Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
 Registration No. 333-267397​

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus Dated September 29, 2022)

Fangdd Network Group Ltd.

11,428,565 American Depositary Shares

Warrants to Purchase up to 39,999,978 American Depositary Shares

Representing up to 19,285,703,625 Class A ordinary shares

We are offering to certain investors (i) an aggregate of 11,428,565 American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, of Fangdd Network Group Ltd., each representing 375 Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0000001 per share, at a price of US$0.70 per ADS, (ii) certain regular warrants, or the Regular Warrants, to purchase up to an aggregate of 11,428,565 ADSs, and (iii) certain reset warrants, or the Reset Warrants, that permit cashless exercise of up to an aggregate of 28,571,413 ADSs. The Regular Warrants and the Reset Warrants are collectively referred to as Warrants in this prospectus supplement. Such securities are being issued pursuant to this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus, and that certain securities purchase agreement, dated July 17, 2023, by and between us and the investors. This prospectus supplement also covers the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs issuable from time to time upon exercise of the Warrants. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-54 for a description of the securities purchase agreement.

Warrants are offered together with the ADSs to each investor. Each Regular Warrant will be immediately exercisable upon issuance and remain exercisable within five years for ADSs at an exercise price of US$0.77, which is subject to downward adjustment pursuant to the terms thereof following the 45th trading day after the date of this prospectus supplement, or the Measurement Date (such 45 trading day period is referred to as the Measurement Period). Each Reset Warrant permits cashless exercise on the end of the 45-day Measurement Period into a number of ADSs equal to the difference between (i) the quotient obtained by dividing (a) an investor’s subscription amount by (b) the greater of (A) the average of the five lowest volume-weighted average prices, or VWAPs, of the ADSs during the Measurement Period and (B) $0.20, and (ii) the number of ADSs issued to such investor at the closing and if applicable, on the 15th and 30th trading days during the Measurement Period. The Reset Warrants may also be exercisable at an exercise price of US$0.77 within six months after issuance. There is no established trading market for the Warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for the listing of such warrants on any national securities exchange or other trading market. Without an active trading market, the liquidity of such warrants will be limited.

ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “DUO.” On July 14, 2023, the closing price of the ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market was US$0.8310 per ADS.

The aggregate market value of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates, or public float, was approximately US$89.9 million, which was calculated based on 20,809,443,154 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding held by non-affiliates and a per ADS closing price of US$1.62 as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on March 22, 2023, a day within 60 days prior to the date of filing of our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022. We are therefore currently not subject to the limitations under General Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3.

Our share capital consists of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote, each Class B ordinary share is entitled to ten votes, and each Class C ordinary share is entitled to 10,000 votes. Each Class B ordinary share and each Class C ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof or a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary share to any person other than our three co-founders and their respective affiliates, such Class B ordinary shares are automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A ordinary shares. Upon (i) any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of such number of Class C ordinary shares by a holder thereof or the direct or indirect transfer or assignment of the voting power attached to such number of Class C ordinary shares through a voting proxy or otherwise to any person that is not an affiliate of such holder, (ii) the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of a majority of the issued and outstanding voting securities of, or the direct or indirect transfer or assignment of the voting power attached to such voting securities through voting proxy or otherwise, or the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of, a holder of Class C ordinary shares that is an entity to any person other than an affiliate of such holder, (iii) Mr. Xi Zeng, our chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, ceasing to be the ultimate beneficial owner of at least 80,698,283 Class A ordinary shares (on an as-if-converted basis) at any time, or (iv) Mr. Xi Zeng being permanently unable to attend board meetings and manage the business affairs of our company as a result of incapacity solely due to his then physical and/or

mental condition, Class C ordinary shares held by a holder thereof will be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A ordinary shares. Except for voting and conversion rights, holders of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares shall rank pari passu with one another and shall have the same rights, preference, privileges and restrictions. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, Mr. Xi Zeng beneficially owned 161,396,567 Class B ordinary shares and 5,700,000 Class C ordinary shares, representing 0.8% of our total issued and outstanding shares and 70.8% of the aggregate voting power of our issued and outstanding shares.

We are an “emerging growth company” and a “foreign private issuer,” each as defined under the federal securities laws, and, as such, we will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus supplement and future filings. See “Prospectus Supplement Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company” and “Prospectus Supplement Summary — Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer.”

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Please carefully consider the risks and uncertainties discussed under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement beginning on page S-20, in the accompanying prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus concerning factors you should consider before investing in the ADSs.

Fangdd Network Group Ltd., or Fangdd Cayman, is a Cayman Islands holding company with operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries and a variable interest entity, or the VIE, and the VIE’s subsidiaries. Holders of the ADSs are not holding equity interest in the VIE or its subsidiaries, but instead are holding equity interest in Fangdd Cayman. The VIE structure is used to provide investors with exposure to foreign investment in China-based companies where PRC law prohibits direct foreign investment in the operating companies in China. PRC laws and regulations restrict and impose conditions on foreign investment in the business involving value-added telecommunications service (except for e-commerce, domestic conferencing, store- and-forward, and call center services), including internet real estate services. Accordingly, these businesses are operated by the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries in China. Neither Fangdd Cayman nor its subsidiaries own any equity interest or direct foreign investment in the VIE, Shenzhen Fangdd Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Fangdd Network, and the VIE’s subsidiaries. Instead, Fangdd Cayman relies on contractual arrangements among its wholly owned PRC subsidiary, the VIE and the VIE’s nominee shareholders, or Fangdd Network VIE Agreements, which allow Fangdd Cayman to (i) direct the activities of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries; (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries; and (iii) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interest in the VIE when and to the extent permitted by PRC law. As a result of the Fangdd Network VIE Agreements, Fangdd Cayman is considered the primary beneficiary of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries for accounting purposes and is able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE and VIE’s subsidiaries in the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For a detailed description of these contractual arrangements, see “Prospectus Summary — Contractual Arrangements with the VIE and Its Shareholders.” As a result, investors in ADSs are not purchasing equity interest in the VIE or its subsidiaries but instead are purchasing equity interest in Fangdd Cayman, a Cayman Islands holding company, whose consolidated financial results include those of the VIE and its subsidiaries under U.S. GAAP. More specifically, investors in the ADSs or our Class A ordinary shares would not hold any ownership interest, directly or indirectly, in the VIE and its subsidiaries in China and would merely have a contractual relationship with the operating entities in China. As used in this prospectus supplement, “Fangdd Cayman” refers to Fangdd Network Group Ltd., and “we,” “us,” “our company,” or “our” refers to Fangdd Network Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries, and, when describing our consolidated financial information, also includes the VIE and its subsidiaries.

Our corporate structure is subject to risks associated with our contractual arrangements with the VIE. These contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law in the PRC. If the PRC government finds that the Fangdd Network VIE Agreements do not comply with PRC laws and regulations, or if existing regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the operations of the VIE and its subsidiaries. This would result in the VIE and its subsidiaries being deconsolidated. The majority of our assets, including the necessary licenses to conduct business in China, are held by the VIE. A significant part of our revenue is generated by the VIE. An event that results in the deconsolidation of the VIE would have a material adverse effect on our operations and result in the ADSs diminishing substantially in value or even becoming worthless. There are substantial uncertainties about potential future actions by the PRC government that could affect the enforceability of the Fangdd Network VIE Agreements and, consequently, significantly affect the financial performance of the VIE and our company as a whole. For a detailed description of the risks associated with our corporate structure, see risks disclosed under “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference.

We and the VIE face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China, including complex and evolving PRC laws and regulations. For example, we and the VIE face risks associated with regulatory approvals on offshore offerings, the use of variable interest entities, anti-monopoly regulatory actions, and oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, which may impact our ability to conduct certain businesses, accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange. These risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. Since 2021, the PRC government has initiated a series of regulatory actions and guidelines to regulate business operations in China, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews and strength the administration on data cross-border transfer, regulating overseas securities offering and listing, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. Since these regulatory actions and guidelines are relatively new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will

respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact of such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange. For a detailed description of risks relating to doing business in China, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference.

Under our current corporate structure, we may rely on dividend payments from our subsidiaries, to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, none of our subsidiaries have ever issued any dividends or made other distributions to us or their respective holding companies nor have we or any of our subsidiaries ever paid dividends or made other distributions to U.S. investors. We currently intend to retain all future earnings to finance business operations. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends to us or on the ability of the VIE to make payments to us may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements. If any of our subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. To the extent cash in the business is in the PRC or a PRC entity, and may need to be used to fund operations outside of the PRC, the funds may not be available due to limitations placed by the government. For more details, see “Prospectus Summary — Cash Flows through Our Organization,” “— Transfer of Cash through Our Organization,” “— Restrictions and Limitations on Transfer of Capital” and “— Taxation on Dividends or Distributions.”

Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act, if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, determines that a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be subject to inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit its securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report relaying to the SEC its determinations that the board was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong. In March 2022, the SEC issued its first “Conclusive list of issuers identified under the HFCA Act” indicating that those companies were formally subject to the delisting provisions. In May 2022, we were conclusively identified by the SEC under the HFCA Act due to the fact that our previous auditor was located in Mainland China and could not be inspected by the PCAOB. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed Mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions. We have engaged our current auditor, a Singapore-based accounting firm that is registered with the PCAOB, as our independent registered public accounting firm starting the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and our current auditor can be inspected under the PCAOB requirements. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong, it may create uncertainties about the ability of our current auditor to fully cooperate with the PCAOB’s request for audit workpapers. Such lack of inspection could cause trading in our securities to be prohibited under the HFCA Act and ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist our securities. If our shares and ADSs are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on a non-U.S. exchange or that a market for our shares will develop outside of the United States. Such a prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase the ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects. For more details, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — The ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCA Act in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in China. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.”

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Maxim Group LLC is acting as the exclusive placement agent in this offering. In addition to the placement agent fee of 8% of the aggregate purchase price, we have agreed to pay a reimbursement for the reasonable and accounted fees and expenses of legal counsel up to US$50,000. After deducting fees and expenses payable to placement agents and other estimated offering expenses payable by us, we expect to receive proceeds of US$6.6 million from this offering.

We expect that the delivery of the ADSs and Warrants being offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will be made on or before July 19, 2023.

Maxim Group LLC

Prospectus Supplement dated July 17, 2023

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

PROSPECTUS

 

S-i

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering and the securities offered hereby, and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated into each by reference. The second part is the accompanying prospectus dated September 29, 2022, included in the registration statement on Form F-3 (No. 333-267397), including the documents incorporated by reference therein, which provides more general information, some of which may not be applicable to this offering. This prospectus supplement is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the accompanying prospectus solely for the purpose of this offering. When we refer only to the “prospectus,” we are referring to both parts combined.

If there is any inconsistency between information in or incorporated by reference into the accompanying prospectus and information in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, you should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated into each by reference include important information about us, the ADSs being offered and other information you should know before investing. You should read this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus together with the additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” before investing in the ADSs.

We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein or in any related free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision.

We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or in the accompanying prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

In this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, all references to “we,” “us,” “our,” or similar terms used in this prospectus supplement refer to Fangdd Network Group Ltd., a Cayman Islands holding company, and its subsidiaries, and when describing our consolidated financial information, also includes the VIE and its subsidiaries.

“PRC” or “China” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purpose of this prospectus supplement, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, “RMB” or “Renminbi” refers to the legal currency of China and “US$” or “U.S. dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States.

Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars in this prospectus supplement were made at the exchange rate of RMB6.8972 to US$1.00, the exchange rate in effect as of December 30, 2022 set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

 

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We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. On July 14, 2023, the noon buying rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System was RMB7.1403 to US$1.00.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, contain forward-looking statements. These are based on our management’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions about future events, conditions and results and on information currently available to us. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements may be found, among other places, in “Information on the Company,” “Risk Factors” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference including our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as any amendments thereto, filed with the SEC.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” as well as statements in the future tense or the negative or plural of those terms, and similar expressions intended to identify statements about the future, although not all forward- looking statements contain these words. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Any statements in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. Within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, these forward- looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding:

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

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expected changes in our revenues, costs or expenditures;

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our estimates regarding revenues, cash flows, capital requirements and our need for additional financing;

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

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competition in our industry; and

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government policies and regulations relating to our industry.

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The ultimate correctness of these forward-looking statements depends upon a number of known and unknown risks and events. Many factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Consequently, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made; and, except as required by law we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

You should refer to “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and Item 3.D. to our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 incorporated by reference, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein will prove to be accurate, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a

 

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representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.

You should read this prospectus supplement, together with the accompanying prospectus and the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein may contain market data and industry forecasts that were obtained from industry publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise.

 

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S-6

 

S-7

 

S-8

 

S-9

 

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S-10

 

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S-11

 

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For the Year Ended December 31,

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2020

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2021

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2022

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(in US$ millions)

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Cash received by Fangdd Network Group Ltd. as equity investment

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80.2

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—

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0.5

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For the Year Ended December 31,

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2020

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2021

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2022

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​

(in US$ millions)

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Cash paid by Fangdd Network Group Ltd. to Fangdd Network Holding Ltd. (Hong Kong) to invest in WFOE, Shenzhen Fangdd Information Technology Co., Ltd(1)

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95.6

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21.5

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—

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Cash paid by Fangdd Network Holding Ltd. (Hong Kong) to contribute to the payment to WFOE as paid-in capital

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113.2

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12.8

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—

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For the Year Ended December 31,

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2020

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​

2021

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2022

​

​

​

​

(in US$ millions)

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Cash paid by WFOE to VIE, Shenzhen Fangdd Network Technology Co., Ltd., through bank entrusted loan(2)

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118.5

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69.0

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5.7

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​	Hypothetical pre-tax earnings(1)	​	​	​	​	100.00	​	​
​	Tax on earnings at statutory rate of 25% at Shenzhen Fangdd level	​	​	​	​	(25.00)	​	​
​	Amount to be distributed as dividend from Shenzhen Fangdd to Hong Kong subsidiary(2)	​	​	​	​	75.00	​	​
​	Withholding tax at tax treaty rate of 5%	​	​	​	​	(3.75)	​	​
​	Amount to be distributed as dividend at Hong Kong subsidiary level and net distribution to Fangdd Network Group Ltd.	​	​	​	​	71.25	​	​

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S-14

 

S-15

 

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S-16

 

S-17

 

S-18

 

S-19

 

RISK FACTORS

Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors described below and in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, any amendment or update thereto reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC, including in our annual reports on Form 20-F, and all other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.

Risk Related to Doing Business in China

The approval of and the filing with the CSRC, CAC or other PRC governmental authorities may be required in connection with our offshore offerings under PRC law and if required, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing.

On February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, promulgated a set of new regulations, including the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offerings and Listings by Domestic Companies, or the Trial Measures, and five supporting guidelines. The regulations came into effect on March 31, 2023. The Trial Measures refine the regulatory system by subjecting both direct and indirect overseas offering and listing activities to the CSRC filing-based administration. Requirements for filing entities, time points and procedures are specified. Where a PRC domestic company indirectly offers and lists securities in overseas markets, the issuer shall designate a major domestic operating entity to file with the CSRC. Companies, like us, that are already listed overseas as of March 31, 2023 are not required to make an immediate filing with the CSRC until a subsequent offering, in which case a filing should be made with the CSRC within three business days after the offering is completed. Failure to complete the filing required by the Trial Measures may result in a warning and a fine between RMB1 million and RMB10 million as for the domestic entity. The offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is subject to the filing requirement under the Trial Measures, and we will make the filing for this offering with the CSRC within three business days after the offering is completed. However, since the regulations were newly enacted, we are uncertain whether we can complete the filing on time. Failure to complete the filing for this offering within the prescribed time may subject us to sanctions by the relevant PRC governmental authorities.

In addition, the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, among other things, requires offshore special purpose vehicles formed for the purpose of an overseas listing and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the CSRC approval prior to listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The interpretation and application of the regulations remain unclear. Our PRC legal counsel has advised us that, based on their understanding of the current PRC laws, the CSRC approval is not required under the M&A Rules in the context of this offering because the ownership structures of our PRC subsidiaries and VIE were not established through acquisition of equity interests or assets of any PRC domestic company by foreign entities as clearly defined under the M&A Rules. However, we have been advised by our PRC legal counsel that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of the PRC law, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is not contrary to the above opinion of our PRC legal counsel. If it is determined that the CSRC approval is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek the CSRC approval for this offering.

On December 28, 2021, the CAC and 12 other regulatory authorities jointly released the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective on February 15, 2022. The Cybersecurity Review Measures provide, among others, (i) the purchase of cyber products and services by critical information infrastructure operators that affects or may affect national security and the data processing activities engaged in by network platform operators that affect or may affect national security shall be subject to the cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office, the department responsible for the implementation of cybersecurity

 

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review under the CAC; and (ii) the network platform operators with personal information data of more than one million users that seek for listing in a foreign country are obliged to apply for a cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office. However, the Cybersecurity Review Measures do not provide any explanation or interpretation of “affect or may affect national security,” and Chinese government may have broad discretion in interpreting and enforcing these laws and regulations. We cannot predict the impact of the Cybersecurity Review Measures, if any, at this stage, and we will closely monitor and assess the statutory developments in this regard. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions regarding offshore offering from the CAC or any other PRC governmental authorities. We cannot guarantee, however, that we will not be subject to cybersecurity review in the future. If such review is or becomes necessary, we may be required to suspend our operations or experience other disruption to our operations. Cybersecurity review could also result in negative publicity with respect to our company and diversion of our managerial and financial resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial conditions, and results of operations.

If it is determined in the future that any governmental approvals or other requirements are required to be met for and prior to an offering, it is uncertain whether we can or how long it will take us to obtain such approval or complete such procedures and any such approval could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such approval or completing such procedures for an offering, or a rescission of any such approval, may hinder our ability to complete an offering and subject us to sanctions by the relevant PRC governmental authorities. Restrictions and penalties imposed on our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the ADSs.

The ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCA Act in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in China. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act, if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, determines that a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be subject to inspections by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit its securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report relaying to the SEC its determinations that the board was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong. In March 2022, the SEC issued its first “Conclusive list of issuers identified under the HFCA Act” indicating that those companies were formally subject to the delisting provisions. In May 2022, we were conclusively identified by the SEC under the HFCA Act due to the fact that our previous auditor was located in Mainland China and could not be inspected by the PCAOB. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed Mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions.

We have engaged our current auditor, a Singapore-based accounting firm that is registered with the PCAOB, as our independent registered public accounting firm starting the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and our current auditor can be inspected under the PCAOB requirements. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong, it may create uncertainty about the ability of our current auditor to fully cooperate with the PCAOB’s request for audit workpapers. Such lack of inspection could cause trading in our securities to be prohibited under the HFCA Act and ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist our securities. If our shares and ADSs are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on a non-U.S. exchange or that a market for our shares will develop outside of the United States. Such a prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase the ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.

 

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Risks Related to This Offering

We have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, including for any of the purposes described in “Use of Proceeds,” and you will not have the opportunity as part of your investment decision to assess whether the net proceeds are being used appropriately. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, their ultimate use may vary substantially from their currently intended use. Our management might not apply our net proceeds in ways that ultimately increase the value of your investment. The failure by our management to apply the net proceeds from this offering effectively could harm our business. If we do not invest or apply the net proceeds from this offering in ways that enhance shareholder value, we may fail to achieve expected financial results, which could cause the price of ADSs to decline.

Our triple-class voting structure will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

Our ordinary share capital consists of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares. Holders of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares shall vote together as one class on all resolutions submitted to a vote by the shareholders. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while (i) holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to ten votes per share and (ii) holders of Class C ordinary shares are entitled to 10,000 votes per share, except that we shall only amend, alter, modify or change the rights, restrictions, preferences or privileges of Class C ordinary shares with the written consent of the holders holding a majority of the issued and outstanding Class C ordinary shares or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the issued and outstanding Class C ordinary shares.

Each Class B ordinary share and each Class C ordinary share are convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof, or subject to automatic and immediate conversion into one Class A ordinary share once certain conditions are met, while neither Class A ordinary shares nor Class C ordinary shares are convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances, neither Class A ordinary shares nor Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class C ordinary shares under any circumstances.

Due to the disparate voting powers attached to these three classes, holders of our Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares have significant voting power over matters requiring shareholders’ approval. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

We may be unable to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements of Nasdaq.

ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares are currently listed on Nasdaq. In order to maintain this listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards. On January 4, 2022, we received a notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, notifying that we were not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) because the bid price of the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares closed below US$1.00 per ADS for the 30 consecutive business days from November 19, 2021 to January 3, 2022. We were granted a grace period of 180 calendar days, expiring on July 5, 2022, in which to regain compliance. In order to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, we changed the ratio of the ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares from one (1) ADS representing twenty five (25) Class A ordinary shares to one (1) ADS representing three hundred seventy-five (375) Class A ordinary shares. The change became effective on June 7, 2022. On June 22, 2022, Nasdaq confirmed in a compliance notice that for the ten consecutive business days, from June 7 through June 21, 2022, the closing bid price of the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares had been at $1.00 per share or greater. Accordingly, we regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1), and the matter was closed.

 

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On October 20, 2022, we received another notice from Nasdaq, stating that we were not in compliance with the Nasdaq listing requirement to maintain a minimum market value of publicly held shares, or MVPHS, of at least US$5 million for a period of 30 consecutive business days, as required under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(1)(C). We were provided 180 calendar days, or until April 18, 2023, to regain compliance with the MVPHS requirement. On March 24, 2023, based on our company’s MVPHS for a period of 11 consecutive business days, from March 9 to March 23, 2023, Nasdaq confirmed that our company’s MVPHS had been greater than US$5 million. Accordingly, we regained compliance with the MVPHS requirement and this matter was closed. In the future, if we were unable to comply with any applicable listing requirements of Nasdaq, the ADSs would be subject to delisting. In the event that the ADSs are delisted from Nasdaq and are not eligible for quotation or listing on another market or exchange, trading of the ADSs could be conducted only in the over-the-counter market established for unlisted securities such as OTC Markets. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for the ADSs, which could cause the price of the ADSs to decline further.

Raising additional capital, including as a result of this offering, and the sale of additional ADSs or other equity securities could result in dilution to our shareholders, while the incurrence of debt may impose restrictions on our operations.

We may require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If our cash resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of equity securities would result in dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. Furthermore, the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of the ADSs to decline and existing shareholders may not agree with our financing plans or the terms of such financings.

Our memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could adversely affect the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.

Our current memorandum and articles of association contain provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions, including 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, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares, as represented by ADSs. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction.

There can be no assurance that we were not a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for 2022 or that we will not be a PFIC for 2023 or any other taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors in the ADSs or ordinary shares.

A non-United States corporation will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income for such year is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of the value of its assets (based on a weighted quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. A separate determination must be made after the close of each taxable year as to whether a non-United States corporation is a PFIC for that year. Although the law in this regard is unclear, we intend to treat the VIE (and its subsidiaries) as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not only because we direct the activities of the VIE (and its subsidiaries) that most significantly impact the economic performance of such entities but also because we are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate their results of operations in our consolidated financial statements. Assuming that we are treated as the owner of the VIE (and its subsidiaries) for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based upon our current and expected income and assets, including goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, and the market value of the ADSs, we do not believe we were a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the taxable year ended December 31, 2022.

 

S-23

 

The determination of our PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis and the applicable law is subject to varying interpretation. The value of our assets for purposes of the asset test may be determined by reference to the market price of the ADSs, fluctuations in the market price of the ADSs may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years. In addition, the composition of our income and assets will also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in our offerings. 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 the VIE for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our risk of being a PFIC may substantially increase. In light of the foregoing, there can be no assurance that we were not, or will not be, a PFIC for any taxable year, and our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for any prior, current or future taxable year.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Item 10. Additional Information — E. Taxation — U.S. Federal Income Taxation” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus) holds the ADSs or ordinary shares, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. See “Item 10. Additional Information — E. Taxation — U.S. Federal Income Taxation —  Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs are voted.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as our registered shareholders. As a holder of the ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to cast any votes at such meetings. You will only be able to exercise the voting rights which are carried by the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary. If we instruct the depositary to ask for your instructions, then upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try, as far as practicable, to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs, in accordance with your instructions. If we do not instruct the depositary to ask for your instructions, the depositary may still vote in accordance with instructions you give, but it is not required to do so. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs unless you cancel and withdraw such shares and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is ten calendar days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice of the meeting to withdraw the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs and to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting.

In addition, under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs and becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We have agreed to give the depositary prior notice of shareholder meetings. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the underlying Class A Ordinary shares represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs are voted and you may have no legal remedy if the Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

 

S-24

 

We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, or to terminate the deposit agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders.

We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders. We and the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment may prejudice a substantial existing right of ADS holders, ADS holders will only receive 30 days’ advance notice of the amendment, and no prior consent of the ADS holders is required under the deposit agreement. At the time an amendment becomes effective, ADS holders are considered, by continuing to hold their ADSs, to have agreed to the amendment and to be bound by the amended deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when we decide to list our shares on a non-U.S. securities exchange and determine not to continue to sponsor an ADS facility, when we become the subject of a takeover or a going-private transaction, or when we incur the insolvency event. If the ADS facility terminates, ADS holders will receive at least 90 days’ prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. The depositary may also terminate the deposit agreement if the depositary has told us that it would like to resign and we have not appointed a new depositary within 60 days. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that may prejudice a substantial existing right of ADS holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADS holders’ choices will be limited to selling their ADSs or surrendering their ADSs and becoming direct holders of the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever. No assurance can be given that a sale of ADSs could be made at a price satisfactory to the holder in such circumstances.

We will be unable to issue sufficient additional shares for future capital raising transactions, unless we obtain shareholder approval to increase the number of our authorized shares in our authorized share capital available for issuance.

We may not have sufficient authorized but unissued shares for future issuances to raise funds to execute on our business plan. Having additional authorized shares available is critical to our continued efforts to pursue our strategic goals and we will be limited by the number of authorized but unissued shares available for future capital raising transactions, including pursuant to the securities purchase agreement we entered into with the investors and agreements we may enter into in the future, or for business development transactions or acquisitions, unless we obtain shareholder approval to increase the number of authorized shares in our authorized share capital. We intend to solicit the approval of our shareholders to increase the number of authorized shares in our authorized share capital, including without limitation authorized and unissued Class A ordinary shares, but may encounter difficulties obtaining shareholder approval for such proposals and there can be no assurance that our shareholders will approve such increase in our authorized share capital. A delay in securing, or a failure to secure, shareholder approval to increase our authorized share capital will adversely affect our ability to raise capital to operate our business, and would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operations and financial condition.

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

We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, attempt to sell these undistributed rights to third parties, and may allow the rights to lapse. We may be unable to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.

 

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You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems it expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of the ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately US$6.6 million after deducting a placement agent fee of US$640,000 and other estimated offering expenses payable by us, assuming no exercise of the Warrants issued in connection with this offering. We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes. Our management, however, will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering. If any unforeseen event occurs or business condition changes, we may use the proceeds of this offering differently than as described in this prospectus supplement.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of December 31, 2022:

•

on an actual basis;

​

•

on a pro forma basis to reflect (i) the issuance and sale of 120,811,500 Class A ordinary shares represented by 322,164 ADSs on March 3, 2023, at an offering price of US$0.6208 per ADS, after deducting the offering expenses payable by us; (ii) the issuance of 18,750,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at a conversion price of US$0.00112 per share and the issuance and sale of 5,625,000 Class C ordinary shares at a purchase price of US$0.00271 per share on March 9, 2023 in connection with the conversion of a convertible promissory note in a principal amount of US$21,000,000, after deducting the offering expenses payable by us, and (iii) the issuance of 129,519,698 Class A ordinary shares to Mr. Jiancheng Li upon the conversion of the same number of Class B ordinary shares held by him on February 21, 2023; and

​

•

on a pro forma as adjusted basis to reflect (i) the issuance and sale of 120,811,500 Class A ordinary shares represented by 322,164 ADSs on March 3, 2023, at an offering price of US$0.6208 per ADS, (ii) the issuance of 18,750,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at a conversion price of US$0.00112 per share and the issuance and sale of 5,625,000 Class C ordinary shares at a purchase price of US$0.00271 per share on March 9, 2023 in connection with the conversion of a convertible promissory note in a principal amount of US$21,000,000, (iii) the issuance of 129,519,698 Class A ordinary shares to Mr. Jiancheng Li upon the conversion of the same number of Class B ordinary shares held by him on February 21, 2023, and (iv) the issuance and sale of 4,285,711,875 Class A ordinary shares represented by 11,428,565 ADSs in this offering, at the offering price of US$0.70 per ADS, after deducting estimated offering expenses payable by us.

​

The as adjusted information is illustrative only. You should read this table in conjunction with any consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

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The table above assumes for illustrative purposes that 4,285,711,875 Class A ordinary shares represented by 11,428,565 ADSs are sold at a price of US$0.70 per ADS, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$8.0 million.

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in the ADSs, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the price per ADS in this offering and the net tangible book value per ADS immediately after this offering. Our net tangible book value as of December 31, 2022 was approximately US$14.3 million, or approximately US$2.1791 per ADS. Our net tangible book value per ADS is equal to our total tangible assets less our total liabilities, divided by the total number of ADSs outstanding as of December 31, 2022.

Without taking into account any other changes in net tangible book value after December 31, 2022, other than to give effect to (i) the issuance and sale of 120,811,500 Class A ordinary shares represented by 322,164 ADSs on March 3, 2023, at an offering price of US$0.6208 per ADS, (ii) the issuance of 18,750,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at a conversion price of US$0.00112 per share and the issuance and sale of 5,625,000 Class C ordinary shares at a purchase price of US$0.00271 per share on March 9, 2023 in connection with the conversion of a convertible promissory note in a principal amount of US$21,000,000, (iii) the issuance of 129,519,698 Class A ordinary shares to Mr. Jiancheng Li upon the conversion of the same number of Class B ordinary shares held by him on February 21, 2023, and (iv) the issuance and sale of 4,285,711,875 Class A ordinary shares represented by 11,428,565 ADSs in this offering, at an assumed offering price of US$0.70 per ADS, after deducting estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of December 31, 2022 would have been US$42.4 million, or US$0.6208 per ADS. This represents an immediate decrease in the net tangible book value of US$1.5583 per ADS to our existing shareholders, and an immediate dilution in the net tangible book value of US$1.5583 per ADS to the new investor. The following table illustrates this dilution on a per ADS basis:

The table above assumes for illustrative purposes that 4,285,711,875 Class A ordinary shares represented by 11,428,565 ADSs are sold at a price of US$0.70 per ADS, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$8.0 million.

The calculations above are based upon 2,470,879,706 ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and exclude:

•

the shares issued or issuable under our share incentive plans after December 31, 2022; and

​

•

the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in connection with this offering.

​

 

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To the extent that outstanding options are exercised and the restricted shares are vested, or if ordinary shares are issued upon exercise of the regular warrants or reset warrants issued in connection with this offering, you will experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, our shareholders will experience further dilution.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

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

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 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 “Item 4. Information on the Company — B. Business Overview — Regulation — Regulations Related to Dividend Distribution” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

If we pay any dividends on our ordinary shares, we will pay those dividends which are payable in respect of the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs to the depositary, as the registered holder of such Class A ordinary shares, and the depositary then will pay such amounts to the ADS holders in proportion to the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs held by such ADS holders, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including net of the fees and expenses payable thereunder. Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

General

We are a Cayman Islands company and our affairs are governed by our fifth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or our memorandum and articles of association, and the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Act below.

As of the date of this prospectus supplement, our authorized share capital is US$5,000 divided into 50,000,000,000 shares comprising of (i) 39,750,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0000001 each, (ii) 10,000,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0000001 each, (iii) 23,310,000 Class C ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0000001 each, and (iv) 226,690,000 shares of a par value of US$0.0000001 each of such class or classes (however designated) as the board of directors may determine in accordance with Article 9 of our memorandum and articles or association.

Our share capital consists of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote, each Class B ordinary share is entitled to ten votes, and each Class C ordinary share is entitled to 10,000 votes. Each Class B ordinary share and each Class C ordinary shares is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares under any circumstances.

Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof or a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary share to any person other than our three co-founders and their respective affiliates, such Class B ordinary shares are automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A ordinary shares.

Upon (i) any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class C ordinary shares by a holder thereof or the direct or indirect transfer or assignment of the voting power attached to such number of Class C ordinary shares through a voting proxy or otherwise to any person that is not an affiliate of such holder, or (ii) the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of a majority of the issued and outstanding voting securities of, or the direct or indirect transfer or assignment of the voting power attached to such voting securities through voting proxy or otherwise, or the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of, a holder of Class C ordinary shares that is an entity to any person other than an affiliate of such holder, (iii) Mr. Xi Zeng, our chairman of board of directors and chief executive officer, ceasing to be the ultimate beneficial owner of at least 80,698,283 Class A ordinary shares (on an as-if-converted basis) at any time, (iv) Mr. Xi Zeng being permanently unable to attend board meetings and manage the business affairs of our company as a result of incapacity solely due to his then physical and/or mental condition, Class C ordinary shares held by a holder thereof will be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A ordinary shares. Except for voting and conversion rights, holders of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares shall rank pari passu with one another and shall have the same rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions.

The following are summaries of material provisions of our memorandum and articles of association as well as the Companies Act (As Revised) insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares.

Exempted Company

We are an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary resident company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:

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an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies;

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an exempted company is not required to open its register of members for inspection;

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an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

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•

an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);

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an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

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an exempted company may register as an exempted limited duration company; and

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an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.

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Ordinary Shares

General

Our ordinary shares are issued in registered form and are issued when registered in our Register of Members. We may not issue shares to bearer. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and vote their ordinary shares. Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares shall have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class A Ordinary Share shall, on a poll, entitle the holder thereof to one vote on all matters subject to vote at our general meetings, each Class B ordinary share shall, on a poll, entitle the holder thereof to ten votes on all matters subject to vote at our general meetings, and each Class C ordinary share shall entitle the holder thereof to 10,000 votes on matters subject to vote at general meetings of our company.

Conversion

Each Class B ordinary share or Class C ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares in any event.

Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of any Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person other than our founders or an affiliate controlled by one or more of our founders, or upon a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary shares to any person who is not one of our founders or an affiliate controlled by one or more of our founders, each such Class B ordinary share shall be automatically and immediately converted into one of Class A ordinary share.

Upon (i) any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class C ordinary shares by a holder thereof or the direct or indirect transfer or assignment of the voting power attached to such number of Class C ordinary shares through a voting proxy or otherwise to any person that is not an affiliate of such holder, or (ii) the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of a majority of the issued and outstanding voting securities of, or the direct or indirect transfer or assignment of the voting power attached to such voting securities through voting proxy or otherwise, or the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of, a holder of Class C ordinary shares that is an entity to any person other than an affiliate of such holder, (iii) Mr. Xi Zeng, our chairman of board of directors and chief executive officer, ceasing to be the ultimate beneficial owner of at least 80,698,283 Class A ordinary shares (on an as-if-converted basis) at any time, (iv) Mr. Xi Zeng being permanently unable to attend board meetings and manage the business affairs of our company as a result of incapacity solely due to his then physical and/or mental condition, Class C ordinary shares held by a holder thereof will be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A ordinary shares.

Dividends

The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to receive such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors subject to our memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Under Cayman Islands law, dividends may be paid either out of profits or out of share premium, provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid of this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business.

 

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Register of Members

Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there must be entered therein:

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the names and addresses of the members, together with a statement of the shares held by each member, and such statement shall confirm (i) the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member, (ii) the number and category of shares held by each member, and (iii) whether each relevant category of shares held by a member carries voting rights under the articles of association of the company, and if so, whether such voting rights are conditional;

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the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and

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the date on which any person ceased to be a member.

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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). The shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their names.

If the name of any person is, without sufficient cause, entered in or omitted from the register of members, or if default is made or unnecessary delay takes place in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a member, the person or member aggrieved or any member or the company itself may apply to the Cayman Islands Grand Court 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.

Voting Rights

Holders of our ordinary shares have the right to receive notice of, attend, speak and vote at general meetings of our company. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares shall, at all times, vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote by our shareholders at any general meeting of our company. Each Class A ordinary share shall be entitled to one vote, each Class B ordinary share shall be entitled to ten votes and each Class C ordinary share shall be entitled to 10,000 votes, on all matters subject to a vote at general meetings of our company. At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands) demanded by the chairman of the meeting or any shareholder holding not less than ten percent (10%) of the votes attaching to the shares present in person or by proxy. An ordinary resolution to be passed by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast in a general meeting, which can be an annual general meeting or a special meeting of shareholders. A special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast in 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 Act and our 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 memorandum and articles of association. Our shareholders may, among other things, divide or combine their shares by ordinary resolution.

General Meetings and Shareholder Proposals

As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that we may (but are not obliged to) in each year hold a general meeting as our annual general meeting in which case we will specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it, and the annual general meeting will be held at such time and place as may be determined by our directors. We, however, will hold an annual shareholders’ meeting during each fiscal year, as required by rules of Nasdaq.

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 memorandum and articles of

 

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association allow any one or more of our shareholders who together hold shares that carry not less than one-third of the total number of votes attaching to all of our issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at general meetings to require an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders, in which case the directors are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting; however, our memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders.

A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders holding not less than one-third of all votes attaching to all our shares in issue and entitled to vote present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative. Advance notice of at least ten calendar days is required for the convening of any shareholders meetings.

Transfer of Ordinary Shares

Subject to the restrictions in our memorandum and articles of association as set out below, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form approved by our board.

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 directors may also decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share unless:

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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;

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the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of shares;

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the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required;

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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; or

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a fee of such maximum sum as Nasdaq may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as the directors may from time to time require, is paid to the company thereof.

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If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within three calendar months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.

The registration of transfers may, on ten calendar days’ notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers, by electronic means or by any other means in accordance with the rules of Nasdaq, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 calendar days in any calendar year as our board of directors may determine.

Liquidation

On the winding up of our company, if the assets available for distribution amongst our shareholders shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up, subject to a deduction from those shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to our company for unpaid calls or otherwise. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that, as nearly as possible, the losses are borne by our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up.

 

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Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares

Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their ordinary shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 calendar days prior to the specified time and place of payment. The ordinary shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid on the specified time 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 (including any redeemable shares) provided that the manner and terms of such purchase have been approved by our board of directors or by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders, or are otherwise authorized by our memorandum and articles of association. Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of a company’s profits or share premium account, or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or, if so authorized by its articles of association, out of capital if the company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid-up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares issued and outstanding, or (c) if the company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.

Variations of Rights of Shares

If at any time the share capital is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attached to any class of shares, subject to any rights or restrictions for time being attached to any class, only be materially adversely varied with the consent in writing of the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of the class. In addition, we may only amend, alter, modify or change the rights, restrictions, preferences or privileges of Class C ordinary shares with the written consent of the holders holding a majority of the issued and outstanding Class C ordinary shares or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the issued and outstanding Class C ordinary shares. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the shares of that class, be deemed to be materially adversely varied by the creation, allotment or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any shares of any class by our company. The rights of the holders of any shares shall not be deemed to be materially adversely varied by the creation or issue of shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights.

Inspection of Books and Records

Holders of our ordinary shares will have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records (except for our memorandum and articles of association, register of mortgages and charges and special resolutions of our shareholders).

Changes in Capital

Our shareholders may from time to time by ordinary resolutions:

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increase the share capital by new shares of such amount as it thinks expedient;

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consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of a larger amount than our existing shares;

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sub-divide our existing shares, or any of them into shares of a smaller amount than that fixed by our memorandum of association; provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount

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paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced share will be the same as it was in case of the share from which the reduced share is derived; or

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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.

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Subject to the Companies Act, our shareholders may by special resolution reduce our share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorized by law.

Differences in Corporate Law

The Companies Act is modeled after that of the English companies legislation but does not follow recent English law statutory enactments, and accordingly there are significant differences between the Companies Act and the current Companies Act of England. In addition, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to Delaware corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to Delaware corporations and their shareholders.

Mergers and Similar Arrangements

The Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (a) “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertakings, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company and (b) a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertakings, 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 declaration as to the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. 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.

A merger between a Cayman parent company and its Cayman subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose a company is a “parent” of a subsidiary if it holds issued shares that together represent at least ninety percent (90%) of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary.

The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.

In addition, there are statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, provided that the arrangement is approved by (a) 75% in value of shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, or (b) a majority in number of representing 75% in value of the creditors or each class of creditors, as the case may be, with whom the arrangement is to be made, that are, in each case, present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:

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the statutory provisions as to the due majority vote have been met;

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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;

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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

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the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act.

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The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition which may facilitate the “squeeze out” of dissentient minority shareholder upon a tender offer. When a tender 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 the arrangement and reconstruction by way of a scheme of arrangement is thus approved and sanctioned, or if a tender offer is made and accepted in accordance with the foregoing statutory procedures, 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 and as a general rule a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands courts can be expected 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 class action against or derivative actions in our name to challenge an act which:

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is ultra vires or illegal and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders;

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requires a resolution with a qualified (or special) majority (i.e. more than a simple majority) which has not been obtained; and

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constitutes a “fraud on the majority,” where the wrongdoer are themselves in control of the company.

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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 memorandum and articles of association provide that that we shall indemnify our officers and directors against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such directors or officer, other than by reason of such person’s 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 director or officer 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. 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 memorandum and articles of association.

 

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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 must act in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. A director must not use his or her corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder 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 or she owes the following duties to the company including a duty to act bona fide in the best interests of the company, a duty not to makea personal profit out of his or her position as director (unless the company permits him or her to do so), a duty not to put himself or herself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his or her personal interests or his or her 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 or her duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his or her knowledge and experience. However, there are indications that the English and commonwealth courts are moving towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.

Under our memorandum and articles of association, directors who are in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction with our company must declare the nature of their interest at a meeting of the board of directors. Following such declaration, a director may vote in respect of any contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction notwithstanding that he or she may be interested therein and if he or she does so his or her vote shall be counted and he or she may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the board of directors at which such contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction shall come before the meeting for consideration.

Shareholder Action by Written Resolution

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. The Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association provide that our shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.

Shareholder Proposals

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.

 

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The Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our memorandum and articles of association allow any one or more of our shareholders who together hold shares which carry in aggregate not less than one-third of the total number of votes attaching to all issued and outstanding shares of our company entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders’ meeting, our memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any other right to put proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings. 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 for a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our memorandum and articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.

Removal of Directors

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our memorandum and articles of association, directors may be removed with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. In addition, a director’s office shall be vacated if the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) is found to be or becomes of unsound mind or dies; (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to the company; (iv) without special leave of absence from our board of directors, is absent from three consecutive meetings of the board and the board resolves that his office be vacated or; (v) is removed from office pursuant to any other provisions of our memorandum and articles of association.

Transactions with Interested Shareholders

The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware public 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 on which such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is one which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting shares 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 that resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware public 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 entered into must be bona fide in the best interests of the company, for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of perpetrating a fraud on the minority shareholders.

 

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Restructuring

A company may present a petition to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for the appointment of a restructuring officer on the grounds that the company:

(a)

is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts; and

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(b)

intends to present a compromise or arrangement to its creditors (or classes thereof) either pursuant to the Companies Act, the law of a foreign country or by way of a consensual restructuring.

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The Grand Court may, among other things, make an order appointing a restructuring officer upon hearing of such petition, with such powers and to carry out such functions as the court may order. At any time (i) after the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer but before an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer has been made, and (ii) when an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer is made, until such order has been discharged, no suit, action or other proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) shall be proceeded with or commenced against the company, no resolution to wind up the company shall be passed, and no winding up petition may be presented against the company, except with the leave of the court. However, notwithstanding the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer or the appointment of a restructuring officer, a creditor who has security over the whole or part of the assets of the company is entitled to enforce the security without the leave of the court and without reference to the restructuring officer appointed.

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. The Delaware General Corporation Law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board of directors. 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.

Variation of Rights of Shares

If at any time, our share capital is divided into different classes 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 our memorandum and articles of association and as permitted by the Companies Act, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, we may materially adversely vary the rights attached to any class with the consent in writing of two-thirds of the holders of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of the class.

Amendment of Governing Documents

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Companies Act, our memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution of our shareholders.

Inspection of Books and Records

Holders of our ordinary shares will have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records (except for our memorandum and articles of association, our register of mortgages and charges and special resolutions of our shareholders).

 

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Anti-takeover Provisions

Some provisions of our memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including a provision that authorizes 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.

However, under Cayman Islands law, our directors may only exercise the rights and powers granted to them under our 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.

Rights of Non-Resident or Foreign Shareholders

There are no limitations imposed by foreign law or by our memorandum and articles of association on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our ordinary shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our memorandum and articles of association that require our company to disclose shareholder ownership above any particular ownership threshold.

Staggered Board of Directors

The Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association do not contain provisions that require staggered board arrangements for a Cayman Islands company.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

American Depositary Shares

The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, will register and deliver the American Depositary Shares, also referred to as ADSs. Each ADS represents 375 Class A ordinary shares (or a right to receive Class A ordinary shares) deposited with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, as custodian for the depositary in Hong Kong. Each ADS will also represent any other securities, cash or other property which may be held by the depositary. The deposited Class A ordinary shares together with any other securities, cash or other property held by the depositary are referred to as the deposited securities. The depositary’s office at which the ADSs will be administered and its principal executive office are located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.

You may hold ADSs either (A) directly (i) by having an American Depositary Receipt, also referred to as an ADR, which is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs, registered in your name, or (ii) by having uncertificated ADSs registered in your name, or (B) indirectly by holding a security entitlement in ADSs through your broker or other financial institution that is a direct or indirect participant in The Depository Trust Company, also called DTC. If you hold ADSs directly, you are a registered ADS holder, also referred to as an ADS holder. This description assumes you are an ADS holder. 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.

Registered holders of uncertificated ADSs will receive statements from the depositary confirming their holdings.

As an ADS holder, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have shareholder rights. Cayman Islands law governs shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the shares represented by your ADSs. As a registered holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary, ADS holders and all other persons indirectly or beneficially holding ADSs sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. New York law governs 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 ADR.

Dividends and Other Distributions

How will you receive dividends and other distributions on the Class A ordinary shares?

The depositary has agreed to pay or distribute to ADS holders the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities, upon payment or deduction of its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class A ordinary shares your ADSs represent.

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Cash.   The depositary will convert any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the Class A ordinary shares into U.S. dollars, if it can do so on a reasonable basis and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States. If that is not possible or if any government approval is needed and cannot be obtained, the deposit agreement allows the depositary to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest.

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Before making a distribution, any withholding taxes, or other governmental charges that must be paid will be deducted. The depositary 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 of the value of the distribution.

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Class A Ordinary Shares.   The depositary may distribute additional ADSs representing any Class A ordinary shares we distribute as a dividend or free distribution. The depositary will only distribute

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whole ADSs. It will sell Class A ordinary shares which would require it to deliver a fraction of an ADS (or ADSs representing those Class A ordinary shares) and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. If the depositary does not distribute additional ADSs, the outstanding ADSs will also represent the new Class A ordinary shares. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed Class A ordinary shares (or ADSs representing those Class A ordinary shares) sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.

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Rights to purchase additional shares.   If we offer holders of our securities any rights to subscribe for additional shares or any other rights, the depositary may (i) exercise those rights on behalf of ADS holders, (ii) distribute those rights to ADS holders or (iii) sell those rights and distribute the net proceeds to ADS holders, in each case after deduction or upon payment of its fees and expenses. To the extent the depositary does not do any of those things, it will allow the rights to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for them. The depositary will exercise or distribute rights only if we ask it to and provide satisfactory assurances to the depositary that it is legal to do so. If the depositary will exercise rights, it will purchase the securities to which the rights relate and distribute those securities or, in the case of Class A ordinary shares, new ADSs representing the new Class A ordinary shares, to subscribing ADS holders, but only if ADS holders have paid the exercise price to the depositary. U.S. securities laws may restrict the ability of the depositary to distribute rights or ADSs or other securities issued on exercise of rights to all or certain ADS holders, and the securities distributed may be subject to restrictions on transfer.

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Other Distributions.   The depositary will send to ADS holders anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it thinks is legal, fair and practical. If it cannot make the distribution in that way, the depositary has a choice. It may decide to sell what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds, in the same way as it does with cash. Or, it may decide to hold what we distributed, in which case ADSs will also represent the newly distributed property. However, the depositary is not required to distribute any securities (other than ADSs) to ADS holders unless it receives satisfactory evidence from us that it is legal to make that distribution. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed securities or property sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution. U.S. securities laws may restrict the ability of the depositary to distribute securities to all or certain ADS holders, and the securities distributed may be subject to restrictions on transfer.

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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 Class A ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you.

Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation

How are ADSs issued?

The depositary will deliver ADSs if you or your broker deposits Class A ordinary shares or evidence of rights to receive Class A 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 that made the deposit.

How can ADS holders withdraw the deposited securities?

You may surrender your ADSs to the depositary for the purpose of withdrawal. 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 Class A ordinary shares and any other deposited securities represented by the ADSs to the ADS holder or a person the ADS holder designates at the office of the custodian. Or, at your request, risk and expense, the depositary will deliver the deposited securities at its office, if feasible. However, the depositary is not required to accept surrender of ADSs to the extent it would require delivery of a

 

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fraction of a deposited share or other security. The depositary may charge you a fee and its expenses for instructing the custodian regarding delivery of deposited securities.

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 to the ADS holder a statement confirming that the ADS holder is the registered holder of uncertificated ADSs. Upon receipt by the depositary of a proper instruction from a registered holder of uncertificated ADSs requesting the exchange of uncertificated ADSs for certificated ADSs, the depositary will execute and deliver to the ADS holder an ADR evidencing those ADSs.

Voting Rights

How do you vote?

ADS holders may instruct the depositary how to vote the number of deposited Class A ordinary shares their ADSs represent. If we request the depositary to solicit your voting instructions (and we are not required to do so), the depositary will notify you of a shareholders’ meeting and send or make voting materials available to you. Those materials will describe the matters to be voted on and explain how ADS holders may instruct the depositary how to vote. For instructions to be valid, they must reach the depositary by a date set by the depositary. The depositary will try, as far as practical, subject to the laws of the Cayman Islands and the provisions of our articles of association or similar documents, to vote or to have its agents vote the Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities as instructed by ADS holders. If we do not request the depositary to solicit your voting instructions, you can still send voting instructions, and, in that case, the depositary may try to vote as you instruct, but it is not required to do so.

Except by instructing the depositary as described above, you will not be able to exercise voting rights unless you surrender your ADSs and withdraw the Class A ordinary shares. However, you may not know about the meeting enough in advance to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares. In any event, the depositary will not exercise any discretion in voting deposited securities and it will only vote or attempt to vote as instructed.

In any event, the depositary will not exercise any discretion in voting deposited securities and it will only vote or attempt to vote as instructed or as described in the following sentence. If we asked the depositary to solicit your instructions at least 45 days before the meeting date, but the depositary does not receive voting instructions from you by the specified date and we confirm to the depositary that:

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we wish to receive a proxy to vote uninstructed shares;

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we reasonably do not know of any substantial shareholder opposition to the proxy item(s); and

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the proxy item(s) is not materially adverse to the interests of shareholders,

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then the depositary will consider you to have authorized and directed it to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to vote the number of deposited securities represented by your ADSs as to the proxy item(s).

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 represented by your ADSs. In addition, 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 voting rights and there may be nothing you can do if the shares represented by 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 the deposited Class A ordinary shares, if we request the depositary to act, we agree to give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted upon at least 45 days in advance of the meeting date.

 

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Fees and Expenses

The depositary collects its fees for delivery and surrender of ADSs directly from investors depositing Class A ordinary shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable (or by selling a portion of securities or other property distributable) to ADS holders that are obligated to pay those fees. The depositary may generally refuse to provide fee-attracting services until its fees for those services are paid.

From time to time, the depositary may make payments to us to reimburse us for costs and expenses generally arising out of establishment and maintenance of the ADS program, waive fees and expenses for services provided to us by the depositary or share revenue from the fees collected from ADS holders. In performing its duties under the deposit agreement, the depositary may use brokers, dealers, foreign currency dealers or other service providers that are owned by or affiliated with the depositary and that may earn or share fees, spreads or commissions.

The depositary may convert currency itself or through any of its affiliates and, in those cases, acts as principal for its own account and not as agent, advisor, broker or fiduciary on behalf of any other person and earns revenue, including, without limitation, transaction spreads, that it will retain for its own account. The revenue is based on, among other things, the difference between the exchange rate assigned to the currency conversion made under the deposit agreement and the rate that the depositary or its affiliate receives

 

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when buying or selling foreign currency for its own account. The depositary makes no representation that the exchange rate used or obtained in any currency conversion under the deposit agreement will be the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to ADS holders, subject to the depositary’s obligations under the deposit agreement. The methodology used to determine exchange rates used in currency conversions is available upon request.

Payment of Taxes

You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable on your ADSs or on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs. The depositary may refuse to register any transfer of your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities represented by your ADSs until those 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 ADS holders any proceeds, or send to ADS holders any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes.

Tender and Exchange Offers; Redemption, Replacement or Cancellation of Deposited Securities

The depositary will not tender deposited securities in any voluntary tender or exchange offer unless instructed to do so by an ADS holder surrendering ADSs and subject to any conditions or procedures the depositary may establish.

If deposited securities are redeemed for cash in a transaction that is mandatory for the depositary as a holder of deposited securities, the depositary will call for surrender of a corresponding number of ADSs and distribute the net redemption money to the holders of called ADSs upon surrender of those ADSs.

If there is any change in the deposited securities such as a sub-division, combination or other reclassification, or any merger, consolidation, recapitalization or reorganization affecting the issuer of deposited securities in which the depositary receives new securities in exchange for or in lieu of the old deposited securities, the depositary will hold those replacement securities as deposited securities under the deposit agreement. However, if the depositary decides it would not be lawful and practical to hold the replacement securities because those securities could not be distributed to ADS holders or for any other reason, the depositary may instead sell the replacement securities and distribute the net proceeds upon surrender of the ADSs.

If there is a replacement of the deposited securities and the depositary will continue to hold the replacement securities, the depositary may distribute new ADSs representing the new deposited securities or ask you to surrender your outstanding ADSs in exchange for new ADSs identifying the new deposited securities.

If there are no deposited securities represented by ADSs, including if the deposited securities are cancelled, or if the deposited securities represented by ADSs have become apparently worthless, the depositary may call for surrender of those ADSs or cancel those ADSs upon notice to the ADS holders.

Amendment and Termination

How may the deposit agreement be amended?

We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the ADRs 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, or prejudices a substantial 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.

How may the deposit agreement be terminated?

The depositary will initiate termination of the deposit agreement if we instruct it to do so. The depositary may initiate termination of the deposit agreement if

 

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60 days have passed since the depositary told us it wants to resign but a successor depositary has not been appointed and accepted its appointment;

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we delist our shares from an exchange on which they were listed and do not list the shares on another exchange;

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we appear to be insolvent or enter insolvency proceedings;

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all or substantially all the value of the deposited securities has been distributed either in cash or in the form of securities;

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there are no deposited securities represented by the ADSs or the underlying deposited securities have become apparently worthless; or

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there has been a replacement of deposited securities.

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If the deposit agreement terminates, the depositary will notify ADS holders at least 90 days before the termination date. At any time after the termination date, the depositary may sell the deposited securities. 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, unsegregated and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. Normally, the depositary will sell as soon as practicable after the termination date.

After the termination date and before the depositary sells, ADS holders can still surrender their ADSs and receive delivery of deposited securities, except that the depositary may refuse to accept a surrender for the purpose of withdrawing deposited securities or reverse previously accepted surrenders of that kind that have not settled if it would interfere with the selling process. The depositary may refuse to accept a surrender for the purpose of withdrawing sale proceeds until all the deposited securities have been sold. The depositary will continue to collect distributions on deposited securities, but, after the termination date, the depositary is not required to register any transfer of ADSs or distribute any dividends or other distributions on deposited securities to the ADSs holder (until they surrender their ADSs) or give any notices or perform any other duties under the deposit agreement except as described in this paragraph.

Limitations on Obligations and Liability

Limits on our Obligations and the Obligations of the Depositary; Limits on Liability to Holders of ADSs

The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of the depositary. It also limits our liability and the liability of the depositary. We and the depositary:

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are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the deposit agreement without negligence or bad faith, and the depositary will not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to holders of ADSs;

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are not liable if we are or it is prevented or delayed by law or by events or circumstances beyond our or its control from performing our or its obligations under the deposit agreement;

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are not liable if we or it exercises discretion permitted under the deposit agreement;

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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, or for any special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement;

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have no obligation to become involved in a lawsuit or other proceeding related to the ADSs or the deposit agreement on your behalf or on behalf of any other person;

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may rely upon any documents we believe or it believes in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person;

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are not liable for the acts or omissions of any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system; and

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the depositary has no duty to make any determination or provide any information as to our tax status, or any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by ADS holders as a result of owning or holding ADSs or be liable for the inability or failure of an ADS holder to obtain the benefit of a foreign tax credit, reduced rate of withholding or refund of amounts withheld in respect of tax or any other tax benefit.

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In the deposit agreement, we and the depositary agree to indemnify each other under certain circumstances.

Requirements for Depositary Actions

Before the depositary will deliver or register a transfer of ADSs, make a distribution on ADSs, or permit withdrawal of Class A ordinary shares, the depositary may require:

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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 Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities;

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satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature or other information it deems necessary; and

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compliance with regulations it may establish, from time to time, consistent with the deposit agreement, including presentation of transfer documents.

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The depositary may refuse to deliver ADSs or register transfers of ADSs when the transfer books of the depositary or our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary or we think it advisable to do so.

Your Right to Receive the Class A Ordinary Shares Represented by your ADSs

ADS holders have the right to cancel their ADSs and withdraw the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs at any time except:

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when temporary delays arise because: (i) the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books; (ii) the transfer of Class A ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting; or (iii) we are paying a dividend on our Class A ordinary shares;

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when you owe money to pay fees, taxes and similar charges; or

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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 Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities.

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This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.

Direct Registration System

In the deposit agreement, all parties to the deposit agreement acknowledge that the Direct Registration System, also referred to as DRS, and Profile Modification System, also referred to as Profile, will apply to the ADSs. DRS is a system administered by DTC that facilitates interchange between registered holding of uncertificated ADSs and holding of security entitlements in ADSs through DTC and a DTC participant. Profile is a feature of DRS that allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of a registered holder of uncertificated ADSs, 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 that transfer.

In connection with and in accordance with the arrangements and procedures relating to DRS/Profile, the parties to the deposit agreement understand that the depositary will not determine whether the DTC participant that is claiming to be acting on behalf of an ADS holder in requesting registration of transfer and delivery as described in the paragraph above has the actual authority to act on behalf of the ADS holder (notwithstanding any requirements under the Uniform Commercial Code). In the deposit agreement, the

 

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parties agree that the depositary’s reliance on and compliance with instructions received by the depositary through the DRS/Profile system and in accordance with the deposit agreement will not constitute negligence or bad faith on the part of the depositary.

Shareholder Communications; Inspection of Register of Holders of ADSs

The depositary will make available for your inspection at its office all communications that it receives from us as a holder of deposited securities that we make generally available to holders of deposited securities. The depositary will send you copies of those communications or otherwise make those communications available to you if we ask it to. You have a right to inspect the register of holders of ADSs, but not for the purpose of contacting those holders about a matter unrelated to our business or the ADSs.

Jury Trial Waiver

The deposit agreement provides that, to the extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable case law. However, you will not, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, be deemed to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

The following summary of certain terms and provisions of the Warrants that are being offered hereby is not complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Warrants, the form of which will be provided to each investor in this offering and will be filed as an exhibit to a current report on Form 6-K with the SEC in connection with this offering.

Regular Warrants

Duration and Exercise Price.   The Regular Warrants will be immediately exercisable upon issuance and remain exercisable within five years for ADSs at an exercise price of US$0.77 per ADS, which is subject to downward adjustment following the end of the 45-day Measurement Period pursuant to the terms thereof. Upon the adjustment, the exercise price will be equal to the lesser of (i) the exercise price applicable immediately prior to the Measurement Date and (ii) the greater of (a) 110% of the five lowest VWAPs during the Measurement Period and (b) $0.20.

Exercisability.   Exercise of the purchase rights represented by the Regular Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, by delivery of a duly executed notice of exercise by e-mail to us. Within a short time period following the date of exercise, a holder will deliver to us the aggregate exercise price for the ADSs thereby purchased and specified in the applicable notice of exercise, except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below. A holder (together with its affiliates) may not exercise any portion of the Regular Warrant to the extent that the holder would beneficially own more than 9.99% of the outstanding ordinary shares immediately after such exercise. No fractional ADSs will be issued in connection with the exercise of any Regular Warrant. In lieu of fractional ADSs, we will either pay the holder an amount in cash equal to the fractional amount multiplied by the exercise price or round up to the next whole ADS.

Cashless Exercise.   If, at the time a holder exercises its Regular Warrants, there is no effective registration statement available for the issuance of the ADSs underlying the Regular Warrants, then the holder may elect instead to receive upon such exercise (either in whole or in part) a number of ADSs as determined according to a formula set forth in the Regular Warrants.

Transferability.   The Regular Warrants and all rights thereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of the Regular Warrant to us together with the appropriate instruments of assignment and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer.

Right as a Shareholder.   Except as otherwise provided in the Regular Warrants, the holders of the Regular Warrants do not have any voting rights, dividends or other rights as a shareholder or us prior to the exercise of such Regular Warrants.

Anti-dilution.   Within the period from the original issuance date of the Regular Warrants until the date that is the 12-month anniversary of such original issuance date, the exercise price of the Regular Warrants is subject to adjustments if we sell or issue ADSs, ordinary shares or their equivalents at an effective price per share less than the exercise price of the Regular Warrants then in effect. If we enter into a variable rate transaction as defined in the securities purchase agreement, we will be deemed to have issued securities at the lowest possible price, conversion price or exercise price at which such securities may be issued, converted or exercised.

Fundamental Transaction.   In the event of a fundamental transaction, as described in the Regular Warrants and generally including our consolidation or merger with or into another person, sale and disposition of all or substantially all of our assets, the acquisition of more than 50% of our outstanding ordinary shares, any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of our ADSs, or any person or group becoming the beneficial owner of 50% or more of our voting power, the holders of the Regular Warrants will be entitled to receive upon exercise of the Regular Warrants the number of shares of the successor or acquiring corporation or of us (if we are the surviving corporation) and any additional consideration receivable as a result of such fundamental transaction by a holder of the number of ADSs for which this Regular Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such fundamental transaction. In addition, upon a fundamental transaction, the holder will have the right to require us or any successor entity to repurchase its Regular Warrants by paying an amount of cash equal to their fair value using the Black Scholes option pricing formula; provided, however, that we or any successor entity will pay such holder using the same type

 

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or form of consideration (and in the same proportion) that is being offered and paid to the holders of our common shares in connection with the fundamental transaction, whether that consideration be in the form of cash, stock or any combination thereof, or whether the holders of our common shares are given the choice to receive from among alternative forms of consideration in connection with the fundamental transaction.

Reset Warrants

Duration and Exercise Price.   The Reset Warrants will be immediately exercisable upon issuance and remain exercisable within six months for ADSs at an exercise price of US$0.77 per ADS.

Exercisability.   Exercise of the purchase rights represented by the Reset Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, by delivery of a duly executed notice of exercise by e-mail to us. Within a short time period following the date of exercise, a holder will deliver to us the aggregate exercise price for the ADSs thereby purchased and specified in the applicable notice of exercise, except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below. A holder (together with its affiliates) may not exercise any portion of the Reset Warrant to the extent that the holder would beneficially own more than 9.99% of the outstanding ordinary shares immediately after such exercise. No fractional ADSs will be issued in connection with the exercise of any Reset Warrant. In lieu of fractional ADSs, we will either pay the holder an amount in cash equal to the fractional amount multiplied by the exercise price or round up to the next whole ADS.

Cashless Exercise.   If, at the time a holder exercises its Reset Warrants, there is no effective registration statement available for the issuance of the ADSs underlying the Reset Warrants, then the holder may elect instead to receive upon such exercise (either in whole or in part) a number of ADSs as determined according to a formula set forth in the Reset Warrants. Each Reset Warrant also permits alternative cashless exercise on the end of the 45-day Measurement Period into a number of ADSs equal to the difference between (i) the quotient obtained by dividing (a) the holder’s subscription amount by (b) the greater of (A) the average of the five lowest VWAPs of the ADSs during the Measurement Period and (B) $0.20, and (ii) the number of ADSs issued to such holder at the closing and if applicable, on the 15th and 30th trading days during the Measurement Period.

Transferability.   The Reset Warrants and all rights thereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of the Reset Warrant to us together with the appropriate instruments of assignment and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer.

Right as a Shareholder.   Except as otherwise provided in the Reset Warrants, the holders of the Reset Warrants do not have any voting rights, dividends or other rights as a shareholder or us prior to the exercise of such Reset Warrants.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Placement Agency Agreement and Securities Purchase Agreement

Maxim Group LLC, which we refer to as the placement agent, has agreed to act as the exclusive placement agent in connection with this offering subject to the terms and conditions of a placement agency agreement dated as of July 17, 2023. The placement agent is not purchasing or selling any securities offered by this prospectus supplement, nor is it required to arrange the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of securities, but it has agreed to use its reasonable efforts to arrange for the sale of all of the securities offered hereby.

We have entered into a securities purchase agreement dated July 17, 2023 with certain investors relating to the sale and issuance of (i) an aggregate of 11,428,565 ADSs at a price of US$0.70 per ADS, (ii) the Regular Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 11,428,565 ADSs, and (iii) the Reset Warrants that permit cashless exercise of up to an aggregate of 28,571,413 ADSs. We negotiated the price for the ADSs, the Regular Warrants, and the Reset Warrants offered in this offering with the investors. The factors considered in determining the price of the ADSs, the Regular Warrants and Reset Warrants included the recent market price of our ADSs, the general condition of the securities market at the time of this offering, the history of, and the prospects, for the industry in which we compete, our past and present operations, and our prospects for future revenues.

The placement agent may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act, and any fees or commissions received by it and any profit realized on the resale of securities sold by it while acting as principal might be deemed to be underwriting discounts or commissions under the Securities Act. As an underwriter, the placement agent is required to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including, without limitation, Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act and Rule 10b-5 and Regulation M under the Exchange Act. These rules and regulations may limit the timing of purchases and sales of ordinary shares and Warrants by the placement agent. Under these rules and regulations, the placement agent:

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may not engage in any stabilization activity in connection with our securities; and

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•

may not bid for or purchase any of our securities or attempt to induce any person to purchase any of our securities, other than as permitted under the Exchange Act, until it has completed its participation in the distribution.

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From time to time in the ordinary course of their respective businesses, the placement agent or its affiliates may in the future engage in investment banking and/or other services with us and our affiliates for which it has or may in the future receive customary fees and expenses.

We currently anticipate that the closing of this offering will take place on or about July 18, 2023. The total proceeds to us, before fees and expenses, will be approximately US$8.0 million. On the closing date, we will issue the ADSs to each investor and we will receive funds from these investors in the amount of the aggregate purchase price of the ADSs being sold hereby.

From the date of the securities purchase agreement until the date that is the 24-month anniversary of the date thereof, with certain exceptions, upon any issuance by us of ADSs, ordinary shares or ordinary share equivalents for cash consideration, indebtedness or a combination of units thereof, each purchaser will have the right to participate in such subsequent financing up to an amount equal to 50% of such subsequent financing on the same terms, conditions and price.

Pursuant to the securities purchase agreement, we may not issue, enter into any agreement to issue or announce the issuance or proposed issuance of any ADSs, ordinary shares or ordinary share equivalents or file any registration statement or any amendment or supplement within a period of 120 days after the date of the securities purchase agreement.

In addition, we are prohibited for a period of six months following the closing of this offering with certain exceptions, from effecting or entering into an agreement to effect a variable rate transaction, which refers to a transaction in which we:

 

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issue or sell any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive, additional ADSs or ordinary shares either (i) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other price that is based upon, and/or varies with, the trading prices of or quotations for the ADSs at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity securities or (ii) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security (including, but not limited to, in connection with anti-dilution protections or similar provisions) or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the ADSs; or

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enter into, or effect a transaction under, any agreement, including, but not limited to, an equity line of credit or an “at-the-market offering”, whereby the Company may issue securities at a future determined price whereby the Company may issue securities at a future determined price regardless of whether shares pursuant to such agreement have actually been issued and regardless of whether such agreement is subsequently canceled.

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We agreed to indemnify the investors against certain losses resulting from our breach of any of our representations, warranties, or covenants under agreements with the investors as well as certain other circumstances described in the securities purchase agreement.

Placement Agents Fees

We have agreed to pay the placement agent upon the closing of this offering (1) a total cash fee of US$640,000 equal to 8% of the aggregate purchase price of the securities offered under this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus; and (2) up to $50,000 to reimburse the placement agent for its out-of-pocket expenses (including counsel fee).

We have agreed to indemnify the placement agent and certain other persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. We also have agreed to contribute to payments the placement agent may be required to make in respect of such liabilities.

The following table shows per share and total cash placement agent’s fees we will pay to the placement agent in connection with the sale of the ADSs and Warrants pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus assuming the purchase of all of the ADSs and Warrants offered hereby:

Lock-up of Directors and Officers

Our directors and officers have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, for a period of 120 days following their entry into such agreement, not to offer, sell, agree to offer or sell, solicit offers to purchase, convert, exercise, exchange, grant any call option or purchase any put option with respect to, pledge, encumber, assign, borrow or otherwise dispose of or transfer any ADS, warrant to purchase ADS or any other security of the Company or any other entity that is convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, ADS or any other equity security of the Company, or otherwise publicly disclose the intention to do so.

 

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TAXATION

The following summary of the material Cayman Islands, People’s Republic of China and U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus supplement, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, such as the tax consequences under U.S. state 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 our ordinary shares or ADSs 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 our ordinary shares or ADSs, nor will gains derived from the disposal of our ordinary shares or ADSs be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.

People’s Republic of China Taxation

Although we are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we may be treated as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes under the Enterprise Income Tax Law. The Enterprise Income Tax Law provides that an enterprise established under the laws of a foreign country or region but whose “de facto management body” is located in the PRC is treated as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. The implementing rules of the Enterprise Income Tax Law merely 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.” Based on a review of the facts and circumstances, we do not believe that Fangdd Cayman or Fangdd Network Holding Ltd. should be considered a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, there is limited guidance and implementation history of the Enterprise Income Tax Law. If Fangdd Cayman were to be considered a PRC resident enterprise, any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares by investors that are non-PRC enterprises and any interest or dividends payable by us to such investors is subject to PRC income tax at a rate of 10%. In case of investors that are non-PRC individuals, the applicable PRC income tax rate is 20%. See “Item 3. Key Information — D. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — If we are classified as a “resident enterprise” of China under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we and our non-PRC shareholders could be subject to unfavorable tax consequences, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

U.S. Federal Income Taxation

The following discussion is a summary of U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares by a U.S. Holder (as defined below) that holds the ADSs or ordinary shares as “capital assets” ​(generally, property held for investment) under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code. This discussion is based upon existing U.S. federal tax law, which is subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect. No ruling has been sought from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, with respect to any U.S. 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, moreover, does not address the U.S. federal estate, gift, Medicare, and alternative minimum tax considerations, special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code, or any state, local or non-U.S. tax considerations relating to the ownership or disposition of the ADSs or ordinary

 

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shares. The following summary also does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances or to persons in special tax situations such as:

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banks and other financial institutions;

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insurance companies;

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•

pension plans;

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cooperatives;

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regulated investment companies;

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real estate investment trusts;

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broker-dealers;

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•

dealers or traders that elect to use a mark-to-market method of tax accounting;

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•

certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents;

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•

tax-exempt entities (including private foundations);

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governmental organizations;

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investors who acquire their ADSs or ordinary shares pursuant to any employee share option or otherwise as compensation;

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investors that will hold their ADSs or ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, constructive sale or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

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investors that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar;

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investors that actually or constructively own 10% or more of our stock (by vote or value); or

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partnerships or other entities taxable as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or persons holding ADSs or ordinary shares through such entities,

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all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ significantly from those discussed below.

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EACH U.S. HOLDER IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF U.S. FEDERAL TAXATION TO ITS PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES, AND THE STATE, LOCAL, NON-U.S. AND OTHER TAX CONSIDERATIONS OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF THE ADSS OR ORDINARY SHARES.

General

For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of the ADSs or ordinary shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

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an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

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a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created in, or organized under the law of, the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

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an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or

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a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more U.S. persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has otherwise validly elected to be treated as a U.S. person under the Code.

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If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of the 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.

 

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Partnerships holding the ADSs or ordinary shares and their partners are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding an investment in the ADSs or ordinary shares.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, it is generally expected that a U.S. Holder of ADSs will be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying shares represented by the ADSs. The remainder of this discussion assumes that a U.S. Holder of the ADSs will be treated in this manner. Accordingly, deposits or withdrawals of ordinary shares for ADSs will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax.

Dividends

Subject to the discussion under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” below, distributions paid on the ADSs or ordinary shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. Holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder, in the case of ordinary shares, or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of U.S. federal income tax principles, any distribution we pay will generally be treated as a “dividend” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Dividends received on the ADSs or ordinary shares will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to corporations in respect of dividends received from U.S. corporations. The amount of any dividend income paid in foreign currency will be the U.S. dollar amount calculated by reference to the spot rate in effect on the date of receipt, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars on such date. If the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars on the date of receipt, a U.S. Holder generally should not be required to recognize foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the amount received. A U.S. Holder may have foreign currency gain or loss if the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars after the date of receipt. Subject to applicable limitations, dividends paid to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders may be taxable at reduced rates. Non-corporate U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding the availability of these reduced tax rates in their particular circumstances.

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 PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, a U.S. Holder may be subject to PRC withholding taxes on dividends paid on the ADSs or ordinary shares. See “Item 10. Additional Information — Taxation — People’s Republic of China Taxation” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the amount of the dividend income will include amounts withheld in respect of PRC withholding tax, if any. Depending on the U.S. Holder’s individual facts and circumstances, a U.S. Holder may be eligible, subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit not in excess of any applicable treaty rate in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on the 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 U.S. federal income tax purposes in respect of such withholding, but only for a year in which such holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex and their outcome depends in large part on the U.S. Holder’s individual facts and circumstances. Accordingly, U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

Sale or Other Disposition

Subject to the discussion under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” below, a U.S. Holder will generally recognize gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ADSs or ordinary shares. The gain or loss will generally be capital gain or loss. Any capital gain or loss will be long term if the ADSs or ordinary shares have been held for more than one year. The deductibility of a capital loss is subject to limitations.

Any such gain or loss that the U.S. Holder recognizes will generally be treated as U.S. source income or loss for foreign tax credit limitation purposes, which will generally limit the availability of foreign tax credits. However, in the event we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty. In such event, if

 

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PRC tax were to be imposed on any gain from the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares, a U.S. Holder that is eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty may elect to treat such gain as PRC source income. If a U.S. Holder is not eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty or fails to make the election to treat any gain as foreign source, then such U.S. Holder may not be able to use the foreign tax credit arising from any PRC tax imposed on the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares unless such credit can be applied (subject to applicable limitations) against U.S. federal income tax due on other income derived from foreign sources in the same income category (generally, the passive category). Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences if a foreign tax is imposed on a disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit under its particular circumstances.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

A non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be classified as a PFIC if, in the case of 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 value of its assets (determined on the basis of a weighted quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income (including cash). Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and gains from the disposition of passive assets. For purposes of these rules, 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.

Based upon the nature of our business, the composition of our income and assets and the value of our assets, including goodwill (which is based on the market price of the ADSs), we believe we were not a PFIC for 2022. However, our PFIC status for any taxable year is a factual determination that can be made only after the end of such year, and will depend on the composition of our income and assets and the value of our assets for such year. Moreover, because we hold, and may continue to hold, a significant amount of cash, our PFIC status for any taxable year may depend on the value of our goodwill which may be determined, in part, by reference to the market price of the ADSs, which may change from time to time. In addition, it is not entirely clear how the contractual arrangements between us and the VIE will be treated for purposes of the PFIC rules. If it were determined that we are not the owner of the stock of the VIE for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we could be treated as a PFIC. In light of the foregoing, there can be no assurance that we were not, or will not be, a PFIC for any taxable year, and our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for any prior, current or future taxable year.

If we were a PFIC for 2022 or for any other taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds the 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, on (i) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125 percent of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares), and (ii) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares. Under the PFIC rules:

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the excess distribution or gain will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares;

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the amount allocated to the current taxable year and any taxable years in the U.S. Holder’s holding period prior to the first taxable year in which we are classified as a PFIC (each, a “pre-PFIC year”), will be taxable as ordinary income;

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the amount allocated to each prior taxable year, other than a pre-PFIC year, will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for individuals or corporations, as appropriate, for that year; and

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the 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.

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If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or ordinary shares and any of our subsidiaries, the VIE, or any of the subsidiaries of the VIE is also a PFIC, such U.S. Holder

 

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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 urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries, the VIE or any of the subsidiaries of the VIE.

As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder of “marketable stock” ​(as defined below) in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such stock. If a U.S. Holder makes this election with respect to the ADSs, the holder will generally (i) include as ordinary income for each taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of ADSs held at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of such ADSs and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss in each such taxable year the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over the fair market value of such ADSs held at the end of the taxable year, but such deduction will only be allowed to the extent of the amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ADSs would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of the ADSs and we cease to be classified as a PFIC, the holder will not be required to take into account the gain or loss described above during any period that we are not classified as a PFIC. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election, any gain such U.S. Holder recognizes upon the sale or other disposition of the ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but such loss will only be treated as ordinary loss to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election.

The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” which is stock that is regularly traded on a qualified exchange or other market as defined in applicable United States Treasury regulations. The ADSs will be treated as “regularly traded” for any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of the ADSs are traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter. The Nasdaq Global Market, where the ADSs are listed, is a qualified exchange for this purpose.

Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for any lower-tier PFICs that we may own, a U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder’s indirect interest in any investments held by us that are treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We do not intend to provide information necessary for U.S. Holders to make qualified electing fund elections which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from (and generally less adverse than) the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.

If a U.S. Holder owns the ADSs or ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, the holder must generally file an annual IRS Form 8621 or such other form as is required by the United States Treasury Department. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult its tax advisor regarding the potential tax consequences to such holder if we were, are or become a PFIC, including the possibility of making a mark- to-market election.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Payments of dividends and sales proceeds that are made within the United States or through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding, unless (i) the U.S. Holder is a corporation or other “exempt recipient” and (ii) in the case of backup withholding, the U.S. Holder provides a correct taxpayer identification number and certifies that it is not subject to backup withholding. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a U.S. Holder will be allowed as a credit against the U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle it to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

Certain U.S. Holders who are individuals (or certain specified entities) may be required to report information relating to their ownership of ADSs or ordinary shares, unless the ADSs or ordinary shares are held in accounts at financial institutions (in which case the accounts may be reportable if maintained by non-U.S. financial institutions). U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding their reporting obligations with respect to the ADSs or ordinary shares.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

We are being represented by Cooley LLP with respect to certain legal matters of U.S. federal securities and New York State law. The placement agent is being represented by Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC with respect to certain legal matters as to United States federal securities and New York State law. The validity of the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs offered in this offering and certain other legal matters of Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP. Certain legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by SUNDIAL Law Firm. Cooley LLP may rely upon Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law and SUNDIAL Law Firm with respect to matters governed by PRC law.

 

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EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Fangdd Network Group Ltd. as of December 31, 2022, and for the year ended December 31, 2022, have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the report of Audit Alliance LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The office of Audit Alliance LLP is located at 10 Anson Road, #20-16 International Plaza, Singapore 079903.

The consolidated financial statements of Fangdd Network Group Ltd. as of December 31, 2021, and for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2021, have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG Huazhen LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The audit report covering the December 31, 2021 consolidated financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph that states that the company’s recurring losses from operations and a significant decline in revenue raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of that uncertainty.

The office of KPMG Huazhen LLP is located at 15th Floor, China Resources Tower, 2666 Keyuan South Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518052, People’s Republic of China.

 

S-62

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of the registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-267397) that we filed with the SEC, and do not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits to the registration statement. For further information with respect to us and the securities we are offering under this prospectus supplement, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as a part of the registration statement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any related free writing prospectus to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information others may give you. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus or incorporated by reference herein or therein. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus supplement, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement or any sale of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement.

We are subject to the informational and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act that are applicable to a foreign private issuer. Under the Exchange Act, we file annual reports on Form 20-F and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC website is www.sec.gov.

We also furnish to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K material information required to be made public in our home country, filed with and made public by any stock exchange on which we are listed or distributed by us to our shareholders. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.

We also maintain a corporate website at https://ir.fangdd.com/. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and shall not be incorporated by reference into, this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or any documents incorporated by reference herein or therein. We have included our website address in this prospectus supplement solely as an inactive textual reference.

 

S-63

 

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. This means that we can disclose important information by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement, and information that we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus supplement and before the termination or completion of this offering will also be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents and will automatically update and supersede previously filed information, including information contained in this document.

The documents we are incorporating by reference are:

•

our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on April 19, 2023;

​

•

our Current Report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on June 23, 2023; and

​

•

the description of the securities contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A12B initially filed with the SEC on October 23, 2019, pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, together with all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of updating that description.

​

We are also incorporating by reference all subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC and certain reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus supplement (if they state that they are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement) prior to the termination of this offering. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus supplement.

Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus supplement shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus supplement on the written or oral request of that person made to:

Fangdd Network Group Ltd.
Room 4106, Building 12B1
Shenzhen Bay Ecological Technology Park
Nanshan District, Shenzhen, the PRC, 518067
+86 755 2699 8968

You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

 

S-64

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

PROSPECTUS

Fangdd Network Group Ltd.

$300,000,000
Class A Ordinary Shares
Preferred shares
Debt Securities
Warrants
Subscription Rights
Units

We may offer, issue and sell from time to time up to US$300,000,000, or its equivalent in any other currency, currency units, or composite currency or currencies, of our Class A ordinary shares, including in the form of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares, including in the form of ADSs, subscription rights and a combination of such securities, separately or as units, in one or more offerings. Each ADS represents 375 Class A ordinary shares. This prospectus provides a general description of offerings of these securities that we may undertake.

We refer to our ADSs, Class A ordinary shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, subscription rights and units collectively as “securities” in this prospectus.

This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered. Each time we sell our securities pursuant to this prospectus, we will provide the specific terms of such offering in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement may also add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information,” before you make your investment decision.

We may, from time to time, sell the securities, including Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs, directly or through underwriters, agents or dealers, on or off the Nasdaq Global Market, at prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices. If any underwriters, agents or dealers are involved in the sale of any of these securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the names of the underwriters, agents or dealers and any applicable fees, commissions or discounts.

Our ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “DUO.” On September 12, 2022, the closing price of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market was US$1.42 per ADS.

As of August 2, 2022, the aggregate market value of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates, or public float, was approximately US$12.5 million, which was calculated based on 1,378,037,393 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding held by non-affiliates and a per ADS price of US$3.40 as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on such date. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3 during the prior 12-calendar-month period that ends on and includes the date of this prospectus. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3, in no event will we sell securities registered on this registration statement with a value exceeding one-third of our public float in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below US$75 million.

Investing in these securities involves a high degree of risk. Please carefully consider the risks discussed under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus beginning on page 0, in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and in any applicable prospectus supplement.

Fangdd Network Group Ltd., or Fangdd Cayman, is a Cayman Islands holding company with operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries and a variable interest entity, or the VIE, and the VIE’s subsidiaries. Holders of the ADSs are not holding equity interest in the VIE or its subsidiaries, but instead are holding equity interest in Fangdd Cayman. The VIE structure is used to provide investors with exposure to foreign investment in China-based companies where PRC law prohibits direct foreign investment in the operating companies in China. PRC laws and regulations restrict and impose conditions on foreign investment in the business involving value-added telecommunications service (except for e-commerce, domestic conferencing, store-and-forward, and call center services), including internet real estate services. Accordingly, these businesses are operated by the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries in China. Neither Fangdd Cayman nor its subsidiaries own any equity interest or direct foreign investment in the VIE, Shenzhen Fangdd Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Fangdd Network, and the VIE’s subsidiaries. Instead, Fangdd Cayman relies on contractual arrangements among its wholly owned PRC subsidiary, the VIE and the VIE’s nominee shareholders, or Fangdd Network VIE Agreements, which allow Fangdd Cayman to (i) direct the activities of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries; (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries; and (iii) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIE when and to the extent permitted by PRC law. As a result of the Fangdd Network VIE Agreements, Fangdd Cayman is considered the primary beneficiary of the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiary for accounting purposes and is able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE and VIE’s subsidiaries in the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For a detailed description of these contractual arrangements, see “Prospectus Summary — Contractual Arrangements with the VIE and Its Shareholders.” As a result, investors in ADSs are not purchasing equity interest in the VIE or its subsidiaries but instead are purchasing equity interest in Fangdd Cayman, a Cayman Islands holding company, whose consolidated financial results include those of the VIE and its subsidiaries under U.S. GAAP. More specifically, investors in the ADSs or our Class A ordinary shares would not hold any ownership interest, directly or indirectly, in the VIE and its subsidiaries in China and would merely have a contractual relationship with the operating entities in China. As used in this prospectus, “Fangdd Cayman” refers to Fangdd Network Group Ltd., and “we,” “us,” “our company,” or “our” refers to Fangdd Network Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries, and, when describing our consolidated financial information, also includes the VIE and its subsidiaries.

Our corporate structure is subject to risks associated with our contractual arrangements with the VIE. These contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law in the PRC. If the PRC government finds that the Fangdd Network VIE Agreements do not comply with PRC laws and regulations, or if existing regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the operations of the VIE and its subsidiaries. This would result in the VIE and its subsidiaries being deconsolidated. The majority of our assets, including the necessary licenses to conduct business in China, are held by the VIE. A significant part of our revenue is generated by the VIE. An event that results in the deconsolidation of the VIE would have a material adverse effect on our operations and result in the ADSs diminishing substantially in value or even becoming worthless. There are substantial uncertainties about potential future actions by the PRC government that could affect the enforceability of the Fangdd Network VIE Agreements and, consequently, significantly affect the financial performance of the VIE and our company as a whole. For a detailed description of the risks associated with our corporate structure, see risks disclosed under “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.”

We and the VIE face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China, including complex and evolving PRC laws and regulations. For example, we and the VIE face risks associated with regulatory approvals on offshore offerings, the use of variable interest entities, anti-monopoly regulatory actions, and oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, as well as the lack of inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, on our independent registered public accounting firm, which may impact our ability to conduct certain businesses, accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange. These risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and released guidelines to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including those related to data security or anti-monopoly concerns, which may have an impact on our ability to conduct certain business in China, accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange. Since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact of such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange. For a detailed description of risks relating to doing business in China, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China.”

Under our current corporate structure, we may rely on dividend payments from our subsidiaries, to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. As of the date of this prospectus, none of our subsidiaries have ever issued any dividends or made other distributions to us or their respective holding companies nor have we or any of our subsidiaries ever paid dividends or made other distributions to U.S. investors. We currently intend to retain all future earnings to finance business operations. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends to us or on the ability of the VIE to make payments to us may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements. If any of our subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. To the extent cash in the business is in the PRC or a PRC entity, and may need to be used to fund operations outside of the PRC, the funds may not be available due to limitations placed by the government. For more details, see “Our Company — Restrictions and Limitations on Transfer of Cash.” For more details, see “Item 3. Key Information — A. [Reserved] — Transfer of Cash through Our Organization,” “Item 3. Key Information — A. [Reserved] — Impact of Taxation on Dividends or Distributions,” and “Item 3. Key Information —  A. [Reserved] — Restrictions and Limitations on Transfer of Capital” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

Furthermore, our securities will be prohibited from trading if our auditor cannot be fully inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act. On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize the interim final rules previously adopted in March 2021 to implement the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong without the approval of the Chinese authorities. In March 2022, the SEC issued its first “Conclusive list of issuers identified under the HFCA Act” indicating that those companies are now formally subject to the delisting provisions if they remain on the list for three consecutive years. In May 2022, we were conclusively identified by the SEC under the HFCA Act due to the fact that our previous auditor was located in mainland China and could not be inspected by the PCAOB. See https://www.sec.gov/hfcaa. Pursuant to the HFCA Act, our securities will be prohibited from trading on any national securities exchange and in the over-the-counter market in the United States in 2024 if our auditor cannot be fully inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, or in 2023 if the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act passed by the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2021 is passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, which would reduce the time period under the HFCA Act to two consecutive years. On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The Statement of Protocol gives the PCAOB sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates and put in place procedures for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed. In addition, the Statement of Protocol grants the PCAOB direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates. While significant, the Statement of Protocol is only a first step. Uncertainties still exist as to whether and how this new Statement of Protocol will be implemented and whether the PCAOB can make a determination that it is able to inspect and investigate completely in mainland China and Hong Kong. We have engaged our current auditor, a Singapore-based accounting firm that is registered with the PCAOB, as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, and our current auditor can be inspected under the PCAOB requirements. However, if it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely for three consecutive years, investors would be deprived of the benefits of such inspection and our securities will be prohibited from trading pursuant to the HFCA Act. The termination in or any restriction on the trading of our securities will significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer securities to investors or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Our ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCA Act, in 2024 if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or fully investigate auditors located in China, or in 2023 if proposed changes to the law are enacted. The delisting of our ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.” For a detailed description of risks relating to doing business in China, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China.”

This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is              , 2022.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

i

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. We may sell any of our securities to the extent permitted in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, from time to time in one or more offerings on a continuous or delayed basis.

We have not authorized anyone to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You must not rely upon any information or representation not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus (as supplemented or amended). We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, securities only in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered shares to which they relate, nor does this prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.

You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus (as supplemented or amended) is accurate on any date subsequent to the date set forth on the front of the document or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference, even though this prospectus (as supplemented or amended) is delivered, or securities are sold, on a later date.

This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

All references to “we,” “us,” “our,” or similar terms used in this prospectus refer to Fangdd Network Group Ltd., a Cayman Islands holding company, and its subsidiaries, and when describing our consolidated financial information, also includes the VIE and its subsidiaries.

“PRC” or “China” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purpose of this prospectus, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, “RMB” or “Renminbi” refers to the legal currency of China and “US$” or “U.S. dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States.

Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars in this prospectus were made at the exchange rate of RMB6.3726 to US$1.00, the exchange rate in effect as of December 30, 2021 set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. On September 9, 2022, the noon buying rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System was RMB6.9240 to US$1.00.

For investors outside the United States: We have not done anything that would permit the offering or possession or distribution of this 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 must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the securities described herein and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

 

1

 

2

 

​

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

​

7

 

​

8

 

9

 

​

​

​

For the Year Ended December 31,

​

​

​

​

2019

​

​

2020

​

​

2021

​

​

​

​

(in US$ millions)

​

Cash received by Fangdd Network Group Ltd. as equity investment

​

​

​

​

71.1

​

​

​

​

​

80.2

​

​

​

​

​

—

​

​

Cash paid by Fangdd Network Group Ltd. to Fangdd Network Holding Ltd. (Hong Kong) to invest in WFOE, Shenzhen Fangdd Information Technology Co., Ltd(1)

​

​

​

​

10.5

​

​

​

​

​

95.6

​

​

​

​

​

21.5

​

​

Cash paid by Fangdd Network Holding Ltd. (Hong Kong) to contribute to the payment to WFOE as paid-in capital

​

​

​

​

12.0

​

​

​

​

​

113.2

​

​

​

​

​

12.8

​

​

Cash paid by WFOE to VIE, Shenzhen Fangdd Network Technology Co., Ltd., through bank entrusted loan(2)

​

​

​

​

35.9

​

​

​

​

​

118.5

​

​

​

​

​

69.0

​

​

​

10

 

11

 

​	Hypothetical pre-tax earnings(1)	​	​	​	​	100.00	​	​
​	Tax on earnings at statutory rate of 25% at Shenzhen Fangdd level	​	​	​	​	(25.00)	​	​
​	Amount to be distributed as dividend from Shenzhen Fangdd to Hong Kong subsidiary(2)	​	​	​	​	75.00	​	​
​	Withholding tax at tax treaty rate of 5%	​	​	​	​	(3.75)	​	​
​	Amount to be distributed as dividend at Hong Kong subsidiary level and net distribution to Fangdd Network Group Ltd.	​	​	​	​	71.25	​	​

​

12

 

​

13

 

RISK FACTORS

Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference to our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and all other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus before acquiring any of such securities. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIE 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 in the business involving value-added telecommunications service (except for e-commerce, domestic conferencing, store-and-forward, and call center services), including internet real estate services, is subject to significant restrictions under current PRC laws, rules and regulations. Our holding company is a Cayman Islands company, and one of its wholly owned subsidiaries in PRC, Shenzhen Fangdd, which we refer to as our WFOE, is considered a foreign-invested enterprise. Since our business involves provision of the value-added telecommunications service, we conduct our business in China, including our online business for primary and resale properties transaction services, our rental services, and other services, primarily through Fangdd Network, and its subsidiaries. We have gained control over Fangdd Network through a series of contractual arrangements by and between our WFOE, Fangdd Network and its shareholders, and we refer to Fangdd Network as our variable interest entity, or the VIE. The VIE and its subsidiaries have the licenses, approvals or fillings with relevant authorities that are essential for our business operations.

We have entered into, through our WFOE, a series of contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders. These contractual arrangements enable us to (i) direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIE and its subsidiaries; (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits from the VIE and its subsidiaries in consideration for the services provided by the WFOE; and (iii) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIE or to all or part of the assets of the VIE, when and to the extent permitted by PRC law, or request any existing shareholder of the VIE to transfer all or part of the equity interest in the VIE to another PRC person or entity designated by us at any time in our discretion.

These agreements make us their “primary beneficiary” for accounting purposes under U.S. GAAP. For descriptions of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company —  C. Organizational Structure — Contractual Agreements with the VIE and its Shareholders” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We believe that our corporate structure and contractual arrangements comply with the current applicable PRC laws and regulations. Our PRC legal counsel, based on its understanding of the relevant laws and regulations, is of the opinion that each of the contracts among the WFOE, the consolidated VIE and the VIE’s shareholders is valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with its terms. However, our PRC legal counsel has also advised us that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, including the Foreign Investment Law (2019), Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules and the Telecommunications Regulations and the relevant regulatory measures concerning the telecommunications industry. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC legal counsel. There can be no assurance that the PRC government authorities, such as the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, the MIIT, or other authorities that regulate our business and other participants in the telecommunications industry, would agree that our corporate structure or any of the above contractual arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or

 

14

 

policies that may be adopted in the future. PRC laws and regulations governing the validity of these contractual arrangements are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations.

We believe that our corporate structure and contractual arrangements comply with the current applicable PRC laws and regulations. As of the date of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, based on the opinion of our PRC legal counsel, we believe that the WFOE and the VIE are not subject to permission requirements from the CSRC, CAC, nor any other entity to approve these contractual arrangements. However, PRC laws and regulations governing the approval of these contractual arrangements are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may take a view that is contrary to the view of our PRC counsel. There can be no assurance that the PRC government authorities such as the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, the MIIT, or other authorities that regulate our business and other participants in the telecommunications industry, would agree that our corporate structure or any of the above contractual arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or policies that may be adopted in the future. PRC laws and regulations governing the approval of these contractual arrangements are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations. As of the date of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions regarding our corporate structure and contractual arrangements from the CSRC, CAC or any other PRC government authorities. If we inadvertently conclude that approvals are not required, or if these regulations change or are interpreted differently and we are required to obtain approval in the future, our shares may decline in value or become worthless if we are unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of the VIE and its subsidiaries that conduct all or substantially all of our operations. If the PRC government determines that these contractual arrangements do not comply with its restrictions on foreign investment in the internet business, if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, or if the PRC government otherwise finds that we, the VIE, or any of its subsidiaries is in violation of PRC laws or regulations or lack the necessary permits or licenses to operate our business, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including but not limited to the MIIT, which regulates internet information service companies, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

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revoking our business and operating licenses;

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discontinuing or restricting our operations;

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

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

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placing restrictions on our right to collect revenues;

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restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds from our initial public offering to finance the business and operations of the VIE; and

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

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The imposition of any of these penalties could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these penalties results in our inability to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from the VIE, we may not be able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE and its subsidiaries in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, our shares may decline in value or become worthless if we are unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of the VIE and its subsidiaries that conduct all or substantially all of our operations.

We rely on contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders to exercise control over our business, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

Since the applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations restrict foreign ownership in the value-added telecommunications services, we conduct our online real estate service and derive related revenues through

 

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the contractual arrangements with the VIE. We rely on contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders for our business operations, and these contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over the VIE. We rely on the performance by the VIE and its shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to exercise control over the VIE. The shareholders of the VIE may not act in the best interests of us or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate certain portion of our business through the contractual arrangements with the VIE. As we have no direct or indirect ownership interest in the VIE, these contractual arrangements, including the voting proxies granted to us, may not be as effective in providing us with control over these companies as direct or indirect ownership. If we were the controlling shareholder of the VIE with direct or indirect ownership, we would be able to exercise our rights as shareholders to effect changes in the board of directors, which in turn could effect change, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. Since we control the VIE through contractual arrangements, if the VIE or its shareholders fail to perform their obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may be forced to (i) incur substantial costs and resources to enforce such arrangements, including the voting proxies, and (ii) rely on legal remedies available under PRC law, including exercising our call option right over the equity interests in the VIE or the assets of the VIE, seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming monetary damages. See “— Any failure by the VIE or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant time delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

The equity and asset transfer and foreclosure of pledge in accordance with our contractual arrangements shall be subject to procedures required by relevant PRC authorities. In addition, the equity and asset transfer price may be subject to review and tax adjustment by the relevant tax authority.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

The PRC government’s significant oversight over our business operation could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs.

We conduct our business in China primarily through our PRC subsidiaries and the VIE. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. The PRC government’s significant oversight over our business operation could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs. The Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our ADSs. Any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.

There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the laws and regulations governing our and the VIE’s business, or the enforcement and performance of our contractual arrangements with the VIE. These laws and regulations may be subject to change, the enforcement of laws and regulations in China could be uncertain and the rules and policies in China may change quickly with little advance notice, which could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ADSs. New laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. Due to the uncertainty and complexity of the regulatory environment, we cannot assure you that we and the VIE would always be in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the violation of which may have an adverse effect on our and the VIE’s business and our reputation. Also, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers. Any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. In addition, implementation of industry-wide regulations directly targeting our operations could cause our securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. Therefore, investors of our company face potential uncertainty from actions taken by the PRC government affecting our business.

 

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The approval and/or other requirements of the CSRC, CAC or other PRC governmental authorities may be required in connection with our offshore offerings under PRC law and if required, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approval.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, among other things, requires offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for the purpose of an overseas listing and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the CSRC approval prior to listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The interpretation and application of the regulations remain unclear.

Our PRC legal counsel has advised us that, based on their understanding of the current PRC laws, the CSRC approval is not required under the M&A Rules in the context of this offering because the ownership structures of our PRC subsidiaries and VIE were not established through acquisition of equity interests or assets of any PRC domestic company by foreign entities as defined under the M&A Rules. However, we have been advised by our PRC legal counsel that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of the PRC law, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is not contrary to the above opinion of our PRC legal counsel. If it is determined that the CSRC approval is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek the CSRC approval for this offering.

Furthermore, relevant PRC governmental authorities promulgated the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities, which provided that the administration and supervision of overseas-listed China-based companies will be strengthened, and the special provisions of the State Council on overseas issuance and listing of shares by such companies will be revised, clarifying the responsibilities of domestic industry competent authorities and regulatory authorities. However, the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities were only issued recently, leaving uncertainties regarding the interpretation and implementation of these opinions. It is possible that any new rules or regulations may impose additional requirements on us.

The draft Regulations for the Administration of Cyber Data Security, or the Draft Data Security Regulations, published by the CAC on November 14, 2021 for public comments until December 13, 2021 require that a data processor who processes personal information of more than 1 million individuals shall (i) go through the cybersecurity review if it intends to be listed in a foreign country; (ii) report to the local CAC within 15 working days once identifying any important data. Where data processors conduct merger, reorganization separation, or otherwise, the data recipient shall continue to perform its data security protection obligations, and the data processor shall report to the local competent department if personal information of more than one million people is involved. The Draft Data Security Regulations also require a data processor processing important data or being listed outside China shall carry out data security assessment annually by itself or through a third-party data security service provider and submit assessment report to local agency of the CAC. As no detailed rules or implementation of the Draft Data Security Regulations have been issued, the CAC and the PRC governmental authorities may have wide discretion in the interpretation and enforcement of these regulations. It also remains uncertain whether the future regulatory changes would impose additional restrictions on companies like us. If the enacted version of the Draft Data Security Regulations requires any clearance of cybersecurity review and other specific actions to be completed by companies like us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all. On December 24, 2021, the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, published the draft of the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies and the draft of the Administrative Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies for public consultation. Pursuant to such draft rules, domestic companies directly or indirectly offer securities or list on overseas markets, including (i) Chinese companies limited by shares and (ii) overseas enterprises with business mainly conducted in China and intends to use its domestic equity, assets or similar interests to offer securities or list on overseas markets, shall submit filing materials to CSRC within three working days after the submission of the application documents for an initial public offering overseas. For issuance of listed securities overseas after listings on the overseas market, filing materials should be submitted to CSRC within three working days after the completion of the issuance. Failure to complete the filing required by the CSRC may expose the domestic company to a warning or a fine of RMB1 million to RMB10 million. For serious cases, the domestic

 

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company may be ordered to suspend the relevant business, cease operation for rectification or revoke relevant business permits or licenses. However, uncertainty remains as to the final form of these regulations and their interpretation and implementation upon promulgation. On December 28, 2021, the CAC and 12 other regulatory authorities jointly issued the Cybersecurity Review Measures. The Cybersecurity Review Measures provides, among others, (i) the purchase of cyber products and services by critical information infrastructure operators that affects or may affect national security and the data processing activities engage in by network platform operators that affect or may affect national security shall be subject to the cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office, the department which is responsible for the implementation of cybersecurity review under the CAC; and (ii) the network platform operators with personal information data of more than one million users that seek for listing in a foreign country are obliged to apply for a cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office. However, the Cybersecurity Review Measures do not provide any explanation or interpretation of “affect or may affect national security”, and Chinese government may have broad discretion in interpreting and enforcing these laws and regulations. We cannot predict the impact of the Cybersecurity Review Measures, if any, at this stage, and we will closely monitor and assess the statutory developments in this regard. On July 7, 2022, the CAC promulgated the Measures on Security Assessment of Cross-border Data Transfer, or the Data Export Measures, which will become effective on September 1, 2022. The Data Export Measures require that any data processor who exports data shall apply for a security assessment by the CAC through local agency of the CAC, in the case of the occurrence of the following circumstances: (i) important data will be provided overseas by any data processor; (ii) personal information will be provided overseas by any operator of critical information infrastructure or any data processor who processes the personal information of more than 1,000,000 individuals; (iii) personal information will be provided overseas by any data processor who has provided overseas the personal information of more than 100,000 individuals in aggregate or has provided overseas the sensitive personal information of more than 10,000 individuals in aggregate since January 1 of last year; and (iv) other circumstances where the security assessment is required as prescribed by the CAC. A data processor shall, before applying for the security assessment of a cross-border data transfer, conduct a self-assessment of the risks involved in the cross-border data transfer. The security assessment of a cross-border data transfer shall focus on assessing the risks that may be brought about by the cross-border data transfer concerning national security, public interests, or the lawful rights and interests of individuals or organizations. As of the date of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions regarding offshore offering from the CAC or any other PRC governmental authorities.

If it is determined in the future that CSRC approval or other procedural requirements are required to be met for and prior to an offering, it is uncertain whether we can or how long it will take us to obtain such approval or complete such procedures and any such approval could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such approval or completing such procedures for an offering, or a rescission of any such approval, may subject us to sanctions by the relevant PRC governmental authorities. The governmental authorities may impose restrictions and penalties on our operations in China that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the ADSs. The PRC governmental authorities may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt an offering before settlement and delivery of the ADSs offered hereby. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, you do so at the risk that settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the PRC governmental authorities later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals for filings, registrations or other kinds of authorizations for an offering, we cannot assure you that we can obtain the approval, authorizations, or complete required procedures or other requirements in a timely manner, or at all, or obtain a waiver of the requisite requirements if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver.

We may be deemed to operate a financing guarantee business by the PRC regulatory authorities.

In August 2017, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Administration of Financing Guarantee Companies, or the Financing Guarantee Rules which became effective on October 1, 2017. Pursuant to the Financing Guarantee Rules, “financing guarantee” refers to the activities in which guarantors provide guarantee to the guaranteed parties as to loans, bonds or other types of debt financing, and “financing guarantee companies” refer to companies legally established and operating financing guarantee

 

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business. According to the Financing Guarantee Rules, the establishment of financing guarantee companies is subject to the approval by the relevant governmental authority, and unless otherwise stipulated, no entity may operate financing guarantee business without such approval. If any entity violates these regulations and operates financing guarantee business without approval, the entity may be subject to penalties including ban or suspension of business, fines of RMB500,000 (US$78,461) to RMB1,000,000 (US$156,922), confiscation of illegal gains if any, and criminal liability if the violation constitutes a criminal offense.

Due to the lack of further interpretations, the exact definition and scope of “operating financing guarantee business” under the Financing Guarantee Rules is unclear. It is uncertain whether we would be deemed to operate financing guarantee and loan businesses because of our current arrangements with certain financial institutions. Furthermore, pursuant to a notice jointly issued by the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, or the CBRC, on December 1, 2017, a bank participating in loan facilitation transactions may not accept credit enhancement service from a third party which is not a financing guarantee company, including credit enhancement service in the form of a “buy-back” commitment. If the relevant regulatory authorities determine that such prohibition is applicable to the financing arrangements we facilitate/participate in, we may be required to obtain approval or license for financing guarantee and loan businesses to continue our collaboration arrangement with certain financial institutions. If we are no longer able to maintain our current arrangement with these financial institutions, or become subject to penalties, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Dividends we receive from our subsidiaries located in the PRC may be subject to PRC withholding tax, which could materially and adversely affect the amount of dividends, if any, we may pay our shareholders.

The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law classifies enterprises as resident enterprises and non-resident enterprises. The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law provides that an income tax rate of 20% may be applicable to dividends payable to non-resident investors, which (i) do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC, or (ii) have an establishment or place of business in the PRC but the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. The State Council of the PRC reduced such rate to 10% through the implementation regulations of the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law. Further, pursuant to the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement between Hong Kong and Mainland China, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, and the Notice on Certain Issues with Respect to the Enforcement of Dividend Provisions in Tax Treaties issued in February 2009 by the State Administration of Taxation of the PRC, or the SAT, if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns more than 25% of the equity interest in a company in China at all times during the 12-month period immediately prior to obtaining a dividend from such company, the 10% withholding tax on dividends is reduced to 5% provided certain other conditions and requirements under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement and other applicable PRC laws are satisfied at the discretion of relevant PRC tax authority.

If our Cayman Islands holding company and our Hong Kong subsidiary are considered as non-resident enterprises and our Hong Kong subsidiary is considered as a Hong Kong resident enterprise under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement and is determined by the competent PRC tax authority to have satisfied relevant conditions and requirements, then the dividends paid to our Hong Kong subsidiary by its PRC subsidiaries may be subject to the reduced income tax rate of 5% under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement. However, based on the Notice on Certain Issues with Respect to the Enforcement of Dividend Provisions in Tax Treaties, if the relevant PRC tax authorities determine, in their discretion, that a company benefits from such reduced income tax rate due to a structure or arrangement that is primarily tax-driven, such PRC tax authorities may adjust the preferential tax treatment. In addition, based on the Announcement on Certain Issues Concerning the Recognition of Beneficial Owners in Tax Treaties issued on February 3, 2018 by SAT, comprehensive analysis shall be conducted based on the factors listed and the actual circumstances of the specific cases to recognize the “beneficial owner.” If we fail to be recognized as beneficial owner, we will not be entitled to the abovementioned reduced income tax rate of 5% under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement. If we are required under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law to pay income tax for any dividends we receive from our subsidiaries in China, or if our Hong Kong subsidiary is determined by PRC government authority as receiving benefits from reduced income tax rate due to a

 

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structure or arrangement that is primarily tax-driven, it would materially and adversely affect the amount of dividends, if any, we may pay to our shareholders.

If we are classified as a “resident enterprise” of China under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we and our non-PRC shareholders could be subject to unfavorable tax consequences, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside the PRC with “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 and overall management over the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In 2009, SAT issued a circular, known as SAT 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 SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” text should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a 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 board members with voting rights or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.

We believe that our Cayman Islands holding company, Fangdd Cayman, is not a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. 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.” If the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands holding company is a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we may be required to withhold a 10% tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises, including the holders of the ADSs. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders, including our ADS holders, may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC. Furthermore, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends paid to our non-PRC individual shareholders, including our ADS holders, and any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20% which in the case of dividends may be withheld at source. Any PRC tax liability may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty. However, 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 or Class A ordinary shares.

In addition to the uncertainty as to the application of the “resident enterprise” classification, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not amend or revise the taxation laws, rules and regulations to impose stricter tax requirements or higher tax rates. Any of such changes could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

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

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

Any loans we extend to our PRC subsidiaries, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law, cannot exceed the statutory limit and must be registered with the local counterpart of the SAFE.

 

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We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises in China, these capital contributions are subject to registration with or approval by the MOFCOM or its local counterparts. In addition, the PRC government also restricts the convertibility of foreign currencies into Renminbi and use of the proceeds. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular 19, which took effect and replaced certain previous SAFE regulations from June 1, 2015. SAFE further promulgated Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which, among other things, amend certain provisions of Circular 19. According to SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16, the flow and use of the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that Renminbi capital may not be used for business beyond its business scope or to provide loans to persons other than affiliates unless otherwise permitted under its business scope. On October 23, 2019, SAFE issued the Circular to Further Promote Cross-border Trade and Investment to further ease cross-border trade and investment, according to which foreign non-investment enterprises are allowed to carry out domestic equity investment provided that such investment will not violate applicable special administrative measures (negative list) for foreign investment access and the investment projects shall be authentic and legitimate. Violations of the applicable circulars and rules may result in severe penalties, including substantial fines as set forth in the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations. If the VIE requires financial support from us or our wholly owned subsidiaries in the future and we find it necessary to use foreign currency-denominated capital to provide such financial support, our ability to fund the VIE’s operations will be subject to statutory limits and restrictions, including those described above. These circulars may limit our ability to transfer the net proceeds from our initial public offering to the VIE and our PRC subsidiaries, and we may not be able to convert the net proceeds from our initial public offering into Renminbi to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies in China. Despite the restrictions under these SAFE circulars, our PRC subsidiaries may use their income in Renminbi generated from their operations to finance the VIE through entrustment loans to the VIE or loans to the VIE’s shareholders for the purpose of making capital contributions to the VIE. In addition, our PRC subsidiaries can use Renminbi funds converted from foreign currency registered capital to carry out any activities within their normal course of business and business scope, including to purchase or lease servers and other relevant equipment and fund other operational needs in connection with their provision of services to the relevant VIE under the applicable exclusive technical support agreements.

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

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

We are a holding company, and we may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries in China for our cash requirements, including any debt we may incur. Current PRC regulations permit our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries in China is required to set aside a certain amount of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserves. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, if our subsidiaries in China incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require us to adjust our taxable income under the contractual arrangements we currently have in place in a manner that would materially and adversely affect our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends or other payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

 

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You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions in China against us or our management named in the prospectus based on foreign laws.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct substantially all of our operations in China and a substantial portion of our assets are located in China. In addition, many of our senior executive officers and directors reside within China for a significant portion of the time and some of them are PRC nationals. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process upon us or those persons inside China. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would (i) recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States, or (ii) entertain original actions brought in the Cayman Islands against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any state in the United States.

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 and other applicable laws, regulations and interpretations 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 forms of written arrangement with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts 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 laws or national sovereignty, security or the 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.

The audit report included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F was prepared by our former 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 former independent registered public accounting firm that issued the audit report included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with 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 former auditor is located in the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our former auditor is not currently inspected by the PCAOB. On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol with the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The Statement of Protocol gives the PCAOB sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates and put in place procedures for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed. In addition, the Statement of Protocol grants the PCAOB has direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates. While significant, the Statement of Protocol is only a first step. Uncertainties still exist as to whether and how this new Statement of Protocol will be implemented and whether the PCAOB can make a determination that it is able to inspect and investigate completely in mainland China and Hong Kong.

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. The lack of PCAOB inspections in China in the past made it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our former auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that were subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements. As part of our continued efforts to ensure accuracy of our financial reporting, our audit committee

 

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periodically communicates with our independent auditor to oversee and evaluate the audit procedures and status. However, we cannot assure you that the measures our audit committee has taken or will take in the future will be effective. We have dismissed our former auditor that is located in mainland China and engaged our current auditor, a Singapore-based accounting firm that is registered with the PCAOB and meets the PCAOB inspection requirements, as our company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

Our ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCA Act, in 2024 if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or fully investigate auditors located in China, or in 2023 if proposed changes to the law are enacted. The delisting of our ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

On December 18, 2020, the HFCA Act was enacted. The HFCA Act requires the SEC to prohibit securities of any foreign companies from being listed on U.S. securities exchanges or traded “over-the-counter” if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize the interim final rules previously adopted in March 2021 to implement the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong without the approval of the Chinese authorities. In March 2022, the SEC issued its first “Conclusive list of issuers identified under the HFCA Act” indicating that those companies are now formally subject to the delisting provisions if they remain on the list for three consecutive years.

In May 2022, we were conclusively identified by the SEC under the HFCA Act due to the fact that our previous auditor was located in mainland China and could not be inspected by the PCAOB. See https://​www.sec.gov/hfcaa. Pursuant to the HFCA Act, our securities will be prohibited from trading on any national securities exchange and in the over-the-counter market in the United States in 2024 if our auditor cannot be fully inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, or in 2023 if the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act passed by the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2021 is passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, which would reduce the time period under the HFCA Act to two consecutive years. On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the America Competes Act of 2022, which includes the exact same amendment as the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act passed by the U.S. Senate. The America Competes Act, however, includes a broader range of legislation not related to the HFCA Act in response to the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act passed by the U.S. Senate in 2021. The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate will need to agree on amendments to these respective bills to align the legislation and pass their amended bills before the U.S. President can sign into law. It is unclear when the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives will resolve the differences in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and the America Competes Act of 2022 bills currently passed, or when the U.S. President will sign on the bill to make the amendments into law, or at all. In the case that the bill becomes the law, it will reduce the time period before our ADSs could be delisted from the exchange and prohibited from over-the-counter trading in the U.S. from 2024 to 2023.

On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol with the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The Statement of Protocol gives the PCAOB sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates and put in place procedures for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed. In addition, the Statement of Protocol grants the PCAOB direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates. While significant, the Statement of Protocol is only a first step. Uncertainties still exist as to whether and how this new Statement of Protocol will be implemented and whether the PCAOB can make a determination that it is able to inspect and investigate completely in mainland China and Hong Kong.

We have engaged our current auditor, a Singapore-based accounting firm that is registered with the PCAOB, as our company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending

 

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December 31, 2022, and our current auditor can be inspected under the PCAOB requirements. However, recent developments with respect to audits of China-based companies create uncertainty about the ability of our current auditor to fully cooperate with the PCAOB’s request for audit workpapers without the approval of the Chinese authorities. We cannot assure you whether regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements. In the event it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely our current auditor, then such lack of inspection could cause trading in our securities to be prohibited under the HFCA Act and ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist our securities. If our shares and ADSs are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on a non-U.S. exchange or that a market for our shares will develop outside of the United States. Such a prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would cause our ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.

 

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CAUSTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference contain forward-looking statements. These are based on our management’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions about future events, conditions and results and on information currently available to us. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements may be found, among other places, in the sections titled “Information on the Company,” “Risk Factors” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” incorporated by reference from our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as any amendments thereto, filed with the SEC.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” as well as statements in the future tense or the negative or plural of those terms, and similar expressions intended to identify statements about the future, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Any statements in this prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference herein about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. Within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, these forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding:

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our mission and strategies;

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

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expected changes in our revenues, costs or expenditures;

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

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competition in our industry; and

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government policies and regulations relating to our industry.

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You should refer to “Risk Factors” in Item 3.D. to our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 22, 2022 and incorporated by reference in this prospectus, as the same may be amended, supplemented or superseded by the risks and uncertainties described under similar headings in the other documents that filed after the date hereof and incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.

You should read this prospectus (as supplemented or amended), together with the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

This prospectus and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus may contain market data and industry forecasts that were obtained from industry publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus and in the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or developments occurring after the date of this prospectus, even if new information becomes available in the future.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, we plan to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities for general corporate purposes.

 

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MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information relating to our directors and executive officers the date of this prospectus.

Mr. Xi Zeng is our co-founder, chairman of our board of directors and chief executive officer. Before co-founding our company, Mr. Zeng was the manager at Suzhou Best Team Real Estate Cooperation Service Co., Ltd. from 2002 to 2010. He received a bachelor’s degree from Suzhou University of Science and Technology and an EMBA degree from China Europe International Business School.

Ms. Jiaorong Pan has served as our director since March 2020 and chief operating officer since August 2022. Ms. Pan joined us in October 2011 and served as our senior vice president from October 2011 to March 2020 and our chief financial officer until August 2022. Prior to joining us, Ms. Pan was a general manager at Suzhou Huamei Enterprise Marketing Planning Co., Ltd. Between September 2003 and October 2009, Ms. Pan served as a manager for the consulting department of Best Team Real Estate Comprehension Services Co., Ltd. During her tenure, she chaired all market research and project development efforts. Ms. Pan holds a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering from Suzhou University of Science and Technology and an EMBA degree from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

Ms. Li Xiao has served as our vice president since November 2014 and as our director since July 2015. Ms. Xiao has more than 20 years of experience in China’s real estate industry. From 1994 to 2014, Ms. Xiao worked at China Vanke Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 2202), where she held multiple positions consecutively, including director, vice president, the head of general manager office, the head of the board office, and the secretary of the board. From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Xiao worked at Mitsubishi Corporation’s Shenzhen office. Ms. Xiao currently serves as an independent director of Kinco Automation (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (SSE: 688160). Ms. Xiao received a bachelor’s degree from Wuhan University and an EMBA degree from China Europe International Business School.

Mr. Yi Duan is our co-founder and director. Before co-founding our company, Mr. Duan was the managing director at Suzhou Best Team Real Estate Cooperation Service Co., Ltd. from 2000 to 2011. Mr. Duan received a bachelor’s degree in real estate management from Suzhou Urban Construction and Environmental Protection Institute and an EMBA degree from China Europe International Business School. Mr. Duan also completed the China CEO program at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in 2016.

Mr. Weiru Chen has served as our director since October 2019. Mr. Chen has served as an independent director of TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL) since June 2015, Dian Diagnostics Co., Ltd. (SZSE: 300244) since July 2017, Country Garden Services Holdings Co Ltd (HKEX: 06098) since February 2018, Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. (SSE:603337) since April 2020 and BlueCity Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: BLCT) since January 2021. Mr. Chen has served as an executive director of Industry Internet Center of Alibaba Business School since February 2019 and was a chief strategy officer at Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Company Limited from 2017 to 2019. Mr. Chen was an assistant professor of strategy at INSEAD Business School from 2003 to 2011 and an associate professor of strategy at China Europe International Business School from 2011 to 2017. Mr. Chen earned a bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University in Taiwan in 1993, a master’s degree from TamKang University in 1996 and a doctoral degree from Purdue University in 2003.

 

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Mr. Yang Li has served as our director since July 2022. Mr. Li has over 24 years of experience in a wide range of financial and accounting fields, including external and internal auditing, financial planning and analysis and financial due diligence. Mr. Li is currently the managing partner of ThinkBridge CPAs, a professional accounting firm providing assurance, business management and financial consulting services. Prior to joining ThinkBridge CPAs in December 2012, Mr. Li was a partner at Shanghai NuoDe Certified Public Accounts Co., Ltd. from August 2004 to November 2012, where he advised clients in China on finance, management and risk management issues. Prior to that, Mr. Li worked at multiple auditing and consulting firms, including Ernst & Young, Arthur Andersen, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Shanghai De’An Certified Public Accountants, where he was responsible for auditing and financial consulting. Mr. Li has served as an independent director of Shanghai Kaytune Industrial Co., Ltd. (SSE: 301001) since 2019. Mr. Li received a bachelor’s degree from Shanghai International Studies University and a master’s degree at China Europe International Business School. Mr. Li is a member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Association of International Accountants.

Mr. Senlin Peng has served as our director since August 2022. Mr. Senlin Peng has rich operational and financial experience. Since he joined ColorLife Group in 2000, a renowned children furniture manufacturer in China, Mr. Peng has served multiple positions, including a member of the company’s board of directors since 2011, the Chief Executive Officer of the company from 2005 to 2010 in charge of overall business operations, and a Vice President from 2000 to 2004 in charge of financial and operational divisions. In addition, Mr. Peng holds several directorships. Since 2018, Mr. Peng has served as the chairman of the board of directors of Morgan-Casa Furniture Co., Ltd., a furniture designer and manufacturer in China, and since 2014, Mr. Peng has served as a director at Shenzhen Forbest Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese optical product manufacturer. Mr. Peng graduated from Jimei University (formerly known as Jimei Finance College) in 1992 and received an MBA degree from China Europe International Business School in 2007.

Mr. Shuiying Chen is our financial controller. Joined us in 2019, Mr. Chen had previously held a variety of financial management positions with our Company, including our financial executive manager, financial deputy manager and financial director. In these roles, Mr. Chen was responsible for our financial reporting, planning and budgeting, financial compliance and internal controls. Prior to joining us, Mr. Chen worked at Shenzhen Fantasia Cultural Tourism Management Co., Ltd. as the financial manager from 2017 to 2019, at Country Garden Group (HKSE: 02007) as a listing reporting and financial analysis manager from 2016 to 2017, and at China Southern Airlines (SSE: 600029; HKSE: 01055; NYSE: ZHN) as a financial analyst from 2009 to 2016. Mr. Chen holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Jinan University in 2009.

Board of Directors

Our board of directors consists of seven directors. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company by way of qualification. A director may vote with respect to any contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction in which he or she is interested, whether directly or indirectly, provided (a) such director has declared the nature of his interest at a meeting of the board at which such contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction shall come before the meeting for consideration, either specifically or by way of a general notice given to the directors to the effect that he or she is a member of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested, and (b) if such contract or arrangement is a transaction with a related party, such transaction has been approved by the audit committee. Our directors may exercise all the powers of the company to raise or borrow money, mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and assets (present and future) and uncalled capital or any party thereof, and issue debentures, debenture stock, bonds and other securities, whether outright or as collateral 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 have established three committees under the board of directors: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. We have adopted a charter for each of the three committees. Each committee’s members and functions are described below.

 

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Audit Committee.   Our audit committee consists of Yang Li, Weiru Chen and Senlin Peng. Yang Li is the chairman of our audit committee. We have determined that Yang Li, Weiru Chen and Senlin Peng, each satisfies the “independence” requirements of Rule 5605(c)(2) of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. We have determined that Yang Li qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert.” The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

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appointing the independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by the independent auditors;

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reviewing with the independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and management’s responses;

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discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and the independent auditors;

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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;

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reviewing and approving all proposed related party transaction;

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