodologies, files, documentation and all other tangible embodiments thereof.

Term ” has the meaning prescribed thereto in Article 7 hereof.

U.S. GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time.

 

3


VIE ” of any person means any entity that is controlled by such person and is deemed to be a variable interest entity consolidated with such person for purposes of U.S. GAAP. As used herein, “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such entity, whether through ownership of voting securities or other interests, by contract or otherwise.

Yirendai ” means Yirendai Ltd., a company established under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

Yirendai Group ” means Yirendai and its subsidiaries and VIE.

Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property ” means any Intellectual Property owned by Yirendai or any member of the Yirendai Group.

GRANT AND SCOPE OF LICENSE.

Section 2.1(a) Subject to the terms and conditions herein and sub-section (b) of this section, CreditEase, on behalf of itself and other members of the CreditEase Group, hereby grants to Yirendai and other members of the Yirendai Group a worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up (except as set forth below in Article 4), non-sublicensable (except as set forth below in Section 2.3), non-transferable (except as set forth below in Section 10.10), limited and non-exclusive license solely to use, reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works of, perform, display, or otherwise exploit (i) the CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property that as of the date of this Agreement is used by any member of the Yirendai Group, including without limitation the Intellectual Property set forth on Schedule A, (ii) the CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property that is or will be needed by any member of the Yirendai Group for its existing business(es) as of the date of this Agreement, and (iii) any Improvements to the foregoing (i) and (ii) in accordance with Section 5.1 within the term of this Agreement.

(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, CreditEase, on behalf of itself and other members of the CreditEase Group, hereby grants to Yirendai and other members of the Yirendai Group a worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up (except as set forth below in Article 4), sublicensable, transferable, unlimited and exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works of, perform, display, sublicense, transfer or otherwise exploit the trademarks set forth under items 41 to 54 in Schedule A, until and unless such trademarks are transferred to Yirendai or any member of the Yirendai Group. Without Yirendai’s prior written consent, CreditEase or any member of the CreditEase Group shall not transfer such trademarks to any third party.

Section 2.2 Subject to the terms and conditions herein, Yirendai, on behalf of itself and other members of the Yirendai Group, hereby grants to CreditEase and the members of the CreditEase Group a worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up (except as set forth below in Article 4), non-sublicensable (except as set forth below in Section 2.3), non-transferable (except as set forth below in Section 10.10), limited and non-exclusive license solely to use, reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works of, perform, display, or otherwise exploit (i) the Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property that as of the date of this Agreement is used by any member of the CreditEase Group, including without limitation the Intellectual Property set forth on Schedule B, (ii) the Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property that is or will be needed by any member of the CreditEase Group for its existing business(es) as of the date of this Agreement, and (iii) any Improvements to the foregoing (i) and (ii) in accordance with Section 5.2 within the term of this Agreement.

 

4


Section 2.3 Each licensed Party hereunder may sublicense the licenses received herein solely (a) to its vendors, consultants, contractors and suppliers, solely in connection with their providing services to CreditEase and/or the CreditEase Group, on the one hand, or Yirendai and/or the Yirendai Group, on the other hand, as the case may be; and (b) to its distributors, customers and end-users, solely in connection with the distribution, licensing, offering and sale of their current and future products and services related to each of their businesses, as applicable, but not for any independent or unrelated use of any such Person.

Section 2.4 As between the Parties, CreditEase Group retains title to the CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property, and does not convey any proprietary interest therein to Yirendai Group other than the licenses or as otherwise expressly specified herein. All rights in and to such CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property not expressly granted herein are hereby reserved exclusively by CreditEase Group. Yirendai Group shall reasonably cooperate and provide reasonable assistance as may be necessary to verify CreditEase Group’s ownership rights in accordance with the foregoing. As between the Parties, Yirendai Group retains title to the Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property and does not convey any proprietary interest therein to the CreditEase Group other than the licenses or as otherwise expressly specified herein. All rights in and to such Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property not expressly granted herein are hereby reserved exclusively by Yirendai Group. CreditEase Group shall reasonably cooperate and provide reasonable assistance as may be necessary to verify Yirendai’s ownership rights in accordance with the foregoing.

Section 2.5 Each Party acknowledges and agrees that, except as set forth in Section 2.6, Article 4 and Article 5 hereof, neither Party has any obligations under this Agreement with respect to delivery, training, registration, maintenance, policing, support, notification of infringements or renewal with respect to any Intellectual Property licensed herein.

Section 2.6 As between the Parties, each Party shall have sole and exclusive discretion and control with respect to prosecuting, obtaining, maintaining, renewing and protecting applications and registrations for any Intellectual Property it owns and shall do so at its own costs and expenses during the term of this Agreement, except as otherwise provided herein. Each Party shall notify the other Party promptly in writing in the event such Party becomes aware of any third party infringement or threatened infringement of any Intellectual Property owned by the other Party.

AGREEMENT ON SHARING OF INFORMATION AND DATA.

Section 3.1 To the extent permitted under applicable laws and regulations, each Party agrees to share with the other Party and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) information and data that such Party acquires in the ordinary course of its business operation, including without limited to, borrower and investor information and credit and loan data, in the following manners:

 

5


(a) each Party agrees to provide the other Party and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) with interfaces of its database or the database maintained and operated by its subsidiaries and VIEs such that the other Party and its subsidiaries and VIE(s) will have access to these databases to the extent reasonably requested by the requesting Party;

(b) each Party agrees to provide, or cause to be provided, to the other Party, at any time, promptly after written request therefor, all information and data regularly provided by one Party to the other Party prior to the IPO Completion Date and any information in the possession or under the control of such Party to the extent reasonably requested by the requesting Party.

Each Party shall retain ownership of information and data that it shares with the other Party under this Section 3.1. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties in writing, information and data sharing under this Section 3.1 shall be free of charge. The Parties may further consult with each other to determine on a case-by-case basis and review on a quarterly basis the scope of the information and data to be shared, the plan of implementation and fees to be charged (if any) for such information and data sharing.

MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT.

During the term of this Agreement, each Party shall provide or cause to be provided to the other Party and its affiliates all support services in connection with the Intellectual Property licensed under Article 2. Such maintenance and support services shall be provided pursuant to the service levels consistent with past practice, and may be charged at reasonably allocated costs on fair and reasonable terms to be mutually agreed upon by the Parties.

IMPROVEMENTS; DELIVERY.

Section 5.1 If CreditEase or Yirendai creates or develops any Improvements to the CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property during the term of this Agreement, such Improvements shall be deemed a part of the CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property for the purposes of this Agreement and licensed to Yirendai Group pursuant to the license granted in Section 2.1.

Section 5.2 If Yirendai or CreditEase creates or develops any Improvements to the Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property during the term of this Agreement, such Improvements shall be deemed a part of the Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property for the purposes of this Agreement and licensed to CreditEase Group pursuant to the license granted in Section 2.2.

 

6


CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

Each Party hereto shall maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information in accordance with procedures adopted by such Party in good faith to protect Confidential Information disclosed to such Party hereunder, provided that such Party may disclose Confidential Information to (a) such Party’s officers, directors, employees, investors, agents, representatives, accountants and counsel who agree to hold confidential the Confidential Information; (b) any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over such Party to the extent required by applicable laws; or (c) any other Person to which such disclosure may be necessary or appropriate (i) to effect compliance with any law applicable to such Party, (ii) in response to any subpoena or other legal process, or (iii) in connection with any litigation to which such Party is a Party; provided further that, in the cases of clauses (b) or (c), such Party shall provide each other Party hereto with prompt written notice thereof so that the appropriate Party may seek (with the cooperation and reasonable efforts of each other Party) a protective order, confidential treatment or other appropriate remedy.

TERM AND TERMINATION.

Section 7.1 This Agreement shall come into effect on the IPO Completion Date. Unless this Agreement is terminated pursuant to the express provisions of this Agreement or as agreed by the Parties in writing, the valid term of this Agreement shall end on the earlier of (i) the fifteenth anniversary of the IPO Completion Date, or (ii) one year after the Control Ending Date (the “ Term ”). At least one (1) month prior to the expiration of the Term set forth above, the Parties shall consult each other on the extension of the Term, which shall be mutually agreed to by the Parties in writing.

Section 7.2 Each Party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement in whole or in part if the other Party materially fails to comply with Article 6 of this Agreement, provided such default has not been cured within thirty (30) days after written notice of such default to the defaulting Party (such thirty (30) days remediation period will be available only when such breach is curable).

Section 7.3 Upon termination of this Agreement, in whole or in part, each Party shall promptly return to the other Party or destroy all materials relating to the terminated portion which comprise any Confidential Information of the other Party, including all copies, translations and conversions thereof and shall make no further use thereof. Each Party shall certify to the other Party in writing that it has complied with the provisions of this Section 7.4.

Section 7.4 The obligations of the Parties in Articles 6-Article 10 shall survive termination of this Agreement. Nothing contained herein shall limit any other remedies that a Party may have for the default of the other Party under this Agreement nor relieve the other Party of any of its obligations incurred prior to such termination.

DISCLAIMER.

THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSED BY EACH PARTY HEREUNDER IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” NEITHER PARTY PROVIDES ANY WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, WITH RESPECT TO ANY SUCH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND THE PARTIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR ANY WARRANTIES THAT MAY BE OTHERWISE IMPLIED FROM ANY COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE.

 

7


LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

EXCEPT FOR ANY BREACH OF ARTICLE 2 OR ARTICLE 6 OF THIS AGREEMENT, IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Section 10.1 If required under PRC law, each Party shall record this Agreement at the Trademark Office of China and at the Patent Bureau of China within three (3) months after the effectiveness of this Agreement. The Parties agree to work together in good faith to modify this Agreement or enter into one or more new intellectual property license agreements subordinate to this Agreement as necessary in order to obtain such recordation. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between any provision of such new intellectual property license agreement and the provisions set forth in the body of this Agreement, the provisions set forth in this Agreement shall control and govern.

Section 10.2 This Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing executed by a duly authorized representative of each Party.

Section 10.3 Notices, offers, requests or other communications required or permitted to be given by a Party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be given in writing to the other Party to the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as shall be specified in a notice given in accordance with this Section):

 

  (a) if to CreditEase:

16/F, Tower C, SOHO New Town,

88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing, 100022

The People’s Republic of China

 

  (b) if to Yirendai:

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing

The People’s Republic of China

 

8


or to such other address, facsimile number or email address as the party to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the other in writing as provided herein. Any notice involving non-performance or termination shall be sent by hand delivery or recognized courier. All other notices may also be sent by facsimile or email, confirmed by mail. All notices shall be deemed to have been given when received, if hand delivered; when transmitted, if transmitted by facsimile or email; upon confirmation of delivery, if sent by recognized courier; and upon receipt if mailed.

If any of such notice or other correspondences is transmitted by facsimile or telex, it shall be treated as delivered immediately upon transmission; if delivered in person, it shall be treated as delivered at the time of delivery; if posted by mail, it shall be treated as delivered five (5) days after posting.

Section 10.4 This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A without regard to the conflict of laws rules stated therein.

Section 10.5 The Parties hereto acknowledge and agree that the Parties hereto may be irreparably damaged if any of the provisions of this Agreement are not performed in accordance with their specific terms or are otherwise breached and that any non-performance or breach of this Agreement by any Party hereto may not be adequately compensated by monetary damages alone and that the Parties hereto may not have any adequate remedy at law. Accordingly, in addition to any other right or remedy to which any Party hereto may be entitled, at law or in equity (including monetary damages), such Party shall be entitled to enforce any provision of this Agreement (including Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3) by a decree of specific performance and to temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of any of the provisions of this Agreement without posting any bond or other undertaking.

Section 10.6 (a) Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination or validity thereof (“ Dispute ”) which arises between the Parties shall first be negotiated between appropriate senior executives of each Party who shall have the authority to resolve the matter. Such executives shall meet to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute prior to pursuing other available remedies, within ten (10) days of receipt by a Party of written notice of a Dispute, which date of receipt shall be referred to herein as the “ Dispute Resolution Commencement Date .” Discussions and correspondence relating to trying to resolve such Dispute shall be treated as Confidential Information of each of CreditEase and Yirendai developed for the purpose of settlement and shall be exempt from discovery or production and shall not be admissible in any subsequent proceeding between the Parties.

(b) If the senior executives are unable to resolve the Dispute within sixty (60) days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, then, the Dispute will be submitted to the boards of directors of CreditEase and Yirendai. Representatives of each board of directors shall meet as soon as practicable to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the Dispute.

 

9


(c) If the representatives of the two boards of directors are unable to resolve the Dispute within 120 days from the Dispute Resolution Commencement Date, on the request of any Party, the Dispute will be mediated by a mediator appointed pursuant to the mediation rules of the American Arbitration Association. Both Parties will share the administrative costs of the mediation and the mediator’s fees and expenses equally, and each Party shall bear all of its other costs and expenses related to the mediation, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, witness fees, and travel expenses. The mediation shall take place in Beijing, China or in whatever alternative forum on which the Parties may agree.

(d) If the Parties cannot resolve any Dispute through mediation within forty five (45) days after the appointment of the mediator (or the earlier withdrawal thereof), each Party shall be entitled to submit the Dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre for arbitration in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules in force at the time when the Dispute is submitted. There shall be three (3) arbitrators. The third and presiding arbitrator shall be qualified to practice law in New York. The place or seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto, and the prevailing party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Parties will continue to honor all commitments under this Agreement during the course of dispute resolution pursuant to the provisions of this Section with respect to all matters not subject to such dispute, controversy or claim.

Section 10.7 This Agreement, together with all the Schedules and other attachments hereto, constitutes the entire agreement of the Parties hereto as of the date hereof with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersedes all prior agreements, negotiations, discussions, writings, understandings, commitments and conversations with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof.

Section 10.8 If any term of this Agreement is determined by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any Party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.

Section 10.9 No failure or delay on the part of any Party hereto in the exercise of any right hereunder shall impair such right or be construed to be a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any breach of any representation, warranty or agreement herein, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other right. All rights and remedies existing under this Agreement or Schedules attached hereto are cumulative to, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies otherwise available.

Section 10.10 No Party may assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of the other Party, and any such assignment shall be void; provided, however, each Party may assign this Agreement to a successor entity in conjunction with such Party’s reincorporation in another jurisdiction or into another business form. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the Parties’ respective successors and permitted assigns.

 

10


Section 10.11 The headings in this Agreement are for purposes of reference only and shall not in any way limit or affect the meaning or interpretation of any of the terms hereof.

Section 10.12 This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which shall constitute one and the same agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or other electronic imaging means will be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

[Signature page follows]

 

11


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties hereto, each acting under due and proper authority, have executed this Agreement as of the day, month and year first above written.

 

CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Director
Yirendai Ltd.
By:  

/s/ Ning Tang

Name:   Ning Tang
Title:   Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

[Signature Page to Intellectual Property License Agreement]


Schedule A

CreditEase Owned Intellectual Property

A. Trademarks

 

No.

   Marks   

Registrant/
Applicant

   Registration/
Application Number
   Class    Registration/
Application
Date
   Jurisdiction

1.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. LOGO
(“Pu Xin Heng Ye”)
   11148099    10    7/10/2012    PRC

2.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148098    13    7/10/2012    PRC

3.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148097    14    7/10/2012    PRC

4.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148096    15    7/10/2012    PRC

5.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148095    18    7/10/2012    PRC

6.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148094    26    7/10/2012    PRC

7.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148093    29    7/10/2012    PRC

8.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148092    30    7/10/2012    PRC

9.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148091    32    7/10/2012    PRC

10.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148090    33    7/10/2012    PRC

11.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148089    34    7/10/2012    PRC

12.

   LOGO      CreditEase Hui Min Investment Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. LOGO
(“CreditEase Hui Min”)
   6218653    36    3/28/2010    PRC

13.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148087    37    7/10/2012    PRC

14.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148086    38    7/10/2012    PRC

15.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148085    40    7/10/2012    PRC

16.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148084    41    7/10/2012    PRC

17.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148083    42    7/10/2012    PRC

18.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148082    43    7/10/2012    PRC

19.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148081    44    7/10/2012    PRC

 

Sch-A-1


20.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148080    45    7/10/2012    PRC

21.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148118    10    7/10/2012    PRC

22.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148117    13    7/10/2012    PRC

23.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148116    14    7/10/2012    PRC

24.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148115    15    7/10/2012    PRC

25.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148114    18    7/10/2012    PRC

26.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148113    26    7/10/2012    PRC

27.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148112    29    7/10/2012    PRC

28.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148111    30    7/10/2012    PRC

29.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148110    32    7/10/2012    PRC

30.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148109    33    7/10/2012    PRC

31.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148108    34    7/10/2012    PRC

32.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148107    37    7/10/2012    PRC

33.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148106    38    7/10/2012    PRC

34.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148105    40    7/10/2012    PRC

35.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148104    41    7/10/2012    PRC

36.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148103    42    7/10/2012    PRC

37.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148102    43    7/10/2012    PRC

38.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148101    44    7/10/2012    PRC

39.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11148100    45    7/10/2012    PRC

40.

   CreditEase    CreditEase Hui Min    6218653    36    03/28/2010    PRC

41.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11499254    9    10/8/2012    PRC

42.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11499253    35    10/8/2012    PRC

43.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11499252    36    10/8/2012    PRC

44.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11499251    38    10/8/2012    PRC

45.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11499250    41    10/8/2012    PRC

46.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    11499249    42    10/8/2012    PRC

47.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658201    9    11/6/2014    PRC

48.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658201    35    11/6/2014    PRC

49.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658201    36    11/6/2014    PRC

50.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658201    42    11/6/2014    PRC

51.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658202    9    11/6/2014    PRC

52.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658202    35    11/6/2014    PRC

53.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658202    36    11/6/2014    PRC

54.

   LOGO      Pu Xin Heng Ye    15658202    42    11/6/2014    PRC

 

Sch-A-2


Schedule B

Yirendai Owned Intellectual Property

A. Trademarks

 

No.

   Marks   

Registrant/
Applicant

   Registration/
Application Number
   Class    Jurisdiction

1.

   LOGO      Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Heng Cheng”)    16059911    35    PRC

2.

   LOGO      Heng Cheng    16059911    36    PRC

3.

   LOGO      Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Heng Ye”)    Not applicable    35, 36, 42    Hong Kong

4.

   LOGO      Heng Ye    Not applicable    35, 36    PRC

B. Domain Names

 

No.

  

Domain Name

   Registrant      Renewal Date  

1.

   yirendai.com      Heng Cheng         2017.12.31   

 

Sch-B-1

Exhibit 10.8

Loan Agreement

This Loan Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into by and between the Parties below as of February 22, 2015 in Beijing, China:

 

  (1) Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Lender”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;

 

  (2) Ning Tang (“Borrower”), a citizen of China with Chinese Identification No.:                  .

Each of the Lender and the Borrower shall be hereinafter referred to as a “Party” respectively, and as the “Parties” collectively.

Whereas:

 

  1. As of the date hereof, Borrower holds 40% of equity interests in Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Borrower Company”). All of the equity interest now held and hereafter acquired by Borrower in Borrower Company shall be referred to as Borrower Equity Interest;

 

  2. Lender confirms that it agrees to provide Borrower with and Borrower confirms that he/she has received a loan which equals to RMB 12,000,000 to be used for the purposes set forth under this Agreement.

After friendly consultation, the Parties agree as follows:

 

1 Loan

 

  1.1 In accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Lender and Borrower hereby acknowledge that Borrower has obtained from Lender a loan in the amount of RMB 12,000,000 (the “Loan”). The term of the Loan shall be 10 years from the effective date of this Agreement, which may be extended upon mutual written consent of the Parties. During the term of the Loan or the extended term of the Loan, Borrower shall immediately repay the full amount of the Loan in the event any one or more of the following circumstances occur:

 

  1.1.1 30 days elapse after Borrower receives a written notice from Lender requesting repayment of the Loan;

 

  1.1.2 Borrower’s death, lack or limitation of civil capacity;

 

  1.1.3 Borrower ceases (for any reason) to be an employee of Lender, Borrower Company or their affiliates;

 

1


  1.1.4 Borrower engages in criminal act or is involved in criminal activities;

 

  1.1.5 According to the applicable laws of China, foreign investors are permitted to invest in the principle business that is currently conducted by Borrower Company in China with a controlling stake and/or in the form of wholly-foreign-owned enterprises, the relevant competent authorities of China begin to approve such investments, and Lender exercises the exclusive option under the Exclusive Option Agreement (the “Exclusive Option Agreement”) described in this Agreement.

 

  1.2 The Loan provided by Lender under this Agreement shall inure to Borrower’s benefit only and not to Borrower’s successors or assigns.

 

  1.3 Borrower agrees to accept the aforementioned Loan provided by Lender, and hereby agrees and warrants using the Loan to subscribe the registered capital of Borrower Company. Without Lender’s prior written consent, Borrower shall not use the Loan for any purpose other than as set forth herein.

 

  1.4 Lender and Borrower hereby agree and acknowledge that Borrower’s method of repayment shall be at the sole discretion of Lender, and shall at Lender’s option take the form of Borrower’s transferring the Borrower Equity Interest in whole to Lender or Lender’s designated persons (legal or natural persons) pursuant to the Lender’s exercise of its right to acquire the Borrower Equity Interest under the Exclusive Option Agreement, and any proceeds from the transfer of the Borrower Equity Interest (to the extent permissible) shall be used by the Borrower to repay the Loan to Lender, in accordance with this Agreement and in the manner designated by Lender.

 

  1.5 Lender and Borrower hereby agree and acknowledge that to the extent permitted by applicable laws, Lender shall have the right but not the obligation to purchase or designate other persons (legal or natural persons) to purchase Borrower Equity Interest in part or in whole at any time, at the price stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement.

 

  1.6 Borrower also undertakes to execute an irrevocable Power of Attorney (the “Power of Attorney”), which authorizes Lender or a legal or natural person designated by Lender to exercise all of Borrower’s rights as a shareholder of Borrower Company.

 

  1.7 When Borrower transfers Borrower Equity Interest to Lender or Lender’s designated person(s), in the event that the transfer price of such equity interest equals or is lower than the principal of the Loan under this Agreement, the Loan under this Agreement shall be deemed an interest-free loan. In the event that the transfer price of such equity interest exceeds the principal of the Loan under this Agreement, the excess over the principal shall be deemed the interest of the Loan under this Agreement payable by Borrower to Lender.

 

2


2 Representations and Warranties

 

  2.1 Between the date of this Agreement and the date of termination of this Agreement, Lender hereby makes the following representations and warranties to Borrower:

 

  2.1.1 Lender is a corporation duly organized and legally existing in accordance with the laws of China;

 

  2.1.2 Lender has the legal capacity to execute and perform this Agreement. The execution and performance by Lender of this Agreement is consistent with Lender’s scope of business and the provisions of Lender’s corporate bylaws and other organizational documents, and Lender has obtained all necessary and proper approvals and authorizations for the execution and performance of this Agreement; and

 

  2.1.3 This Agreement constitutes Lender’s legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable in accordance with its terms.

 

  2.2 Between the date of this Agreement and the date of termination of this Agreement, Borrower hereby makes the following representations and warranties:

 

  2.2.1 Borrower has the legal capacity to execute and perform this Agreement. Borrower has obtained all necessary and proper approvals and authorizations for the execution and performance of this Agreement;

 

  2.2.2 This Agreement constitutes Borrower’s legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable in accordance with its terms; and

 

  2.2.3 There are no disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative proceedings or any other legal proceedings relating to Borrower, nor are there any potential disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative proceedings or any other legal proceedings relating to Borrower.

 

3 Borrower’s Covenants

 

  3.1 As and when he becomes, and for so long as he remains a shareholder of Borrower Company, Borrower covenants irrevocably that during the term of this Agreement, Borrower shall cause Borrower Company:

 

  3.1.1 to strictly abide by the provisions of the Exclusive Option Agreement and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (“Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”) to which the Borrower Company is a party, and to refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability of the Exclusive Option Agreement and Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

3


  3.1.2 at the request of Lender (or a party designated by Lender), to execute contracts/agreements on business cooperation with Lender (or a party designated by Lender), and to strictly abide by such contracts/agreements;

 

  3.1.3 to provide Lender with all of the information on Borrower Company’s business operations and financial condition at Lender’s request;

 

  3.1.4 to immediately notify Lender of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Borrower Company’s assets, business or income;

 

  3.1.5 at the request of Lender, to appoint any persons designated by Lender as directors of Borrower Company;

 

  3.2 Borrower covenants that during the term of this Agreement, he shall:

 

  3.2.1 endeavor to keep Borrower Company to engage in its principle businesses;

 

  3.2.2 abide by the provisions of this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (“Equity Interest Pledge Agreement”) and the Exclusive Option Agreement to which the Borrower is a party, perform his obligations under this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Exclusive Option Agreement, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability of this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Exclusive Option Agreement;

 

  3.2.3 not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner the legal or beneficial interest in Borrower Equity Interest, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest or the encumbrance, except in accordance with the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement;

 

  3.2.4 cause any shareholders’ meeting and/or the board of directors of Borrower Company not to approve the sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in Borrower Equity Interest, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except to Lender or Lender’s designated person;

 

  3.2.5 cause any shareholders’ meeting and/or the board of directors of the Borrower Company not to approve the merger or consolidation of Borrower Company with any person, or its acquisition of or investment in any person, without the prior written consent of Lender;

 

4


  3.2.6 immediately notify Lender of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Borrower Equity Interest;

 

  3.2.7 to the extent necessary to maintain his ownership of the Borrower Equity Interest, execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions and file all necessary or appropriate complaints or raise necessary and appropriate defense against all claims;

 

  3.2.8 without the prior written consent of Lender, refrain from any action /omission that may have a material impact on the assets, business and liabilities of Borrower Company;

 

  3.2.9 appoint any designee of Lender as director of Borrower Company, at the request of Lender;

 

  3.2.10 to the extent permitted by the laws of China, at the request of Lender at any time, promptly and unconditionally transfer all of Borrower Equity Interest to Lender or Lender’s designated representative(s) at any time, and cause the other shareholders of Borrower Company to waive their right of first refusal with respect to the share transfer described in this Section;

 

  3.2.11 to the extent permitted by the laws of China, at the request of Lender at any time, cause the other shareholders of Borrower Company to promptly and unconditionally transfer all of their equity interests to Lender or Lender’s designated representative(s) at any time, and Borrower hereby waives his right of first refusal (if any) with respect to the share transfer described in this Section;

 

  3.2.12 in the event that Lender purchases Borrower Equity Interest from Borrower in accordance with the provisions of the Exclusive Option Agreement, use such purchase price obtained thereby to repay the Loan to Lender; and

 

  3.2.13 without the prior written consent of Lender, not to cause Borrower Company to supplement, change, or amend its articles of association in any manner, increase or decreases its registered capital or change its share capital structure in any manner.

 

4 Liability for Default

 

  4.1 If Borrower conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Lender shall have right to terminate this Agreement and require the Borrower to compensate all damages; this Section 4.1 shall not prejudice any other rights of Lender herein.

 

5


  4.2 Borrower shall not terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

  4.3 In the event that Borrower fails to perform the repayment obligations set forth in this Agreement, Borrower shall pay overdue interest of 0.01% per day for the outstanding payment, until the day Borrower repays the full principal of the Loan, overdue interests and other payable amounts.

 

5 Notices

 

  5.2 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  5.2.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery.

 

  5.2.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  5.3 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Lender: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:
Borrower: Tang Ning
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

  5.4 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Party in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

6 Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

6


7 Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  7.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

  7.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its then effective arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

  7.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

8 Miscellaneous

 

  8.1 This Agreement should become effective upon execution by the Parties, and shall expire upon the date of full performance by the Parties of their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

  8.2 This Agreement shall be written in both Chinese and English language in two copies, each Party having one copy. The Chinese version and English version shall have equal legal validity.

 

  8.3 This Agreement may be amended or supplemented through written agreement by and between Lender and Borrower. Such written amendment agreement and/or supplementary agreement executed by and between Lender and Borrower are an integral part of this Agreement, and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

7


  8.4 In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

  8.5 The attachments (if any) to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

  8.6 Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof. The provisions of Sections 4, 6, 7 and this Section 8.6 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

8


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Loan Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Lender: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Borrower: Ning Tang
By:

/s/ Ning Tang


Loan Agreement

This Loan Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into by and between the Parties below as of February 22, 2015 in Beijing, China:

 

  (1) Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Lender”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;

 

  (2) Fanshun Kong (“Borrower”), a citizen of China with Chinese Identification No.:                  .

Each of the Lender and the Borrower shall be hereinafter referred to as a “Party” respectively, and as the “Parties” collectively.

Whereas:

 

  1. As of the date hereof, Borrower holds 30% of equity interests in Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Borrower Company”). All of the equity interest now held and hereafter acquired by Borrower in Borrower Company shall be referred to as Borrower Equity Interest;

 

  2. Lender confirms that it agrees to provide Borrower with and Borrower confirms that he/she has received a loan which equals to RMB 9,000,000 to be used for the purposes set forth under this Agreement.

After friendly consultation, the Parties agree as follows:

 

1 Loan

 

  1.1 In accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Lender and Borrower hereby acknowledge that Borrower has obtained from Lender a loan in the amount of RMB 9,000,000 (the “Loan”). The term of the Loan shall be 10 years from the effective date of this Agreement, which may be extended upon mutual written consent of the Parties. During the term of the Loan or the extended term of the Loan, Borrower shall immediately repay the full amount of the Loan in the event any one or more of the following circumstances occur:

 

  1.1.1 30 days elapse after Borrower receives a written notice from Lender requesting repayment of the Loan;

 

  1.1.2 Borrower’s death, lack or limitation of civil capacity;

 

  1.1.3 Borrower ceases (for any reason) to be an employee of Lender, Borrower Company or their affiliates;

 

1


  1.1.4 Borrower engages in criminal act or is involved in criminal activities;

 

  1.1.5 According to the applicable laws of China, foreign investors are permitted to invest in the principle business that is currently conducted by Borrower Company in China with a controlling stake and/or in the form of wholly-foreign-owned enterprises, the relevant competent authorities of China begin to approve such investments, and Lender exercises the exclusive option under the Exclusive Option Agreement (the “Exclusive Option Agreement”) described in this Agreement.

 

  1.2 The Loan provided by Lender under this Agreement shall inure to Borrower’s benefit only and not to Borrower’s successors or assigns.

 

  1.3 Borrower agrees to accept the aforementioned Loan provided by Lender, and hereby agrees and warrants using the Loan to subscribe the registered capital of Borrower Company. Without Lender’s prior written consent, Borrower shall not use the Loan for any purpose other than as set forth herein.

 

  1.4 Lender and Borrower hereby agree and acknowledge that Borrower’s method of repayment shall be at the sole discretion of Lender, and shall at Lender’s option take the form of Borrower’s transferring the Borrower Equity Interest in whole to Lender or Lender’s designated persons (legal or natural persons) pursuant to the Lender’s exercise of its right to acquire the Borrower Equity Interest under the Exclusive Option Agreement, and any proceeds from the transfer of the Borrower Equity Interest (to the extent permissible) shall be used by the Borrower to repay the Loan to Lender, in accordance with this Agreement and in the manner designated by Lender.

 

  1.5 Lender and Borrower hereby agree and acknowledge that to the extent permitted by applicable laws, Lender shall have the right but not the obligation to purchase or designate other persons (legal or natural persons) to purchase Borrower Equity Interest in part or in whole at any time, at the price stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement.

 

  1.6 Borrower also undertakes to execute an irrevocable Power of Attorney (the “Power of Attorney”), which authorizes Lender or a legal or natural person designated by Lender to exercise all of Borrower’s rights as a shareholder of Borrower Company.

 

  1.7 When Borrower transfers Borrower Equity Interest to Lender or Lender’s designated person(s), in the event that the transfer price of such equity interest equals or is lower than the principal of the Loan under this Agreement, the Loan under this Agreement shall be deemed an interest-free loan. In the event that the transfer price of such equity interest exceeds the principal of the Loan under this Agreement, the excess over the principal shall be deemed the interest of the Loan under this Agreement payable by Borrower to Lender.

 

2


2 Representations and Warranties

 

  2.1 Between the date of this Agreement and the date of termination of this Agreement, Lender hereby makes the following representations and warranties to Borrower:

 

  2.1.1 Lender is a corporation duly organized and legally existing in accordance with the laws of China;

 

  2.1.2 Lender has the legal capacity to execute and perform this Agreement. The execution and performance by Lender of this Agreement is consistent with Lender’s scope of business and the provisions of Lender’s corporate bylaws and other organizational documents, and Lender has obtained all necessary and proper approvals and authorizations for the execution and performance of this Agreement; and

 

  2.1.3 This Agreement constitutes Lender’s legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable in accordance with its terms.

 

  2.2 Between the date of this Agreement and the date of termination of this Agreement, Borrower hereby makes the following representations and warranties:

 

  2.2.1 Borrower has the legal capacity to execute and perform this Agreement. Borrower has obtained all necessary and proper approvals and authorizations for the execution and performance of this Agreement;

 

  2.2.2 This Agreement constitutes Borrower’s legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable in accordance with its terms; and

 

  2.2.3 There are no disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative proceedings or any other legal proceedings relating to Borrower, nor are there any potential disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative proceedings or any other legal proceedings relating to Borrower.

 

3 Borrower’s Covenants

 

  3.1 As and when he becomes, and for so long as he remains a shareholder of Borrower Company, Borrower covenants irrevocably that during the term of this Agreement, Borrower shall cause Borrower Company:

 

  3.1.1 to strictly abide by the provisions of the Exclusive Option Agreement and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (“Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”) to which the Borrower Company is a party, and to refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability of the Exclusive Option Agreement and Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

3


  3.1.2 at the request of Lender (or a party designated by Lender), to execute contracts/agreements on business cooperation with Lender (or a party designated by Lender), and to strictly abide by such contracts/agreements;

 

  3.1.3 to provide Lender with all of the information on Borrower Company’s business operations and financial condition at Lender’s request;

 

  3.1.4 to immediately notify Lender of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Borrower Company’s assets, business or income;

 

  3.1.5 at the request of Lender, to appoint any persons designated by Lender as directors of Borrower Company;

 

  3.2 Borrower covenants that during the term of this Agreement, he shall:

 

  3.2.1 endeavor to keep Borrower Company to engage in its principle businesses;

 

  3.2.2 abide by the provisions of this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (“Equity Interest Pledge Agreement”) and the Exclusive Option Agreement to which the Borrower is a party, perform his obligations under this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Exclusive Option Agreement, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability of this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Exclusive Option Agreement;

 

  3.2.3 not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner the legal or beneficial interest in Borrower Equity Interest, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest or the encumbrance, except in accordance with the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement;

 

  3.2.4 cause any shareholders’ meeting and/or the board of directors of Borrower Company not to approve the sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in Borrower Equity Interest, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except to Lender or Lender’s designated person;

 

  3.2.5 cause any shareholders’ meeting and/or the board of directors of the Borrower Company not to approve the merger or consolidation of Borrower Company with any person, or its acquisition of or investment in any person, without the prior written consent of Lender;

 

4


  3.2.6 immediately notify Lender of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Borrower Equity Interest;

 

  3.2.7 to the extent necessary to maintain his ownership of the Borrower Equity Interest, execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions and file all necessary or appropriate complaints or raise necessary and appropriate defense against all claims;

 

  3.2.8 without the prior written consent of Lender, refrain from any action /omission that may have a material impact on the assets, business and liabilities of Borrower Company;

 

  3.2.9 appoint any designee of Lender as director of Borrower Company, at the request of Lender;

 

  3.2.10 to the extent permitted by the laws of China, at the request of Lender at any time, promptly and unconditionally transfer all of Borrower Equity Interest to Lender or Lender’s designated representative(s) at any time, and cause the other shareholders of Borrower Company to waive their right of first refusal with respect to the share transfer described in this Section;

 

  3.2.11 to the extent permitted by the laws of China, at the request of Lender at any time, cause the other shareholders of Borrower Company to promptly and unconditionally transfer all of their equity interests to Lender or Lender’s designated representative(s) at any time, and Borrower hereby waives his right of first refusal (if any) with respect to the share transfer described in this Section;

 

  3.2.12 in the event that Lender purchases Borrower Equity Interest from Borrower in accordance with the provisions of the Exclusive Option Agreement, use such purchase price obtained thereby to repay the Loan to Lender; and

 

  3.2.13 without the prior written consent of Lender, not to cause Borrower Company to supplement, change, or amend its articles of association in any manner, increase or decreases its registered capital or change its share capital structure in any manner.

 

4 Liability for Default

 

  4.1 If Borrower conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Lender shall have right to terminate this Agreement and require the Borrower to compensate all damages; this Section 4.1 shall not prejudice any other rights of Lender herein.

 

5


  4.2 Borrower shall not terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

  4.3 In the event that Borrower fails to perform the repayment obligations set forth in this Agreement, Borrower shall pay overdue interest of 0.01% per day for the outstanding payment, until the day Borrower repays the full principal of the Loan, overdue interests and other payable amounts.

 

5 Notices

 

  5.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  5.1.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery.

 

  5.1.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  5.2 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Lender: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:
Borrower: Fanshun Kong
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

  5.3 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Party in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

6 Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

6


7 Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  7.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

  7.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its then effective arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

  7.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

8 Miscellaneous

 

  8.1 This Agreement should become effective upon execution by the Parties, and shall expire upon the date of full performance by the Parties of their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

  8.2 This Agreement shall be written in both Chinese and English language in two copies, each Party having one copy. The Chinese version and English version shall have equal legal validity.

 

  8.3 This Agreement may be amended or supplemented through written agreement by and between Lender and Borrower. Such written amendment agreement and/or supplementary agreement executed by and between Lender and Borrower are an integral part of this Agreement, and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

7


  8.4 In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

  8.5 The attachments (if any) to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

  8.6 Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof. The provisions of Sections 4, 6, 7 and this Section 8.6 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

8


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Loan Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Lender: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Borrower: Fanshun Kong
By:

/s/ Fanshun Kong


Loan Agreement

This Loan Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into by and between the Parties below as of February 22, 2015 in Beijing, China:

 

  (1) Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Lender”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;

 

  (2) Yan Tian (“Borrower”), a citizen of China with Chinese Identification No.:                  .

Each of the Lender and the Borrower shall be hereinafter referred to as a “Party” respectively, and as the “Parties” collectively.

Whereas:

 

  1. As of the date hereof, Borrower holds 30% of equity interests in Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Borrower Company”). All of the equity interest now held and hereafter acquired by Borrower in Borrower Company shall be referred to as Borrower Equity Interest;

 

  2. Lender confirms that it agrees to provide Borrower with and Borrower confirms that he/she has received a loan which equals to RMB 9,000,000 to be used for the purposes set forth under this Agreement.

After friendly consultation, the Parties agree as follows:

 

1 Loan

 

  1.1 In accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Lender and Borrower hereby acknowledge that Borrower has obtained from Lender a loan in the amount of RMB 9,000,000 (the “Loan”). The term of the Loan shall be 10 years from the effective date of this Agreement, which may be extended upon mutual written consent of the Parties. During the term of the Loan or the extended term of the Loan, Borrower shall immediately repay the full amount of the Loan in the event any one or more of the following circumstances occur:

 

  1.1.1 30 days elapse after Borrower receives a written notice from Lender requesting repayment of the Loan;

 

  1.1.2 Borrower’s death, lack or limitation of civil capacity;

 

  1.1.3 Borrower ceases (for any reason) to be an employee of Lender, Borrower Company or their affiliates;

 

1


  1.1.4 Borrower engages in criminal act or is involved in criminal activities;

 

  1.1.5 According to the applicable laws of China, foreign investors are permitted to invest in the principle business that is currently conducted by Borrower Company in China with a controlling stake and/or in the form of wholly-foreign-owned enterprises, the relevant competent authorities of China begin to approve such investments, and Lender exercises the exclusive option under the Exclusive Option Agreement (the “Exclusive Option Agreement”) described in this Agreement.

 

  1.2 The Loan provided by Lender under this Agreement shall inure to Borrower’s benefit only and not to Borrower’s successors or assigns.

 

  1.3 Borrower agrees to accept the aforementioned Loan provided by Lender, and hereby agrees and warrants using the Loan to subscribe the registered capital of Borrower Company. Without Lender’s prior written consent, Borrower shall not use the Loan for any purpose other than as set forth herein.

 

  1.4 Lender and Borrower hereby agree and acknowledge that Borrower’s method of repayment shall be at the sole discretion of Lender, and shall at Lender’s option take the form of Borrower’s transferring the Borrower Equity Interest in whole to Lender or Lender’s designated persons (legal or natural persons) pursuant to the Lender’s exercise of its right to acquire the Borrower Equity Interest under the Exclusive Option Agreement, and any proceeds from the transfer of the Borrower Equity Interest (to the extent permissible) shall be used by the Borrower to repay the Loan to Lender, in accordance with this Agreement and in the manner designated by Lender.

 

  1.5 Lender and Borrower hereby agree and acknowledge that to the extent permitted by applicable laws, Lender shall have the right but not the obligation to purchase or designate other persons (legal or natural persons) to purchase Borrower Equity Interest in part or in whole at any time, at the price stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement.

 

  1.6 Borrower also undertakes to execute an irrevocable Power of Attorney (the “Power of Attorney”), which authorizes Lender or a legal or natural person designated by Lender to exercise all of Borrower’s rights as a shareholder of Borrower Company.

 

  1.7 When Borrower transfers Borrower Equity Interest to Lender or Lender’s designated person(s), in the event that the transfer price of such equity interest equals or is lower than the principal of the Loan under this Agreement, the Loan under this Agreement shall be deemed an interest-free loan. In the event that the transfer price of such equity interest exceeds the principal of the Loan under this Agreement, the excess over the principal shall be deemed the interest of the Loan under this Agreement payable by Borrower to Lender.

 

2


2 Representations and Warranties

 

  2.1 Between the date of this Agreement and the date of termination of this Agreement, Lender hereby makes the following representations and warranties to Borrower:

 

  2.1.1 Lender is a corporation duly organized and legally existing in accordance with the laws of China;

 

  2.1.2 Lender has the legal capacity to execute and perform this Agreement. The execution and performance by Lender of this Agreement is consistent with Lender’s scope of business and the provisions of Lender’s corporate bylaws and other organizational documents, and Lender has obtained all necessary and proper approvals and authorizations for the execution and performance of this Agreement; and

 

  2.1.3 This Agreement constitutes Lender’s legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable in accordance with its terms.

 

  2.2 Between the date of this Agreement and the date of termination of this Agreement, Borrower hereby makes the following representations and warranties:

 

  2.2.1 Borrower has the legal capacity to execute and perform this Agreement. Borrower has obtained all necessary and proper approvals and authorizations for the execution and performance of this Agreement;

 

  2.2.2 This Agreement constitutes Borrower’s legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable in accordance with its terms; and

 

  2.2.3 There are no disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative proceedings or any other legal proceedings relating to Borrower, nor are there any potential disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative proceedings or any other legal proceedings relating to Borrower.

 

3 Borrower’s Covenants

 

  3.1 As and when he becomes, and for so long as he remains a shareholder of Borrower Company, Borrower covenants irrevocably that during the term of this Agreement, Borrower shall cause Borrower Company:

 

  3.1.1 to strictly abide by the provisions of the Exclusive Option Agreement and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (“Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”) to which the Borrower Company is a party, and to refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability of the Exclusive Option Agreement and Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

3


  3.1.2 at the request of Lender (or a party designated by Lender), to execute contracts/agreements on business cooperation with Lender (or a party designated by Lender), and to strictly abide by such contracts/agreements;

 

  3.1.3 to provide Lender with all of the information on Borrower Company’s business operations and financial condition at Lender’s request;

 

  3.1.4 to immediately notify Lender of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Borrower Company’s assets, business or income;

 

  3.1.5 at the request of Lender, to appoint any persons designated by Lender as directors of Borrower Company;

 

  3.2 Borrower covenants that during the term of this Agreement, he shall:

 

  3.2.1 endeavor to keep Borrower Company to engage in its principle businesses;

 

  3.2.2 abide by the provisions of this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (“Equity Interest Pledge Agreement”) and the Exclusive Option Agreement to which the Borrower is a party, perform his obligations under this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Exclusive Option Agreement, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability of this Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Exclusive Option Agreement;

 

  3.2.3 not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner the legal or beneficial interest in Borrower Equity Interest, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest or the encumbrance, except in accordance with the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement;

 

  3.2.4 cause any shareholders’ meeting and/or the board of directors of Borrower Company not to approve the sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in Borrower Equity Interest, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except to Lender or Lender’s designated person;

 

  3.2.5 cause any shareholders’ meeting and/or the board of directors of the Borrower Company not to approve the merger or consolidation of Borrower Company with any person, or its acquisition of or investment in any person, without the prior written consent of Lender;

 

4


  3.2.6 immediately notify Lender of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Borrower Equity Interest;

 

  3.2.7 to the extent necessary to maintain his ownership of the Borrower Equity Interest, execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions and file all necessary or appropriate complaints or raise necessary and appropriate defense against all claims;

 

  3.2.8 without the prior written consent of Lender, refrain from any action /omission that may have a material impact on the assets, business and liabilities of Borrower Company;

 

  3.2.9 appoint any designee of Lender as director of Borrower Company, at the request of Lender;

 

  3.2.10 to the extent permitted by the laws of China, at the request of Lender at any time, promptly and unconditionally transfer all of Borrower Equity Interest to Lender or Lender’s designated representative(s) at any time, and cause the other shareholders of Borrower Company to waive their right of first refusal with respect to the share transfer described in this Section;

 

  3.2.11 to the extent permitted by the laws of China, at the request of Lender at any time, cause the other shareholders of Borrower Company to promptly and unconditionally transfer all of their equity interests to Lender or Lender’s designated representative(s) at any time, and Borrower hereby waives his right of first refusal (if any) with respect to the share transfer described in this Section;

 

  3.2.12 in the event that Lender purchases Borrower Equity Interest from Borrower in accordance with the provisions of the Exclusive Option Agreement, use such purchase price obtained thereby to repay the Loan to Lender; and

 

  3.2.13 without the prior written consent of Lender, not to cause Borrower Company to supplement, change, or amend its articles of association in any manner, increase or decreases its registered capital or change its share capital structure in any manner.

 

4 Liability for Default

 

  4.1 If Borrower conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Lender shall have right to terminate this Agreement and require the Borrower to compensate all damages; this Section 4.1 shall not prejudice any other rights of Lender herein.

 

5


  4.2 Borrower shall not terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

  4.3 In the event that Borrower fails to perform the repayment obligations set forth in this Agreement, Borrower shall pay overdue interest of 0.01% per day for the outstanding payment, until the day Borrower repays the full principal of the Loan, overdue interests and other payable amounts.

 

5 Notices

 

  5.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  5.1.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery.

 

  5.1.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  5.2 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Lender: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:
Borrower: Yan Tian
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

  5.3 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Party in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

6 Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

6


7 Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  7.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

  7.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its then effective arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

  7.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

8 Miscellaneous

 

  8.1 This Agreement should become effective upon execution by the Parties, and shall expire upon the date of full performance by the Parties of their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

  8.2 This Agreement shall be written in both Chinese and English language in two copies, each Party having one copy. The Chinese version and English version shall have equal legal validity.

 

  8.3 This Agreement may be amended or supplemented through written agreement by and between Lender and Borrower. Such written amendment agreement and/or supplementary agreement executed by and between Lender and Borrower are an integral part of this Agreement, and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

7


  8.4 In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

  8.5 The attachments (if any) to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

  8.6 Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof. The provisions of Sections 4, 6, 7 and this Section 8.6 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

8


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Loan Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Lender: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Borrower: Yan Tian
By:

/s/ Yan Tian

Exhibit 10.9

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (this “Agreement”) has been executed by and among the following parties on February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”):

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Pledgee”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;
Party B: Ning Tang (hereinafter “Pledgor”), a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification No.:                     ; and
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

In this Agreement, each of Pledgee, Pledgor and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

Whereas:

 

1. Pledgor is a citizen of China who as of the date hereof holds 40% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB12,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C. Party C is a limited liability company registered in Beijing, China, engaging in consulting and service business. Party C acknowledges the respective rights and obligations of Pledgor and Pledgee under this Agreement, and intends to provide any necessary assistance in registering the Pledge;

 

2. Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in China. Pledgee and Party C which is partially owned by Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as defined below) in Beijing; Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Option Agreement (as defined below);Pledgor has executed a Power of Attorney (as defined below) in favor of Pledgee; and Pledgee and Pledgor have executed a Loan Agreement (as defined below);

 

3. To ensure that Party C and Pledgor fully perform their obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and the Power of Attorney, Pledgor hereby pledges to the Pledgee all of the equity interest that Pledgor holds in Party C as security for Party C’s and Pledgor’s obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and the Power of Attorney.

To perform the provisions of the Transaction Documents (as defined below), the Parties have mutually agreed to execute this Agreement upon the following terms.

 

1


1. Definitions

Unless otherwise provided herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:

 

  1.1 Pledge: shall refer to the security interest granted by Pledgor to Pledgee pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement, i.e., the right of Pledgee to be paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.

 

  1.2 Equity Interest: shall refer to 40% equity interests in Party C currently held by Pledgor, representing RMB12,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C, and all of the equity interest hereafter acquired by Pledgor in Party C.

 

  1.3 Term of Pledge: shall refer to the term set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement.

 

  1.4 Transaction Documents: shall refer to the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement executed by and between Party C and Pledgee on February 22, 2015 (the “Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”), the Exclusive Option Agreement executed by and among Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor on February 22, 2015 (the “Exclusive Option Agreement”), the Loan Agreement executed by and between Pledgee and Pledgor on February 22, 2015 (the “Loan Agreement”), Power of Attorney executed on February 22, 2015 by Pledgor (the “Power of Attorney”) and any modification, amendment and restatement to the aforementioned documents.

 

  1.5 Contract Obligations: shall refer to all the obligations of Pledgor under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Loan Agreement and this Agreement; all the obligations of Party C under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and this Agreement.

 

  1.6 Secured Indebtedness: shall refer to all the direct, indirect and derivative losses and losses of anticipated profits, suffered by Pledgee, incurred as a result of any Event of Default. The amount of such loss shall be calculated in accordance with the reasonable business plan and profit forecast of Pledgee, the consulting and service fees payable to Pledgee under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, all expenses occurred in connection with enforcement by Pledgee of Pledgor’s and/or Party C’s Contract Obligations and etc.

 

  1.7 Event of Default: shall refer to any of the circumstances set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.

 

  1.8 Notice of Default: shall refer to the notice issued by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement declaring an Event of Default.

 

2


2. Pledge

 

  2.1 Pledgor agrees to pledge all the Equity Interest as security for performance of the Contract Obligations and payment of the Secured Indebtedness under this Agreement. Party C hereby assents that Pledgor pledges the Equity Interest to the Pledgee pursuant to this Agreement.

 

  2.2 During the term of the Pledge, Pledgee is entitled to receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest. Pledgor may receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest only with prior written consent of Pledgee. Dividends received by Pledgor on Equity Interest after deduction of individual income tax paid by Pledgor shall be, as required by Pledgee, (1) deposited into an account designated and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

  2.3 Pledgor may subscribe for capital increase in Party C only with prior written consent of Pledgee. Any equity interest obtained by Pledgor as a result of Pledgor’s subscription of the increased registered capital of the Company shall also be deemed as Equity Interest.

 

  2.4 In the event that Party C is required by PRC law to be liquidated or dissolved, any interest distributed to Pledgor upon Party C’s dissolution or liquidation shall, upon the request of the Pledgee, be (1) deposited into an account designate and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

3. Term of Pledge

 

  3.1 The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “AIC”). The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness have been fully paid. Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within 15 business days following the execution of this Agreement. The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “AIC Pledge Contract”). For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement. Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the PRC laws and regulations and the relevant AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.

 

  3.2 During the Term of Pledge, in the event Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

3


4. Custody of Records for Equity Interest subject to Pledge

 

  4.1 During the Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement, Pledgor shall deliver to Pledgee’s custody the capital contribution certificate for the Equity Interest and the shareholders’ register containing the Pledge within one week from the execution of this Agreement. Pledgee shall have custody of such documents during the entire Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement.

 

5. Representations and Warranties of Pledgor and Party C

As of the execution date of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to Pledgee that:

 

  5.1 Pledgor is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Equity Interest.

 

  5.2 Pledgee shall have the right to dispose of and transfer the Equity Interest in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

 

  5.3 Except for the Pledge, Pledgor has not placed any security interest, collateral or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest.

 

  5.4 Pledgor and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from applicable government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

  5.5 The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant PRC laws; (ii) conflict with Party C’s articles of association or other constitutional documents; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute any default under any contract or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is otherwise bound; (iv) result in any violation of any condition for the grant and/or maintenance of any permit or approval granted to any Party; or (v) cause any permit or approval granted to any Party to be suspended, cancelled or attached with additional conditions.

 

4


6. Covenants of Pledgor and Party C

 

  6.1 During the term of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally covenant to the Pledgee:

 

  6.1.1 Pledgor shall not transfer the Equity Interest, place or permit the existence of any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Pledgee, except for the performance of the Transaction Documents;

 

  6.1.2 Pledgor and Party C shall comply with the provisions of all laws and regulations applicable to the pledge of rights, and within five (5) days of receipt of any notice, order or recommendation issued or prepared by relevant competent authorities regarding the Pledge, shall present the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation to Pledgee, and shall comply with the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation or submit objections and representations with respect to the aforementioned matters upon Pledgee’s reasonable request or upon consent of Pledgee;

 

  6.1.3 Pledgor and Party C shall promptly notify Pledgee of any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, as well as any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on any guarantees and other obligations of Pledgor arising out of this Agreement.

 

  6.1.4 Party C shall complete the registration procedures for extension of the term of operation within three (3) months prior to the expiration of such term to maintain the validity of this Agreement.

 

  6.2 Pledgor agrees that the rights acquired by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement with respect to the Pledge shall not be interrupted or harmed by Pledgor or any heirs or representatives of Pledgor or any other persons through any legal proceedings.

 

  6.3 To protect or perfect the security interest granted by this Agreement for the Contract Obligations and Secured Indebtedness, Pledgor hereby undertakes to execute in good faith and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to execute all certificates, agreements, deeds and/or covenants required by Pledgee. Pledgor also undertakes to perform and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to perform actions required by Pledgee, to facilitate the exercise by Pledgee of its rights and authority granted thereto by this Agreement, and to enter into all relevant documents regarding ownership of Equity Interest with Pledgee or designee(s) of Pledgee (natural persons/legal persons). Pledgor undertakes to provide Pledgee within a reasonable time with all notices, orders and decisions regarding the Pledge that are required by Pledgee.

 

  6.4 Pledgor hereby undertakes to comply with and perform all guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions under this Agreement. In the event of failure or partial performance of its guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions, Pledgor shall indemnify Pledgee for all losses resulting therefrom.

 

5


7. Event of Breach

 

  7.1 The following circumstances shall be deemed Event of Default:

 

  7.1.1 Pledgor’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

  7.1.2 Party C’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

  7.2 Upon notice or discovery of the occurrence of any circumstances or event that may lead to the aforementioned circumstances described in Section 7.1, Pledgor and Party C shall immediately notify Pledgee in writing accordingly.

 

  7.3 Unless an Event of Default set forth in this Section 7.1 has been successfully resolved to Pledgee’s satisfaction within twenty (20) days after the Pledgee and /or Party C delivers a notice to the Pledgor requesting ratification of such Event of Default, Pledgee may issue a Notice of Default to Pledgor in writing at any time thereafter, demanding the Pledgor to immediately exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

8. Exercise of Pledge

 

  8.1 Pledgee shall issue a written Notice of Default to Pledgor when it exercises the Pledge.

 

  8.2 Subject to the provisions of Section 7.3, Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge at any time after the issuance of the Notice of Default in accordance with Section 8.1. Once Pledgee elects to enforce the Pledge, Pledgor shall cease to be entitled to any rights or interests associated with the Equity Interest.

 

  8.3 After Pledgee issues a Notice of Default to Pledgor in accordance with Section 8.1, Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure under applicable PRC laws, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest. The Pledgee shall not be liable for any loss incurred by its duly exercise of such rights and powers.

 

  8.4 The proceeds from exercise of the Pledge by Pledgee shall be used to pay for tax and expenses incurred as result of disposing the Equity Interest and to perform Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness to the Pledgee prior and in preference to any other payment. After the payment of the aforementioned amounts, the remaining balance shall be returned to Pledgor or any other person who have rights to such balance under applicable laws or be deposited to the local notary public office where Pledgor resides, with all expense incurred being borne by Pledgor. To the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws, Pledgor shall unconditionally donate the aforementioned proceeds to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee.

 

6


  8.5 Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure available simultaneously or in any order. Pledgee may exercise the right to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest under this Agreement, without exercising any other remedy measure first.

 

  8.6 Pledgee is entitled to designate an attorney or other representatives to exercise the Pledge on its behalf, and Pledgor or Party C shall not raise any objection to such exercise.

 

  8.7 When Pledgee disposes of the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C shall provide necessary assistance to enable Pledgee to enforce the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement.

 

9. Breach of Agreement

 

  9.1 If Pledgor or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Pledgee shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Pledgor or Party C to indemnify all damages; this Section 9 shall not prejudice any other rights of Pledgee herein;

 

  9.2 Pledgor or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

10. Assignment

 

  10.1 Without Pledgee’s prior written consent, Pledgor and Party C shall not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

  10.2 This Agreement shall be binding on Pledgor and his/her successors and permitted assigns, and shall be valid with respect to Pledgee and each of his/her successors and assigns.

 

  10.3 At any time, Pledgee may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement to its designee(s), in which case the assigns shall have the rights and obligations of Pledgee under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, as if it were the original party to the Transaction Documents and this Agreement.

 

  10.4 In the event of change of Pledgee due to assignment, Pledgor and/or Party C shall, at the request of Pledgee, execute a new pledge agreement with the new pledgee on the same terms and conditions as this Agreement, and register the same with the relevant AIC.

 

  10.5 Pledgor and Party C shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by the Parties hereto or any of them, including the Transaction Documents, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof. Any remaining rights of Pledgor with respect to the Equity Interest pledged hereunder shall not be exercised by Pledgor except in accordance with the written instructions of Pledgee.

 

7


11. Termination

 

  11.1 Upon the fulfillment of all Contract Obligations and the full payment of all Secured Indebtedness by Pledgor and Party C, Pledgee shall release the Pledge under this Agreement upon Pledgor’s request as soon as reasonably practicable and shall assist Pledgor to de-register the Pledge from the shareholders’ register of Party C and with relevant PRC local administration for industry and commerce.

 

  11.2 The provisions under Sections 9, 13, 14 and 11.2 herein of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

12. Handling Fees and Other Expenses

All fees and out of pocket expenses relating to this Agreement, including but not limited to legal costs, costs of production, stamp tax and any other taxes and fees, shall be borne by Party C.

 

13. Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

8


14. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  14.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.
  14.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

  14.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

15. Notices

 

  15.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by E-mail. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  15.2 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

  15.3 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  15.4 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

9


Party B: Ning Tang
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

  15.5 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

16. Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Contract are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Contract shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

17. Attachments

The attachments set forth herein shall be an integral part of this Agreement.

 

18. Effectiveness

 

  18.1 This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.

 

  18.2 Any amendments, changes and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall become effective upon completion of the governmental filing procedures (if applicable) after the affixation of the signatures or seals of the Parties.

 

19. Language and Counterparts

This Agreement is written in Chinese and English in four copies. Pledgor, Pledgee and Party C shall hold one copy respectively and the other copy shall be used for registration. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

The Remainder of this page is intentionally left blank

 

10


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Equity Interest Pledge Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Ning Tang
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative


Attachments:

 

1. Shareholders’ Register of Party C;

 

2. The Capital Contribution Certificate for Party C

 

3. Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement

 

4. Exclusive Option Agreement

 

5. Power of Attorney

 

6. Power of Attorney


Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (this “Agreement”) has been executed by and among the following parties on February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”):

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Pledgee”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;
Party B: Fanshun Kong (hereinafter “Pledgor”), a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification No.:                     ; and
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

In this Agreement, each of Pledgee, Pledgor and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

Whereas:

 

1. Pledgor is a citizen of China who as of the date hereof holds 30% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB9,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C. Party C is a limited liability company registered in Beijing, China, engaging in consulting and service business. Party C acknowledges the respective rights and obligations of Pledgor and Pledgee under this Agreement, and intends to provide any necessary assistance in registering the Pledge;

 

2. Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in China. Pledgee and Party C which is partially owned by Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as defined below) in Beijing; Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Option Agreement (as defined below);Pledgor has executed a Power of Attorney (as defined below) in favor of Pledgee; and Pledgee and Pledgor have executed a Loan Agreement (as defined below);

 

3. To ensure that Party C and Pledgor fully perform their obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and the Power of Attorney, Pledgor hereby pledges to the Pledgee all of the equity interest that Pledgor holds in Party C as security for Party C’s and Pledgor’s obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and the Power of Attorney.

To perform the provisions of the Transaction Documents (as defined below), the Parties have mutually agreed to execute this Agreement upon the following terms.

 

1


1. Definitions

Unless otherwise provided herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:

 

  1.1 Pledge: shall refer to the security interest granted by Pledgor to Pledgee pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement, i.e., the right of Pledgee to be paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.

 

  1.2 Equity Interest: shall refer to 30% equity interests in Party C currently held by Pledgor, representing RMB9,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C, and all of the equity interest hereafter acquired by Pledgor in Party C.

 

  1.3 Term of Pledge: shall refer to the term set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement.

 

  1.4 Transaction Documents: shall refer to the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement executed by and between Party C and Pledgee on February 22, 2015 (the “Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”), the Exclusive Option Agreement executed by and among Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor on February 22, 2015 (the “Exclusive Option Agreement”), the Loan Agreement executed by and between Pledgee and Pledgor on February 22, 2015 (the “Loan Agreement”), Power of Attorney executed on February 22, 2015 by Pledgor (the “Power of Attorney”) and any modification, amendment and restatement to the aforementioned documents.

 

  1.5 Contract Obligations: shall refer to all the obligations of Pledgor under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Power of Attorney, the Loan Agreement and this Agreement; all the obligations of Party C under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and this Agreement.

 

  1.6 Secured Indebtedness: shall refer to all the direct, indirect and derivative losses and losses of anticipated profits, suffered by Pledgee, incurred as a result of any Event of Default. The amount of such loss shall be calculated in accordance with the reasonable business plan and profit forecast of Pledgee, the consulting and service fees payable to Pledgee under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, all expenses occurred in connection with enforcement by Pledgee of Pledgor’s and/or Party C’s Contract Obligations and etc.

 

  1.7 Event of Default: shall refer to any of the circumstances set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.

 

  1.8 Notice of Default: shall refer to the notice issued by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement declaring an Event of Default.

 

2


2. Pledge

 

  2.1 Pledgor agrees to pledge all the Equity Interest as security for performance of the Contract Obligations and payment of the Secured Indebtedness under this Agreement. Party C hereby assents that Pledgor pledges the Equity Interest to the Pledgee pursuant to this Agreement.

 

  2.2 During the term of the Pledge, Pledgee is entitled to receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest. Pledgor may receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest only with prior written consent of Pledgee. Dividends received by Pledgor on Equity Interest after deduction of individual income tax paid by Pledgor shall be, as required by Pledgee, (1) deposited into an account designated and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

  2.3 Pledgor may subscribe for capital increase in Party C only with prior written consent of Pledgee. Any equity interest obtained by Pledgor as a result of Pledgor’s subscription of the increased registered capital of the Company shall also be deemed as Equity Interest.

 

  2.4 In the event that Party C is required by PRC law to be liquidated or dissolved, any interest distributed to Pledgor upon Party C’s dissolution or liquidation shall, upon the request of the Pledgee, be (1) deposited into an account designate and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

3. Term of Pledge

 

  3.1 The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “AIC”). The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness have been fully paid. Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within 15 business days following the execution of this Agreement. The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “AIC Pledge Contract”). For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement. Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the PRC laws and regulations and the relevant AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.

 

  3.2 During the Term of Pledge, in the event Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

3


4. Custody of Records for Equity Interest subject to Pledge

 

  4.1 During the Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement, Pledgor shall deliver to Pledgee’s custody the capital contribution certificate for the Equity Interest and the shareholders’ register containing the Pledge within one week from the execution of this Agreement. Pledgee shall have custody of such documents during the entire Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement.

 

5. Representations and Warranties of Pledgor and Party C

As of the execution date of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to Pledgee that:

 

  5.1 Pledgor is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Equity Interest.

 

  5.2 Pledgee shall have the right to dispose of and transfer the Equity Interest in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

 

  5.3 Except for the Pledge, Pledgor has not placed any security interest, collateral or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest.

 

  5.4 Pledgor and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from applicable government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

  5.5 The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant PRC laws; (ii) conflict with Party C’s articles of association or other constitutional documents; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute any default under any contract or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is otherwise bound; (iv) result in any violation of any condition for the grant and/or maintenance of any permit or approval granted to any Party; or (v) cause any permit or approval granted to any Party to be suspended, cancelled or attached with additional conditions.

 

4


6. Covenants of Pledgor and Party C

 

  6.1 During the term of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally covenant to the Pledgee:

 

  6.1.1 Pledgor shall not transfer the Equity Interest, place or permit the existence of any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Pledgee, except for the performance of the Transaction Documents;

 

  6.1.2 Pledgor and Party C shall comply with the provisions of all laws and regulations applicable to the pledge of rights, and within five (5) days of receipt of any notice, order or recommendation issued or prepared by relevant competent authorities regarding the Pledge, shall present the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation to Pledgee, and shall comply with the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation or submit objections and representations with respect to the aforementioned matters upon Pledgee’s reasonable request or upon consent of Pledgee;

 

  6.1.3 Pledgor and Party C shall promptly notify Pledgee of any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, as well as any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on any guarantees and other obligations of Pledgor arising out of this Agreement.

 

  6.1.4 Party C shall complete the registration procedures for extension of the term of operation within three (3) months prior to the expiration of such term to maintain the validity of this Agreement.

 

  6.2 Pledgor agrees that the rights acquired by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement with respect to the Pledge shall not be interrupted or harmed by Pledgor or any heirs or representatives of Pledgor or any other persons through any legal proceedings.

 

  6.3 To protect or perfect the security interest granted by this Agreement for the Contract Obligations and Secured Indebtedness, Pledgor hereby undertakes to execute in good faith and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to execute all certificates, agreements, deeds and/or covenants required by Pledgee. Pledgor also undertakes to perform and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to perform actions required by Pledgee, to facilitate the exercise by Pledgee of its rights and authority granted thereto by this Agreement, and to enter into all relevant documents regarding ownership of Equity Interest with Pledgee or designee(s) of Pledgee (natural persons/legal persons). Pledgor undertakes to provide Pledgee within a reasonable time with all notices, orders and decisions regarding the Pledge that are required by Pledgee.

 

  6.4 Pledgor hereby undertakes to comply with and perform all guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions under this Agreement. In the event of failure or partial performance of its guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions, Pledgor shall indemnify Pledgee for all losses resulting therefrom.

 

5


7. Event of Breach

 

  7.1 The following circumstances shall be deemed Event of Default:

 

  7.1.1 Pledgor’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

  7.1.2 Party C’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

  7.2 Upon notice or discovery of the occurrence of any circumstances or event that may lead to the aforementioned circumstances described in Section 7.1, Pledgor and Party C shall immediately notify Pledgee in writing accordingly.

 

  7.3 Unless an Event of Default set forth in this Section 7.1 has been successfully resolved to Pledgee’s satisfaction within twenty (20) days after the Pledgee and /or Party C delivers a notice to the Pledgor requesting ratification of such Event of Default, Pledgee may issue a Notice of Default to Pledgor in writing at any time thereafter, demanding the Pledgor to immediately exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

8. Exercise of Pledge

 

  8.1 Pledgee shall issue a written Notice of Default to Pledgor when it exercises the Pledge.

 

  8.2 Subject to the provisions of Section 7.3, Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge at any time after the issuance of the Notice of Default in accordance with Section 8.1. Once Pledgee elects to enforce the Pledge, Pledgor shall cease to be entitled to any rights or interests associated with the Equity Interest.

 

  8.3 After Pledgee issues a Notice of Default to Pledgor in accordance with Section 8.1, Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure under applicable PRC laws, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest. The Pledgee shall not be liable for any loss incurred by its duly exercise of such rights and powers.

 

  8.4 The proceeds from exercise of the Pledge by Pledgee shall be used to pay for tax and expenses incurred as result of disposing the Equity Interest and to perform Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness to the Pledgee prior and in preference to any other payment. After the payment of the aforementioned amounts, the remaining balance shall be returned to Pledgor or any other person who have rights to such balance under applicable laws or be deposited to the local notary public office where Pledgor resides, with all expense incurred being borne by Pledgor. To the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws, Pledgor shall unconditionally donate the aforementioned proceeds to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee.

 

6


  8.5 Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure available simultaneously or in any order. Pledgee may exercise the right to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest under this Agreement, without exercising any other remedy measure first.

 

  8.6 Pledgee is entitled to designate an attorney or other representatives to exercise the Pledge on its behalf, and Pledgor or Party C shall not raise any objection to such exercise.

 

  8.7 When Pledgee disposes of the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C shall provide necessary assistance to enable Pledgee to enforce the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement.

 

9. Breach of Agreement

 

  9.1 If Pledgor or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Pledgee shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Pledgor or Party C to indemnify all damages; this Section 9 shall not prejudice any other rights of Pledgee herein;

 

  9.2 Pledgor or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

10. Assignment

 

  10.1 Without Pledgee’s prior written consent, Pledgor and Party C shall not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

  10.2 This Agreement shall be binding on Pledgor and his/her successors and permitted assigns, and shall be valid with respect to Pledgee and each of his/her successors and assigns.

 

  10.3 At any time, Pledgee may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement to its designee(s), in which case the assigns shall have the rights and obligations of Pledgee under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, as if it were the original party to the Transaction Documents and this Agreement.

 

  10.4 In the event of change of Pledgee due to assignment, Pledgor and/or Party C shall, at the request of Pledgee, execute a new pledge agreement with the new pledgee on the same terms and conditions as this Agreement, and register the same with the relevant AIC.

 

  10.5 Pledgor and Party C shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by the Parties hereto or any of them, including the Transaction Documents, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof. Any remaining rights of Pledgor with respect to the Equity Interest pledged hereunder shall not be exercised by Pledgor except in accordance with the written instructions of Pledgee.

 

7


11. Termination

 

  11.1 Upon the fulfillment of all Contract Obligations and the full payment of all Secured Indebtedness by Pledgor and Party C, Pledgee shall release the Pledge under this Agreement upon Pledgor’s request as soon as reasonably practicable and shall assist Pledgor to de-register the Pledge from the shareholders’ register of Party C and with relevant PRC local administration for industry and commerce.

 

  11.2 The provisions under Sections 9, 13, 14 and 11.2 herein of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

12. Handling Fees and Other Expenses

All fees and out of pocket expenses relating to this Agreement, including but not limited to legal costs, costs of production, stamp tax and any other taxes and fees, shall be borne by Party C.

 

13. Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

8


14. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  14.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

  14.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

  14.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

15. Notices

 

  15.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by E-mail. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  15.2 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

  15.3 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  15.4 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

9


Party B: Fanshun Kong
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

  15.5 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

16. Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Contract are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Contract shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

17. Attachments

The attachments set forth herein shall be an integral part of this Agreement.

 

18. Effectiveness

 

  18.1 This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.

 

  18.2 Any amendments, changes and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall become effective upon completion of the governmental filing procedures (if applicable) after the affixation of the signatures or seals of the Parties.

 

19. Language and Counterparts

This Agreement is written in Chinese and English in four copies. Pledgor, Pledgee and Party C shall hold one copy respectively and the other copy shall be used for registration. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

The Remainder of this page is intentionally left blank

 

10


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Equity Interest Pledge Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Fanshun Kong
By:

/s/ Fanshun Kong

Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative


Attachments:

 

1. Shareholders’ Register of Party C;

 

2. The Capital Contribution Certificate for Party C;

 

3. Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

4. Exclusive Option Agreement

 

5. Loan Agreement

 

6. Power of Attorney


Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (this “Agreement”) has been executed by and among the following parties on February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”):

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Pledgee”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;
Party B: Yan Tian (hereinafter “Pledgor”), a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification No.:                     ; and
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

In this Agreement, each of Pledgee, Pledgor and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

Whereas:

 

1. Pledgor is a citizen of China who as of the date hereof holds 30% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB 9,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C. Party C is a limited liability company registered in Beijing, China, engaging in consulting and service business. Party C acknowledges the respective rights and obligations of Pledgor and Pledgee under this Agreement, and intends to provide any necessary assistance in registering the Pledge;

 

2. Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in China. Pledgee and Party C which is partially owned by Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as defined below) in Beijing; Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Option Agreement (as defined below); Pledgor has executed a Power of Attorney (as defined below) in favor of Pledgee; and Pledgee and Pledgor have executed a Loan Agreement (as defined below);

 

3. To ensure that Party C and Pledgor fully perform their obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and the Power of Attorney, Pledgor hereby pledges to the Pledgee all of the equity interest that Pledgor holds in Party C as security for Party C’s and Pledgor’s obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and the Power of Attorney.

To perform the provisions of the Transaction Documents (as defined below), the Parties have mutually agreed to execute this Agreement upon the following terms.

 

1


1. Definitions

Unless otherwise provided herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:

 

  1.1 Pledge: shall refer to the security interest granted by Pledgor to Pledgee pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement, i.e., the right of Pledgee to be paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.

 

  1.2 Equity Interest: shall refer to 30% equity interests in Party C currently held by Pledgor, representing RMB 9,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C, and all of the equity interest hereafter acquired by Pledgor in Party C.

 

  1.3 Term of Pledge: shall refer to the term set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement.

 

  1.4 Transaction Documents: shall refer to the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement executed by and between Party C and Pledgee on February 22, 2015 (the “Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”), the Exclusive Option Agreement executed by and among Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor on February 22, 2015 (the “Exclusive Option Agreement”), the Loan Agreement executed by and between Pledgee and Pledgor on February 22, 2015 (the “Loan Agreement”), Power of Attorney executed on February 22, 2015 by Pledgor (the “Power of Attorney”) and any modification, amendment and restatement to the aforementioned documents.

 

  1.5 Contract Obligations: shall refer to all the obligations of Pledgor under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement, the Power of Attorney and this Agreement; all the obligations of Party C under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Loan Agreement and this Agreement.

 

  1.6 Secured Indebtedness: shall refer to all the direct, indirect and derivative losses and losses of anticipated profits, suffered by Pledgee, incurred as a result of any Event of Default. The amount of such loss shall be calculated in accordance with the reasonable business plan and profit forecast of Pledgee, the consulting and service fees payable to Pledgee under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, all expenses occurred in connection with enforcement by Pledgee of Pledgor’s and/or Party C’s Contract Obligations and etc.

 

  1.7 Event of Default: shall refer to any of the circumstances set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.

 

  1.8 Notice of Default: shall refer to the notice issued by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement declaring an Event of Default.

 

2


2. Pledge

 

  2.1 Pledgor agrees to pledge all the Equity Interest as security for performance of the Contract Obligations and payment of the Secured Indebtedness under this Agreement. Party C hereby assents that Pledgor pledges the Equity Interest to the Pledgee pursuant to this Agreement.

 

  2.2 During the term of the Pledge, Pledgee is entitled to receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest. Pledgor may receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest only with prior written consent of Pledgee. Dividends received by Pledgor on Equity Interest after deduction of individual income tax paid by Pledgor shall be, as required by Pledgee, (1) deposited into an account designated and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

  2.3 Pledgor may subscribe for capital increase in Party C only with prior written consent of Pledgee. Any equity interest obtained by Pledgor as a result of Pledgor’s subscription of the increased registered capital of the Company shall also be deemed as Equity Interest.

 

  2.4 In the event that Party C is required by PRC law to be liquidated or dissolved, any interest distributed to Pledgor upon Party C’s dissolution or liquidation shall, upon the request of the Pledgee, be (1) deposited into an account designate and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

3. Term of Pledge

 

  3.1 The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “AIC”). The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness have been fully paid. Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within 15 business days following the execution of this Agreement. The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “AIC Pledge Contract”). For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement. Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the PRC laws and regulations and the relevant AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.

 

  3.2 During the Term of Pledge, in the event Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

3


4. Custody of Records for Equity Interest subject to Pledge

 

  4.1 During the Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement, Pledgor shall deliver to Pledgee’s custody the capital contribution certificate for the Equity Interest and the shareholders’ register containing the Pledge within one week from the execution of this Agreement. Pledgee shall have custody of such documents during the entire Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement.

 

5. Representations and Warranties of Pledgor and Party C

As of the execution date of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to Pledgee that:

 

  5.1 Pledgor is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Equity Interest.

 

  5.2 Pledgee shall have the right to dispose of and transfer the Equity Interest in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

 

  5.3 Except for the Pledge, Pledgor has not placed any security interest, collateral or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest.

 

  5.4 Pledgor and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from applicable government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

  5.5 The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant PRC laws; (ii) conflict with Party C’s articles of association or other constitutional documents; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute any default under any contract or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is otherwise bound; (iv) result in any violation of any condition for the grant and/or maintenance of any permit or approval granted to any Party; or (v) cause any permit or approval granted to any Party to be suspended, cancelled or attached with additional conditions.

 

6. Covenants of Pledgor and Party C

 

  6.1 During the term of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally covenant to the Pledgee:

 

  6.1.1 Pledgor shall not transfer the Equity Interest, place or permit the existence of any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Pledgee, except for the performance of the Transaction Documents;

 

4


  6.1.2 Pledgor and Party C shall comply with the provisions of all laws and regulations applicable to the pledge of rights, and within five (5) days of receipt of any notice, order or recommendation issued or prepared by relevant competent authorities regarding the Pledge, shall present the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation to Pledgee, and shall comply with the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation or submit objections and representations with respect to the aforementioned matters upon Pledgee’s reasonable request or upon consent of Pledgee;

 

  6.1.3 Pledgor and Party C shall promptly notify Pledgee of any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, as well as any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on any guarantees and other obligations of Pledgor arising out of this Agreement.

 

  6.1.4 Party C shall complete the registration procedures for extension of the term of operation within three (3) months prior to the expiration of such term to maintain the validity of this Agreement.

 

  6.2 Pledgor agrees that the rights acquired by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement with respect to the Pledge shall not be interrupted or harmed by Pledgor or any heirs or representatives of Pledgor or any other persons through any legal proceedings.

 

  6.3 To protect or perfect the security interest granted by this Agreement for the Contract Obligations and Secured Indebtedness, Pledgor hereby undertakes to execute in good faith and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to execute all certificates, agreements, deeds and/or covenants required by Pledgee. Pledgor also undertakes to perform and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to perform actions required by Pledgee, to facilitate the exercise by Pledgee of its rights and authority granted thereto by this Agreement, and to enter into all relevant documents regarding ownership of Equity Interest with Pledgee or designee(s) of Pledgee (natural persons/legal persons). Pledgor undertakes to provide Pledgee within a reasonable time with all notices, orders and decisions regarding the Pledge that are required by Pledgee.

 

  6.4 Pledgor hereby undertakes to comply with and perform all guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions under this Agreement. In the event of failure or partial performance of its guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions, Pledgor shall indemnify Pledgee for all losses resulting therefrom.

 

5


7. Event of Breach

 

  7.1 The following circumstances shall be deemed Event of Default:

 

  7.1.1 Pledgor’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

  7.1.2 Party C’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

  7.2 Upon notice or discovery of the occurrence of any circumstances or event that may lead to the aforementioned circumstances described in Section 7.1, Pledgor and Party C shall immediately notify Pledgee in writing accordingly.

 

  7.3 Unless an Event of Default set forth in this Section 7.1 has been successfully resolved to Pledgee’s satisfaction within twenty (20) days after the Pledgee and /or Party C delivers a notice to the Pledgor requesting ratification of such Event of Default, Pledgee may issue a Notice of Default to Pledgor in writing at any time thereafter, demanding the Pledgor to immediately exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

8. Exercise of Pledge

 

  8.1 Pledgee shall issue a written Notice of Default to Pledgor when it exercises the Pledge.

 

  8.2 Subject to the provisions of Section 7.3, Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge at any time after the issuance of the Notice of Default in accordance with Section 8.1. Once Pledgee elects to enforce the Pledge, Pledgor shall cease to be entitled to any rights or interests associated with the Equity Interest.

 

  8.3 After Pledgee issues a Notice of Default to Pledgor in accordance with Section 8.1, Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure under applicable PRC laws, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest. The Pledgee shall not be liable for any loss incurred by its duly exercise of such rights and powers.

 

  8.4 The proceeds from exercise of the Pledge by Pledgee shall be used to pay for tax and expenses incurred as result of disposing the Equity Interest and to perform Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness to the Pledgee prior and in preference to any other payment. After the payment of the aforementioned amounts, the remaining balance shall be returned to Pledgor or any other person who have rights to such balance under applicable laws or be deposited to the local notary public office where Pledgor resides, with all expense incurred being borne by Pledgor. To the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws, Pledgor shall unconditionally donate the aforementioned proceeds to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee.

 

6


  8.5 Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure available simultaneously or in any order. Pledgee may exercise the right to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest under this Agreement, without exercising any other remedy measure first.

 

  8.6 Pledgee is entitled to designate an attorney or other representatives to exercise the Pledge on its behalf, and Pledgor or Party C shall not raise any objection to such exercise.

 

  8.7 When Pledgee disposes of the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C shall provide necessary assistance to enable Pledgee to enforce the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement.

 

9. Breach of Agreement

 

  9.1 If Pledgor or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Pledgee shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Pledgor or Party C to indemnify all damages; this Section 9 shall not prejudice any other rights of Pledgee herein;

 

  9.2 Pledgor or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

10. Assignment

 

  10.1 Without Pledgee’s prior written consent, Pledgor and Party C shall not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

  10.2 This Agreement shall be binding on Pledgor and his/her successors and permitted assigns, and shall be valid with respect to Pledgee and each of his/her successors and assigns.

 

  10.3 At any time, Pledgee may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement to its designee(s), in which case the assigns shall have the rights and obligations of Pledgee under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, as if it were the original party to the Transaction Documents and this Agreement.

 

  10.4 In the event of change of Pledgee due to assignment, Pledgor and/or Party C shall, at the request of Pledgee, execute a new pledge agreement with the new pledgee on the same terms and conditions as this Agreement, and register the same with the relevant AIC.

 

  10.5 Pledgor and Party C shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by the Parties hereto or any of them, including the Transaction Documents, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof. Any remaining rights of Pledgor with respect to the Equity Interest pledged hereunder shall not be exercised by Pledgor except in accordance with the written instructions of Pledgee.

 

7


11. Termination

 

  11.1 Upon the fulfillment of all Contract Obligations and the full payment of all Secured Indebtedness by Pledgor and Party C, Pledgee shall release the Pledge under this Agreement upon Pledgor’s request as soon as reasonably practicable and shall assist Pledgor to de-register the Pledge from the shareholders’ register of Party C and with relevant PRC local administration for industry and commerce.

 

  11.2 The provisions under Sections 9, 13, 14 and 11.2 herein of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

12. Handling Fees and Other Expenses

All fees and out of pocket expenses relating to this Agreement, including but not limited to legal costs, costs of production, stamp tax and any other taxes and fees, shall be borne by Party C.

 

13. Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

8


14. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  14.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

  14.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

  14.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

15. Notices

 

  15.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by E-mail. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  15.2 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

  15.3 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  15.4 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:
Party B: Yan Tian
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

9


Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

  15.5 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

16. Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Contract are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Contract shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

17. Attachments

The attachments set forth herein shall be an integral part of this Agreement.

 

18. Effectiveness

 

  18.1 This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.

 

  18.2 Any amendments, changes and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall become effective upon completion of the governmental filing procedures (if applicable) after the affixation of the signatures or seals of the Parties.

 

19. Language and Counterparts

This Agreement is written in Chinese and English in four copies. Pledgor, Pledgee and Party C shall hold one copy respectively and the other copy shall be used for registration. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

The Remainder of this page is intentionally left blank

 

10


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Equity Interest Pledge Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Yan Tian
By:

/s/ Yan Tian

Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative


Attachments:

 

1. Shareholders’ Register of Party C

 

2. The Capital Contribution Certificate for Party C

 

3. Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement

 

4. Exclusive Option Agreement

 

5. Loan Agreement

 

6. Power of Attorney

Exhibit 10.10

Power of Attorney

I, Ning Tang, a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification Card No.:                     , and a holder of 40% of the entire registered capital in Heng Cheng Technology Development Co., Ltd. (“Hengcheng Technology”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“WFOE”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in Hengcheng Technology (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

WFOE is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of Hengcheng Technology; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of China and Hengcheng Technology’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale or transfer or pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designate and appoint on behalf of myself the legal representative, the directors, supervisors, the chief executive officer and other senior management members of Hengcheng Technology.

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, WFOE shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among me, WFOE and Hengcheng Technology on February 22, 2015 and the Equity Pledge Agreement entered into by and among me, WFOE and Hengcheng Technology on February 22, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by WFOE shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by WFOE shall be deemed to be executed by me. I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by WFOE.

WFOE is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by PRC laws, WFOE shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

During the period that I am a shareholder of Hengcheng Technology, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to WFOE through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

This Power of Attorney is written in Chinese and English. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

1


This Power of Attorney is signed on February 22, 2015.

 

2


Ning Tang
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

 

Accepted by
Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Acknowledged by:
Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative

 

3


Power of Attorney

I, Fanshun Kong, a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification Card No.:                     , and a holder of 30% of the entire registered capital in Heng Cheng Technology Development Co., Ltd. (“Hengcheng Technology”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“WFOE”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in Hengcheng Technology (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

WFOE is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of Hengcheng Technology; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of China and Hengcheng Technology’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale or transfer or pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designate and appoint on behalf of myself the legal representative, the directors, supervisors, the chief executive officer and other senior management members of Hengcheng Technology.

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, WFOE shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among me, WFOE and Hengcheng Technology on February 22, 2015 and the Equity Pledge Agreement entered into by and among me, WFOE and Hengcheng Technology on February 22, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by WFOE shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by WFOE shall be deemed to be executed by me. I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by WFOE.

WFOE is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by PRC laws, WFOE shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

During the period that I am a shareholder of Hengcheng Technology, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to WFOE through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

1


This Power of Attorney is written in Chinese and English. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

This Power of Attorney is signed on February 22, 2015.

 

2


Fanshun Kong
By:

/s/ Fanshun Kong

 

Accepted by
Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Acknowledged by:
Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative

 

3


Power of Attorney

I, Yan Tian, a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification Card No.:                     , and a holder of 30% of the entire registered capital in Heng Cheng Technology Development Co., Ltd. (“Hengcheng Technology”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“WFOE”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in Hengcheng Technology (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

WFOE is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of Hengcheng Technology; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of China and Hengcheng Technology’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale or transfer or pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designate and appoint on behalf of myself the legal representative, the directors, supervisors, the chief executive officer and other senior management members of Hengcheng Technology.

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, WFOE shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among me, WFOE and Hengcheng Technology on February 22, 2015 and the Equity Pledge Agreement entered into by and among me, WFOE and Hengcheng Technology on February 22, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by WFOE shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by WFOE shall be deemed to be executed by me. I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by WFOE.

WFOE is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by PRC laws, WFOE shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

During the period that I am a shareholder of Hengcheng Technology, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to WFOE through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

1


This Power of Attorney is written in Chinese and English. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

This Power of Attorney is signed on February 22, 2015.

 

2


Yan Tian
By:

/s/ Yan Tian

 

Accepted by
Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Acknowledged by:
Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative

 

3

Exhibit 10.11

Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement

This Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into by and between the following parties on February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”).

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Party B: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing

Each of Party A and Party B shall be hereinafter referred to as a “Party” respectively, and as the “Parties” collectively.

Whereas,

 

1. Party A is a wholly foreign owned enterprise established in China, and has the necessary resources to provide technical and consulting services;

 

2. Party B is a company established in China with exclusively domestic capital and is permitted to engage in internet information service by relevant PRC government authorities. The businesses conducted by Party B currently and any time during the term of this Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Principal Business”;

 

3. Party A is willing to provide Party B with technical support, consulting services and other services on exclusive basis in relation to the Principal Business during the term of this Agreement, utilizing its advantages in technology, human resources, and information, and Party B is willing to accept such services provided by Party A or Party A’s designee(s), each on the terms set forth herein.

Now, therefore, through mutual discussion, the Parties have reached the following agreements:

 

1. Services Provided by Party A

 

  1.1 Party B hereby appoints Party A as Party B’s exclusive services provider to provide Party B with comprehensive technical support, consulting services and other services during the term of this Agreement, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including but not limited to the follows:

 

  (1) Licensing Party B to use any software legally owned by Party A;

 

1


  (2) Development, maintenance and update of software involved in Party B’s business;

 

  (3) Design, installation, daily management, maintenance and updating of network system, hardware and database design;

 

  (4) Technical support and training for employees of Party B;

 

  (5) Assisting Party B in consultancy, collection and research of technology and market information (excluding market research business that wholly foreign-owned enterprises are prohibited from conducting under PRC law);

 

  (6) Providing business management consultation for Party B;

 

  (7) Providing marketing and promotion services for Party B;

 

  (8) Providing customer order management and customer services for Party B;

 

  (9) Leasing of equipments or properties; and

 

  (10) Other services requested by Party B from time to time to the extent permitted under PRC law.

 

  1.2 Party B agrees to accept all the services provided by Party A. Party B further agrees that unless with Party A’s prior written consent, during the term of this Agreement, Party B shall not directly or indirectly accept the same or any similar services provided by any third party and shall not establish similar corporation relationship with any third party regarding the matters contemplated by this Agreement. Party A may designate other parties, who may enter into certain agreements described in Section 1.3 with Party B, to provide Party B with the services under this Agreement. For the purpose of this Agreement, Party A and other parties designated by Party A may be respectively referred to as a “Service Provider,” or collectively as “Service Providers.”

 

2


  1.3 Service Providing Methodology

 

  1.3.1 Party A and Party B agree that during the term of this Agreement, where necessary, Party B may enter into further service agreements with Party A or any other party designated by Party A, which shall provide the specific contents, manner, personnel, and fees for the specific services.

 

  1.3.2 To fulfill this Agreement, Party A and Party B agree that during the term of this Agreement, where necessary, Party B may enter into equipment or property leases with Party A or any other party designated by Party A which shall permit Party B to use Party A’s relevant equipment or property based on the needs of the business of Party B.

 

  1.3.3 Party B hereby grants to Party A an irrevocable and exclusive option to purchase from Party B, at Party A’s sole discretion, any or all of the assets and business of Party B, to the extent permitted under PRC law, at the lowest purchase price permitted by PRC law. The Parties shall then enter into a separate assets or business transfer agreement, specifying the terms and conditions of the transfer of the assets.

 

2. The Calculation and Payment of the Service Fees

 

  2.1 The fees payable by Party B to Service Providers during the term of this Agreement shall be calculated as follows:

 

  2.1.1 Party B shall pay service fee to Party A or to Service Providers as instructed by Party A in each month. The service fee for each month shall consist of management fee and fee for services provided, which shall be determined or adjusted (if necessary) by the Party A by considering the following factors. Party B shall accept such determination and adjustments.

 

  (1) Complexity and difficulty of the services provided by Party A;

 

  (2) Title of and time consumed by employees of the Service Provider providing the services;

 

3


  (3) Contents and value of the services provided by Party A;

 

  (4) Market price of the same type of services;

 

  (5) Operation conditions of the Party B.

 

  2.1.2 If a Service Provider transfers technology to Party B or develops software or other technology as entrusted by Party B or leases equipments or properties to Party B, the technology transfer price, development fees or rent shall be determined by Party A or the Service Provider as instructed by Party A based on the actual situations.

 

3. Intellectual Property Rights and Confidentiality Clauses

 

  3.1 Party A shall have exclusive and proprietary ownership, rights and interests in any and all intellectual properties arising out of or created during the performance of this Agreement, including but not limited to copyrights, patents, patent applications, software, technical secrets, trade secrets and others. Party B shall execute all appropriate documents, take all appropriate actions, submit all filings and/or applications, render all appropriate assistance and otherwise conduct whatever is necessary as deemed by Party A at its sole discretion for the purposes of vesting any ownership, right or interest of any such intellectual property rights in Party A, and/or perfecting the protections for any such intellectual property rights in Party A.

 

  3.2 The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third party, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

4


4. Representations and Warranties

 

  4.1 Party A hereby represents, warrants and covenants as follows:

 

  4.1.1 Party A is a wholly foreign owned enterprise legally established and validly existing in accordance with the laws of China; Party A or the service providers designated by Party A will obtain all government permits and licenses for providing the service under this Agreement before providing such services.

 

  4.1.2 Party A has taken all necessary corporate actions, obtained all necessary authorizations as well as all consents and approvals from third parties and government agencies (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement. Party A’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not violate any explicit requirements under any law or regulation.

 

  4.1.3 This Agreement constitutes Party A’s legal, valid and binding obligations, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.

 

  4.2 Party B hereby represents, warrants and covenants as follows:

 

  4.2.1 Party B is a company legally established and validly existing in accordance with the laws of China and has obtained and will maintain all permits and licenses for engaging in the Principal Business in a timely manner.

 

  4.2.2 Party B has taken all necessary corporate actions, obtained all necessary authorizations as well as all consents and approvals from third parties and government agencies (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement. Party B’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not violate any explicit requirements under any law or regulation.

 

  4.2.3 This Agreement constitutes Party B’s legal, valid and binding obligations, and shall be enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.

 

5


5. Term of Agreement

 

  5.1 This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties. Unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement or terminated in writing by Party A, this Agreement shall remain effective.

 

  5.2 During the term of this Agreement, each Party shall renew its operation term prior to the expiration thereof so as to enable this Agreement to remain effective. This Agreement shall be terminated upon the expiration of the operation term of a Party if the application for renewal of its operation term is not approved by relevant government authorities.

 

  5.3 The rights and obligations of the Parties under Sections 3, 6, 7 and this Section 5.3 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

6. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  6.1 The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

  6.2 In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on both Parties.

 

  6.3 Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

6


7. Breach of Agreement and Indemnification

 

  7.1 If Party B conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B to indemnify all damages; this Section 7.1 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein.

 

  7.2 Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, Party B shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event.

 

  7.3 Party B shall indemnify and hold harmless Party A from any losses, injuries, obligations or expenses caused by any lawsuit, claims or other demands against Party A arising from or caused by the services provided by Party A to Party B pursuant this Agreement, except where such losses, injuries, obligations or expenses arise from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Party A.

 

8. Force Majeure

 

  8.1 In the case of any force majeure events (“Force Majeure”) such as earthquake, typhoon, flood, fire, flu, war, strikes or any other events that cannot be predicted and are unpreventable and unavoidable by the affected Party, which directly or indirectly causes the failure of either Party to perform or completely perform this Agreement, then the Party affected by such Force Majeure shall give the other Party written notices without any delay, and shall provide details of such event within 15 days after sending out such notice, explaining the reasons for such failure of, partial or delay of performance.

 

  8.2 If such Party claiming Force Majeure fails to notify the other Party and furnish it with proof pursuant to the above provision, such Party shall not be excused from the non-performance of its obligations hereunder. The Party so affected by the event of Force Majeure shall use reasonable efforts to minimize the consequences of such Force Majeure and to promptly resume performance hereunder whenever the causes of such excuse are cured. Should the Party so affected by the event of Force Majeure fail to resume performance hereunder when the causes of such excuse are cured, such Party shall be liable to the other Party.

 

  8.3 In the event of Force Majeure, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other to find an equitable solution and shall use all reasonable endeavours to minimize the consequences of such Force Majeure.

 

7


9. Notices

 

  9.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  9.1.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

  9.1.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  9.2 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-85896536
Facsimile: 010-85896536
Party B: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-57052047
Facsimile: 010-58602288

 

  9.3 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Party in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8


10. Assignment

 

  10.1 Without Party A’s prior written consent, Party B shall not assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement to any third party.

 

  10.2 Party B agrees that Party A may assign its obligations and rights under this Agreement to any third party and in case of such assignment, Party A is only required to give written notice to Party B and does not need any consent from Party B for such assignment.

 

11. Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any aspect. The Parties shall negotiate in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

12. Amendments and Supplements

Any amendments and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing. The amendment agreements and supplementary agreements that have been signed by the Parties and relate to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

13. Language and Counterparts

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English language in two copies, each Party having one copy. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

9


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative

Exhibit 10.12

Exclusive Option Agreement

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”):

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;
Party B: Ning Tang , a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ; and
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

Whereas:

 

1. Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 40% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB12,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C.

 

2. Party A and Party B executed a Loan Agreement (“Loan Agreement”) on February 22, 2015, according to which Party A agreed to provide Party B with a loan in amount of RMB 12,000,000, to be used for the purpose of subscribing the registered capital of Party C.

 

3. Party B agrees to grant Party A an exclusive right through this Agreement, and Party A agrees to accept such exclusive right to purchase all or part equity interest held by Party B in Party C.

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1. Sale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

  1.1 Option Granted

In consideration of the payment of RMB10 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Chinese laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”). Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B. Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A. The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

1


  1.2 Steps for Exercise of Equity Interest Purchase Option

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of China, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

  1.3 Equity Interest Purchase Price

The purchase price of all equity interests held by Party B in Party C purchased by Party A by exercising the Equity Interest Purchase Option shall be RMB 12,000,000; if Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option to purchase part of the equity interests held by Party B in Party C, the purchase price shall be calculated pro rata. If PRC law requires a minimum price higher than aforementioned price when Party A exercises Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by PRC law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

  1.4 Transfer of Optioned Interests

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

  1.4.1 Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

  1.4.2 Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

  1.4.3 Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

2


  1.4.4 The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests. For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney. “Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Interest Pledge Agreement executed by and among Party A, Party B and Party C on the date hereof and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto. “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2. Covenants

 

  2.1 Covenants regarding Party C

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

  2.1.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

  2.1.2 They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

  2.1.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

  2.1.4 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

3


  2.1.5 They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses in the ordinary course of business to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

  2.1.6 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

  2.1.7 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

  2.1.8 They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

  2.1.9 If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

  2.1.10 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

  2.1.11 They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

  2.1.12 To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

  2.1.13 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

  2.1.14 At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

  2.1.15 Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

  2.1.16 Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

4


  2.2 Covenants of Party B

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

  2.2.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

  2.2.2 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

  2.2.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

  2.2.4 Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

  2.2.5 Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

  2.2.6 To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

  2.2.7 Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

5


  2.2.8 Party B hereby waives its right of first of refusal to transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement, the equity interest pledge agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney and undertakes not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

  2.2.9 Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation, or any proceeds from transferring its entire or a part of equity interest in Party C, to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws; and

 

  2.2.10 Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof. To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under the Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement or under the Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

3. Representations and Warranties

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

  3.1 They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts. Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option. This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

  3.2 Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

  3.3 The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of China; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

6


  3.4 Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C. Except for Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

  3.5 Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

  3.6 Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred in the ordinary course of business; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

  3.7 Party C has complied with all applicable laws and regulations; and

 

  3.8 There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4. Effective Date and Term

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  5.1 Governing law

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of PRC.

 

  5.2 Methods of Resolution of Disputes

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

7


6. Taxes and Fees

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration tax, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of China in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7. Notices

 

  7.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  7.1.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

  7.1.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  7.2 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-85896536
Facsimile: 010-85896536
Party B: Ning Tang
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Choayang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-57052047
Facsimile: 010-58602288

 

  7.3 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8


8. Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement, and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9. Further Warranties

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

10. Breach of Agreement

 

  10.1 If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require the Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

  10.2 Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

11. Miscellaneous

 

  11.1 Amendment, change and supplement

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

9


  11.2 Entire agreement

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supercede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

  11.3 Headings

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

  11.4 Language

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English language in three copies, each Party having one copy. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

  11.5 Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

  11.6 Successors

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

  11.7 Survival

 

  11.7.1 Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

  11.7.2 The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

10


  11.8 Waivers

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties. No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

11


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Ning Tang
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative


Exclusive Option Agreement

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”):

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;
Party B: Fanshun Kong , a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ; and
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

Whereas:

 

1. Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 30% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB9,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C.

 

2. Party A and Party B executed a Loan Agreement (“Loan Agreement”) on February 22, 2015, according to which Party A agreed to provide Party B with a loan in amount of RMB 9,000,000, to be used for the purpose of subscribing the registered capital of Party C.

 

3. Party B agrees to grant Party A an exclusive right through this Agreement, and Party A agrees to accept such exclusive right to purchase all or part equity interest held by Party B in Party C.

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1. Sale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

  1.1 Option Granted

In consideration of the payment of RMB10 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Chinese laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”). Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B. Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A. The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

1


  1.2 Steps for Exercise of Equity Interest Purchase Option

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of China, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

  1.3 Equity Interest Purchase Price

The purchase price of all equity interests held by Party B in Party C purchased by Party A by exercising the Equity Interest Purchase Option shall be RMB 9,000,000; if Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option to purchase part of the equity interests held by Party B in Party C, the purchase price shall be calculated pro rata. If PRC law requires a minimum price higher than aforementioned price when Party A exercises Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by PRC law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

  1.4 Transfer of Optioned Interests

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

  1.4.1 Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

  1.4.2 Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

  1.4.3 Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

2


  1.4.4 The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests. For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney. “Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Interest Pledge Agreement executed by and among Party A, Party B and Party C on the date hereof and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto. “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2. Covenants

 

  2.1 Covenants regarding Party C

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

  2.1.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

  2.1.2 They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

  2.1.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

  2.1.4 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

3


  2.1.5 They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses in the ordinary course of business to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

  2.1.6 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

  2.1.7 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

  2.1.8 They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

  2.1.9 If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

  2.1.10 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

  2.1.11 They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

  2.1.12 To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

  2.1.13 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

  2.1.14 At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

  2.1.15 Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

  2.1.16 Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

4


  2.2 Covenants of Party B

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

  2.2.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

  2.2.2 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

  2.2.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

  2.2.4 Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

  2.2.5 Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

  2.2.6 To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

  2.2.7 Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

5


  2.2.8 Party B hereby waives its right of first of refusal to transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement, the equity interest pledge agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney and undertakes not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

  2.2.9 Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation, or any proceeds from transferring its entire or a part of equity interest in Party C, to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws; and

 

  2.2.10 Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof. To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under the Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement or under the Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

3. Representations and Warranties

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

  3.1 They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts. Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option. This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

  3.2 Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

6


  3.3 The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of China; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

  3.4 Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C. Except for Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

  3.5 Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

  3.6 Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred in the ordinary course of business; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

  3.7 Party C has complied with all applicable laws and regulations; and

 

  3.8 There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4. Effective Date and Term

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  5.1 Governing law

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of PRC.

 

  5.2 Methods of Resolution of Disputes

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

7


6. Taxes and Fees

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration tax, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of China in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7. Notices

 

  7.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  7.1.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

  7.1.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  7.2 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-85896536
Facsimile: 010-85896536
Party B: Fanshun Kong
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

8


Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-57052047
Facsimile: 010-58602288

 

  7.3 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8. Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement, and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9. Further Warranties

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

10. Breach of Agreement

 

  10.1 If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require the Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

  10.2 Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

9


11. Miscellaneous

 

  11.1 Amendment, change and supplement

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

  11.2 Entire agreement

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supercede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

  11.3 Headings

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

  11.4 Language

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English language in three copies, each Party having one copy. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

  11.5 Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

  11.6 Successors

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

10


  11.7 Survival

 

  11.7.1 Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

  11.7.2 The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

  11.8 Waivers

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties. No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

11


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Fanshun Kong
By:

/s/ Fanshun Kong

Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative


Exclusive Option Agreement

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 22, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”):

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing;
Party B: Yan Tian , a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ; and
Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

Whereas:

 

1. Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 30% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB9,000,000 in the registered capital of Party C.

 

2. Party A and Party B executed a Loan Agreement (“Loan Agreement”) on February 22, 2015, according to which Party A agreed to provide Party B with a loan in amount of RMB 9,000,000, to be used for the purpose of subscribing the increased registered capital of Party C.

 

3. Party B agrees to grant Party A an exclusive right through this Agreement, and Party A agrees to accept such exclusive right to purchase all or part equity interest held by Party B in Party C.

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1. Sale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

  1.1 Option Granted

In consideration of the payment of RMB10 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Chinese laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”). Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B. Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A. The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

1


  1.2 Steps for Exercise of Equity Interest Purchase Option

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of China, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

  1.3 Equity Interest Purchase Price

The purchase price of all equity interests held by Party B in Party C purchased by Party A by exercising the Equity Interest Purchase Option shall be RMB 9,000,000; if Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option to purchase part of the equity interests held by Party B in Party C, the purchase price shall be calculated pro rata. If PRC law requires a minimum price higher than aforementioned price when Party A exercises Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by PRC law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

  1.4 Transfer of Optioned Interests

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

  1.4.1 Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

  1.4.2 Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

  1.4.3 Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

2


  1.4.4 The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests. For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney. “Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Interest Pledge Agreement executed by and among Party A, Party B and Party C on the date hereof and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto. “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2. Covenants

 

  2.1 Covenants regarding Party C

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

  2.1.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

  2.1.2 They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

  2.1.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

3


  2.1.4 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

  2.1.5 They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses in the ordinary course of business to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

  2.1.6 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

  2.1.7 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

  2.1.8 They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

  2.1.9 If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

  2.1.10 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

  2.1.11 They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

  2.1.12 To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

  2.1.13 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

  2.1.14 At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

4


  2.1.15 Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

  2.1.16 Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

  2.2 Covenants of Party B

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

  2.2.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

  2.2.2 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

  2.2.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

  2.2.4 Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

  2.2.5 Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

  2.2.6 To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

  2.2.7 Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

5


  2.2.8 Party B hereby waives its right of first of refusal to transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement, the equity interest pledge agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney and undertakes not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

  2.2.9 Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation, or any proceeds from transferring its entire or a part of equity interest in Party C, to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws; and

 

  2.2.10 Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof. To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under the Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement or under the Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

3. Representations and Warranties

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

  3.1 They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts. Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option. This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

  3.2 Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

6


  3.3 The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of China; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

  3.4 Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C. Except for Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

  3.5 Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

  3.6 Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred in the ordinary course of business; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

  3.7 Party C has complied with all applicable laws and regulations; and

 

  3.8 There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4. Effective Date and Term

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5. Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

  5.1 Governing law

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of PRC.

 

  5.2 Methods of Resolution of Disputes

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations. In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

7


6. Taxes and Fees

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration tax, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of China in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7. Notices

 

  7.1 All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below. A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email. The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

  7.1.1 Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

  7.1.2 Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

  7.2 For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: 010-85896536
Facsimile: 010-85896536
Party B: Yan Tian
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile:

 

8


Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: 03-04 FL, No. 8 Building, No. 6 [3-3] Langjiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Attn: Ning Tang
Phone: Facsimile:

010-57052047

010-58602288

 

  7.3 Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8. Confidentiality

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement, and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information. Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9. Further Warranties

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

10. Breach of Agreement

 

  10.1 If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require the Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

  10.2 Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

9


11. Miscellaneous

 

  11.1 Amendment, change and supplement

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

  11.2 Entire agreement

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supercede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

  11.3 Headings

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

  11.4 Language

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English language in three copies, each Party having one copy. In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

  11.5 Severability

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect. The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

  11.6 Successors

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

10


  11.7 Survival

 

  11.7.1 Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

  11.7.2 The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

  11.8 Waivers

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties. No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

11


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

Party A: Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative
Party B: Yan Tian
By:

/s/ Yan Tian

Party C: Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
By:

/s/ Ning Tang

(Company seal affixed)
Name: Ning Tang
Title: Legal Representative

Exhibit 10.13

YIRENDAI LTD.

2015 SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN

ARTICLE 1

PURPOSE

The purpose of this 2015 Share Incentive Plan (the “ Plan ”) is to promote the success and enhance the value of Yirendai Ltd., a company formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”), by linking the personal interests of the Directors, Employees, and Consultants to those of the Company’s shareholders and by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance to generate superior returns to the Company’s shareholders. The Plan is further intended to provide flexibility to the Company in its ability to motivate, attract, and retain the services of Directors, Employees, and Consultants upon whose judgment, interest, and special effort the successful conduct of the Company’s operation is largely dependent.

ARTICLE 2

DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION

Wherever the following terms are used in the Plan, they shall have the meanings specified below, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The singular pronoun shall include the plural where the context so indicates.

2.1 “Applicable Laws” means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of the corporate, securities, tax and other laws, rules, regulations and government orders, and the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein.

2.2 “Applicable Accounting Standards” shall mean Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States, International Financial Reporting Standards or such other accounting principles or standards as may apply to the Company’s financial statements under United States federal securities laws from time to time.

2.3 “Award” means an Option, Restricted Share or Restricted Share Unit award granted to a Participant pursuant to the Plan or any other equity incentive award granted to a Participant by the Company pursuant to the authorizations of the Committee.

2.4 “Award Agreement” means any written agreement, contract, or other instrument or document evidencing the grant of an Award entered into by and between the Company and a Participant and any amendment thereto, including through electronic medium.

2.5 “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

2.6 “Cause” with respect to a Participant means (unless otherwise expressly provided in the applicable Award Agreement, or another applicable contract with the Participant that defines such term for purposes of determining the effect that a “for cause” termination has on the Participant’s Awards) a termination of employment or service based upon a finding by the Service Recipient, acting in good faith and based on its reasonable belief at the time, that the Participant:

(a) has been negligent in the discharge of his or her duties to the Service Recipient, has refused to perform stated or assigned duties or is incompetent in or (other than by reason of a disability or analogous condition) incapable of performing those duties;

 

1


(b) has been dishonest or committed or engaged in an act of theft, embezzlement or fraud, a breach of confidentiality, an unauthorized disclosure or use of inside information, customer lists, trade secrets or other confidential information;

(c) has breached a fiduciary duty, or willfully and materially violated any other duty, law, rule, regulation or policy of the Service Recipient; or has been convicted of, or plead guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or misdemeanor (other than minor traffic violations or similar offenses);

(d) has materially breached any of the provisions of any agreement with the Service Recipient;

(e) has engaged in unfair competition with, or otherwise acted intentionally in a manner injurious to the reputation, business or assets of, the Service Recipient; or

(f) has improperly induced a vendor or customer to break or terminate any contract with the Service Recipient or induced a principal for whom the Service Recipient acts as agent to terminate such agency relationship.

A termination for Cause shall be deemed to occur (subject to reinstatement upon a contrary final determination by the Committee) on the date on which the Service Recipient first delivers written notice to the Participant of a finding of termination for Cause.

2.7 “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of the United States, as amended.

2.8 “Committee” means the Board or a committee of the Board described in Article 10.

2.9 “Consultant” means any consultant or adviser if: (a) the consultant or adviser renders bona fide services to a Service Recipient; (b) the services rendered by the consultant or adviser are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the Company’s securities; and (c) the consultant or adviser is a natural person who has contracted directly with the Service Recipient to render such services.

2.10 “Corporate Transaction” , unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means any of the following transactions, provided, however, that the Committee shall determine under (d) and (e) whether multiple transactions are related, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive:

(a) an amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation or scheme of arrangement (i) in which the Company is not the surviving entity, except for a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the jurisdiction in which the Company is incorporated or (ii) following which the holders of the voting securities of the Company do not continue to hold more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity;

 

2


(b) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company;

(c) the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company;

(d) any reverse takeover or series of related transactions culminating in a reverse takeover (including, but not limited to, a tender offer followed by a reverse takeover) in which the Company is the surviving entity but (A) the Company’s equity securities outstanding immediately prior to such takeover are converted or exchanged by virtue of the takeover into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise, or (B) in which securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons different from those who held such securities immediately prior to such takeover or the initial transaction culminating in such takeover, but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction; or

(e) acquisition in a single or series of related transactions by any person or related group of persons (other than the Company or by a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan) of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) of securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction.

2.11 “Director” means a member of the Board or a member of the board of directors of any Parent, Subsidiary or Related Entity of the Company.

2.12 “Disability” unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means that the Participant qualifies to receive long-term disability payments under the Service Recipient’s long-term disability insurance program, as it may be amended from time to time, to which the Participant provides services regardless of whether the Participant is covered by such policy. If the Service Recipient to which the Participant provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, “Disability” means that a Participant is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by the Participant by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment for a period of not less than ninety (90) consecutive days. A Participant will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Committee in its discretion.

2.13 “Effective Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.

2.14 “Employee” means any person, including an officer or a Director of any Group Entity, who is in the employment of a Service Recipient, subject to the control and direction of the Service Recipient as to both the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a director’s fee by a Service Recipient shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Service Recipient.

2.15 “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 of the United States, as amended.

 

3


2.16 “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of Shares determined as follows:

(a) If the Shares are listed on one or more established stock exchanges or national market systems, including without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such shares (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on the principal exchange or system on which the Shares are listed (as determined by the Committee) on the date of determination (or, if no closing sales price or closing bid was reported on that date, as applicable, on the last trading date such closing sales price or closing bid was reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable;

(b) If the Shares are regularly quoted on an automated quotation system (including the OTC Bulletin Board) or by a recognized securities dealer, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such shares as quoted on such system or by such securities dealer on the date of determination, but if selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Shares on the date of determination (or, if no such prices were reported on that date, on the last date such prices were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable; or

(c) In the absence of an established market for the Shares of the type described in (a) and (b), above, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Committee in good faith and in its discretion by reference to (i) the placing price of the latest private placement of the Shares and the development of the Company’s business operations and the general economic and market conditions since such latest private placement, (ii) other third party transactions involving the Shares and the development of the Company’s business operation and the general economic and market conditions since such sale, (iii) an independent valuation of the Shares, or (iv) such other methodologies or information as the Committee determines to be indicative of Fair Market Value and relevant.

2.17 “Group Entity” means any of the Company and Parents, Subsidiaries and Related Entities of the Company.

2.18 “Incentive Share Option” means an Option that is intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision thereto.

2.19 “Independent Director” means (i) before the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who is a Non-Employee Director; and (ii) after the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who meets the independence standards under the applicable corporate governance rules of the stock exchange.

2.20 “Non-Employee Director” means a member of the Board who qualifies as a “Non-Employee Director” as defined in Rule 16b-3(b)(3) of the Exchange Act, or any successor definition adopted by the Board.

2.21 “Non-Qualified Share Option” means an Option that is not intended to be an Incentive Share Option.

2.22 “Option” means a right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 5 of the Plan to purchase a specified number of Shares at a specified price during specified time periods. An Option may be either an Incentive Share Option or a Non-Qualified Share Option.

 

4


2.23 “Participant” means a person who, as a member of the Board, Consultant or Employee, has been granted an Award pursuant to the Plan.

2.24 “Parent” means a parent corporation under Section 424(e) of the Code.

2.25 “Plan” means this 2015 Share Incentive Plan, as it may be amended from time to time.

2.26 “Related Entity” means any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly, or controls through contractual arrangements and consolidates the financial results according to the Applicable Accounting Standards, but which is not a Subsidiary and which the Board designates as a Related Entity for purposes of the Plan.

2.27 “Restricted Share” means a Share awarded to a Participant pursuant to Article 6 that is subject to certain restrictions and may be subject to risk of forfeiture.

2.28 “Restricted Share Unit” means the right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 7 to receive a Share at a future date.

2.29 “Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States, as amended.

2.30 “Service Recipient” means the Company, any Parent, Subsidiary or Related Entity of the Company to which a Participant provides services as an Employee, a Consultant or a Director.

2.31 “Share” means ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001per share, of the Company, and such other securities of the Company that may be substituted for Shares pursuant to Article 9.

2.32 “Subsidiary” means any corporation or other entity of which a majority of the outstanding voting shares or voting power is beneficially owned directly or indirectly by the Company.

2.33 “Trading Date” means the closing of the first sale to the general public of the Shares pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act.

ARTICLE 3

SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN

3.1 Number of Shares .

(a) Subject to the provisions of Article 9 and Section 3.1(b), the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards (including Incentive Share Options) under the Plan shall be 10,000,000.

 

5


(b) To the extent that an Award terminates, expires, or lapses for any reason, then any Shares subject to the Award shall again be available for the grant of an Award pursuant to the Plan. Shares delivered by the Participant or withheld by the Company upon the exercise of any Award under the Plan, in payment of the exercise price thereof or tax withholding thereon, may again be optioned, granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). If any Awards are forfeited by the Participant or repurchased by the Company, the Shares underlying such Awards may again be optioned, granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). To the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, Shares issued in assumption of, or in substitution for, any outstanding awards of any entity acquired in any form of combination by a Group Entity shall not be counted against Shares available for grant pursuant to the Plan. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 3.1(b), no Shares may again be optioned, granted or awarded if such action would cause an Incentive Share Option to fail to qualify as an incentive stock option under Section 422 of the Code.

3.2 Shares Distributed . Any Shares distributed pursuant to an Award may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Shares, treasury shares (subject to Applicable Laws) or Shares purchased on the open market. Additionally, in the discretion of the Committee, American Depositary Shares in an amount equal to the number of Shares which otherwise would be distributed pursuant to an Award may be distributed in lieu of Shares in settlement of any Award. If the number of Shares represented by an American Depositary Share is other than on a one-to-one basis, the limitations of Section 3.1 shall be adjusted to reflect the distribution of American Depositary Shares in lieu of Shares.

ARTICLE 4

ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION

4.1 Eligibility . Persons eligible to participate in this Plan include Employees, Consultants, and all Directors, as determined by the Committee.

4.2 Participation . Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee may, from time to time, select from among all eligible individuals, those to whom Awards shall be granted and shall determine the nature and amount of each Award. No individual shall have any right to be granted an Award pursuant to this Plan.

4.3 Jurisdictions . In order to assure the viability of Awards granted to Participants in various jurisdictions, the Committee may provide for such special terms as it may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy, or custom applicable in the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides or is employed. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to, or amendments, restatements, or alternative versions of, the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes without thereby affecting the terms of the Plan as in effect for any other purpose; provided, however, that no such supplements, amendments, restatements, or alternative versions shall increase the share limitations contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted, that would violate any Applicable Laws.

 

6


ARTICLE 5

OPTIONS

5.1 General . The Committee is authorized to grant Options to Participants on the following terms and conditions:

(a) Exercise Price . The exercise price per Share subject to an Option shall be determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement which may be a fixed or variable price related to the Fair Market Value of the Shares. The exercise price per Share subject to an Option may be amended or adjusted in the absolute discretion of the Committee, the determination of which shall be final, binding and conclusive. For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent not prohibited by Applicable Laws or any exchange rule, a downward adjustment of the exercise prices of Options mentioned in the preceding sentence shall be effective without the approval of the Company’s shareholders or the approval of the affected Participants.

(b) Time and Conditions of Exercise . The Committee shall determine the time or times at which an Option may be exercised in whole or in part, including exercise prior to vesting; provided that the term of any Option granted under the Plan shall not exceed ten years, except as provided in Section 12.1. The Committee shall also determine any conditions, if any, that must be satisfied before all or part of an Option may be exercised.

(c) Payment . The Committee shall determine the methods by which the exercise price of an Option may be paid, the form of payment, including, without limitation (i) cash or check denominated in U.S. Dollars, (ii) to the extent permissible under the Applicable Laws, cash or check in Chinese Renminbi, (iii) cash or check denominated in any other local currency as approved by the Committee, (iv) Shares held for such period of time as may be required by the Committee in order to avoid adverse financial accounting consequences and having a Fair Market Value on the date of delivery equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Option or exercised portion thereof, (v) after the Trading Date the delivery of a notice that the Participant has placed a market sell order with a broker with respect to Shares then issuable upon exercise of the Option, and that the broker has been directed to pay a sufficient portion of the net proceeds of the sale to the Company in satisfaction of the Option exercise price; provided that payment of such proceeds is then made to the Company upon settlement of such sale, (vi) other property acceptable to the Committee with a Fair Market Value equal to the exercise price, or (vii) any combination of the foregoing. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, no Participant who is a member of the Board or an “executive officer” of the Company within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act shall be permitted to pay the exercise price of an Option in any method which would violate Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act.

(d) Evidence of Grant . All Options shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement between the Company and the Participant. The Award Agreement shall include such additional provisions as may be specified by the Committee.

(e) Effects of Termination of Employment or Service on Options . Termination of employment or service shall have the following effects on Options granted to the Participants unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement:

(i) Dismissal for Cause . Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participant’s employment by or service to the Service Recipient is terminated by the Service Recipient for Cause, the Participant’s Options will terminate upon such termination, whether or not the Option is then vested and/or exercisable;

 

7


(ii) Death or Disability . Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participant’s employment by or service to the Service Recipient terminates as a result of the Participant’s death or Disability:

 

  (a) the Participant (or his or her legal representative or beneficiary, in the case of the Participant’s Disability or death, respectively), will have until the date that is 12 months after the Participant’s termination of Employment to exercise the Participant’s Options (or portion thereof) to the extent that such Options were vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant’s termination of Employment on account of death or Disability;

 

  (b) the Options, to the extent not vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant’s termination of Employment or service, shall terminate upon the Participant’s termination of Employment or service on account of death or Disability; and

 

  (c) the Options, to the extent exercisable for the 12-month period following the Participant’s termination of Employment or service and not exercised during such period, shall terminate at the close of business on the last day of the 12-month period.

(iii) Other Terminations of Employment or Service . Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participant’s employment by or service to the Service Recipient terminates for any reason other than a termination by the Service Recipient for Cause or because of the Participant’s death or Disability:

 

  (a) the Participant will have until the date that is 90 days after the Participant’s termination of Employment or service to exercise his or her Options (or portion thereof) to the extent that such Options were vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant’s termination of Employment or service;

 

  (b) the Options, to the extent not vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant’s termination of Employment or service, shall terminate upon the Participant’s termination of Employment or service; and

 

  (c) the Options, to the extent exercisable for the 90-day period following the Participant’s termination of Employment or service and not exercised during such period, shall terminate at the close of business on the last day of the 90-day period.

 

8


5.2 Incentive Share Options . Incentive Share Options may be granted to Employees of the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company. Incentive Share Options may not be granted to Employees of a Related Entity or to Independent Directors or Consultants. The terms of any Incentive Share Options granted pursuant to the Plan, in addition to the requirements of Section 5.1, must comply with the following additional provisions of this Section 5.2:

(a) Individual Dollar Limitation . The aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the time the Option is granted) of all Shares with respect to which Incentive Share Options are first exercisable by a Participant in any calendar year may not exceed $100,000 or such other limitation as imposed by Section 422(d) of the Code, or any successor provision. To the extent that Incentive Share Options are first exercisable by a Participant in excess of such limitation, the excess shall be considered Non-Qualified Share Options.

(b) Exercise Price . The exercise price of an Incentive Share Option shall be equal to the Fair Market Value on the date of grant. However, the exercise price of any Incentive Share Option granted to any individual who, at the date of grant, owns Shares possessing more than ten percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of shares of the Company may not be less than 110% of Fair Market Value on the date of grant and such Option may not be exercisable for more than five years from the date of grant.

(c) Transfer Restriction . The Participant shall give the Company prompt notice of any disposition of Shares acquired by exercise of an Incentive Share Option within (i) two years from the date of grant of such Incentive Share Option or (ii) one year after the transfer of such Shares to the Participant.

(d) Expiration of Incentive Share Options . No Award of an Incentive Share Option may be made pursuant to this Plan after the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date.

(e) Right to Exercise . During a Participant’s lifetime, an Incentive Share Option may be exercised only by the Participant.

ARTICLE 6

RESTRICTED SHARES

6.1 Grant of Restricted Shares . The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Shares to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Shares to be granted to each Participant.

6.2 Restricted Shares Award Agreement . Each Award of Restricted Shares shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify the period of restriction, the number of Restricted Shares granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. Unless the Committee determines otherwise, Restricted Shares shall be held by the Company as escrow agent until the restrictions on such Restricted Shares have lapsed.

6.3 Issuance and Restrictions . Restricted Shares shall be subject to such restrictions on transferability and other restrictions as the Committee may impose (including, without limitation, limitations on the right to vote Restricted Shares or the right to receive dividends on the Restricted Share). These restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such times, pursuant to such circumstances, in such installments, or otherwise, as the Committee determines at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter.

6.4 Forfeiture/Repurchase . Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Shares that are at that time subject to restrictions shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; provided, however, the Committee may provide in any Restricted Share Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares will be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares.

 

9


6.5 Certificates for Restricted Shares . Restricted Shares granted pursuant to the Plan may be evidenced in such manner as the Committee shall determine. If certificates representing Restricted Shares are registered in the name of the Participant, certificates must bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Shares, and the Company may, at its discretion, retain physical possession of the certificate until such time as all applicable restrictions lapse.

6.6 Removal of Restrictions . Except as otherwise provided in this Article 6, Restricted Shares granted under the Plan shall be released from escrow as soon as practicable after the last day of the period of restriction. The Committee, in its discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions shall lapse or be removed. After the restrictions have lapsed, the Participant shall be entitled to have any legend or legends under Section 6.5 removed from his or her Share certificate, and the Shares shall be freely transferable by the Participant, subject to applicable legal restrictions. The Committee (in its discretion) may establish procedures regarding the release of Shares from escrow and the removal of legends, as necessary or appropriate to minimize administrative burdens on the Company.

ARTICLE 7

RESTRICTED SHARE UNITS

7.1 Grant of Restricted Share Units . The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Share Units to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Share Units to be granted to each Participant.

7.2 Restricted Share Units Award Agreement . Each Award of Restricted Share Units shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify any vesting conditions, the number of Restricted Share Units granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine.

7.3 Performance Objectives and Other Terms . The Committee, in its discretion, may set performance objectives or other vesting criteria which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Restricted Share Units that will be paid out to the Participants.

7.4 Form and Timing of Payment of Restricted Share Units . At the time of grant, the Committee shall specify the date or dates on which the Restricted Share Units shall become fully vested and nonforfeitable. Upon vesting, the Committee, in its sole discretion, may pay Restricted Share Units in the form of cash, in Shares or in a combination thereof.

7.5 Forfeiture/Repurchase . Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Share Units that are at that time unvested shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; provided, however, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Unit Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units will be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units.

 

10


ARTICLE 8

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO AWARDS

8.1 Award Agreement . Awards under the Plan shall be evidenced by Award Agreements that set forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each Award which may include the term of an Award, the provisions applicable in the event the Participant’s employment or service terminates, and the Company’s authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind an Award.

8.2 No Transferability; Limited Exception to Transfer Restrictions .

8.2.1 Limits on Transfer . Unless otherwise expressly provided in (or pursuant to) this Section 8.2, by Applicable Laws and by the Award Agreement, as the same may be amended:

(a) all Awards are non-transferable and will not be subject in any manner to sale, transfer, anticipation, alienation, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge;

(b) Awards will be exercised only by the Participant; and

(c) amounts payable or shares issuable pursuant to an Award will be delivered only to (or for the account of), and, in the case of Shares, registered in the name of, the Participant.

In addition, the shares shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.

8.2.2 Further Exceptions to Limits on Transfer . The exercise and transfer restrictions in Section 8.2.1 will not apply to:

(a) transfers to the Company or a Subsidiary;

(b) transfers by gift to “immediate family” as that term is defined in SEC Rule 16a-1(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act;

(c) the designation of a beneficiary to receive benefits if the Participant dies or, if the Participant has died, transfers to or exercises by the Participant’s beneficiary, or, in the absence of a validly designated beneficiary, transfers by will or the laws of descent and distribution;

(d) if the Participant has suffered a disability, permitted transfers or exercises on behalf of the Participant by the Participant’s duly authorized legal representative; or

 

11


(e) subject to the prior approval of the Committee or an executive officer or director of the Company authorized by the Committee, transfer to one or more natural persons who are the Participant’s family members or entities owned and controlled by the Participant and/or the Participant’s family members, including but not limited to trusts or other entities whose beneficiaries or beneficial owners are the Participant and/or the Participant’s family members, or to such other persons or entities as may be expressly approved by the Committee, pursuant to such conditions and procedures as the Committee or may establish. Any permitted transfer shall be subject to the condition that the Committee receives evidence satisfactory to it that the transfer is being made for estate and/or tax planning purposes and on a basis consistent with the Company’s lawful issue of securities.

Notwithstanding anything else in this Section 8.2.2 to the contrary, but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, Incentive Share Options, Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units will be subject to any and all transfer restrictions under the Code applicable to such Awards or necessary to maintain the intended tax consequences of such Awards. Notwithstanding clause (b) above but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, any contemplated transfer by gift to “immediate family” as referenced in clause (b) above is subject to the condition precedent that the transfer be approved by the Administrator in order for it to be effective.

8.3 Beneficiaries . Notwithstanding Section 8.2, a Participant may, in the manner determined by the Committee, designate a beneficiary to exercise the rights of the Participant and to receive any distribution with respect to any Award upon the Participant’s death. A beneficiary, legal guardian, legal representative, or other person claiming any rights pursuant to the Plan is subject to all terms and conditions of the Plan and any Award Agreement applicable to the Participant, except to the extent the Plan and Award Agreement otherwise provide, and to any additional restrictions deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. If the Participant is married and resides in a community property state, a designation of a person other than the Participant’s spouse as his or her beneficiary with respect to more than 50% of the Participant’s interest in the Award shall not be effective without the prior written consent of the Participant’s spouse. If no beneficiary has been designated or survives the Participant, payment shall be made to the person entitled thereto pursuant to the Participant’s will or the laws of descent and distribution. Subject to the foregoing, a beneficiary designation may be changed or revoked by a Participant at any time provided the change or revocation is filed with the Committee.

8.4 Share Certificates . Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificates evidencing the Shares pursuant to the exercise of any Award, unless and until the Committee has determined, with advice of counsel, that the issuance and delivery of such certificates is in compliance with all Applicable Laws, regulations of governmental authorities and, if applicable, the requirements of any exchange on which the Shares are listed or traded. All Share certificates delivered pursuant to the Plan are subject to any stop-transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to comply with all Applicable Laws, and the rules of any national securities exchange or automated quotation system on which the Shares are listed, quoted, or traded. The Committee may place legends on any Share certificate to reference restrictions applicable to the Shares. In addition to the terms and conditions provided herein, the Committee may require that a Participant make such reasonable covenants, agreements, and representations as the Committee, in its discretion, deems advisable in order to comply with any such laws, regulations, or requirements. The Committee shall have the right to require any Participant to comply with any timing or other restrictions with respect to the settlement or exercise of any Award, including a window-period limitation, as may be imposed in the discretion of the Committee.

 

12


8.5 Paperless Administration . Subject to Applicable Laws, the Committee may make Awards, provide applicable disclosure and procedures for exercise of Awards by an internet website or interactive voice response system for the paperless administration of Awards.

8.6 Stand-Alone and Tandem Awards . Awards granted pursuant to the Plan may, in the discretion of the Committee, be granted either alone, in addition to, or in tandem with, any other Award granted pursuant to the Plan. Awards granted in addition to or in tandem with other Awards may be granted either at the same time as or at a different time from the grant of such other Awards.

8.7 Foreign Currency . A Participant may be required to provide evidence that any currency used to pay the exercise price of any Award was acquired and taken out of the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides in accordance with Applicable Laws, including foreign exchange control laws and regulations. In the event the exercise price for an Award is paid in Chinese Renminbi or other foreign currency, as permitted by the Committee, the amount payable will be determined by conversion from U.S. dollars at the official rate promulgated by the People’s Bank of China for Chinese Renminbi, or for jurisdictions other than the People’s Republic of China, the exchange rate as selected by the Committee on the date of exercise.

ARTICLE 9

CHANGES IN CAPITAL STRUCTURE

9.1 Adjustments . In the event of any dividend, share split, combination or exchange of Shares, amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation, spin-off, recapitalization or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to its shareholders, or any other change affecting the shares of Shares or the share price of a Share, the Committee shall make such proportionate adjustments, if any, as the Committee in its discretion may deem appropriate to reflect such change with respect to (a) the aggregate number and type of shares that may be issued under the Plan (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Section 3.1); (b) the terms and conditions of any outstanding Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable performance targets or criteria with respect thereto); and (c) the grant or exercise price per share for any outstanding Awards under the Plan.

9.2 Corporate Transactions . Except as may otherwise be provided in any Award Agreement or any other written agreement entered into by and between the Company and a Participant, if the Committee anticipates the occurrence, or upon the occurrence, of a Corporate Transaction, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for (i) any and all Awards outstanding hereunder to terminate at a specific time in the future and shall give each Participant the right to exercise the vested portion of such Awards during a period of time as the Committee shall determine, or (ii) the purchase of any Award for an amount of cash equal to the amount that could have been attained upon the exercise of such Award (and, for the avoidance of doubt, if as of such date the Committee determines in good faith that no amount would have been attained upon the exercise of such Award, then such Award may be terminated by the Company without payment), or (iii) the replacement of such Award with other rights or property selected by the Committee in its sole discretion or the assumption of or substitution of such Award by the successor or surviving corporation, or a Parent or Subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of Shares and prices, or (iv) payment of Award in cash based on the value of Shares on the date of the Corporate Transaction plus reasonable interest on the Award through the date when such Award would otherwise be vested or have been paid in accordance with its original terms, if necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code.

 

13


9.3 Outstanding Awards – Other Changes . In the event of any other change in the capitalization of the Company or corporate change other than those specifically referred to in this Article 9, the Committee may, in its absolute discretion, make such adjustments in the number and class of shares subject to Awards outstanding on the date on which such change occurs and in the per share grant or exercise price of each Award as the Committee may consider appropriate to prevent dilution or enlargement of rights.

9.4 No Other Rights . Except as expressly provided in the Plan, no Participant shall have any rights by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of Shares of any class, the payment of any dividend, any increase or decrease in the number of shares of any class or any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or any other corporation. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Committee under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of shares of any class, or securities convertible into shares of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number of shares subject to an Award or the grant or exercise price of any Award.

ARTICLE 10

ADMINISTRATION

10.1 Committee . The Plan shall be administered by the Board or a committee of one or more members of the Board to whom the Board shall delegate the authority to grant or amend Awards to Participants other than any of the Committee members. Any grant or amendment of Awards to any Committee member shall then require an affirmative vote of a majority of the Board members who are not on the Committee.

10.2 Action by the Committee . A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The acts of a majority of the members of the Committee present at any meeting at which a quorum is present, and acts approved in writing by a majority of the Committee in lieu of a meeting, shall be deemed the acts of the Committee. Each member of the Committee is entitled to, in good faith, rely or act upon any report or other information furnished to that member by any officer or other employee of a Group Entity, the Company’s independent certified public accountants, or any executive compensation consultant or other professional retained by the Company to assist in the administration of the Plan.

10.3 Authority of the Committee . Subject to any specific designation in the Plan, the Committee has the exclusive power, authority and discretion to:

(a) designate Participants to receive Awards;

(b) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to each Participant;

(c) determine the number of Awards to be granted and the number of Shares to which an Award will relate;

 

14


(d) determine the terms and conditions of any Award granted pursuant to the Plan, including, but not limited to, the exercise price, grant price, or purchase price, any restrictions or limitations on the Award, any schedule for lapse of forfeiture restrictions or restrictions on the exercisability of an Award, and accelerations or waivers thereof, any provisions related to non-competition and recapture of gain on an Award, based in each case on such considerations as the Committee in its sole discretion determines;

(e) determine whether, to what extent, and pursuant to what circumstances an Award may be settled in, or the exercise price of an Award may be paid in, cash, Shares, other Awards, or other property, or an Award may be canceled, forfeited, or surrendered;

(f) prescribe the form of each Award Agreement, which need not be identical for each Participant;

(g) decide all other matters that must be determined in connection with an Award;

(h) establish, adopt, or revise any rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or advisable to administer the Plan;

(i) interpret the terms of, and any matter arising pursuant to, the Plan or any Award Agreement;

(j) reduce the exercise price per Share underlying an Option; and

(k) make all other decisions and determinations that may be required pursuant to the Plan or as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to administer the Plan.

10.4 Decisions Binding . The Committee’s interpretation of the Plan, any Awards granted pursuant to the Plan, any Award Agreement and all decisions and determinations by the Committee with respect to the Plan are final, binding, and conclusive on all parties.

ARTICLE 11

EFFECTIVE AND EXPIRATION DATE

11.1 Effective Date . This Plan shall become effective on the date of its adoption by the Board (the “ Effective Date ”); provided the Plan shall be approved by the shareholders of the Company according to its Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association no later than twelve months following the Effective Date. If the Plan is not so approved by the shareholders of the Company, all Awards granted under this Plan shall be rescinded and shall be void.

11.2 Expiration Date . The Plan will expire on, and no Award may be granted pursuant to the Plan after, the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date. Any Awards that are outstanding on the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date shall remain in force according to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.

 

15


ARTICLE 12

AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION, AND TERMINATION

12.1 Amendment, Modification, And Termination . With the approval of the Board, at any time and from time to time, the Committee may terminate, amend or modify the Plan; provided, however, that (a) to the extent necessary and desirable to comply with Applicable Laws or stock exchange rules, the Company shall obtain shareholder approval of any Plan amendment in such a manner and to such a degree as required, unless the Company decides to follow home country practice, and (b) unless the Company decides to follow home country practice, shareholder approval is required for any amendment to the Plan that (i) increases the number of Shares available under the Plan (other than any adjustment as provided by Article 9), or (ii) permits the Committee to extend the term of the Plan or the exercise period for an Option beyond ten years from the date of grant.

12.2 Awards Previously Granted . Except with respect to amendments made pursuant to Section 12.1, no termination, amendment, or modification of the Plan shall adversely affect in any material way any Award previously granted pursuant to the Plan without the prior written consent of the Participant.

ARTICLE 13

GENERAL PROVISIONS

13.1 No Rights to Awards . No Participant, employee, or other person shall have any claim to be granted any Award pursuant to the Plan, and neither the Company nor the Committee is obligated to treat Participants, employees, and other persons uniformly.

13.2 No Shareholders Rights . No Award gives the Participant any of the rights of a Shareholder of the Company unless and until Shares are in fact issued to such person in connection with such Award.

13.3 Taxes . No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Participant until such Participant has made arrangements acceptable to the Committee for the satisfaction of any income and employment tax withholding obligations under Applicable Laws. The relevant Group Entity shall have the authority and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy all applicable taxes (including the Participant’s payroll tax obligations) required or permitted by Applicable Laws to be withheld with respect to any taxable event concerning a Participant arising as a result of this Plan. The Committee may in its discretion and in satisfaction of the foregoing requirement allow a Participant to elect to have the Company withhold Shares otherwise issuable under an Award (or allow the return of Shares) having a Fair Market Value equal to the sums required to be withheld. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the number of Shares which may be withheld with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of any Award (or which may be repurchased from the Participant of such Award after such Shares were acquired by the Participant from the Company) in order to satisfy any income and payroll tax liabilities applicable to the Participant with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of the Award shall, unless specifically approved by the Committee, be limited to the number of Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of withholding or repurchase equal to the aggregate amount of such liabilities based on the minimum statutory withholding rates for the applicable income and payroll tax purposes that are applicable to such supplemental taxable income.

 

16


13.4 No Right to Employment or Services . Nothing in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Service Recipient to terminate any Participant’s employment or services at any time, nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employment or services of any Service Recipient.

13.5 Unfunded Status of Awards . The Plan is intended to be an “unfunded” plan for incentive compensation. With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall give the Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the relevant Group Entity.

13.6 Indemnification . To the extent allowable pursuant to Applicable Laws, each member of the Committee or of the Board shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from any loss, cost, liability, or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by such member in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit, or proceeding to which he or she may be a party or in which he or she may be involved by reason of any action or failure to act pursuant to the Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by him or her in satisfaction of judgment in such action, suit, or proceeding against him or her; provided he or she gives the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before he or she undertakes to handle and defend it on his or her own behalf. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such persons may be entitled pursuant to the Company’s Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.

13.7 Relationship to other Benefits . No payment pursuant to the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits pursuant to any pension, retirement, savings, profit sharing, group insurance, welfare or other benefit plan of any Group Entity except to the extent otherwise expressly provided in writing in such other plan or an agreement thereunder.

13.8 Expenses . The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Group Entities.

13.9 Titles and Headings . The titles and headings of the Sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.

13.10 Fractional Shares . No fractional Shares shall be issued and the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, whether cash shall be given in lieu of fractional Shares or whether such fractional Shares shall be eliminated by rounding up or down as appropriate.

13.11 Limitations Applicable to Section 16 Persons . Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Plan, and any Award granted or awarded to any Participant who is then subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, shall be subject to any additional limitations set forth in any applicable exemptive rule under Section 16 of the Exchange Act (including any amendment to Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act) that are requirements for the application of such exemptive rule. To the extent permitted by the Applicable Laws, the Plan and Awards granted or awarded hereunder shall be deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to such applicable exemptive rule.

 

17


13.12 Government and Other Regulations . The obligation of the Company to make payment of awards in Shares or otherwise shall be subject to all Applicable Laws, and to such approvals by government agencies as may be required. The Company shall be under no obligation to register any of the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan under the Securities Act or any other similar law in any applicable jurisdiction. If the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan may in certain circumstances be exempt from registration pursuant to the Securities Act or other Applicable Laws, the Company may restrict the transfer of such Shares in such manner as it deems advisable to ensure the availability of any such exemption.

13.13 Governing Law . The Plan and all Award Agreements shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Cayman Islands.

13.14 Section 409A . To the extent that the Committee determines that any Award granted under the Plan is or may become subject to Section 409A of the Code, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award shall incorporate the terms and conditions required by Section 409A of the Code. To the extent applicable, the Plan and the Award Agreements shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A of the Code and the U.S. Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretative guidance issued thereunder, including without limitation any such regulation or other guidance that may be issued after the Effective Date. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that following the Effective Date the Committee determines that any Award may be subject to Section 409A of the Code and related Department of Treasury guidance (including such Department of Treasury guidance as may be issued after the Effective Date), the Committee may adopt such amendments to the Plan and the applicable Award agreement or adopt other policies and procedures (including amendments, policies and procedures with retroactive effect), or take any other actions, that the Committee determines are necessary or appropriate to (a) exempt the Award from Section 409A of the Code and/or preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided with respect to the Award, or (b) comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and related U.S. Department of Treasury guidance.

13.15 Appendices . With the approval of the Board, the Committee may approve such supplements, amendments or appendices to the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for purposes of compliance with Applicable Laws or otherwise and such supplements, amendments or appendices shall be considered a part of the Plan; provided, however, that no such supplements shall increase the share limitation contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan.

[ Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank ]

 

18

Exhibit 21.1

List of Subsidiaries and Consolidated Variable Interest Entity of Yirendai Ltd.

 

Subsidiaries

  

Jurisdiction of Incorporation

Yirendai (Hong Kong) Limited    Hong Kong
Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.    PRC

Consolidated Variable Interest Entities

  
Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd.    PRC

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form F-1 of our report dated February 27, 2015 (November 16, 2015 as to the Organization and Principal Activities in Note 1 and Subsequent Events in Note 14), relating to the consolidated financial statements of Yirendai Ltd., its subsidiaries and its consolidated variable interest entity as of and for the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014, and related financial statement schedule appearing in the Prospectus, which is part of this Registration Statement.

We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Prospectus.

/s/ Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP

Beijing, the People’s Republic of China

November 16, 2015

Exhibit 23.4

September 7, 2015

Yirendai Ltd.

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

People’s Republic of China

Dear Sirs:

Pursuant to Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, I hereby consent to the references to my name in the Registration Statement on Form F-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company”) and any amendments thereto, which indicate that I have accepted the nomination to become a director of the Company. I further agree that immediately upon the Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, I will serve as a member of the board of directors of the Company.

 

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Hanhui Sun
Name: Hanhui Sun

Exhibit 23.5

September 7, 2015

Yirendai Ltd.

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

People’s Republic of China

Dear Sirs:

Pursuant to Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, I hereby consent to the references to my name in the Registration Statement on Form F-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company”) and any amendments thereto, which indicate that I have accepted the nomination to become a director of the Company. I further agree that immediately upon the Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, I will serve as a member of the board of directors of the Company.

 

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Jingsheng Huang
Name: Jingsheng Huang

Exhibit 23.6

September 7, 2015

Yirendai Ltd.

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

People’s Republic of China

Dear Sirs:

Pursuant to Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, I hereby consent to the references to my name in the Registration Statement on Form F-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company”) and any amendments thereto, which indicate that I have accepted the nomination to become a director of the Company. I further agree that immediately upon the Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, I will serve as a member of the board of directors of the Company.

 

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Qing Li
Name: Qing Li

Exhibit 99.1

YIRENDAI LTD.

CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT AND ETHICS

 

I. PURPOSE

This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “ Code ”) contains general guidelines for conducting the business of Yirendai Ltd., a Cayman Islands company, and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, the “ Company ”) consistent with the highest standards of business ethics, and is intended to qualify as a “code of ethics” within the meaning of Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder. To the extent this Code requires a higher standard than required by commercial practice or applicable laws, rules or regulations, we adhere to these higher standards.

This Code is designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote:

 

    honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships;

 

    full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Company files with, or submits to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ SEC ”) and in other public communications made by the Company;

 

    compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations;

 

    prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code; and

 

    accountability for adherence to the Code.

 

II. APPLICABILITY

This Code applies to all directors, officers and employees of the Company, whether they work for the Company on a full-time, part-time, consultative or temporary basis (each, an “ employee ” and collectively, the “ employees ”). Certain provisions of the Code apply specifically to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, senior finance officer, controller, senior vice presidents, vice presidents and any other persons who perform similar functions for the Company (each, a “ senior officer ,” and collectively, the “ senior officers ”).

The Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) has appointed the Company’s General Counsel, as the Compliance Officer for the Company (the “ Compliance Officer ”). If you have any questions regarding the Code or would like to report any violation of the Code, please email the Compliance Officer at YRDCompliance@creditease.cn.

This Code has been adopted by the Board and shall become effective (the “ Effective Time ”) upon the effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1 filed by the Company with the SEC relating to the Company’s initial public offering.


III. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Identifying Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an employee’s private interest interferes, or appears to interfere, in any way with the interests of the Company as a whole. An employee should actively avoid any private interest that may impact such employee’s ability to act in the interests of the Company or that may make it difficult to perform the employee’s work objectively and effectively. In general, the following should be considered conflicts of interest:

 

    Competing Business . No employee may be employed by a business that competes with the Company or deprives it of any business.

 

    Corporate Opportunity . No employee should use corporate property, information or his/her position with the Company to secure a business opportunity that would otherwise be available to the Company. If an employee discovers a business opportunity that is in the Company’s line of business through the use of the Company’s property, information or position, the employee must first present the business opportunity to the Company before pursuing the opportunity in his/her individual capacity.

 

    Financial Interests .

 

  (i) No employee may have any financial interest (ownership or otherwise), either directly or indirectly through a spouse or other family member, in any other business or entity if such interest adversely affects the employee’s performance of duties or responsibilities to the Company, or requires the employee to devote time to it during such employee’s working hours at the Company;

 

  (ii) No employee may hold any ownership interest in a privately held company that is in competition with the Company;

 

  (iii) An employee may hold up to 5% ownership interest in a publicly traded company that is in competition with the Company; provided that if the employee’s ownership interest in such publicly traded company increases to more than 5%, the employee must immediately report such ownership to the Compliance Officer;

 

  (iv) No employee may hold any ownership interest in a company that has a business relationship with the Company if such employee’s duties at the Company include managing or supervising the Company’s business relations with that company; and

 

  (v) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Code,


(a) a director or any family member of such director (collectively, “ Director Affiliates ”) or a senior officer or any family member of such senior officer (collectively, “ Officer Affiliates ”) may continue to hold his/her investment or other financial interest in a business or entity (an “ Interested Business ”) that:

(1) was made or obtained either (x) before the Company invested in or otherwise became interested in such business or entity; or (y) before the director or senior officer joined the Company (for the avoidance of doubt, regardless of whether the Company had or had not already invested in or otherwise become interested in such business or entity at the time the director or senior officer joined the Company); or

(2) may in the future be made or obtained by the director or senior officer, provided that at the time such investment or other financial interest is made or obtained, the Company has not yet invested in or otherwise become interested in such business or entity;

provided that such director or senior officer shall disclose such investment or other financial interest to the Board;

(b) an interested director or senior officer shall refrain from participating in any discussion among senior officers of the Company relating to an Interested Business and shall not be involved in any proposed transaction between the Company and an Interested Business; and

(c) before any Director Affiliate or Officer Affiliate (i) invests, or otherwise acquires any equity or other financial interest, in a business or entity that is in competition with the Company; or (ii) enters into any transaction with the Company, the related director or senior officer shall obtain prior approval from the Audit Committee of the Board.

 

    Loans or Other Financial Transactions . No employee may obtain loans or guarantees of personal obligations from, or enter into any other personal financial transaction with, any company that is a material customer, supplier or competitor of the Company. This guideline does not prohibit arms-length transactions with recognized banks or other financial institutions.

 

    Service on Boards and Committees . No employee shall serve on a board of directors or trustees or on a committee of any entity (whether profit or not-for-profit) whose interests could reasonably be expected to conflict with those of the Company. Employees must obtain prior approval from the Board before accepting any such board or committee position. The Company may revisit its approval of any such position at any time to determine whether an employee’s service in such position is still appropriate.

The above is in no way a complete list of situations where conflicts of interest may arise. The following questions might serve as a useful guide in assessing a potential conflict of interest situation not specifically addressed above:

 

    Is the action to be taken legal?


    Is it honest and fair?

 

    Is it in the best interests of the Company?

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

The Company requires that employees fully disclose any situations that could reasonably be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest. If an employee suspects that he/she has a conflict of interest, or a situation that others could reasonably perceive as a conflict of interest, the employee must report it immediately to the Compliance Officer. Conflicts of interest may only be waived by the Board, or the appropriate committee of the Board, and will be promptly disclosed to the public to the extent required by law and applicable rules of the applicable stock exchange.

Family Members and Work

The actions of family members outside the workplace may also give rise to conflicts of interest because they may influence an employee’s objectivity in making decisions on behalf of the Company. If a member of an employee’s family is interested in doing business with the Company, the criteria as to whether to enter into or continue the business relationship and the terms and conditions of the relationship must be no less favorable to the Company compared with those that would apply to an unrelated party seeking to do business with the Company under similar circumstances.

Employees should report any situation involving family members that could reasonably be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest to their supervisor or the Compliance Officer. For purposes of this Code, “family members” or “members of employee’s family” include an employee’s spouse, parents, children and siblings, whether by blood, marriage or adoption or anyone residing in such employee’s home.

 

IV. GIFTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The giving and receiving of appropriate gifts may be considered common business practice. Appropriate business gifts and entertainment are welcome courtesies designed to build relationships and understanding among business partners. However, gifts and entertainment should never compromise, or appear to compromise, an employee’s ability to make objective and fair business decisions.

It is the responsibility of employees to use good judgment in this area. As a general rule, employees may give or receive gifts or entertainment to or from customers or suppliers only if the gift or entertainment is in compliance with applicable law, insignificant in amount and not given in consideration or expectation of any action by the recipient. All gifts and entertainment expenses made on behalf of the Company must be properly accounted for on expense reports.

We encourage employees to submit gifts received to the Company. While it is not mandatory to submit small gifts, gifts of over US$100 must be submitted immediately to the human resources department of the Company.


Bribes and kickbacks are criminal acts, strictly prohibited by law. An employee must not offer, give, solicit or receive any form of bribe or kickback anywhere in the world.

 

V. FCPA COMPLIANCE

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“ FCPA ”) prohibits giving anything of value, directly or indirectly, to officials of foreign governments or foreign political candidates in order to obtain or retain business. A violation of FCPA does not only violate the Company’s policy but also constitute a civil or criminal offense under FCPA which the Company is subject to after the Effective Time. No employee shall give or authorize directly or indirectly any illegal payments to government officials of any country. While the FCPA does, in certain limited circumstances, allow nominal “facilitating payments” to be made, any such payment must be discussed with and approved by an employee’s supervisor in advance before it can be made.

 

VI. PROTECTION AND USE OF COMPANY ASSETS

Employees should protect the Company’s assets and ensure their efficient use for legitimate business purposes only. Theft, carelessness and waste have a direct impact on the Company’s profitability. Any use of the funds or assets of the Company, whether for personal gain or not, for any unlawful or improper purpose is strictly prohibited.

To ensure the protection and proper use of the Company’s assets, each employee should:

 

    Exercise reasonable care to prevent theft, damage or misuse of Company property;

 

    Promptly report any actual or suspected theft, damage or misuse of Company property;

 

    Safeguard all electronic programs, data, communications and written materials from unauthorized access; and

 

    Use Company property only for legitimate business purposes.

Except as approved in advance by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of the Company, the Company prohibits political contributions (directly or through trade associations) by any employee on behalf of the Company. Prohibited political contributions include:

 

    any contributions of the Company’s funds or other assets for political purposes;

 

    encouraging individual employees to make any such contribution; and

 

    reimbursing an employee for any political contribution.


VII. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Employees should abide by the Company’s rules and policies in protecting the intellectual property and confidential information, including the following:

 

    All inventions, creative works, computer software, and technical or trade secrets developed by an employee in the course of performing the employee’s duties or primarily through the use of the Company’s assets or resources while working at the Company shall be the property of the Company.

 

    Employees should maintain the confidentiality of information entrusted to them by the Company or entities with which the Company has business relations, except when disclosure is authorized or legally mandated. Confidential information includes all non-public information that might be of use to competitors, or harmful to the company or its business associates, if disclosed.

 

    The Company maintains a strict confidentiality policy. During an employee’s term of employment with the Company, the employee shall comply with any and all written or unwritten rules and policies concerning confidentiality and shall fulfill the duties and responsibilities concerning confidentiality applicable to the employee.

 

    In addition to fulfilling the responsibilities associated with his/her position in the Company, an employee shall not, without obtaining prior approval from the Company, disclose, announce or publish trade secrets or other confidential business information of the Company, nor shall an employee use such confidential information outside the course of his/her duties to the Company.

 

    Even outside the work environment, an employee must maintain vigilance and refrain from disclosing important information regarding the Company or its business, business associates or employees.

 

    An employee’s duty of confidentiality with respect to the confidential information of the Company survives the termination of such employee’s employment with the Company for any reason until such time as the Company discloses such information publicly or the information otherwise becomes available in the public sphere through no fault of the employee.

 

    Upon termination of employment, or at such time as the Company requests, an employee must return to the Company all of its property without exception, including all forms of medium containing confidential information, and may not retain duplicate materials.

 

VIII. ACCURACY OF FINANCIAL REPORTS AND OTHER PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS

Upon the Effective Time, the Company will be required to report its financial results and other material information about its business to the public and the SEC. It is the Company’s policy to promptly disclose accurate and complete information regarding its business, financial condition and results of operations. Employees must strictly comply with all applicable standards, laws, regulations and policies for accounting and financial reporting of transactions, estimates and forecasts. Inaccurate, incomplete or untimely reporting will not be tolerated and can severely damage the Company and result in legal liability.


Employees should be on guard for, and promptly report, any possibility of inaccurate or incomplete financial reporting. Particular attention should be paid to:

 

    Financial results that seem inconsistent with the performance of the underlying business;

 

    Transactions that do not seem to have an obvious business purpose; and

 

    Requests to circumvent ordinary review and approval procedures.

The Company’s senior financial officers and other employees working in the finance department have a special responsibility to ensure that all of the Company’s financial disclosures are full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable. Any practice or situation that might undermine this objective should be reported to the Compliance Officer.

Employees are prohibited from directly or indirectly taking any action to coerce, manipulate, mislead or fraudulently influence the Company’s independent auditors for the purpose of rendering the financial statements of the Company materially misleading. Prohibited actions include but are not limited to:

 

    issuing or reissuing a report on the Company’s financial statements that is not warranted in the circumstances (due to material violations of U.S. GAAP, generally accepted auditing standards or other professional or regulatory standards);

 

    not performing audit, review or other procedures required by generally accepted auditing standards or other professional standards;

 

    not withdrawing an issued report when withdrawal is warranted under the circumstances; or

 

    not communicating matters required to be communicated to the Company’s Audit Committee.

 

IX. COMPANY RECORDS

Accurate and reliable records are crucial to the Company’s business and form the basis of its earnings statements, financial reports and other disclosures to the public. The Company’s records are a source of essential data that guides business decision-making and strategic planning. Company records include, but are not limited to, booking information, payroll, timecards, travel and expense reports, e-mails, accounting and financial data, measurement and performance records, electronic data files and all other records maintained in the ordinary course of business.

All Company records must be complete, accurate and reliable in all material respects. There is never an acceptable reason to make false or misleading entries. Undisclosed or unrecorded funds, payments or receipts are strictly prohibited. An employee is responsible for understanding and complying with the Company’s recordkeeping policy. An employee should contact the Compliance Officer if he/she has any questions regarding the recordkeeping policy.


X. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Each employee has an obligation to comply with the laws of the cities, provinces, regions and countries in which the Company operates. This includes, without limitation, laws covering commercial bribery and kickbacks, patent, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, information privacy, insider trading, offering or receiving gratuities, employment harassment, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, false or misleading financial information, misuse of corporate assets and foreign currency exchange activities. Employees are expected to understand and comply with all laws, rules and regulations that apply to their positions at the Company. If any doubt exists about whether a course of action is lawful, the employee should seek advice immediately from the Compliance Officer.

 

XI. DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT

The Company is firmly committed to providing equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and will not tolerate any illegal discrimination or harassment based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, national origin or any other protected class. For further information, employees should consult the Compliance Officer.

 

XII. FAIR DEALING

Each employee should endeavor to deal fairly with the Company’s customers, suppliers, competitors and employees. None should take unfair advantage of anyone through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts, or any other unfair-dealing practice.

XIII. HEALTH AND SAFETY

The Company strives to provide employees with a safe and healthy work environment. Each employee has responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for other employees by following environmental, safety and health rules and practices and reporting accidents, injuries and unsafe equipment, practices or conditions. Violence or threats of violence are not permitted.

Each employee is expected to perform his/her duty to the Company in a safe manner, not under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or other controlled substances. The use of illegal drugs or other controlled substances in the workplace is prohibited.

 

XIV. VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE

All employees have a duty to report any known or suspected violation of this Code, including any violation of laws, rules, regulations or policies that apply to the Company. Reporting a known or suspected violation of this Code by others will not be considered an act of disloyalty, but an action to safeguard the reputation and integrity of the Company and its employees.


If an employee knows of or suspects a violation of this Code, it is such employee’s responsibility to immediately report the violation to the Compliance Officer, who will work with the employee to investigate his/her concern. All questions and reports of known or suspected violations of this Code will be treated with sensitivity and discretion. The Compliance Officer and the Company will protect the employee’s confidentiality to the extent possible, consistent with the law and the Company’s need to investigate the employee’s concern.

It is the Company’s policy that any employee who violates this Code will be subject to appropriate discipline, including termination of employment, based upon the facts and circumstances of each particular situation. An employee’s conduct, if it does not comply with the law or with this Code, can result in serious consequences for both the employee and the Company.

The Company strictly prohibits retaliation against an employee who, in good faith, seeks help or reports known or suspected violations. An employee inflicting reprisal or retaliation against another employee for reporting a known or suspected violation will be subject to disciplinary action, including termination of employment.

 

XV. WAIVERS OF THE CODE

Waivers of this Code will be granted on a case-by-case basis and only in extraordinary circumstances. Waivers of this Code may be made only by the Board, or the appropriate committee of the Board, and may be promptly disclosed to the public if so required by applicable laws and regulations and rules of the applicable stock exchange.

 

XVI. CONCLUSION

This Code contains general guidelines for conducting the business of the Company consistent with the highest standards of business ethics. If employees have any questions about these guidelines, they should contact the Compliance Officer. We expect all employees to adhere to these standards. Each employee is separately responsible for his/her actions. Conduct that violates the law or this Code cannot be justified by claiming that it was ordered by a supervisor or someone in higher management positions. If an employee engages in conduct prohibited by the law or this Code, such employee will be deemed to have acted outside the scope of his/her employment. Such conduct will subject the employee to disciplinary action, including termination of employment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Exhibit 99.2

 

LOGO

H AN K UN L AW O FFICES

Suite 906, Office Tower C1, Oriental Plaza, 1 East Chang An Avenue, Beijing 100738, P. R. China

T EL : (86 10) 8525 5500; F AX : (86 10) 8525 5511 / 8525 5522

November 16, 2015

To: Yirendai Ltd.

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

The People’s Republic of China

Dear Sirs or Madams:

We are qualified lawyers of the People’s Republic of China (the “ PRC ” or “ China ”, for the purpose of this opinion only, the PRC shall not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan) and as such are qualified to issue this opinion on the laws and regulations of the PRC effective as of the date hereof.

We act as the PRC counsel to Yirendai Ltd. (the “ Company ”), a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, in connection with (i) the proposed initial public offering (the “ Offering ”) of certain number of American depositary shares (“ Offered ADSs ”), each Offered ADS representing certain number of ordinary shares of the Company (the “ Ordinary Shares ”), by the Company as set forth in the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the “ Registration Statement ”), filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) in relation to the Offering, and (ii) the Company’s proposed listing of the Offered ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Global Market.

 

A. Documents and Assumptions

In rendering this opinion, we have examined originals or copies of the due diligence documents provided to us by the Company and the PRC Companies (as defined below) and such other documents, corporate records and certificates issued by the governmental authorities in the PRC (collectively the “ Documents ”).

In rendering this opinion, we have assumed without independent investigation that (“ Assumptions ”):

 

(i) All signatures, seals and chops are genuine, each signature on behalf of a party thereto is that of a person duly authorized by such party to execute the same, all Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic, and all Documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies conform to the originals;

 

CONFIDENTIALITY. This document contains confidential information which may also be privileged. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive for the addressee), you may not copy, use, or distribute it. If you have received it in error, please advise Han Kun Law Offices immediately by telephone or facsimile and return it promptly by mail. Thanks.


H AN K UN L AW O FFICES

 

(ii) Each of the parties to the Documents, other than the PRC Companies, (a) if a legal person or other entity, is duly organized and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and/or incorporation, or (b) if an individual, has full capacity for civil conduct; each of them, other than the PRC Companies, has full power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Documents to which it is a party in accordance with the laws of its jurisdiction of organization or incorporation or the laws that it/she/he is subject to;

 

(iii) The Documents that were presented to us remain in full force and effect on the date of this opinion and have not been revoked, amended or supplemented, and no amendments, revisions, supplements, modifications or other changes have been made, and no revocation or termination has occurred, with respect to any of the Documents after they were submitted to us for the purposes of this legal opinion;

 

(iv) The laws of jurisdictions other than the PRC which may be applicable to the execution, delivery, performance or enforcement of the Documents are complied with; and

 

(v) All requested Documents have been provided to us and all factual statements made to us by the Company and the PRC Companies in connection with this legal opinion are true, correct and complete.

 

B. Definitions

In addition to the terms defined in the context of this opinion, the following capitalized terms used in this opinion shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows:

 

(a) Governmental Agency ” means any national, provincial or local governmental, regulatory or administrative authority, agency or commission in the PRC, or any court, tribunal or any other judicial body in the PRC, or anybody exercising, or entitled to exercise, any administrative, judicial, legislative, police, regulatory, or taxing authority or power of similar nature in the PRC;

 

(b) Governmental Authorizations ” means any license, approval, consent, waiver, order, sanction, certificate, authorization, filing, disclosure, registration, exemption, permission, endorsement, annual inspection, clearance, qualification, permit or license by, from or with any Governmental Agency pursuant to any PRC Laws;

 

2


H AN K UN L AW O FFICES

 

(c) M&A Rules ” means the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated by six PRC regulatory agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration for Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009 by the Ministry of Commerce.

 

(d) PRC Companies ” means PRC Subsidiary and PRC Operating Entity, and “PRC Company” means any of them;

 

(e) PRC Operating Entity ” means Heng Cheng Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. LOGO

 

(f) PRC Laws ” mean all applicable national, provincial and local laws, regulations, rules, orders, decrees, and supreme court’s judicial interpretations of the PRC currently in effect and publicly available on the date of this opinion;

 

(g) PRC Subsidiary ” means Yi Ren Heng Ye Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. LOGO and

Based on our review of the Documents and subject to the Assumptions and the Qualifications, we are of the opinion that:

(i) VIE Structure . The ownership structure of PRC Companies, currently and immediately after giving effect to the Offering, will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect. Each of PRC Companies and, to the best of our knowledge after due inquiry, each shareholder of the PRC Operating Entity, has full power, authority and legal right (corporate or otherwise) to execute, deliver and perform their respective obligations in respect of each of the agreements under the contractual arrangements described in the Registration Statement under the caption “Corporate History and Structure” (the “ VIE Agreements ”) to which it is a party, and has duly authorized, executed and delivered each of the VIE Agreements to which it is a party. The VIE Agreements constitute valid, legal and binding obligations enforceable against each of the parties thereto in accordance with the terms of each of the VIE Agreements, subject, as to enforceability, to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles. To the best of our knowledge after due inquiry, none of the PRC Companies is in material breach or default in the performance or observance of the VIE Agreements to which it is a party.

 

3


H AN K UN L AW O FFICES

 

The due execution, delivery and performance of each of the VIE Agreements by the relevant PRC Companies and the other parties thereto, and the due consummation of the transactions contemplated thereunder, do not (A) result in any violation of the business license, articles of association, approval certificate or other constitutional documents (if any) of any of the PRC Companies; (B) result in any violation of any explicit requirements under the PRC Laws; or (C) to the best of our knowledge after due inquiry, conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any other contract, license, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument governed by PRC Laws (each a “ Binding Agreement ”) known to us to which any PRC Company is a party or by which any of them is bound or to which any of their property or assets is subject. No Governmental Authorizations are required under any PRC Laws in connection with the due execution, delivery or performance of each of the VIE Agreements other than those already obtained, however, any exercise by the PRC Subsidiary of its rights under the relevant Exclusive Purchase Option Agreement will be subject to: (a) the approval of and/or registration with the Governmental Agencies for the resulting equity transfer; and (b) the exercise price for equity transfer under the VIE Agreements complying with the PRC Laws.

However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current PRC laws and regulations and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with our opinion stated above.

(ii) M&A Rules; No Governmental Authorization; No Conflicts. Based on our understanding of the explicit provisions under the PRC Laws as of the date hereof, we believe that since the PRC Subsidiary was established by means of direct investment rather than by merger or acquisition directly or indirectly of the equity interest or assets of any “domestic company” as defined under the M&A Rules, and no provision in the M&A Rules classifies the contractual arrangements contemplated under the VIE Agreements as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules, we are of the opinion that the issue and sale of the Ordinary Shares and the Offered ADSs by the Company on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Global Market, do not require any Governmental Authorization. However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current PRC laws and regulations and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with our opinion stated above.

(iii) Enforceability of Civil Procedures. The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against a company or its directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or the Cayman Islands.

 

4


H AN K UN L AW O FFICES

 

(iv) Taxation. The statements made in the Registration Statement under the caption “Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation,” with respect to the PRC tax laws and regulations or interpretations, constitute true and accurate descriptions of the matters described therein in all material aspects and such statements represent our opinion.

(v) PRC Laws. All statements set forth in the Registration Statement under the captions “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities,” “Corporate History and Structure,” “Business,” “Regulation,” “Management,” “Related Party Transactions” and “Taxation”, in each case insofar as such statements describe or summarize PRC legal or regulatory matters, are true and accurate in all material aspects, and correctly set forth therein, and nothing has been omitted from such statements which would make the same misleading in all material aspects.

Our opinion expressed above is subject to the following qualifications (the “Qualifications”):

 

i. Our opinion is limited to the PRC Laws of general application on the date hereof. We have made no investigation of, and do not express or imply any views on, the laws of any jurisdiction other than the PRC.

 

ii. The PRC Laws referred to herein are laws and regulations publicly available and currently in force on the date hereof and there is no guarantee that any of such laws and regulations, or the interpretation or enforcement thereof, will not be changed, amended or revoked in the future with or without retrospective effect.

 

iii. Our opinion is subject to the effects of (i) certain legal or statutory principles affecting the enforceability of contractual rights generally under the concepts of public interest, social ethics, national security, good faith, fair dealing, and applicable statutes of limitation; (ii) any circumstance in connection with formulation, execution or performance of any legal documents that would be deemed materially mistaken, clearly unconscionable, fraudulent, coercionary or concealing illegal intentions with a lawful form; (iii) judicial discretion with respect to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief, remedies or defenses, or calculation of damages; and (iv) the discretion of any competent PRC legislative, administrative or judicial bodies in exercising their authority in the PRC.

 

iv. This opinion is issued based on our understanding of the current PRC Laws. For matters not explicitly provided under the current PRC Laws, the interpretation, implementation and application of the specific requirements under the PRC Laws are subject to the final discretion of competent PRC legislative, administrative and judicial authorities, and there can be no assurance that the Government Agencies will ultimately take a view that is not contrary to our opinion stated above.

 

5


H AN K UN L AW O FFICES

 

v. We may rely, as to matters of fact (but not as to legal conclusions), to the extent we deem proper, on certificates and confirmations of responsible officers of the PRC Companies and PRC government officials.

 

vi. This opinion is intended to be used in the context which is specifically referred to herein.

 

vii. As used in this opinion, the expression “to our best knowledge” or similar language with reference to matters of fact refers to the current actual knowledge of the attorneys of this firm who have worked on matters for the Company in connection with the Offering and the transactions contemplated thereunder. We have not undertaken any independent investigation to determine the existence or absence of any fact, and no inference as to our knowledge of the existence or absence of any fact should be drawn from our representation of the Company or the rendering of this opinion.

We hereby consent to the use of this opinion in, and the filing hereof as an exhibit to, the Registration Statement, and to the reference to our name in such Registration Statement.

 

Yours faithfully,
/s/ HANKUN LAW OFFICES
HAN KUN LAW OFFICES

 

6

Exhibit 99.3

 

LOGO

Jan 29, 2015

Yirendai Ltd.

4/F, Building 2A, No. 6 Lang Jia Yuan

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022

The People’s Republic of China

Re: Consent of iResearch Consulting Group

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We understand that Yirendai Ltd. (the “Company”) plans to file a registration statement on Form F-1 (the “Registration Statement”) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with its proposed initial public offering (the “Proposed IPO”).

We hereby consent to the references to our name, data and statements from our research reports and amendments thereto, including but not limited to the Chinese version and the English translation of the industry research reports titled “2014 iResearch China Online P2P Lending Research Report” (collectively, the “Reports”), and any subsequent amendments to the Reports, (i) in the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto, (ii) in any written correspondences with the SEC, (iii) in any other future filings with the SEC by the Company, including filings on Form 20-F, Form 6-K and other SEC filings (collectively, the “SEC Filings”), (iv) on the websites of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, (v) in institutional and retail road shows and other activities in connection with the Proposed IPO, and in other publicity materials in connection with the Proposed IPO.

We further hereby consent to the filing of this letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and as an exhibit to any other SEC Filings.

In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder.

For and on behalf of Shanghai iResearch Co., Ltd., China

/s/ Shanghai iResearch Co., Ltd., China