UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

FORM 20-F

 

(Mark One)

o		Registration statement pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

þ		Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

o		Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

o		Shell company report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report                     

Commission file number: 001-33768

CNINSURE INC.

N/A

Cayman Islands

22/F, Yinhai Building
No. 299 Yanjiang Zhong Road
Guangzhou, Guangdong 510110
People’s Republic of China

Peng Ge, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +86 20 6122-2777
E-mail: gepeng@cninsure.net
Fax: +86 20 6126-2893
22/F, Yinhai Building
No. 299 Yanjiang Zhong Road
Guangzhou, Guangdong 510110
People’s Republic of China

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class		Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share* American depositary shares, each representing 20 ordinary shares		The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (The NASDAQ Global Select Market)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the Issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

912,497,726 ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share as of December 31, 2009

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No o

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes o No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o		Accelerated filer þ		Non-accelerated filer o

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP þ

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board o

Other o

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 o Item 18 o

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court. Yes o No o

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION			1
PART I			3
Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers			3
Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable			3
Item 3. Key Information			3
Item 4. Information on the Company			25
Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments			49
Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects			49
Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees			72
Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions			82
Item 8. Financial Information			83
Item 9. The Offer and Listing			84
Item 10. Additional Information			85
Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk			93
Item 12. Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities			93
PART II			95
Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies			95
Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds			95
Item 15. Controls and Procedures			96
Item 16A. Audit Committee Financial Expert			97
Item 16B. Code of Ethics			98
Item 16C. Principal Accountant Fees and Services			98
Item 16D. Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees			98
Item 16E. Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers			98
Item 16F. Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant			98
Item 16G. Corporate Governance			99
PART III			99
Item 17. Financial Statements			99
Item 18. Financial Statements			99
Item 19. Exhibits			99
Exhibit 4.16
Exhibit 4.17
Exhibit 8.1
Exhibit 12.1
Exhibit 12.2
Exhibit 13.1
Exhibit 13.2
Exhibit 15.1
Exhibit 15.2
Exhibit 15.3

INTRODUCTION

In this annual report, unless the context otherwise requires:

•

“we,” “us,” “our company,” “our” or “CNinsure” refer to CNinsure Inc., its subsidiaries and any entity carrying on CNinsure’s current business prior to the restructuring transactions in July 2007, through which CNinsure became the listing vehicle in our initial public offering, and their respective subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities;

•

“China” or “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, solely for the purpose of this annual report, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau;

•

“provinces” of China refers to the 22 provinces, the four municipalities directly administered by the central government (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing) and the five autonomous regions (Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Guangxi);

•

“shares” or “ordinary shares” refers to our ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share;

•

“ADSs” refers to our American depositary shares, each of which represents 20 ordinary shares;

•

all references to “RMB” or “Renminbi” are to the legal currency of China and all references to “$,” “dollars,” “US$” and “U.S. dollars” are to the legal currency of the United States; and

•

all discrepancies in any table between the amounts identified as total amounts and the sum of the amounts listed therein are due to rounding.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 20-F contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify some of these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include statements relating to:

•

our anticipated growth strategies;

•

the anticipated growth of our life insurance business;

•

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

•

factors that affect our future revenues and expenses;

•

the future growth of the Chinese insurance industry as a whole and the professional insurance intermediary sector in particular;

•

trends and competition in the Chinese insurance industry; and

•

economic and demographic trends in the PRC.

You should read thoroughly this annual report and the documents that we refer to with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. We would like to caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and you should read these statements in conjunction with the risk factors disclosed in “Item 3.D. Key Information — Risk Factors” of this annual report. Those risks are not exhaustive. We operate in an emerging and evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is impossible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors 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 statement.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

PART I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not Applicable.

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not Applicable.

Item 3. Key Information

A.

Selected Financial Data

The following selected consolidated statements of operations data for the three years ended December 31, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2008 and 2009 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The selected consolidated financial data for the years ended, and as of, December 31, 2005 and 2006 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are not included in this annual report.

In this annual report, our consolidated financial information for 2005 through 2009 refers collectively to our consolidated financial information for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

		For the Year Ended December 31,
		2005				2006				2007				2008				2009
		(As				(As				(As				(As
		adjusted)(1)				adjusted)(1)				adjusted)(1)				adjusted)(1)
		RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				US$
		(in thousands, except shares, per share and per ADS data)
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data
Net revenues:
Commissions and fees			142,520				245,652				446,929				843,107				1,154,090				169,075
Other service fees			1,179				897				1,216				855				761				112
Total net revenues			143,699				246,549				448,145				843,962				1,154,851				169,187
Operating costs and expenses:
Commissions and fees			(65,752	)			(133,076	)			(232,550	)			(436,803	)			(579,911	)			(84,957	)
Selling expenses			(5,527	)			(11,288	)			(9,514	)			(17,328	)			(49,498	)			(7,252	)
General and administrative expenses(2)			(78,879	)			(52,119	)			(68,177	)			(180,031	)			(199,246	)			(29,190	)
Total operating costs and expenses			(150,158	)			(196,483	)			(310,241	)			(634,162	)			(828,655	)			(121,399	)
Income (loss) from operations			(6,459	)			50,066				137,904				209,800				326,196				47,788
Other income (expense), net:
Gain on disposal of investment in a subsidiary			—				—				—				525				—				—
Investment income			—				—				—				—				18,905				2,770
Interest income			445				5,364				16,235				47,967				33,299				4,878
Interest expense			(19	)			(34	)			(25	)			(95	)			(4	)			(1	)
Others, net			(15	)			5				(2	)			(28	)			1,408				206
Changes in fair value of contingent consideration payables			—				—				—				—				(5,946	)			(871	)
Net income (loss) before income taxes and income of affiliates			(6,048	)			55,401				154,112				258,169				373,858				54,770
Income tax benefit (expense)			(672	)			573				(3,178	)			(62,438	)			(95,618	)			(14,008	)
Share of income of affiliates			—				—				—				135				774				114
Net income (loss)			(6,720	)			55,974				150,934				195,866				279,014				40,876
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the noncontrolling interests			(27	)			(1,421	)			(2,424	)			4,129				(21,827	)			(3,197	)
Net income (loss) attributable to the Company’s shareholders			(6,693	)			57,395				153,358				191,737				300,841				44,073
Net income (loss) per share (giving effect to the 10,000-for-1 share exchange in 2007):
Basic			(0.0139	)			0.0883				0.2178				0.2101				0.3297				0.0483
Diluted			(0.0139	)			0.0875				0.2143				0.2090				0.3241				0.0475
Net income (loss) per ADS:
Basic			(0.2780	)			1.7660				4.3551				4.2025				6.5938				0.9660
Diluted			(0.2780	)			1.7500				4.2858				4.1803				6.4815				0.9495
Shares used in calculating net income (loss) per share (giving effect to the 10,000-for-1 share exchange in 2007):
Basic			482,770,000				650,000,000				704,273,232				912,497,726				912,497,726				912,497,726
Diluted			482,770,000				655,970,000				715,649,950				917,335,390				928,312,312				928,312,312
Dividends declared per share(3)			523				585				0.1023				—				0.075				0.011

		As of December 31,
		2005				2006				2007				2008				2009
		(As adjusted) (1)				(As adjusted) (1)				(As adjusted) (1)				(As adjusted) (1)
		RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				US$
		(in thousands)
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
Cash and cash equivalents			174,634				223,926				1,544,817				1,510,432				1,457,890				213,582
Total current assets			281,752				355,703				1,608,256				1,876,883				1,727,499				253,080
Total assets			286,736				379,622				1,640,164				2,046,515				2,545,965				372,986
Total current liabilities			43,049				75,524				53,337				190,222				337,648				49,466
Total liabilities			43,370				76,321				54,928				200,444				359,260				52,632
Noncontrolling interests			2,423				13,717				18,324				94,423				194,897				28,553
Total shareholders’ equity			243,366				303,301				1,585,236				1,846,071				2,186,705				320,354
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity			286,736				379,622				1,640,164				2,046,515				2,545,965				372,986

Exchange Rate Information

Our business is primarily conducted in China and all of our revenues are denominated in RMB. This annual report contains translations of RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at specific rates solely for the convenience of the readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.8259 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect as of December 31, 2009 in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of RMB into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On April 30, 2010, the noon buying rate was RMB6.8247 to US$1.00.

The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated. These rates are provided solely for your convenience and are not necessarily the exchange rates that we used in this annual report or will use in the preparation of our future periodic reports or any other information to be provided to you.

		Noon Buying Rate
		(RMB per US$1.00)
		Period
Period		End				Average(1)				Low				High
2005			8.0702				8.1826				8.2765				8.0702
2006			7.8041				7.9579				8.0702				7.8041
2007			7.2946				7.5806				7.8127				7.2946
2008			6.8225				6.9193				7.2946				6.7800
2009			6.8259				6.8295				6.8470				6.8176
November			6.8265				6.8271				6.8300				6.8255
December			6.8259				6.8275				6.8299				6.8244
2010
January			6.8268				6.8269				6.8295				6.8258
February			6.8258				6.8285				6.8330				6.8258
March			6.8258				6.8262				6.8270				6.8254
April			6.8247				6.8256				6.8275				6.8229

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

B.

Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not Applicable.

C.

Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not Applicable.

D.

Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry

Our limited operating history, especially our limited experience in distributing life insurance products and providing claims adjusting services, may not provide an adequate basis to judge our future prospects and results of operations.

We have a limited operating history. We commenced our insurance intermediary business in 1999 by distributing automobile insurance products and expanded our offerings to other types of property and casualty insurance products in 2002. We started distributing individual life insurance products in January 2006 and began providing insurance claims adjusting services in 2008. Life insurance products accounted for 10.3%, 14.3% and 20.0% of our total net revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. Claims adjusting services accounted for 10.6% and 12.2% of our total net revenues in 2008 and 2009, respectively. While we regard life insurance distribution and claims adjusting services as two major areas of our future growth strategy, we cannot assure you that our efforts to further develop these businesses will be successful. If our life insurance distribution and claims adjusting businesses fail to grow, our future growth will be significantly affected. In addition, our limited operating history, especially our limited experience in selling life insurance products and providing claims adjusting services, may not provide a meaningful basis for you to evaluate our business, financial performance and prospects.

If we are unable to successfully expand into the consumer financial services sector, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

In October 2009, we made an investment in Sincere Fame International Limited, or Sincere Fame, which owns 100% of the equity interest in China Financial Services Group Limited, or CFSG, a consumer credit brokerage company specializing in the distribution of personal loans and residential mortgage loans for commercial banks. This investment marked our expansion into the consumer financial services sector, and we plan to continue our expansion in this sector in the future. However, our efforts to develop this new business may not be successful or yield the benefits that we anticipate due to our limited experience in distributing non-insurance related financial services and products. In addition, our expansion may subject us to risks associated with operating in the consumer financial services sector in China, such as changes in policies over bank lending as well as competition from other consumer credit brokerage companies. Currently, changes in regulations for the consumer credit brokerage industry may impose burdensome approval, licensing or other requirements on CFSG and its affiliated subsidiaries. Any failure to successfully identify, execute and integrate acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and alliances as part of our expansion into the consumer financial services sector may have a material adverse impact on our growth, business prospects and results of operations, which could lead to a decline in the price of our ADSs.

If we fail to attract and retain productive agents, especially entrepreneurial agents, and qualified claims adjustors, our business could suffer.

A substantial portion of our sales of property and casualty insurance products and our entire sales of life insurance products are conducted through our individual sales agents, who are not our employees. Some of these sales agents are significantly more productive than others in generating sales. In recent years, some entrepreneurial management staff or senior sales agents of major insurance companies in China have chosen to leave their employers or principals and become independent agents. We refer to these individuals as entrepreneurial agents. An entrepreneurial agent is usually able to assemble and lead a team of sales agents. We have been actively recruiting and will continue to recruit entrepreneurial agents to join our distribution and service network as our sales agents. Entrepreneurial agents have been instrumental to the development of our life insurance business. In addition, we rely entirely on our in-house claims adjustors to provide claims adjusting services. Because claims adjusting requires technical skills, the technical competence of claims adjustors is essential to establishing and maintaining our brand image and relationships with our customers. If we are unable to attract and retain the core group of highly productive sales agents, particularly entrepreneurial agents, and qualified claims adjustors, our business could be materially and adversely affected. Competition for sales personnel and claims adjustors from insurance companies and other insurance intermediaries may also force us to increase the compensation of our sales agents, in-house sales representatives and claims adjustors, which would increase operating costs and reduce our profitability.

Our business and prospects could be materially and adversely affected if we are not able to manage our growth successfully.

We commenced our insurance intermediary business in 1999 and have expanded our operations substantially in recent years. Our distribution and service networks expanded from one company in one province to 49 insurance agencies, three brokerages and four claims adjusting firms in 23 provinces as of April 15, 2010. Meanwhile, we have broadened our service offerings from the distribution of only automobile insurance products to cover a wide variety of property and casualty insurance and life insurance products, and insurance claims adjusting services. We anticipate continued growth in the future through multiple means. Our expansion has placed, and will continue to place, substantial demands on our managerial, operational, technological and other resources. To manage and support our continued growth, we must continue to improve our operational, administrative, financial and technological systems, procedures and controls, and expand, train and manage our growing employee and agent base. Furthermore, our management will be required to maintain and expand our relationships with insurance companies, other insurance intermediaries, regulators and other third parties. We cannot assure you that our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support our future operations. Any failure to effectively and efficiently manage our expansion could materially and adversely affect our ability to capitalize on new business opportunities, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We may be unsuccessful in identifying and acquiring suitable acquisition candidates, which could adversely affect our growth.

Since our initial public offering in October 2007, we have significantly expanded our operations through a number of acquisitions. We expect a significant portion of our future growth to come from acquisitions of high-quality independent insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms. There is no assurance that we can successfully identify suitable acquisition candidates, especially in those provinces where we do not yet have a presence. Even if we identify suitable candidates, we may not be able to complete an acquisition on terms that are commercially acceptable to us. In addition, we compete with other entities to acquire high-quality independent insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms. Many of our competitors may have substantially greater financial resources than we do and may be able to outbid us for these acquisition targets. If we are unable to complete acquisitions, our growth strategy may be impeded and our earnings or revenue growth may be negatively affected.

If we fail to integrate acquired companies efficiently, or if the acquired companies do not perform to our expectations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Even if we succeed in acquiring other insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms, our ability to integrate an acquired entity and its operations is subject to a number of factors. These factors include difficulties in the integration of acquired operations and retention of personnel, especially the sales agents who are not employees of the acquired company, entry into unfamiliar markets, unanticipated problems or legal liabilities, and tax and accounting issues. The need to address these factors may divert management’s attention from other aspects of our business and materially and adversely affect our business prospects. In addition, costs associated with integrating newly acquired companies could negatively affect our operating margins.

Furthermore, the acquired companies may not perform to our expectations for various reasons, including legislative or regulatory changes that affect the insurance products in which a company specializes, the loss of key clients after the acquisition closes, general economic factors that impact a company in a direct way and the cultural incompatibility of an acquired company’s management team with us. If an acquired company can not be operated at the same profitability level as our existing operations, the acquisition would have a negative impact on our operating margin. Our inability to successfully integrate an acquired entity or its failure to perform to our expectations may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.

If we are required to write down goodwill and other intangible assets, our financial condition and results may be materially and adversely affected.

When we acquire a business, a substantial portion of the purchase price of the acquisition is generally allocated to goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. The amount of the purchase price that is allocated to goodwill and other intangible assets is determined by the excess of the purchase price over the net identifiable tangible assets acquired. As of December 31, 2009, goodwill represented RMB535.9 million (US$78.5 million), or 24.5% of our total shareholders’ equity, and other net intangible assets represented RMB81.5 million (US$11.9 million), or 3.7% of our total shareholders’ equity. Under current accounting standards, if we determine that goodwill or intangible assets are impaired, we will be required to write down the value of such assets and recognize corresponding impairment charges. As we implement our growth strategy through acquisitions, goodwill and intangible assets may comprise an increasingly larger percentage of our shareholders’ equity. As such, any write-down related to such goodwill and intangible assets may adversely and materially affect our shareholders’ equity and financial results.

Because the commission and fee revenue we earn on the sale of insurance products is based on premiums and commission and fee rates set by insurance companies, any decrease in these premiums or commission and fee rates may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We are engaged in the insurance agency, brokerage and claims adjusting business and derive revenues primarily from commissions and fees paid by the insurance companies whose policies our customers purchase and to whom we provide claims adjusting services. The commission and fee rates are set by insurance companies and are based on the premiums that the insurance companies charge or the amount recovered from insurance companies. Commission and fee rates and premiums can change based on the prevailing economic, regulatory, taxation-related and competitive factors that affect insurance companies. These factors, which are not within our control, include the ability of insurance companies to place new business, underwriting and non-underwriting profits of insurance companies, consumer demand for insurance products, the availability of comparable products from other insurance companies at a lower cost, the availability of alternative insurance products such as government benefits and self-insurance plans, as well as the tax deductibility of commissions and fees and the consumers themselves. In addition, premium rates for certain insurance products, such as the mandatory automobile liability insurance that each automobile owner in the PRC is legally required to purchase, are tightly regulated by China Insurance Regulatory Commission, or the CIRC.

Because we do not determine, and cannot predict, the timing or extent of premium or commission and fee rate changes, we cannot predict the effect any of these changes may have on our operations. Since China’s entry into the WTO in December 2001, intense competition among insurance companies has led to a gradual decline in premium rate levels of some property and casualty insurance products. Although such decline may stimulate demand for insurance products and increase our total sales volume, it also reduces the commissions and fees we earn on each policy sold. Any decrease in premiums or commission and fee rates may significantly affect our profitability. In addition, our budget for future acquisitions, capital expenditures and other expenditures may be disrupted by unexpected decreases in revenues caused by decreases in premiums or commission and fee rates, thereby adversely affecting our operations.

Competition in our industry is intense and, if we are unable to compete effectively, we may lose customers and our financial results may be negatively affected.

The insurance intermediary industry in China is highly competitive, and we expect competition to persist and intensify. In insurance product distribution, we face competition from insurance companies that use their in-house sales force and exclusive sales agents to distribute their products, and from business entities that distribute insurance products on an ancillary basis, such as commercial banks, postal offices and automobile dealerships, as well as from other professional insurance intermediaries. In our claims adjusting business, we primarily compete with other independent claims adjusting firms. We compete for customers on the basis of product offerings, customer services and reputation. Many of our competitors have greater financial and marketing resources than we do and may be able to offer products and services that we do not currently offer and may not offer in the future. If we are unable to compete effectively against those competitors, we may lose customers and our financial results may be negatively affected.

Quarterly and annual variations in our commission and fee revenue may have unexpected impacts on our results of operations.

Our commission and fee revenue is subject to both quarterly and annual fluctuations as a result of the seasonality of our business, the timing of policy renewals and the net effect of new and lost business. Historically, our commission and fee revenue, particularly revenue derived from distribution of property and casualty insurance products, for the fourth quarter of any given year has been the highest among all four quarters, while our commission and fee revenue for the first quarter of any given year has been the lowest among all four quarters. The factors that cause the quarterly and annual variations are not within our control. Specifically, consumer demand for insurance products can influence the timing of renewals, new business and lost business, which generally includes policies that are not renewed, and cancellations. As a result, you may not be able to rely on quarterly or annual comparisons of our operating results as an indication of our future performance.

If our contracts with insurance companies are terminated or changed, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

We primarily act as agents for insurance companies in distributing their products to retail customers. We also provide claims adjusting services principally to insurance companies. Our relationships with the insurance companies are governed by agreements between us and the insurance companies. Most of the contracts with our major insurance company partners for the distribution of life insurance products are entered into at the corporate headquarters level. While this approach allows us to obtain more favorable terms from insurance companies by combining the sales volumes of our affiliated insurance agencies and brokerages, it also means that the termination of a major contract could have a material adverse effect on our life insurance business. Our contracts for the distribution of property and casualty insurance and the provision of claims adjusting services are primarily entered into at a local level between the respective provincial, city and district branches of the insurance companies and our affiliated insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms. Generally, each branch of these insurance companies has independent authority to enter into contracts with our affiliated insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms, and the termination of a contract with one branch has no significant effect on our contracts with the other branches. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Insurance Company Partners.” These contracts establish, among other things, the scope of our authority, the pricing of the insurance products we distribute and our fee rates. These contracts typically have a term of one year and some of them can be terminated by the insurance companies with little advance notice. Moreover, before or upon expiration of a contract, the insurance company that is a party to that contract may agree to renew it only with changes in its terms, including the amount of commissions and fees we receive, which could reduce our revenues from that contract.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, our top five insurance company partners were PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited, or PICC, China Pacific Property Insurance Co., Ltd., or CPIC, Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ltd., or Ping An, AVIVA-COFCO Life Insurance Co., Ltd., or AVIVA-COFCO, and Tian Ping Auto Insurance Co., Ltd., or Tian Ping. Among them, PICC, CPIC and Ping An each accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues in 2009, with PICC accounting for 19.6%, CPIC accounting for 17.0% and Ping An accounting for 12.1%. The termination of our contracts with insurance companies that in aggregate account for a significant portion of our business, or changes to material terms of these contracts, could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our operating structure may make it difficult to respond quickly to operational or financial problems, which could negatively affect our financial results.

We currently operate through affiliated insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms located in 23 provinces in China. These companies report their results to our corporate headquarters monthly. If these companies delay either reporting results or informing corporate headquarters of negative business developments such as loss of relationship with insurance companies, regulatory inquiries or any other negative events, we may not be able to take action to remedy the situation in a timely fashion. This in turn could have a negative effect on our financial results. In addition, if one of these companies were to report inaccurate financial information, we might not learn of the inaccuracies on a timely basis and be able to take corrective measures promptly, which could negatively affect our ability to report our financial results.

Our dependence on the founders and key managers of the acquired firms may limit our ability to effectively manage our business.

In the acquisitions we have completed to date, the founders and key managers of the acquired firms continue to manage the acquired business. They are responsible for ordinary course operational decisions, including personnel and office location, subject to our oversight. They also maintain the primary relationship with customers and the local branches of insurance companies. Although we maintain internal controls to oversee our nationwide operations, this operating structure exposes us to the risk of losses resulting from day-to-day decisions of the managers of the acquired firms. Unsatisfactory performance by these managers could hinder our ability to grow and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our future success depends on the continuing efforts of our senior management team and other key personnel, and our business may be harmed if we lose their services.

Our future success depends heavily upon the continuing services of the members of our senior management team and other key personnel, in particular Mr. Yinan Hu, our chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Qiuping Lai, our president, Mr. Peng Ge, our chief financial officer, Mr. Feng Jin, our chief operating officer and chief information officer, Mr. Chunlin Wang, the head of our property and casualty business unit, and Mr. Chengbin Li, the head of our life insurance business unit. If one or more of our senior executives or other key personnel, are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily, or at all. As such, our business may be disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Competition for senior management and key personnel is intense, the pool of qualified candidates is very limited, and we may not be able to retain the services of our senior executives or key personnel, or attract and retain high-quality senior executives or key personnel in the future. As is customary in the PRC, we do not have insurance coverage for the loss of our senior management team or other key personnel.

In addition, if any member of our senior management team or any of our other key personnel joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose customers, sensitive trade information and key professionals and staff members. Each of our executive officers and key employees has entered into an employment agreement with us which contains confidentiality and non-competition provisions. These agreements generally have an initial term of three years, and are automatically extended for successive one-year terms unless terminated earlier pursuant to the terms of the agreement. See “Item 6.A. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—Directors and Senior Management—Employment Agreements” for a more detailed description of the key terms of these employment agreements. If any disputes arise between any of our senior executives or key personnel and us, we cannot assure you of the extent to which any of these agreements may be enforced.

Sales agent and employee misconduct is difficult to detect and deter and could harm our reputation or lead to regulatory sanctions or litigation costs.

Sales agent and employee misconduct could result in violations of law by us, regulatory sanctions, litigation or serious reputational or financial harm. Misconduct could include:

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making misrepresentation when marketing or selling insurance products to customers;

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hindering insurance applicants from making full and accurate mandatory disclosures or inducing applicants into make misrepresentations;

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hiding or falsifying material information in relation to the insurance contracts;

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fabricating or altering insurance contracts without authorization from relevant parties, selling false policies, or providing false documents on behalf of the applicants;

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falsifying insurance agency business or fraudulently returning insurance policies to obtain commissions;

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colluding with applicants, insured, or beneficiaries to obtain insurance benefits;

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engaging in false claims; or

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otherwise not complying with laws and regulations or our control policies or procedures.

We cannot always deter sales agent or employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to prevent and detect these activities may not be effective in all cases. We cannot assure you, therefore, that sales agent or employee misconduct will not lead to a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

All of our personnel engaging in insurance agency, brokering or claims adjusting activities are required under relevant PRC regulations to have a qualification certificate issued by the CIRC. If these qualification requirements are strictly enforced in the future, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

All of our personnel who engage in insurance agency, brokering and claims adjusting activities are required under relevant PRC regulations to obtain a qualification certificate from the CIRC in order to conduct insurance agency, brokering or claims adjusting business. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Regulation.” In addition, we understand that the CIRC requires that every individual agent carry the qualification certificate and other credentials showing specific information when conducting agency business. Under the relevant PRC regulations, an insurance agency, brokerage or claims adjusting firm that retains unqualified personnel to engage in insurance intermediary activities may be fined up to RMB10,000. As of April 15, 2010, approximately 83.5% of our sales professionals had received a qualification certificate. If more local CIRC agencies were to strictly enforce these regulations in the future, and if a substantial number of our sales forces remain unqualified, our business may be adversely affected. Moreover, we may be subject to fines and other administrative proceedings for the failure of our insurance professionals to obtain the necessary CIRC qualification certificate. Any such fines or administrative proceedings could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The implementation of the recently proposed insurance sales system reform involves substantial uncertainties and the fee-based revenue scheme adopted by several of our affiliated property and casualty insurance agencies may be subject to challenge by the PRC tax authorities.

The CIRC issued a consultation paper for opinions on the reform of insurance sales system in June 2009, which aims to replace the pyramid structure commonly used in insurance industry organization with a retail distribution system in order to clarify the employment status of all insurance agents. Under this consultation paper, all insurance salespersons may become (i) employees of insurance companies or insurance intermediaries; (ii) employees of labor services companies, who are engaged to provide labor services to insurance companies; or (iii) individual sales agents, including independent sales agents who are allowed to register as sole-proprietors or partnership companies and who may sell insurance products on behalf of a variety of insurance companies, as well as insurance sales agents who are allowed to register as self-employed industrial and commercial households and may sell insurance products on behalf of one insurance company only. The reform is expected to be completed within five years. Currently there are no regulations setting forth the procedures for the registration of individual sales agents. The implementation and development of this insurance sales reform involves substantial uncertainties.

In response to the consultation paper, we submitted a proposal to the CIRC in June 2009 with respect to our pilot experiment and our trial fee-based revenue scheme. Under our proposal, individual insurance agents will be entitled to receive fees from insurance companies directly while we will become a platform service provider for sales agents and insurance companies and be compensated by platform service fees. In contrast, historically we have received commissions from insurance companies and we have paid fees to insurance salespersons out of these commissions. This has created a double taxation issue as we are required to pay business tax for the commissions we receive from the insurance companies and those insurance salespersons are also required to pay income tax for the fees that they receive from us.

As part of the pilot experiment proposal we submitted to the CIRC, with the approval from the CIRC, several of our affiliated property and casualty insurance agencies have adopted a trial revenue scheme since the second quarter of 2009. Under this scheme, only the platform service fees that we receive from insurance companies will be recognized as revenue and subject to business tax. As of April 15, 2010, with the written approval from the CIRC, five of our affiliated entities located in Tianjin and Zhejiang, Henan, Fujian and Hunan provinces have implemented the trial fee-based revenue scheme. Although tax authorities in Hunan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have adopted regulations to avoid double taxation, it is uncertain whether and when such regulations will be adopted by other provinces. If the PRC tax authorities determine that the tax liability assessment of those five affiliated entities under the trial revenue scheme is inappropriate, the business tax liabilities of our affiliated entities could increase and our affiliated entities may be subject to fines for tax underpayment, which may materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Our businesses are highly regulated, and the administration, interpretation and enforcement of the laws and regulations currently applicable to us involve uncertainties, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We operate in a highly regulated industry. The CIRC has extensive authority to supervise and regulate the insurance industry in China. In exercising its authority, the CIRC is given wide discretion, and the administration, interpretation and enforcement of the laws and regulations applicable to us involve uncertainties that could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. For example, it is not clear when the CIRC will start strictly enforcing the qualification requirements for sales professionals affiliated with professional insurance intermediaries like us. Although we have not had any material violations to date, we cannot assure you that our operations will always be consistent with the interpretation and enforcement of the laws and regulations by the CIRC from time to time.

Further development of regulations in China may impose additional costs and restrictions on our activities.

China’s insurance regulatory regime is undergoing significant changes. Some of these changes and the further development of regulations applicable to us may result in additional restrictions on our activities or more intensive competition in this industry. For example, under the provisions for administration of professional insurance agencies and brokerages adopted on September 18, 2009, insurance agencies and brokerage companies are required to increase their guaranty deposit, which generally cannot be withdrawn without the CIRC’s approval, when they open any new branches. Furthermore, pursuant to the provisions, the minimum registered capital requirements for insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms have been increased substantially. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Regulation.” Insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms that have been established before October 1, 2009 will be given a three-year phase-in period until October 1, 2012 to meet the new minimum registered capital requirement. Such increase would reduce the amount of cash available for other business purposes. In addition, according to the Insurance Law amended on February 28, 2009, sole-proprietor insurance agencies are now allowed. This change may lead to intensified competition among insurance agencies. Such development of regulations could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have conducted some of our business through four of our subsidiaries, which do not possess insurance agency or brokerage licenses.

Four of our subsidiaries run our operating platform and maintain our customer database. In addition, they have provided information about potential customers to insurance companies, which paid fees to these subsidiaries if these customers purchased insurance policies. Our PRC counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, has informed us that in its opinion, the provision of customer information to and the collection of fees from insurance companies by our subsidiaries comply with existing PRC laws and regulations. We cannot assure you, however, that the relevant PRC regulatory authorities will not take a view contrary to ours or that of our PRC counsel. If the CIRC clarifies existing regulations on insurance agencies and brokerages or adopts new regulations that classify the provision of customer information to insurance companies as a form of insurance agency or brokerage services, our subsidiaries may be deemed to have engaged in insurance agency or brokerage services without proper license and as a result, we may be subject to administrative penalties, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

We are subject to reporting obligations under U.S. securities laws. Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the related rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, every public company is required to include a management report on the company’s internal controls over financial reporting in its annual report, which contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting. In addition, an independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting. These requirements first apply to our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2008.

Our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2009. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures.” However, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting in the future. If we fail to do so, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. Moreover, if we were not able to conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which would negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs. Our reporting obligations as a public company, including our efforts to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, will continue to place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future.

We may face legal action by the former employers or principals of entrepreneurial agents who join our distribution and service network.

Competition for productive sales agents is intense within the Chinese insurance industry. When an entrepreneurial agent leaves his or her employer or principal to join our distribution and service network as our sales agent, we may face legal action by the former employer or principal of the entrepreneurial agent on the ground of unfair competition or breach of contract. As of the date of this annual report, there has been no such action filed or threatened against us. We cannot assure you that this will not happen in the future. Any such legal actions, regardless of merit, could be expensive and time-consuming and could divert resources and management attention from the operation of our business. If we were found liable in such a legal action, we might be required to pay substantial damages to the former employer or principal of the entrepreneurial agent, and our business reputation might be harmed. Moreover, the filing of such a legal action may discourage potential entrepreneurial agents from leaving their employers or principals, thus reducing the number of entrepreneurial agents we can recruit and potentially harming our growth prospects.

Any significant failure in our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and profitability.

Our business is highly dependent on the ability of our information technology systems to timely process a large number of transactions across different markets and products at a time when transaction processes have become increasingly complex and the volume of such transactions is growing rapidly. The proper functioning of our financial control, accounting, customer database, customer service and other data processing systems, together with the communication systems of our various subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities and our main offices in Guangzhou, is critical to our business and to our ability to compete effectively. We cannot assure you that our business activities would not be materially disrupted in the event of a partial or complete failure of any of these primary information technology or communication systems, which could be caused by, among other things, software malfunction, computer virus attacks or conversion errors due to system upgrading. In addition, a prolonged failure of our information technology system could damage our reputation and materially and adversely affect our future prospects and profitability.

If we are unable to respond in a timely and cost-effective manner to rapid technological change in the insurance intermediary industry, there may be a resulting adverse effect on business and operating results.

The insurance industry is increasingly influenced by rapid technological change, frequent new product and service introductions and evolving industry standards. For example, the insurance intermediary industry has increased use of the Internet to communicate benefits and related information to consumers and to facilitate information exchange and transactions. We believe that our future success will depend on our ability to continue to anticipate technological changes and to offer additional product and service opportunities that meet evolving standards on a timely and cost-effective basis. There is a risk that we may not successfully identify new product and service opportunities or develop and introduce these opportunities in a timely and cost-effective manner. In addition, product and service opportunities that our competitors develop or introduce may render our products and services uncompetitive. As a result, we can give no assurances that technological changes that may affect our industry in the future will not have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We face risks related to health epidemics, severe weather conditions and other catastrophes, which could materially and adversely affect our business.

Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, another health epidemic, severe weather conditions or other catastrophes. In April 2009, influenza A (H1N1), a new strain of flu virus commonly referred to as “swine flu,” was first discovered in North America and quickly spread to other parts of the world, including China. In January and February 2008, a series of severe winter storms afflicted extensive damages and significantly disrupted people’s lives in large portions of southern and central China. In May 2008, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan Province in southwestern China, causing huge casualties and property damages. Because our business operations rely heavily on the efforts of individual sales agents, in-house sales representatives and claims adjustors, any prolonged recurrence of avian flu or SARS, or the occurrence of other adverse public health developments such as influenza A (H1N1), severe weather conditions such as the massive snow storms in January and February 2008 and other catastrophes such as the Sichuan earthquake may significantly disrupt our staffing and otherwise reduce the activity level of our work force, thus causing a material and adverse effect on our business operations

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our China business do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties.

PRC laws and regulations place certain restrictions on foreign investment in and ownership of insurance intermediary companies. We conduct our operations in China principally through contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries (Guangdong Meidiya Investment Co., Ltd., or Meidiya Investment, and Sichuan Yihe Investment Co., Ltd., or Yihe Investment), and the shareholders and the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment. Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment together, directly or indirectly, held equity interests ranging from 51% to 100% in 56 PRC insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms as of April 15, 2010. These wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment hold the licenses and permits necessary to conduct our insurance intermediary business in China.

Our contractual arrangements with Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment, their shareholders and their subsidiaries enable us to:

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exercise effective control over Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries;

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receive a substantial portion of the economic benefits of the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment in consideration for the services provided by our wholly-owned subsidiaries in China; and

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have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in each of Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

Because of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries and have consolidated them into our consolidated financial statements. If we, our PRC subsidiaries, Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment or any of the existing and future subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the CIRC, will have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

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revoking the business and operating licenses of our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities;

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restricting or prohibiting any related-party transactions among our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities;

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imposing fines or other requirements with which we, our PRC subsidiaries or our consolidated affiliated entities may not be able to comply;

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requiring us, our PRC subsidiaries or our consolidated affiliated entities to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations; or

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restricting or prohibiting us from providing additional funding for our business and operations in China.

The imposition of any of these penalties could result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

We rely on contractual arrangements with Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries and shareholders for our China operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership.

We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with our PRC consolidated affiliated entities, Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, and their subsidiaries and shareholders to operate our business in China. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4.C. Information on the Company—Organizational Structure.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with control over Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries as direct ownership. We have no direct or indirect equity interests in Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment or any of their subsidiaries.

If we had direct ownership of Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. But under the current contractual arrangements, as a legal matter, if Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment or any of their subsidiaries and shareholders fails to perform its or his obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and other resources to enforce such arrangements and rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages, which may not be effective. For example, if the shareholders of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment to us or our designee when we exercise the call option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal action to compel them to fulfill their contractual obligations.

All of our contractual arrangements with Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries and shareholders are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our consolidated affiliated entities, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.

The shareholders of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Two individual shareholders, Mr. Qiuping Lai and Mr. Peng Ge, hold 100% of the equity interest in each of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment. Conflicts of interest may arise between Mr. Lai’s or Mr. Ge’s dual role as a shareholder of our consolidated affiliated entities and as an executive officer of our company. We do not have existing arrangements to address these potential conflicts of interest and cannot assure you that when conflicts arise, those individuals will act in the best interest of our company or that conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

Contractual arrangements we have entered into with the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities. A finding that we owe additional taxes could substantially reduce our consolidated net income and the value of your investment.

Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements between our subsidiaries and the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment are not on an arm’s-length basis and adjust the income of the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, which could in turn increase their respective tax liabilities. Moreover, the PRC tax authorities may impose penalties on our consolidated affiliated entities for underpayment of taxes. Our consolidated net income may be materially and adversely affected by the occurrence of any of the foregoing.

PRC regulation of loans and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from making loans to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities or making additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

We are an offshore holding company conducting our operations in China through PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities. In order to provide additional funding to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, we may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries.

Any loans we make to either of our directly-held PRC subsidiaries (both of which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law), Fanhua Zhonglian Enterprise Image Planning (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Haidileji Enterprise Image Planning (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.), or Zhonglian Enterprise, and Fanhua Xinlian Information Technology Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Yiqiman Enterprise Management Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.), or Xinlian Information, cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, or its local counterparts. Under applicable PRC law, the Chinese regulators must approve the amount of a foreign-invested enterprise’s registered capital, which represents shareholders’ equity investments over a defined period of time, and the foreign-invested enterprise’s total investment, which represents the total of the company’s registered capital plus permitted loans. The registered capital/total investment ratio cannot be lower than the minimum statutory requirement and the excess of the total investment over the registered capital represents the maximum amount of borrowings that a foreign-invested enterprise is permitted to have under PRC law. Our directly-held PRC subsidiaries were allowed to incur a total of HK$160 million in foreign debts as of April 15, 2010. If we were to provide loans to our directly-held PRC subsidiaries in excess of the above amount, we would have to apply to the relevant government authorities for an increase in their permitted total investment amounts. The various applications could be time consuming and their outcomes would be uncertain. Concurrently with the loans, we might have to make capital contributions to these subsidiaries in order to maintain the statutory minimum registered capital/total investment ratio, and such capital contributions involve uncertainties of their own, as discussed below. Furthermore, even if we make loans to our directly-held PRC subsidiaries that do not exceed their current maximum amount of borrowings, we will have to register each loan with the SAFE or its local counterpart within 15 days after the signing of the relevant loan agreement. Subject to the conditions stipulated by the SAFE, the SAFE or its local counterpart will issue a registration certificate of foreign debts to us within 20 days after reviewing and accepting our application. In practice, it may take longer to complete such SAFE registration process.

Any loans we make to any of our indirectly-held PRC subsidiaries (those PRC subsidiaries which we hold indirectly through Zhonglian Enterprise and Xinlian Information) or to any of our PRC consolidated affiliated entities, all of which are treated as PRC domestic companies rather than foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law, are also subject to various PRC regulations and approvals. Under applicable PRC regulations, medium- and long-term international commercial loans to PRC domestic companies are subject to approval by the National Development and Reform Commission. Short-term international commercial loans to PRC domestic companies are subject to the balance control system effected by the SAFE. Due to the above restrictions, we are not likely to make loans to any of our indirectly-held PRC subsidiaries or to any of our PRC consolidated affiliated entities.

Any capital contributions we make to our PRC subsidiaries, including directly-held and indirectly-held PRC subsidiaries, must be approved by the PRC Ministry of Commerce or its local counterparts, and registered with the SAFE or its local counterparts. Such applications and registrations could be time consuming and their outcomes would be uncertain.

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 by us to our PRC subsidiaries or PRC consolidated affiliated entities, or with respect to future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely and materially affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Adverse changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China, which could adversely affect our business.

Substantially all of our business operations are conducted in China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are subject to a significant degree to economic, political and legal developments in China. China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past 30 years or so, growth has been uneven across different regions and among various economic sectors of China. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic development and guide the allocation of resources. While some of these measures benefit the overall PRC economy, they may also have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us.

Although the PRC government has implemented measures since the late 1970s emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, the PRC government still owns a substantial portion of productive assets in China. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency- denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Actions and policies of the PRC government could materially affect our ability to operate our business.

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

We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Our subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value.

Although since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until some time after the violation. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

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

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from the SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. But approval from appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. Under our current corporate structure, the primary source of our income at the holding company level is dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated affiliated entities to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy their foreign currency denominated obligations. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency needs, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.

The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law may increase the enterprise income tax rate applicable to some of our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, which could have a material adverse effect on our result of operations.

According to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008, as further clarified by subsequent tax regulations implementing the EIT Law, foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises are subject to enterprise income tax, or EIT, at a uniform rate of 25%, unless otherwise provided. Enterprises that were established and enjoyed preferential tax treatments before March 16, 2007 will continue to enjoy such preferential tax treatments in the following manners: (1) in the case of preferential tax rates, for a five-year transition period starting from January 1, 2008, during which the EIT rate of such enterprises will gradually increase to the uniform 25% EIT rate by January 1, 2012; or (2) in the case of preferential tax exemption or reduction with a specified term, until the expiration of such term. However, if such an enterprise has not enjoyed the preferential treatments yet because of its failure to make a profit, its term for preferential treatments will be deemed to start from 2008.

As a result of the implementation of the EIT Law, certain preferential tax treatments enjoyed by some of our consolidated affiliated entities expired on January 1, 2008. According to the EIT Law and related regulations, the preferential tax rates enjoyed by some of our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities incorporated in Shenzhen, a special economic zone, will gradually increase to the uniform 25% EIT rate during the five year transition period. An increase in the EIT rates for those entities pursuant to the EIT Law could result in an increase in our effective tax rate, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

Our global income or the dividends we receive from our PRC subsidiaries may be subject to PRC tax under the EIT Law, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with “de facto management bodies” within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to the EIT at the rate of 25% on its worldwide income. The Implementation Rules of the EIT Law, or the Implementation Rules, define the term “de facto management bodies” as “establishments that carry out substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, accounting, properties, etc. of an enterprise.” If we are deemed a resident enterprise, we may be subject to the EIT at 25% on our global income, except that the dividends we receive from our PRC subsidiary will be exempt from the EIT. If we are considered a resident enterprise and earn income other than dividends from our PRC subsidiaries, a 25% EIT on our global income could significantly increase our tax burden and materially and adversely affect our cash flow and profitability.

Under the applicable PRC tax laws in effect before January 1, 2008, dividend payments to foreign investors made by foreign-invested enterprises in China, such as our subsidiaries Zhonglian Enterprise and Xinlian Information, were exempt from PRC withholding tax. We have also been advised by our PRC counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, that pursuant to the EIT Law and the Implementation Rules, however, dividends payable by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its foreign investors will be subject to a 10% withholding tax, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. The British Virgin Islands, where our wholly-owned subsidiary and the 100% shareholder of Zhonglian Enterprise and Xinlian Information is incorporated, does not have such a tax treaty with China. Under the EIT Law and the Implementation Rules, if we are regarded as a resident enterprise, the dividends we receive from our PRC subsidiaries will be exempt from the EIT. If, however, we are not regarded as a resident enterprise, our PRC subsidiaries will be required to pay a 10% withholding tax for any dividends they pay to us. As a result, the amount of fund available to us to meet our cash requirements, including the payment of dividends to our shareholders and ADS holders, could be materially reduced.

Under the EIT Law, dividends payable by us and gains on the disposition of our shares or ADSs could be subject to PRC taxation.

We have been advised by our PRC counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, that because there remains uncertainty regarding the interpretation and implementation of the EIT Law and its Implementation Rules, it is uncertain whether any dividends to be distributed by us, if we are regarded as a PRC resident enterprise, to our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders would be subject to any PRC withholding tax. If we are required under the EIT Law to withhold PRC income tax on our dividends payable to our non-PRC corporate shareholders and ADS holders, or if gains on the disposition of our shares or ADSs are subject to the PRC EIT, your investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected.

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

We are a holding company, and we rely principally on dividends from our subsidiaries in China and service, license and other fees paid to our subsidiaries by our consolidated affiliated entities for our cash requirements, including any debt we may incur. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year as reported in its PRC statutory financial statements, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital, and each of our PRC subsidiaries that are considered foreign-invested enterprises is required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits as reported in its PRC statutory financial statements to fund the employee welfare fund at the discretion of the board. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. As of December 31, 2009, the total retained earnings of our PRC subsidiaries available for dividend distributions were RMB659.2 million (US$96.6 million). Furthermore, if our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities 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 and consolidated affiliated entities 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.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect us.

The SAFE issued a public notice in October 2005, commonly known in China as “SAFE Circular 75,” requiring PRC residents to register with the local SAFE branch before establishing or controlling any company outside of China, referred to in the notice as an “offshore special purpose company,” for the purpose of raising capital backed by assets or equities of PRC companies. PRC residents that are shareholders of offshore special purpose companies established before November 1, 2005 were required to register with the local SAFE branch before March 31, 2006. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations on Foreign Exchange—Foreign Exchange Registration of Offshore Investment by PRC Residents.”

We have requested our beneficial owners who to our knowledge are PRC residents to make the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required under SAFE Circular 75 and other related rules. We attempt to comply, and attempt to ensure that our beneficial owners who are subject to these rules comply, with the relevant requirements. However, we cannot assure you that all of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents will comply with our request to make or obtain any applicable registrations or comply with other requirements under SAFE Circular 75 or other related rules. The failure of these beneficial owners to timely amend their SAFE registrations pursuant to SAFE Circular 75 or the failure of future beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 75 may subject such beneficial owners to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to our company or otherwise adversely affect our business.

On December 25, 2006, the People’s Bank of China promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange, and on January 5, 2007, the SAFE further promulgated implementation rules for those measures. We refer to these regulations collectively as the Individual Foreign Exchange Rules. The Individual Foreign Exchange Rules became effective on February 1, 2007. According to these regulations, PRC citizens who are granted shares or share options by a company listed on an overseas stock market according to its employee share option or share incentive plan are required, through the PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company or any other qualified PRC agent, to register with the SAFE and to complete certain other procedures related to the share option or other share incentive plan. Foreign exchange income received from the sale of shares or dividends distributed by the overseas listed company may be remitted into a foreign currency account of such PRC citizen or be exchanged into Renminbi. Our PRC citizen employees who have been granted share options became subject to the Individual Foreign Exchange Rules upon the listing of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market. If we or our PRC citizen employees fail to comply with these regulations, we or our PRC option holders may be subject to fines and legal sanctions.

Fluctuation in the value of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar. Under the new policy, the RMB is permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. This change in policy has resulted in an approximately 17.5% appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar between July 21, 2005 and April 30, 2010. However, under the current global financial and economic conditions, it is impossible to predict with any certainty how the RMB will move vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar in the near future.

Our revenues and costs are mostly denominated in the RMB, and a significant portion of our financial assets are also denominated in RMB. We rely entirely on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may affect our cash flows, revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, a further appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would make any new RMB-denominated investments or expenditures more costly to us, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into the RMB for such purposes. An appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would also result in foreign currency translation losses for financial reporting purposes when we translate our U.S. dollar denominated financial assets into the RMB, as the RMB is our reporting currency. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our reported earnings, and may adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, may have been required in connection with our initial public offering in October 2007 under a PRC regulation adopted in August 2006. Based on advice of our PRC counsel, we did not seek CSRC’s approval for our initial public offering. Any requirement to obtain prior CSRC approval and a failure to obtain this approval, if required, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, reputation and trading price of our ADSs.

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, namely, the PRC Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration for Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the CSRC and the SAFE, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, which became effective on September 8, 2006. These regulations purport, among other things, to require offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for overseas listing purposes and controlled by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published a notice on its official website specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by SPVs seeking CSRC approval of their overseas listings.

At the time of our initial public offering in October 2007, while the application of the new regulations remained unclear, our PRC counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, advised us that, based on their understanding of the PRC laws and regulations effective at that time as well as the procedures announced on September 21, 2006:

•

the CSRC had jurisdiction over our offering;

•

the CSRC by then had not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings like our initial public offering were subject to this new procedure; and

•

despite the above, given that we had completed our inbound investment before September 8, 2006, the effective date of the M&A Rule, an application was not required under the M&A Rule to be submitted to the CSRC for its approval of the listing and trading of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market, unless we were clearly required to do so by subsequent rules of the CSRC.

Based on advice of our PRC counsel, we did not seek CSRC’s approval for our initial public offering. We, however, cannot assure you that the relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would have reached the same conclusion as our PRC counsel. If the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies subsequently determine that the CSRC’s approval was required for our initial public offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. In such event, these regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limit our operating privileges in the PRC, or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs.

The regulation discussed above could also make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.

The regulation discussed in the preceding risk factor also established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the Ministry of Commerce be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. To date, we have conducted our acquisitions in China exclusively through our PRC consolidated affiliated entities. In the future, we may grow our business in part by directly acquiring complementary businesses rather than through our PRC consolidated affiliated entities, although we currently do not have any plans to do so. Complying with the requirements of the new regulations to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the Ministry of Commerce, may prevent us from completing such transactions on a timely basis, or at all, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.

The PRC Labor Contract Law and its implementing rules may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

On June 29, 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China enacted the Labor Contract Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008. On September 18, 2008, the State Council adopted the implementing rules for the Labor Contract Law, which became effective upon adoption. This new labor law and its implementing rules have reinforced the protection for employees, who, under the existing PRC Labor Law, already have certain rights, such as the right to have written labor contracts, the right to enter into labor contracts with no fixed terms under specific circumstances, the right to receive overtime wages when working overtime, and the right to terminate or alter terms in the labor contracts. In addition, the Labor Contract Law and its implementing rules have made some amendments to the existing PRC Labor Law and added some clauses that could increase cost of labor to employers. For example, under the Labor Contract Law, employers are required to base their decisions to dismiss employees on seniority, as opposed to merit, under certain circumstances. As the Labor Contract Law and its implementing rules are relatively new, there remains significant uncertainty as to their interpretation and application by the PRC government authorities. In the event that we decide to significantly reduce our workforce, the Labor Contract Law and its implementing rules could adversely affect our ability to effect these changes cost-effectively or in the manner we desire, which could lead to a negative impact on our business and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our ADSs

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile.

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors including the following:

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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating results;

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changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

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conditions in the Chinese insurance industry;

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changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other insurance intermediaries;

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announcements by us or our competitors of new products, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

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addition or departure of key personnel;

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fluctuations of exchange rates between the RMB and U.S. dollar or other foreign currencies;

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potential litigation or administrative investigations;

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sales of additional ADSs; and

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general economic or political conditions in China.

In addition, the securities market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our ADSs.

We may need additional capital, and the sale of additional ADSs or other equity securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders.

We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for the foreseeable future. We may, however, require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of additional equity securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

Substantial future sales of our ordinary shares or ADSs, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

Additional sales of our ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. If any existing shareholder or shareholders sell a substantial amount of ordinary shares in the form of ADSs, the market price of our ADSs could decline. In addition, we may issue additional ordinary shares as considerations for future acquisitions. If we do so, your ownership interests in our company would be diluted and this in turn could have an adverse effect on the price of our ADSs.

Our corporate actions are substantially controlled by our officers, directors and principal shareholders.

As of April 15, 2010, our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders beneficially owned approximately 55.4% of our outstanding shares. These shareholders could exert substantial influence over matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including electing directors and approving mergers or other business combination transactions, and they may not act in the best interests of other noncontrolling shareholders. This concentration of our share ownership also may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of our ADSs. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders.

You may not have the same voting rights as the holders of our ordinary shares and may not receive voting materials in time to be able to exercise your right to vote.

Except as described in this annual report and in the deposit agreement, holders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise voting rights attaching to the shares evidenced by our ADSs on an individual basis. Holders of ADSs may instruct the depositary to exercise the voting rights attaching to the shares represented by the ADSs. If no instructions are received by the depositary on or before a date established by the depositary, the depositary shall deem the holders to have instructed it to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to exercise their voting rights. You may not receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote.

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

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary will not offer those rights to ADS holders unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. In addition, we may not be able to take advantage of any exemptions from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, holders of our ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in their holdings as a result.

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

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

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law, conduct substantially all of our operations in China and most of our directors and officers reside outside the United States. In addition, Cayman Islands securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors as compared to U.S. laws.

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and conduct substantially all of our operations in China through our wholly owned subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China. Most of our directors and officers reside outside the United States and some or all of the assets of those persons are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States or elsewhere outside China upon these persons. 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, most of whom are not residents in the United States and some or all of whose assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against us or our officers and directors predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state. Our PRC counsel has advised us that China does not have treaties with the United States or many other countries providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgment of courts. It is also uncertain whether the Cayman Islands or PRC courts would be competent to hear original actions brought in the Cayman Islands or the PRC against us or our officers and directors predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Law (2009 Revision) and common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against our directors, actions by noncontrolling shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, because Cayman Islands law has no legislation specifically dedicated to the rights of investors in securities, and thus no statutorily defined private causes of action specific to investors in securities such as those found under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in the United States, it provides significantly less protection to investors. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States.

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests through actions against our management, directors or major shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States.

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

Our articles of association contain provisions limiting the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to enter into change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. For example, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares, in the form of ADS or otherwise. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of our ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

You may have to rely on price appreciation of our ADSs for any return on your investment.

Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in our ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of our ADSs. There is no guarantee that our ADSs will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which you purchased the ADSs. You may not realize a return on your investment in our ADSs and you may even lose your entire investment in our ADSs.

We may become a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences for U.S. Holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

Based on the market price of our ADSs, the value of our assets, and the composition of our income and assets, we do not believe that we were a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our taxable year ended December 31, 2009. A non-U.S. corporation will be a PFIC for any taxable year if either (1) at least 75% of its gross income for such year is passive income or (2) at least 50% of the value of its assets (based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets) during such year is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income. We must make a separate determination after the close of each taxable year as to whether we were a PFIC for that year. The composition of our income and assets will be affected by how, and how quickly, we use any cash we generate from our operations or raise in any offering. Because the value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC test will generally be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares may cause us to become a PFIC. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Item 10.E. Additional Information—Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation”) holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. See “Item 10.E. Additional Information—Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company.”

Item 4. Information on the Company

A.

History and Development of the Company

Our founders, Mr. Yinan Hu and Mr. Qiuping Lai, formed two PRC companies, Guangzhou Nanyun Car Rental Services Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Nanfeng Automobile Association Co., Ltd., initially to provide automobile-related services, such as car rental and emergency services. In 1999, we began distributing automobile insurance products and automobile loans on an ancillary basis. In 2001, our founders transferred their interests in the two PRC companies to China United Financial Services Holdings Limited (then known as China Automobile Association Holdings Limited), or China United Financial Services, a newly established British Virgin Islands company, as part of a series of transactions in which Cathay Capital Group, a private equity group, made an investment in China United Financial Services by subscribing for 40% of the equity interests.

We established two insurance agencies, Beijing Fanlian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Fanhua Nanfeng Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Guangdong Nanfeng Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.), or Guangdong Nanfeng, in April and May 2002, respectively, and obtained professional agency licenses to distribute insurance products in Beijing and Guangdong.

As part of its corporate restructuring to facilitate international fundraising, China United Financial Services incorporated CISG Holdings Ltd., or CISG Holdings, a British Virgin Islands company, in June 2004 as the holding company for its insurance agency and brokerage businesses and transferred to CISG Holdings all of its rights and interests in four PRC insurance intermediary companies it then controlled. In September 2004, Cathay Capital Group subscribed for approximately 27.8% of the equity interests in CISG Holdings.

From June 2004 to December 2005, we expanded our operations by establishing eight insurance agencies and brokerages in Beijing, Sichuan and Guangdong.

In December 2005, an entity affiliated with CDH Growth Capital Holdings Company Limited, or CDH Growth Capital Holdings, a private equity firm, subscribed for approximately 26.4% of the equity interests in CISG Holdings. Through CDH investment, we commenced our life insurance business by acquiring controlling interests in three insurance agencies in Sichuan, Hebei and Fujian and further expanded our operation by establishing four insurance agencies in Shandong, Hunan, Shenzhen and Shanghai in 2006. We established one insurance agency in Fujian and one insurance brokerage in Guangdong in early 2007.

In anticipation of our initial public offering, we incorporated CNinsure Inc. in the Cayman Islands in April 2007. In July 2007, CNinsure Inc., on a 10,000-for-one basis, issued its ordinary shares to the then existing shareholders of CISG Holdings in exchange for all of the outstanding shares of CISG Holdings. After this restructuring transaction, CNinsure Inc. became the ultimate holding company of our group.

On October 31, 2007, we listed our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “CISG.” We and certain selling shareholders of our company completed the initial public offering of 13,526,773 ADSs, each representing 20 ordinary shares, on November 5, 2007.

From the completion of our initial public offering to April 15, 2010, we further expanded our service offerings to include claims adjusting services and certain consumer financial products and services, and extended our distribution and service network. We established 15 new insurance agencies and acquired, through our consolidated affiliated entities, controlling interests in 15 insurance agencies and four insurance claims adjusting firms. We also acquired 18.16% equity interest in a consumer credit brokerage company. The following table sets forth detailed information of the entities we acquired or established between January 1, 2009 and April 15, 2010:

				% of Equity
				Interests
Date of Establishment(1)		Name of Established or		Attributable to				Main Insurance Products		Location
or Acquisition(2)		Acquired Company		Us				Distributed or Services Provided		(Province)
January 13, 2009(1)		Shandong Datong Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(3)			33	%		Distribution of life insurance products		Shandong
January 16, 2009(1)		Henan Datong Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(3)			33	%		Distribution of life insurance products		Henan
April 1, 2009(2)		Hangzhou Fanhua Zhixin Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(Hangzhou Zhixin)			51	%		Distribution of property and casualty insurance products		Zhejiang
April 1, 2009(2)		Henan Fanhua Anlian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Zhengzhou Fanhua Anlian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.) (Fanhua Anlian)			51	%		Distribution of property and casualty insurance products		Henan
June 1, 2009(2)		Shenzhen Fanhua Property and Casualty Insurance Surveyors & Loss Adjustors Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Shenzhen Hongzhengda Insurance Surveyors & Loss Adjustors Co., Ltd.)(4)			51	%		Provision of claims adjusting services		Guangdong
June 30, 2009(2)		Chengdu Datong Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(3)			33	%		Distribution of life insurance products		Sichuan
June 30, 2009(2)		Hunan Datong Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(3)			33	%		Distribution of life insurance products		Hunan
July 15, 2009(1)		Liaoning Datong Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(3)			33	%		Distribution of life insurance products		Liaoning
September 21, 2009(1)		Guangzhou Datong Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.(3)			33	%		Distribution of life insurance products		Guangdong
October 16, 2009(1)		Shenzhen Fanhua Software Co., Ltd.(4)			51	%		Operating platform management and maintenance		Shenzhen
November 1, 2009(2)		China Financial Services Group Limited(5)			18.16	%		Distribution of consumer financial services and products		Guangdong
January 1, 2010(2)		Hebei Fanlian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.			51	%		Distribution of property and casualty insurance products		Hebei
January 1, 2010(2)		Litian Zhuoyue Software (Beijing) Co., Ltd.			100	%		Operating platform management and maintenance		Beijing
April 1, 2010(2)		Shandong Fanhua Mintai Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.			51	%		Distribution of property and casualty insurance products		Shandong
April 1, 2010(2)		Ningbo Baolian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.			51	%		Distribution of property and casualty insurance products		Zhejiang

Our principal executive offices are located at 22/F, Yinhai Building, No. 299 Yanjiang Zhong Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510110, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86-20-6122-2777.

Recent Developments to Principal Acquisition

In September 2008, one of our consolidated affiliated entities in China, Meidiya Investment, entered into a shareholders agreement with Chengdu Mingxia Industrial Co., Ltd., or Mingxia Industrial, and Mr. Keping Lin, the then two existing shareholders of Datong Investment, a Beijing-based company specializing in life insurance distribution. Mingxia Industrial is a PRC company owned by a group of insurance professionals led by Mr. Lin, who had been a vice president of New China Life Insurance Company Limited, a major life insurance company in China. Under this agreement, Meidiya Investment agreed to acquire 55% of the equity interests in Datong Investment from Mingxia Industrial for RMB11 million in cash. Mr. Lin, who holds the remaining 45% equity interests in Datong Investment, agreed to invest RMB20 million into the capital reserve of Datong Investment. Mingxia Industrial and Mr. Lin agreed that Datong Investment’s net profit, after adjusting for certain payments to be made to Meidiya Investment or its affiliates, will be no less than RMB10 million, RMB30 million and RMB80 million in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. If Datong Investment fails to achieve at least 60% of the net profit target in any of the three years, or if the total net profit for the three-year period is less than RMB96 million, Mr. Lin will transfer part of his equity interests in Datong Investment, determined pursuant to a formula specified in the shareholders agreement, to Meidiya Investment at nominal value. The parties also agreed that all of Datong Investment’s net profits in 2009 to 2011 will be distributed to Meidiya Investment upon its request.

Under the shareholders agreement, Mingxia Industrial and Mr. Keping Lin also agreed that Datong Investment and its subsidiaries will establish 90 sales teams with 3,300 productive sales agents and achieve a monthly premium target of RMB33 million, calculated pursuant to a formula specified in the agreement, by the end of 2011. In order to guarantee the fulfillment of these performance targets, Mingxia Industrial and Mr. Lin agreed to provide RMB180 million to Meidiya Investment as a security deposit. This amount will be returned to those shareholders in nine installments, up to RMB20 million per installment, upon the fulfillment of nine different levels of performance targets before December 31, 2011. If Datong Investment has failed to achieve all of the nine levels of performance targets, and therefore less than the full amount of the security deposit has been returned, by December 31, 2011, Meidiya Investment will have the right to keep any remaining amount.

Pursuant to the shareholders agreement, upon completion of the equity transfer, the board of directors of Datong Investment will consist of seven members, four of whom will be appointed by Meidiya Investment and the other three by Mr. Keping Lin. Meidiya Investment agreed to continue to appoint Mr. Lin as the chairman of the board of directors of Datong Investment. Mr. Lin agreed not to engage in any business that competes with Datong Investment’s business while he is a shareholder and for ten years after he is no longer a shareholder of Datong Investment. The agreement also contains customary representations and warranties from each of the parties.

Concurrently with the execution of the Datong Investment shareholders agreement described above, our subsidiary CISG Holdings entered into a share transfer agreement with Keep High Holdings Limited, or Keep High Holdings, a British Virgin Islands company and affiliate of Mingxia Industrial and Mr. Keping Lin. Under this agreement, CISG Holdings agreed to acquire 100% of the equity interests in Day Joy Holdings Limited, or Day Joy Holdings, a British Virgin Islands company and affiliate of Datong Investment, for RMB209 million in cash. Since the purchase price for Day Joy Holdings is based on the valuation of Datong Investment’s future operating results, CISG Holdings agreed that, after carving out Datong Investment related assets from Day Joy Holdings, it will transfer all the equity interests in Day Joy Holdings back to the seller for a nominal value within 10 days after the completion of the equity transfer contemplated under the Datong Investment shareholders agreement. All of the representations, warranties and covenants under the Datong Investment shareholders agreement were incorporated by reference into the share transfer agreement. Specifically, the parties acknowledged that, if Datong Investment fails to achieve the performance targets set forth under the Datong Investment shareholders agreement, Keep High Holdings will be liable for damages to CISG Holdings in an amount equal to the remaining amount of the security deposit provided by Mingxia Industrial and Mr. Keping Lin pursuant to the Datong Investment shareholders agreement to the extent the deposit has not been returned by December 31, 2011.

We completed the acquisitions of 55% of the equity interests in Datong Investment and 100% of the equity interests in Day Joy Holdings in November 2008. In accordance with the terms of the Day Joy Holdings share transfer agreement, we transferred all of the equity interests in Day Joy Holdings back to Keep High Holdings at a nominal value in November 2008.

On June 30, 2009, one of our consolidated affiliated entities in China, Meidiya Investment, and Mr. Keping Lin, a shareholder of Datong Investment, entered into a supplemental agreement, or Supplemental Agreement I, to the shareholders agreement dated September 17, 2008. Under Supplemental Agreement I, if Datong Investment fails to realize profit for each of the years from 2009 to 2011, Mr. Lin agrees to bear the loss by contributing his future profits from Datong Investment to offset the loss.

On November 20, 2009, Meidiya Investment and Mr. Lin entered into another supplemental agreement, or Supplemental Agreement II, to the shareholders agreement dated September 17, 2008. Under Supplemental Agreement II, for each year that Datong Investment fails to achieve net profit of RMB20.0 million, RMB38.4 million and RMB67.2 million for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively, Mr. Lin agrees to transfer 5% of his equity interests in Datong Investment for a consideration of RMB1. In order to guarantee the fulfillment of these performance targets, Mr. Lin has also provided Meidiya Investment a deposit of RMB180.0 million pursuant to the shareholders agreement. RMB40.0 million of the deposit has been returned to Mr. Lin and the remaining RMB140.0 million will be returned to him according to a formula specified in the Supplemental Agreement II. Supplemental Agreement II also provides for Mr. Lin’s exemption from his obligation of injecting RMB20.0 million into Datong Investment as additional paid-in capital if Datong Investment achieves its performance targets in 2010 and 2011.

B.

Business Overview

We are a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China. With 48,693 sales professionals, 1,421 claims adjustors and 571 sales and service outlets operating in 23 out of 31 provinces as of April 15, 2010. Our distribution and service network reaches some of China’s most economically developed regions and some of the most affluent cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

As an insurance intermediary company, we do not assume underwriting risks. Instead, we distribute to customers in China a wide variety of property, casualty and life insurance products underwritten by domestic and foreign insurance companies operating in China and provide insurance claims adjusting services, such as damage assessment, survey, authentication and loss estimation. We also provide certain value-added services, such as 24-hour emergency services in select cities and assistance with claim settlement, to our customers—individuals and institutions that purchase insurance products through us. In addition, we provide information about potential customers to insurance companies, which then sell insurance products to them, either directly or through our affiliated insurance intermediaries. Furthermore, in November 2009, we started to offer certain consumer financial products and services through a consumer credit brokerage company in which we hold noncontrolling interests. We are compensated for our services primarily by commissions and fees paid by insurance companies, typically based on a percentage of the premium paid by the insured or a percentage of the amount recovered from insurance companies. Commission and fee rates generally depend on the type of insurance products, the particular insurance company and the region in which the products are sold.

As of April 15, 2010, we had 56 affiliated insurance intermediary companies in the PRC, of which 49 are insurance agencies, three are insurance brokerages and four are insurance adjusting firms. According to the Insurance Intermediary Market Development Report for 2009 published by the CIRC, our affiliates included:

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eight of China’s top 20 insurance agencies, accounting for approximately 11.5% of total insurance agency revenue in China in 2009; and

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three of China’s top 20 insurance claims adjusting firms, accounting for approximately 13.2% of total claims adjusting firm revenue in China in 2009.

The professional insurance intermediary sector in China is at an early stage of development and highly fragmented. We believe this offers substantial opportunities for further growth and consolidation. We intend to take advantage of these opportunities to increase our market share by aggressively expanding our distribution network through selective acquisitions, recruitment of experienced and entrepreneurial sales agents and franchising. In particular, we intend to devote significant resources to distributing life insurance products in order to benefit from the recurring fee income they generate and to better capture the significant opportunities presented by China’s rapidly growing life insurance market.

Products and Services

We market and sell to our customers two broad categories of insurance products: property and casualty insurance products and life insurance products, both focused on meeting the insurance needs of individuals. The insurance products we sell are underwritten by some of the leading insurance companies in China. We also provide insurance claims adjusting services to both insurance companies and the insured as well as certain value-added services to our customers in conjunction with distributing automobile insurance products. In addition, in October 2009, we acquired a noncontrolling equity interest in CFSG, a consumer credit brokerage company specialized in distributing personal loans and residential mortgage loans for commercial banks. This acquisition marked our expansion into the consumer financial services sector.

Property and Casualty Insurance Products

Our main property and casualty insurance products are automobile insurance. In addition, we also offer individual accident insurance, commercial property insurance, and construction insurance products. Total net revenues from property and casualty insurance products accounted for 67.8% of our total net revenue in 2009. The property and casualty insurance products we distribute can be further classified into the following categories:

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Automobile Insurance. Automobile insurance is the largest segment of property and casualty insurance in the PRC in terms of gross written premiums. We distribute both standard automobile insurance policies and supplemental policies, which we refer to as riders. The standard automobile insurance policies we sell generally have a term of one year and cover damages caused to the insured vehicle by collision and other traffic accidents, falling or flying objects, fire, explosion and natural disasters. We also sell standard third party liability insurance policies, which cover bodily injury and property damage caused by an accident involving an insured vehicle to a person not in the insured vehicle. The riders we distribute cover additional losses, such as liability to passengers, losses arising from vehicle theft and robbery, broken glass and vehicle body scratches.

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Individual Accident Insurance. The individual accident insurance products we distribute generally provide a guaranteed benefit during the coverage period, which usually is one year or a shorter period, in the event of death or disability of the insured as a result of an accident, or a reimbursement of medical expenses to the insured in connection with an accident. These products typically require only a single premium payment for each coverage period. Because most of the individual accident insurance products we distribute are underwritten by property and casualty insurance companies, we classify individual accident insurance products as property and casualty insurance products.

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Commercial Property Insurance. The commercial property insurance products we distribute include basic, comprehensive and all risk policies. Basic commercial property insurance policies generally cover damage to the insured property caused by fire, explosion and thunder and lightning. Comprehensive commercial property insurance policies generally cover damage to the insured property caused by fire, explosion and certain natural disasters. All risk commercial property insurance policies cover all causes of damage to the insured property not specifically excluded from the policies.

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Homeowner Insurance. The homeowner insurance products we distribute are primarily home mortgage-based insurance policies. Home mortgage-based policies cover damage to mortgaged property caused by a number of standard risks such as fire, flood and explosion. Some policies also provide mortgage repayment protection in the event the policyholder is unable to make mortgage payment due to death or injury.

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Cargo Insurance. The cargo insurance products we distribute cover damage to or loss of goods in transit by sea, land or air.

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Hull Insurance. The hull insurance products we distribute cover vessels against losses, liabilities and expenses caused by natural calamities, negligence of crew members and marine accidents, as well as collision liability.

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Liability Insurance. The liability insurance products we distribute are primarily product liability and employer’s liability insurance products. These products generally cover losses to third parties due to the misconduct or negligence of the insured party, but exclude losses due to fraud or the willful misconduct of the insured party.

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Construction Insurance. The construction insurance products we distribute cover property damages and personal injury losses caused by natural disasters and accidents in connection with construction projects in China.

The property and casualty insurance products we distributed in 2009 were primarily underwritten by PICC, CPIC, Ping An, Tian Ping, and Tian An Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Ltd.

Life Insurance Products

The life insurance products we distribute can be broadly classified into the categories set forth below. Due to constant product innovation by insurance companies, some of the insurance products we distribute combine features of one or more of the categories listed below. Total net revenues from life insurance products accounted for 20.0% of our total net revenues in 2009.

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Individual Whole Life Insurance. The individual whole life insurance products we distribute provide insurance for the insured person’s entire life in exchange for the periodic payment of fixed premiums over a pre-determined period, generally ranging from five to 20 years, or until the insured reaches a certain age. The face amount of the policy or, for some policies, the face amount plus accumulated interests is paid upon the death of the insured.

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Individual Term Life Insurance. The individual term life insurance products we distribute provide insurance for the insured for a specified time period or until the attainment of a certain age, in return for the periodic payment of fixed premiums over a pre-determined period, generally ranging from five to 20 years. Term life insurance policies generally expire without value if the insured survives the coverage period.

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Individual Endowment Life Insurance. The individual endowment products we distribute generally provide maturity benefits if the insured reaches a specified age, and provide to a beneficiary designated by the insured guaranteed benefits upon the death of the insured within the coverage period. In return, the insured makes periodic payment of premiums over a pre-determined period, generally ranging from five to 25 years.

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Individual Education Annuity. The individual annuity products we distribute are primarily education related products. They provide annual benefit payments after the insured attains a certain age, e.g., 18, for a fixed time period, or e.g., four years, and a lump payment at the end of the coverage period. In addition, the beneficiary designated in the annuity contract will receive guaranteed benefits upon the death of the insured during the coverage period. In return, the purchaser of the annuity products makes periodic payment of premiums during a pre-determined accumulation period.

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Universal Insurance. We distribute certain universal insurance products that provide not only insurance coverage but also a minimum guaranteed return on the amount the insured puts into an individual investment account. In return the insured makes periodic payment of premiums over a pre-determined period.

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Individual Health Insurance. The individual health insurance products we distribute primarily consist of dread disease insurance products, which provide guaranteed benefits for specified dread diseases during the coverage period. In return, the insured makes periodic payment of premiums over a pre-determined period.

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Group Life Insurance. We distribute several group life insurance products, including group health insurance. These group products generally have a policy period of one year and require a single premium payment.

In addition to the periodic premium payment schedules described above, most of the individual life insurance products we distribute also allow the insured to choose to make a single, lump-sum premium payment at the beginning of the policy term. If a periodic payment schedule is adopted by the insured, a life insurance policy can generate periodic payment of fixed premiums to the insurance company for a specified period of time. This means that once we sell a life insurance policy with a periodic premium payment schedule, we will be able to derive commission and fee income from that policy for an extended period of time, sometimes up to 25 years. Because of this attractive feature and the expected sustained growth of life insurance sales in China, we have focused significant resources since 2006 on developing our capability to distribute individual life insurance products with periodic payment schedules. We expect that sales of life insurance products will become an important source of our revenue in the next several years. The life insurance products we distributed in 2009 were primarily underwritten by AVIVA-COFCO, Sino Life Insurance Company Limited., Minsheng Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Huaxia Life Insurance Co., Ltd., and AEGON-CNOOC Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

Insurance Claims Adjusting Services

In 2009, total net revenues from claims adjusting services accounted for 12.2% of our total net revenue. We offer the following insurance claims adjusting services:

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Pre-underwriting Survey. Before an insurance policy is sold, we conduct a survey of the item to be insured to assess its current value and help our clients determine the insurable value and the amount to be insured. We also help our clients assess the underwriting risk with respect to the item to be insured through survey, appraisal and analysis.

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Claims Adjusting. When an accident involving the insured subject matter has occurred, we conduct onsite survey to determine the cause of the accident and assess damage. We then determine the extent of the loss to the insured subject matter and prepare and submit a report to the insurance company summarizing our preliminary findings. Upon final conclusion of the case, we prepare and submit a detailed report to the insurance company setting forth details of the accident, cause of the loss, details of the loss, adjustment and determination of loss, indemnity proposal and, where appropriate, request for payment.

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Disposal of Residual Value. In the course of providing claims adjusting services, we also can appraise the residual value of the insured property and offer suggestions on the disposal of such property. Upon appointment by the insurance company, we can handle the actual disposal of the insured property through auction, discounted sale, lease or other means.

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Loading and Unloading Supervision. Upon appointment by ship owners, shippers, consignees or insurance companies, we can monitor and record the loading and unloading processes of specific cargos.

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Consulting Services. We provide consulting services to both the insured and the insurance companies on risk assessment and management, disaster and damage prevention, investigation, and loss assessment.

We are compensated primarily by insurance companies for our claims adjusting services, which we provide on behalf of insurance companies. The fees we receive are calculated based on the types of insurance involved. For services provided in connection with property and casualty insurance (other than marine cargo insurance and automobile insurance), our fees are calculated as a percentage of the recovered amount from insurance companies plus travel expenses. For services provided in connection with marine cargo insurance, our fees are charged primarily on an hourly basis and, in some cases, as a percentage of the amount recovered from insurance companies. For automobile insurance, our fees are generally fixed and the amounts collected are based on the types of services provided. In 2009, we primarily provided claims adjusting services to PICC, Ping An, CPIC, China United Property and Casualty Company Ltd., and Alltrust Insurance Co., Ltd.

As competition intensifies and the insurance market becomes more mature in China, we believe there will be a further division of labor in the insurance intermediary sector. We expect that more insurance companies will choose to outsource claims adjusting functions to professional service providers while they focus on the core aspects of their business, including product development, asset and risk management. We believe we are well-positioned to capture such outsourcing opportunities.

Other Services

In conjunction with the sale of automobile insurance products, we provide our customers with a number of value-added services under our service slogan, “You take care of driving, and we’ll take care of the rest.” For example, we assist our customers with obtaining vehicle licenses and subsequent annual inspections. We maintain 24-hour service hotlines in most of our principal markets. When an accident involving an insured vehicle occurs within these markets, our service staff can arrive at the scene quickly after being notified through the 24-hour service hotline and provide onsite assistance to our customer.

Entrepreneurial Agent Program

In recent years, some entrepreneurial management staff and senior sales agents of major insurance companies in China have chosen to leave their employers or principals and become independent. We call these individuals “entrepreneurial agents.” We have designed and implemented a comprehensive program to attract and retain productive entrepreneurial agents. Under this program, only entrepreneurial agents who meet specific professional criteria and successfully pass a six-month trial period will be formally admitted to our distribution and service network, and only those who continue to meet specified performance standards will be allowed to remain in our network. In addition to cash compensation, these entrepreneurial agents also have the opportunity to participate in the equity of our business. We believe that our entrepreneurial agent program provides productive entrepreneurial agents a strong incentive to grow their business within our network and enables us to grow our sales force with productive, motivated professionals. As of April 15, 2010, we had 697 entrepreneurial sales teams in our network.

Scalable Unified Operating Platform

In accordance with our growth strategy, we have made significant effort to expand and upgrade our unified operating platform since our initial public offering. We expect that our upgraded operating platform will make selling easier for sales agents, facilitate standardized business and financial management, enhance risk control and increase operational efficiency. Since January 1, 2010, we have successfully implemented the following components of our operating platform across the company:

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Standardized operating procedures;

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A Core Business System, which encompasses our property and casualty insurance unit, life insurance unit, and claims adjusting unit, that will better support business operations and facilitate risk control;

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A centralized and computerized accounting and financial management system;

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A human resources management system;

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An office automation system;

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An e-learning system to provide online training to sales agents; and

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A nationwide IT network and data center to support front-office operations.

In addition, we have been working on refining the Business Operation Support System, which facilitates sales support to our agents with various functions such as e-sales solutions, product portfolio proposals, product centers, auto insurance premium calculation and call centers. We have also initiated a module for data transmission with insurance companies and we are in the process of developing an image and workflow system which aims to enhance our operating efficiency.

We have developed and refined this platform through more than ten years of operations and believe that it is difficult for our competitors, particularly new market entrants, to reproduce a similar platform without substantial financial resources, time and operating experience. Because the various systems, policies and procedures of our operating platform can be rolled out quickly as we enter new regions or make acquisitions, we believe we can expand our distribution network rapidly and efficiently while maintaining the quality of our services.

Distribution and Service Network and Marketing

Since our establishment in 1998, we have built a distribution and service network that, as of April 15, 2010, consisted of 49 insurance agencies, three insurance brokerages and four claims adjusting firms, with 571 sales and service outlets, 48,460 registered sales agents, 233 in-house sales representatives and 1,421 in-house claims adjustors. Our distribution and service network covers 23 provinces and reaches some of the most economically developed regions in China and some of the wealthiest Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The following table sets forth some additional information of our distribution and service network as of April 15, 2010, broken down by provinces:

						Number of In-house
		Number of Sales and				Sales				Number of Sales				Number of In-house
Province		Service Outlets				Representatives				Agents				Adjustors
Heibei			132				—				11,368				96
Shangdong			31				—				6,574				41
Sichuan			81				8				5,856				76
Henan			14				—				5,666				88
Guangdong			121				210				4,657				729
Beijing			19				15				3,029				21
Hunan			15				—				2,518				22
Fujian			35				—				1,619				25
Tianjin			6				—				1,310				36
Jiangxi			16				—				1,254				4
Zhejiang			20				—				1,153				28
Yunnan			9				—				1,046				16
Jiangsu			13				—				792				21
Hubei			12				—				566				15
Shaanxi			3				—				491				8
Liaoning			29				—				342				6
Shanghai			7				—				164				130
Hainan			2				—				55				12
Guangxi			1				—				—				4
Anhui			2				—				—				5
Chongqing			1				—				—				7
Jilin			1				—				—				22
Guizhou			1				—				—				9
Total			571				233				48,460				1,421

We market and sell property and casualty insurance products directly to the targeted customers through both sales agents, who are not our employees, and our in-house sales representatives. For the marketing and sale of life insurance products, we rely exclusively on the sales agents working on our unified operating platform. We market and sell insurance claims adjusting services primarily to insurance companies through our professional claims adjustors by tendering for claims adjusting business contracts.

Customers

We sell automobile insurance, individual accident insurance and homeowner insurance products primarily to individual customers. We sell commercial property insurance, cargo insurance, hull insurance, liability insurance and construction insurance products to institutional customers. Customers for the life insurance products we distribute are primarily individuals under 50 years of age. For the years ended December 31, 2009, no single customer accounted for more than 3% of our net revenues.

Since our establishment in 1998, we have built a database of more than one million individuals, who originally were members of our automobile association. Using information contained in this database, our sales agents contact potential customers with our target demographics on a regular basis. In addition, we had approximately 1.3 million customers, including approximately 1.0 million customers who bought property and casualty insurance products from us and approximately 0.3 million customers who bought life insurance products from us in 2009. By providing certain value-added services to these customers at no additional charge, we seek to build a loyal customer base that generates referral and cross-selling opportunities.

We offer insurance adjusting services primarily to insurance companies and to a lesser extent to the insured.

Insurance Company Partners

As of April 15, 2010, we had established business relationships with 57 insurance companies and one reinsurance company in the PRC. In the Chinese insurance market, local branches of insurance companies generally have the authority to enter into contracts in their own names with insurance intermediaries. Historically, we have entered into and maintained business relationships with insurance companies at the local level. That is, our insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms would enter into different contracts with different local branches of an insurance company that are located within their respective regions. The termination of a business relationship between one of our insurance agencies, brokerages or claims adjusting firms and a local branch of an insurance company generally would have no significant impact on the business relationships between our other insurance agencies, brokerages and claims adjusting firms and the other branches of the same insurance company. Since 2007, we have also sought to establish business relationships with insurance companies at the corporate headquarters level in order to leverage the combined sales volumes of our various affiliated insurance agencies and brokerages located in different parts of the country. As a result of this effort, we have entered into contracts with nine life insurance companies and four property and casualty insurance companies at the corporate headquarters level for the distribution of insurance products and outsourcing of claims adjusting services.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, our top five insurance company partners, after aggregating the business conducted between our insurance agencies and brokerages and the various local branches of the insurance companies, were PICC, CPIC, Ping An, AVIVA-COFCO, and Tian Ping. Among them, PICC, CPIC and Ping An each accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues from commissions and fees in 2009, with PICC accounting for 19.6%, CPIC accounting for 17.0% and Ping An accounting for 12.1%.

Competition

A number of industry players are involved in the distribution of insurance products in the PRC. We compete for customers on the basis of product offerings, customer services and reputation. Because we primarily distribute individual insurance products, our principal competitors include:

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Professional insurance intermediaries. The professional insurance intermediary sector in China is at an early stage of development and highly fragmented, accounting for only 5.2% of the total insurance premiums generated in China in 2009. Several insurance intermediary companies have received private equity or venture capital funding in recent years and are actively pursuing expansion, including China Zhonghe Ltd., Cars.cn Ltd. and HuaKang Financial Service Inc. We believe that we can compete effectively with these insurance intermediary companies because we have a longer operational history and over the years have assembled a strong and stable team of managers and sales professionals and built a unified operating platform. With increasing consolidation expected in the insurance intermediary sector in the coming years, we expect competition within this sector to intensify.

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Insurance companies. The distribution of individual life insurance products in China historically has been dominated by insurance companies, which usually use both in-house sales force and exclusive sales agents to distribute their own products. We believe that we can compete effectively with insurance companies because we focus only on distribution and offer our customers a broad range of insurance products underwritten by multiple insurance companies.

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Other business entities. In recent years, business entities that distribute insurance products as an ancillary business, primarily commercial banks and postal offices, have been playing an increasingly important role in the distribution of insurance products, especially life insurance products. However, the insurance products distributed by these entities are usually confined to those related to their main lines of business, such as investment-related life insurance products. We believe that we can compete effectively with these business entities because we offer our customers a broader variety of products.

In addition to individual insurance products, we also distribute some commercial property and casualty insurance products. As a result, we also compete, to a lesser degree, with insurance intermediaries that focus on distribution of commercial property and casualty insurance products, such as large insurance brokerages backed by state-owned enterprises and major international insurance brokerage companies that have entered the Chinese market, including Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., Aon Corporation and Willis Group Holdings Limited.

According to the Insurance Intermediary Market Development Report for 2009 published by the CIRC, the top 20 insurance claims adjusting firms by revenues accounted for approximately 65.3% of the total revenues of all 289 insurance claims adjusting firms in China in 2009. Our affiliates include three of these top 20 insurance claims adjusting firms, contributing approximately 13.2% of total claims adjusting firm revenue in China in 2009. We compete primarily with the other major claims adjusting firms in China, particularly Shenzhen Min Tai’an Insurance Surveyors & Loss Adjustors Co. Ltd. We believe that we can compete effectively with Min Tai’an Insurance Surveyors & Loss Adjustors and other major insurance claims adjusting firms because we offer our customers a diversified range of claims adjusting services covering property insurance, automobile insurance and marine and cargo insurance and are able to leverage the business relationships we have developed with insurance companies through the distribution of property and casualty insurance products.

Intellectual Property

Our brand, trade names, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights distinguish our business platform, services and products from those of our competitors and contribute to our competitive advantage in the professional insurance intermediary sector. To protect our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret laws as well as confidentiality agreements with our employees, sales agents, contractors and others. We have three registered trademarks in China, including our corporate logo. Our main website is located at www.cninsure.net.

Regulation

Regulations of the Insurance Industry

The insurance industry in the PRC is highly regulated. CIRC is the regulatory authority responsible for the supervision of the Chinese insurance industry. Insurance activities undertaken within the PRC are primarily governed by the Insurance Law and the related rules and regulations.

Initial Development of Regulatory Framework

The Chinese Insurance Law was enacted in 1995. The original insurance law, which we refer to as the 1995 Insurance Law, provided the initial framework for regulating the domestic insurance industry. Among the steps taken under the 1995 Insurance Law were the following:

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Licensing of insurance companies and insurance intermediaries, such as agencies and brokerages. The 1995 Insurance Law established requirements for minimum registered capital levels, form of organization, qualification of senior management and adequacy of the information systems for insurance companies and insurance agencies and brokerages.

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Separation of property and casualty insurance businesses and life insurance businesses. The 1995 Insurance Law classified insurance between property, casualty, liability and credit insurance businesses, on the one hand, and life, accident and health insurance businesses on the other, and prohibited insurance companies from engaging in both types of businesses.

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Regulation of market conduct by participants. The 1995 Insurance Law prohibited fraudulent and other unlawful conduct by insurance companies, agencies and brokerages.

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Substantive regulation of insurance products. The 1995 Insurance Law gave insurance regulators the authority to approve the policy terms and premium rates for certain insurance products.

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Financial condition and performance of insurance companies. The 1995 Insurance Law established reserve and solvency standards for insurance companies, imposed restrictions on investment powers and established mandatory reinsurance requirements, and put in place a reporting regime to facilitate monitoring by insurance regulators.

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Supervisory and enforcement powers of the principal regulatory authority. The principal regulatory authority, then the People’s Bank of China, was given broad powers under the 1995 Insurance Law to regulate the insurance industry.

Establishment of the CIRC and 2002 Amendments to the Insurance Law

China’s insurance regulatory regime was further strengthened with the establishment of the CIRC in 1998. The CIRC was given the mandate to implement reform in the insurance industry, minimize insolvency risk for Chinese insurers and promote the development of the insurance market.

The 1995 Insurance Law was significantly amended in 2002 and the amended insurance law, which we refer to as the 2002 Insurance Law, became effective on January 1, 2003. The major amendments to the 1995 Insurance Law include:

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Authorizing the CIRC to be the insurance supervisory and regulatory body nationwide. The 2002 Insurance Law expressly grants the CIRC the authority to supervise and administer the insurance industry nationwide.

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Expanding the permitted scope of business of property and casualty insurers. Under the 2002 Insurance Law, property and casualty insurance companies may engage in the short-term health insurance and accident insurance businesses upon the CIRC’s approval.

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Providing additional guidelines for the relationship between insurance companies and insurance agents. The 2002 Insurance Law requires an insurance company to enter into an agent agreement with each insurance agent that will act as an agent for that insurance company. The agent agreement sets forth the rights and obligations of the parties to the agreement as well as other matters pursuant to law. An insurance company is responsible for the acts of its agents when the acts are within the scope authorized by the insurance company.

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Relaxing restrictions on the use of funds by insurance companies. Under the 2002 Insurance Law, an insurance company may use its funds to make equity investments in insurance-related enterprises, such as asset management companies.

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Allowing greater freedom for insurance companies to develop insurance products. The 2002 Insurance Law allowed insurance companies to set their own policy terms and premium rates, subject to the approval of, or a filing with, the CIRC.

2009 Amendments to the Insurance Law

The 2002 Insurance Law was significantly amended again in 2009 and the amended insurance law, which we refer to as the 2009 Insurance Law, became effective on October 1, 2009. The major amendments to the 2009 Insurance Law include:

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Strengthening protection of the insured’s interests. The 2009 Insurance Law added a variety of clauses such as incontestable clause, abstained and estoppels clause, common disaster clause and amending immunity clause, claims-settlement prescription clause, reasons for claims rejection and contract modification clause.

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Strengthening supervision on the qualification of the shareholders of the insurance companies and setting forth specific qualification requirements for the major shareholders, directors, supervisors and senior managers of insurance companies.

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Expanding the business scope of insurers and further relaxing restriction on the use of fund by insurers.

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Strengthening supervision on solvency of insurers with stricter measures.

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Tightening regulations governing the administration of insurance intermediary companies, especially those relating to behaviors of insurance agents.

According to the 2009 Insurance Law, the minimum registered capital required to establish an insurance agency or insurance brokerage as a limited liability company must comply with the PRC Company Law. The registered capital or the capital contribution of insurance agencies or insurance brokerages must be paid-up capital in cash. The 2009 Insurance Law also sets forth some specific qualification requirements for insurance agency and brokerage practitioners. The senior managers of insurance agencies or insurance brokerages must meet specific qualification requirements, and their appointments are subject to approval of the CIRC. Personnel of an insurance agency or insurance brokerage engaging in the sales of insurance products must meet the qualification requirements set by the CIRC and obtain a qualification certificate issued by the CIRC. Under the 2009 Insurance Law, the parties to an insurance transaction may engage insurance adjusting firms or other independent appraisal firms that are established in accordance with applicable laws, or persons who possess the requisite professional expertise, to conduct assessment and adjustment of the insured subject matters. Additionally, the 2009 Insurance Law specifies additional legal obligations for insurance agencies and brokerages.

The CIRC

The CIRC has extensive authority to supervise insurance companies and insurance intermediaries operating in the PRC, including the power to:

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promulgate regulations applicable to the Chinese insurance industry;

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investigate insurance companies and insurance intermediaries;

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establish investment regulations;

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approve policy terms and premium rates for certain insurance products;

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set the standards for measuring the financial soundness of insurance companies and insurance intermediaries;

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require insurance companies and insurance intermediaries to submit reports concerning their business operations and condition of assets;

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order the suspension of all or part of an insurance company or an insurance intermediary’s business;

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approve the establishment, change and dissolution of an insurance company, an insurance intermediary or their branches;

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review and approve the appointment of senior managers of an insurance company, an insurance intermediary or their branches; and

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punish improper behaviors or misconducts of an insurance company or an insurance intermediary.

Regulation of Insurance Agencies

The principal regulation governing insurance agencies is the Provisions on the Administration of Professional Insurance Agencies promulgated by the CIRC on September 18, 2009 and effective on October 1, 2009, which replaced the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Agencies issued by the CIRC on December 1, 2004 and effective on January 1, 2005. According to the regulation, the establishment of an insurance agency is subject to minimum registered capital requirement and other requirements and to the approval of the CIRC. The term “insurance agency” refers to an entity that meets the qualification requirements specified by the CIRC, has obtained the license to conduct an insurance agency business with the approval of the CIRC, engages in the insurance business by and within the authorization of, and which collects commissions from, insurance companies. An insurance agency may take any of the following forms: (i) a limited liability company; or (ii) a joint stock limited company. An insurance agency must have a registered capital or capital contribution of at least RMB2 million. Where it is established as a nationwide company, its registered capital must be at least RMB10 million. The registered capital must be paid up in cash. An insurance agency may engage in the following insurance agency businesses:

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selling insurance products on behalf of the insurer principal;

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collecting insurance premiums on behalf of the insurer principal;

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conducting loss surveys and handling claims of insurance businesses on behalf of the insurer principal; and

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other business activities specified by the CIRC.

The name of an insurance agency must contain the words “insurance agency” or “insurance sales.” The license of an insurance agency is valid for a period of three years. An insurance agency must report to the CIRC for approval when it (i) changes its registered capital or capital contributions; (ii) changes its organizational form; (iii) changes its shareholders or partners; (iv) changes its equity structure or proportions of capital contributions; (v) changes its registered name or address; (vi) changes its articles of association; or (vii) closes its branches. Personnel of an insurance agency and its branches engaging in the sales of insurance products or relevant loss survey and claim settlement must pass a qualification examination for insurance agency practitioners organized by the CIRC and obtain a “Qualification Certificate for Insurance Agency Practitioners.” The senior managers of an insurance agency or its branches must meet specific qualification requirements set forth in the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Agencies. The appointment of the senior managers of an insurance agency or its branches is subject to review and approval of the CIRC.

Regulation of Insurance Brokerages

The principal regulation governing insurance brokerages is the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Brokerages promulgated by the CIRC on September 18, 2009 and effective on October 1, 2009, which replaced the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Brokerages issued by the CIRC on December 15, 2004 and effective on January 1, 2005. According to this regulation, the establishment of an insurance brokerage is subject to the approval of the CIRC. The term “insurance brokerage” refers to an entity engaging in the insurance brokering business that meets the qualification requirements specified by the CIRC and has obtained the license to operate an insurance brokering business with the approval of the CIRC. Insurance brokering business includes both direct insurance brokering, which refers to brokering activities on behalf of insurance applicants or the insured in their dealings with the insurance companies, and reinsurance brokering, which refers to brokering activities on behalf of insurance companies in their dealings with reinsurance companies. An insurance brokerage may take any of the following forms: (i) a limited liability company; or (ii) a joint stock limited company. An insurance brokerage company must have a registered capital or capital contribution of at least RMB10 million. The registered capital must be paid up in cash.

An insurance brokerage may conduct the following insurance brokering businesses:

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making insurance proposals, selecting insurance companies and handling the insurance application procedures for the insurance applicants;

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assisting the insured or the beneficiary to claim compensation;

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reinsurance brokering business;

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providing consulting services to clients with respect to disaster and damage prevention, risk assessment and risk management; and

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other business activities specified by the CIRC.

The name of an insurance brokerage must contain the words “insurance brokerage.” The license of an insurance brokerage is valid for a period of three years. An insurance brokerage must report to the CIRC for approval when it (i) changes its registered capital or capital contributions; (ii) changes its organizational form; (iii) changes its shareholders or partners; (iv) changes its equity structure or proportions of capital contributions; (v) changes its registered name or address; (vi) changes its articles of association; or (vii) closes its branches. Personnel of an insurance brokerage and its branches who engage in any of the insurance brokering businesses described above must pass a qualification examination for insurance brokering practitioners organized by the CIRC and obtain a qualification certificate for insurance brokering practitioners. The senior managers of an insurance brokerage must meet specific qualification requirements set forth in the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Brokerages. Appointment of the senior managers of an insurance brokerage is subject to review and approval by the CIRC.

Regulation of Insurance Claims Adjusting Firms

The principal regulation governing insurance adjusting firms is the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Claims Adjusting Firms issued by the CIRC on September 18, 2009 and effective on October 1, 2009, which replaced the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Claims Adjusting Firms promulgated on November 16, 2001 and effective on January 1, 2002. According to the regulation, the term “insurance adjusting firm” refers to an entity that is established in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and with the approval of the CIRC and engages in the assessment, survey, authentication, loss estimation and adjustment of the insured subject matters upon the entrustment of the parties concerned. An insurance adjusting firm may take any of the following forms: (i) a limited liability company; (ii) a joint stock limited company; or (iii) a partnership. An insurance adjusting firm must have a registered capital or capital contribution of at least RMB2 million. The registered capital must be paid up in cash.

Upon approval of the CIRC, an insurance adjusting firm may engage in the following businesses:

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inspecting, appraising the value of and assessing the risks of the subject matter before it is insured;

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surveying, inspecting, estimating the loss of and adjusting the insured subject matter after loss has been incurred;

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risk management consulting; and

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other business activities approved by the CIRC.

The name of an insurance adjusting firm must contain the words “insurance adjusting.” The license of an insurance adjusting firm is valid for a period of three years. An insurance adjusting firm must report to the CIRC for approval when it (i) changes its registered capital or capital contributions; (ii) changes its organizational form; (iii) changes its shareholders or partners; (iv) changes its equity structure or proportions of capital contributions; (v) changes its registered name or address; (vi) changes its articles of association or partnership agreement; or (vii) closes its branches. Personnel of an insurance adjusting firm or its branches engaged in any of the insurance adjusting businesses described above must pass a qualification examination for insurance adjusting practitioners administered by the CIRC and obtain a qualification certificate for insurance adjusting practitioners. The senior managers of an insurance adjusting firm must meet specific qualification requirements set forth in the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Adjusting Firms. Appointment of the senior managers of an insurance adjusting firm or its branches is subject to review and approval by the CIRC.

Regulation of Ancillary-Business Insurance Agencies

The principal regulation governing ancillary-business insurance agencies is the Interim Measures on the Administration of Ancillary-Business Insurance Agency issued by the CIRC on and effective as of August 4, 2000. The term “ancillary-business insurance agencies” refer to entities that are engaged by insurers to handle insurance business on behalf of insurers while concurrently engaging in another non-insurance-related business. Ancillary-business insurance agencies must meet the qualifications requirements set forth in this regulation. Upon reviewing and approving the qualifications of an entity applying to become an ancillary-business insurance agency, the CIRC will issue a “License for Ancillary-Business Insurance Agency,” which will be valid for three years. An ancillary-business insurance agency may only undertake insurance business on behalf of one insurance company, and the scope of the undertaken business is limited to the scope specified in the License for Ancillary- Business Insurance Agency.

Regulation of Insurance Salespersons

The principal regulation governing individual insurance salespersons is the Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Salespersons issued by the CIRC on April 6, 2006 and effective on July 1, 2006. Under this regulation, the term “insurance salesperson” refers to an individual who has acquired a qualification certificate issued by the CIRC, sells insurance products and provides related services for an insurance company and collects fees or commissions. In order to engage in insurance sales activities as an insurance salesperson, a person first must pass the qualification examination for the insurance agency practitioners organized by the CIRC and obtain a “Qualification Certificate of Insurance Agency Practitioners,” which is valid for three years and renewable upon fulfillment of certain requirements. In addition to the qualification certificate, a person also must obtain a “Practice Certificate of Insurance Salespersons” issued by the insurance company to which he or she belongs in order to conduct insurance sales activities. Those who have obtained a “Practicing Certificate of Insurance Agency Practitioner,” “Practicing Certificate of Insurance Brokerage Practitioner” or “Practicing Certificate of Insurance Adjustment Practitioners” are not allowed to obtain a Practice Certificate for Insurance Salespersons. No insurance salesperson may concurrently sign agent agreements with, or act on behalf of, two or more insurance companies.

Content Related to Insurance Industry in the Legal Documents of China’s Accession to the WTO

According to the Circular of the CIRC on Distributing the Content Related to Insurance Industry in the Legal Documents of China’s Accession to the WTO, for the life insurance sector, within three years of China’s accession to the WTO on December 11, 2001, geographical restrictions were to be lifted, equity joint venture companies allowed to provide health insurance, group insurance, and pension/annuity services to Chinese citizens and foreign citizens, and for there to be no other restrictions except those on the proportion of foreign investment (no more than 50%) and establishment conditions. For the non-life insurance sector, within three years of China’s accession, the geographical restrictions were to be lifted and no restrictions allowed other than establishment conditions. For the insurance brokerage sector, within five years of China’s accession, the establishment of wholly foreign-funded subsidiary companies was to be allowed, and no restriction other than establishment conditions and restrictions on business scope.

Regulations on Foreign Exchange

Foreign Currency Exchange

Foreign exchange regulation in China is primarily governed by the following rules:

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Foreign Currency Administration Rules (1996), as amended, or the Exchange Rules; and

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Administration Rules of the Settlement, Sale and Payment of Foreign Exchange (1996), or the Administration Rules.

Under the Exchange Rules, the RMB is convertible for current account items, including the distribution of dividends, interest payments, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions. Conversion of RMB for capital account items, such as direct investment, loan, security investment and repatriation of investment, however, is still subject to the approval of the SAFE.

Under the Administration Rules, foreign-invested enterprises may only buy, sell or remit foreign currencies at those banks authorized to conduct foreign exchange business after providing valid commercial documents and, in the case of capital account item transactions, obtaining approval from the SAFE. Capital investments by foreign-invested enterprises outside of China are also subject to limitations, which include approvals by the Ministry of Commerce, the SAFE and the State Development and Reform Commission.

Foreign Exchange Registration of Offshore Investment by PRC Residents

Pursuant to the SAFE’s Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents to Engage in Financing and Inbound Investment via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, generally known in China as SAFE Circular No. 75, issued on October 21, 2005, (i) a PRC citizen residing in the PRC, who is referred to as a PRC resident in SAFE Circular 75, shall register with the local branch of the SAFE before it establishes or controls an overseas SPV for the purpose of overseas equity financing (including convertible debts financing); (ii) when a PRC resident contributes the assets of or its equity interests in a domestic enterprise into an SPV, or engages in overseas financing after contributing assets or equity interests into an SPV, such PRC resident shall register his or her interest in the SPV and the change thereof with the local branch of the SAFE; and (iii) when the SPV undergoes a material event outside of China, such as change in share capital or merger and acquisition, the PRC resident shall, within 30 days from the occurrence of such event, register such change with the local branch of the SAFE.

Under SAFE Circular No. 75, failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth above may result in the penalties, including imposition of restrictions on a PRC subsidiary’s foreign exchange activities and its ability to distribute dividends to the SPV. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect us.”

On December 25, 2006, the People’s Bank of China promulgated the “Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange,” and on January 5, 2007, the SAFE further promulgated the implementation rules on those measures. Both became effective on February 1, 2007. According to the implementation rules, PRC citizens who are granted shares or share options by a company listed on an overseas stock market according to its employee share option or share incentive plan are required, through the PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company or any other qualified PRC agent, to register with the SAFE and to complete certain other procedures related to the share option or other share incentive plan. Foreign exchange income received from the sale of shares or dividends distributed by the overseas listed company may be remitted into a foreign currency account of such PRC citizen or be exchanged into Renminbi. Our PRC citizen employees who have been granted share options are subject to the Individual Foreign Exchange Rules. If we or our PRC citizen employees fail to comply with these regulations, we or our PRC option holders may be subject to fines and legal sanctions.

On May 29, 2007, the SAFE promulgated the revised operational procedures for the SAFE Circular 75, pursuant to which the offshore investment registration may be handled aggregately by means of trust at competent SAFE bureau for the employee stock ownership plan of an offshore special purpose company. The registration formalities shall be handled for the stock option plan of an offshore special purpose company when handling the registration of the special purpose company and the change formalities of registration shall be handled upon the exercise of such option.

Regulations on Dividend Distribution

The principal regulations governing dividend distributions of wholly foreign-owned companies include:

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Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law (1986), as amended; and

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Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law Implementing Rules (1990), as amended.

Under these regulations, wholly foreign-owned companies in the PRC may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards. In addition, these wholly foreign-owned companies are required to set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds, until the accumulative amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends.

Regulation on Overseas Listing

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, namely, the PRC Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration for Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the CSRC and the SAFE, jointly adopted the M&A Rule which became effective on September 8, 2006. The M&A Rule purports, among other things, to require offshore SPVs, formed for overseas listing purposes and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published a notice on its official website specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by SPVs seeking CSRC approval of their overseas listings.

At the time of our initial public offering in October 2007, while the application of the M&A Rule remained unclear, our PRC counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, had advised us that, based on their understanding of the then PRC laws and regulations as well as the procedures announced on September 21, 2006:

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the CSRC had jurisdiction over our initial public offering;

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the CSRC had not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings like our initial public offering are subject to the M&A Rule; and

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despite the above, given that we had completed our inbound investment before September 8, 2006, the effective date of the M&A Rule, an application was not required under the M&A Rule to be submitted to the CSRC for its approval of the listing and trading of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market, unless we are clearly required to do so by subsequent rules of the CSRC.

See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, may have been required in connection with our initial public offering in October 2007 under a PRC regulation adopted in August 2006. Based on advice of our PRC counsel, we did not seek CSRC’s approval for our initial public offering. Any requirement to obtain prior CSRC approval and a failure to obtain this approval, if required, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, reputation and trading price of our ADSs.”

Regulations on Tax

PRC Enterprise Income Tax

The PRC EIT is calculated base on the taxable income determined under the PRC accounting standards and regulations, as well as the EIT law. On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of China enacted the EIT Law, a new EIT law which became effective on January 1, 2008. On December 6, 2007, the State Council promulgated the Implementation Rules which also became effective on January 1, 2008. On December 26, 2007, the State Council issued the Notice on Implementation of Enterprise Income Tax Transition Preferential Policy under the EIT Law, or the Transition Preferential Policy Circular, which became effective simultaneously with the EIT Law. The EIT Law imposes a uniform EIT rate of 25% on all domestic enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises unless they qualify under certain exceptions. Under the EIT Law, as further clarified by the Implementation Rules, the Transition Preferential Policy Circular and other related regulations, enterprises that were established and already enjoyed preferential tax treatments before March 16, 2007 will continue to enjoy them in the following manners: (i) in the case of preferential tax rates, for a five-year period starting from January 1, 2008, during which the tax rate will gradually increase to 25%; or (ii) in the case of preferential tax exemption or reduction for a specified term, until the expiration of such term. However, if such an enterprise has not enjoyed the preferential treatments yet because of its failure to make a profit, its term for preferential treatment will be deemed to start from 2008. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law may increase the enterprise income tax rate applicable to some of our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, which could have a material adverse effect on our result of operations.”

Under the EIT Law, enterprises organized under the laws of jurisdictions outside China with their “de facto management bodies” located within China may be considered PRC resident enterprises and therefore subject to PRC EIT at the rate of 25% on their worldwide income. The Implementation Rules define the term “de facto management body” as the management body that exercises full and substantial control and management over the business, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. Because substantially all of our operations and all of our senior management are located within China, we may be considered a PRC resident enterprise for EIT purposes, in which case: (i) we would be subject to the PRC EIT at the rate of 25% on our worldwide income; and (ii) dividends income received by us from our PRC subsidiaries, however, would be exempt from the PRC withholding tax since such income is exempted under the EIT Law for a PRC resident enterprise recipient. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China— Our global income or the dividends we receive from our PRC subsidiaries may be subject to PRC tax under the EIT Law, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.”

PRC Business Tax

Taxpayers providing taxable services in China are required to pay a business tax at a normal tax rate of 5% of their revenues, unless otherwise provided.

Dividend Withholding Tax

Under the PRC tax laws effective prior to January 1, 2008, dividends paid to foreign investors by foreign-invested enterprises are exempt from PRC withholding tax. Pursuant to the EIT Law and the Implementation Rules, dividends generated after January 1, 2008 and distributed to us by our PRC subsidiaries are subject to a 10% withholding tax, provided that we are determined by the relevant PRC tax authorities to be a “non-resident enterprise” under the EIT Law. However, as described above, we may be considered a PRC resident enterprise for EIT purposes, in which case dividends received by us from our PRC subsidiary would be exempt from the PRC withholding tax because such income is exempted under the EIT Law for a PRC resident enterprise recipient.

As there remains uncertainty regarding the interpretation and implementation of the EIT Law and the Implementation Rules, it is uncertain whether any dividends to be distributed by us, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, to our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders would be subject to any PRC withholding tax. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Under the EIT Law, dividends payable by us and gains on the disposition of our shares or ADSs could be subject to PRC taxation.”

C.

Organizational Structure

PRC laws and regulations place certain restrictions on foreign investment in and ownership of insurance intermediary companies. Accordingly, we conduct our operations in China principally through contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, two PRC affiliated entities, Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their shareholders, and the subsidiaries of the two PRC affiliated entities.

Prior to March 2009, three individual shareholders, Mr. Jianguo Cui, Mr. Zhenyu Wang and Mr. Qiuping Lai held 24.67%, 26.40% and 48.93%, respectively, of the equity interests in each of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment. Mr. Cui and Mr. Wang were designated by our shareholders Cathay Auto Services Limited, or Cathay Auto, and CDH Inservice Limited, or CDH Inservice, respectively. Mr. Lai is our president and co-founder. In March 2009, Mr. Cui and Mr. Wang transferred all of their equity interests in Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment to Mr. Peng Ge, our chief financial officer. After the completion of these transfers, Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge held 48.93% and 51.07%, respectively, of the equity interests in each of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment. Both individual shareholders are PRC citizens. After the completion of the transfers, we entered into a new set of contractual arrangements with Mr. Ge to replace the previous agreements entered into with Mr. Cui and Mr. Wang.

Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment together hold equity interests, directly or indirectly, ranging from 51% to 100% in 49 insurance agencies, three insurance brokerages and four insurance claims adjusting firms as of April 15, 2010. Most of the noncontrolling shareholders of the insurance intermediary companies majority-owned by Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment are either founders of such company or entrepreneurial agents with whom we jointly set up such company. Most of those noncontrolling shareholders are in charge of the day-to-day operations of the companies in which they hold noncontrolling interests. The subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment hold the licenses and permits necessary to conduct our insurance intermediary business in China. We have no equity interests in Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment or any of their subsidiaries and rely entirely on contractual arrangements to control and derive economic benefit from these companies.

Our contractual arrangements with Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment, their shareholders and their subsidiaries enable us to:

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exercise effective control over Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries;

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receive a substantial portion of the economic benefits of the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment in consideration for the services provided by our subsidiaries in China; and

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have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in each of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of April 15, 2010:

For a complete listing of our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities as of April 15, 2010, see Exhibit 8.1 to this annual report. The following is a summary of the key terms of our contractual arrangements with Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment, their shareholders and their subsidiaries.

Agreements that Provide Us Effective Control over Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and Their Subsidiaries

Loan Agreements. Each of the original shareholders of Meidiya Investment, being Messrs. Lai, Wang and Cui, entered into a loan agreement on December 20, 2005 with our subsidiary Xinlian Information evidencing a zero interest loan granted to them. In connection with the transfer of their respective equity interests in Meidiya Investment to Mr. Ge, Mr. Cui and Mr. Wang each entered into a credit and liability transfer agreement with Mr. Ge on February 27, 2009 to transfer all of their rights and obligations under the loan agreements to Mr. Ge. After the execution of the credit and liability transfer agreements, the principal amounts of the loans to Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge were RMB2.9 million and RMB3.1 million, respectively, equal to their respective capital contributions to Meidiya Investment.

The term of the loan agreement is 10 years and may be extended upon written agreement of the parties, but it is not extended automatically. In the event that the loan is not renewed, then upon the expiration of its term and subject to then applicable PRC laws, the loan can be repaid only with the proceeds from the transfer of the shareholder’s equity interests in Meidiya Investment to Xinlian Information or another person designated by Xinlian Information. Xinlian Information may accelerate the loan repayment upon certain events, including if the shareholder quits or is dismissed or if Xinlian Information exercises its option to purchase the shareholder’s equity interests in Meidiya Investment pursuant to the exclusive equity purchase option agreement described below.

The loan agreement contains a number of covenants that restrict the actions the shareholder can take or cause Meidiya Investment to take, or that require the shareholder to take or cause Meidiya Investment to take specific actions. For example, these covenants provide that the shareholder will:

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not transfer, pledge or otherwise dispose of or encumber his equity interests in Meidiya Investment without the prior written consent of Xinlian Information, except for equity pledge for the benefit of Xinlian Information.

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not take any action without the prior written consent of Xinlian Information, if the action will have a material impact on the assets, business and liabilities of Meidiya Investment.

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not vote for, or execute any resolutions to approve, the sale, transfer, mortgage, or disposal of, or the creation of any encumbrance on, any legal or beneficial interests in the equity of Meidiya Investment without the prior written consent of Xinlian Information, except to Xinlian Information or its designee.

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not vote for, or execute any resolutions to approve, any merger or consolidation with any person, or any acquisition of or investment in any person by Meidiya Investment without the prior written consent of Xinlian Information.

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vote to elect the directors candidates nominated by Xinlian Information.

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cause Meidiya Investment not to supplement, amend or modify its articles of association in any manner, increase or decrease registered capital or change the capital structure in any way without the prior written consent of Xinlian Information.

•

cause Meidiya Investment not to execute any contract with a value exceeding RMB100,000 without the prior written consent of Xinlian Information, except in the ordinary course of business.

Each of the original shareholders of Yihe Investment, being Messrs. Lai, Wang and Cui, entered into a loan agreement on December 20, 2005 with Xinlian Information that is substantially similar to the loan agreements described above. In connection with the transfer of their respective equity interests in Yihe Investment to Mr. Ge, Mr. Cui and Mr. Wang each entered into a credit and liability transfer agreement with Mr. Ge on February 27, 2009 to transfer all of their rights and obligations under the loan agreements to Mr. Ge. After the execution of the credit and liability transfer agreements, the principal amounts of the loans to Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge were RMB9.8 million and RMB10.2 million, respectively, equal to their respective capital contributions to Yihe Investment.

Equity Pledge Agreements. Pursuant to separate equity pledge agreements entered into by Mr. Lai on December 20, 2005 and by Mr. Ge on March 31, 2009, respectively, with Xinlian Information and Meidiya Investment, each shareholder of Meidiya Investment agreed to pledge his equity interests in Meidiya Investment to Xinlian Information to secure his obligations under the loan agreement with Xinlian Information. The shareholder also agreed not to transfer or create any encumbrance adverse to Xinlian Information on his equity interests in Meidiya Investment. During the term of the equity pledge agreement, Xinlian Information is entitled to all the dividends declared on the pledged equity interests. The equity pledge agreement will expire when the shareholder fully performed his obligations under the loan agreement. The equity pledges were recorded on the shareholders register of Meidiya Investment, and registered with the relevant local administration of industry and commerce. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—We rely on contractual arrangements with Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries and shareholders for our China operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership.”

Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge entered into separate equity pledge agreements on December 20, 2005 and March 31, 2009, respectively, with Xinlian Information and Yihe Investment to pledge their equity interests in Yihe Investment to Xinlian Information. These agreements are substantially similar to the equity pledge agreements described above.

Irrevocable Power of Attorney. Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge, the current shareholders of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, executed irrevocable powers of attorney on December 20, 2005 and March 31, 2009, respectively, appointing a person designated by Xinlian Information as his attorney-in-fact to vote on his behalf on all matters requiring shareholder approval. If Xinlian Information designates the shareholder to attend a shareholder’s meeting of Meidiya Investment or Yihe Investment, the shareholder agrees to vote his shares as instructed by Xinlian Information. The term of the power of attorney is ten years.

Agreements that Provide Us the Option to Purchase the Equity Interests in Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment

Exclusive Purchase Option Agreements. Pursuant to the exclusive purchase option agreements entered into by Mr. Lai on December 20, 2005 and by Mr. Ge on March 31, 2009, respectively, with Xinlian Information and Meidiya Investment, each shareholder irrevocably granted Xinlian Information an exclusive option to purchase part or all of his equity interests in Meidiya Investment, when and to the extent permitted by applicable PRC law. The purchase price to be paid by Xinlian Information will be equal to the amount of the shareholder’s actual capital contribution to Meidiya Investment, unless applicable PRC law requires otherwise. The actual capital contributions to Meidiya Investment by Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge were RMB2.9 million and RMB3.1 million, respectively. If applicable PRC law requires appraisals of the equity interests or has other restrictions on the transfer price, the purchase price will be the minimum price permitted under applicable PRC law. Under current applicable PRC law, if a foreign-invested enterprise, such as Xinlian Information, intends to acquire the equity interests in a domestic enterprise, such as Meidiya Investment or Yihe Investment, the transfer price must be determined based on appraisal conducted by a qualified domestic asset appraisal institution using internationally recognized appraisal methodology, and it is prohibited to transfer any equities at a price clearly lower than the result of the appraisal.

Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge entered into separate exclusive purchase option agreements on December 20, 2005 and March 31, 2009, respectively, with Xinlian Information and Yihe Investment to irrevocably grant Xinlian Information an exclusive option to purchase part or all of his equity interests in Yihe Investment, when and to the extent permitted by applicable PRC law. These agreements are substantially similar to the exclusive purchase option agreements described above, except that the actual capital contributions to Yihe Investment by Mr. Lai and Mr. Ge under these agreements were RMB9.8 million and RMB10.2 million, respectively.

Agreements that Transfer Economic Benefits to Us

Technology Consulting and Service Agreements. Pursuant to the technology consulting and service agreements entered into on various dates between our PRC subsidiary Xinlian Information and its subsidiary Litian Zhuoye Software (Beijing) Co., Ltd, or Litian Zhuoye, and most of the insurance intermediary subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, Xinlian Information and Litian Zhuoye agree to provide consulting and other services relating to IT platform use and maintenance and internal control compliance. In exchange, the insurance intermediary companies that are parties to these agreements each agree to pay a quarterly fee calculated primarily based on a percentage of the revenue generated by such company. The parties to each agreement also commit to negotiating adjustments to the fee level every three months by mutual agreement. Each of these agreements has an initial term of one year from the signing date, which will be automatically renewed for one-year terms unless Xinlian Information and Litian Zhuoye decide not to renew the agreement. Each agreement may be terminated by the insurance intermediary company only upon gross negligence, fraud, other illegal conduct or bankruptcy of Xinlian Information and Litian Zhuoye, and by Xinlian Information and Litian Zhuoye upon 30 days notice.

Trademark Licensing Agreements. Pursuant to the trademark licensing agreements entered into on various dates between our subsidiary Beijing Ruisike Management Consulting Co., Ltd., or Ruisike Consulting, and some of the insurance intermediary subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, Ruisike Consulting agreed to grant a nonexclusive right to use the trademark owned by it to the insurance intermediary companies, in exchange for a fixed annual fee of RMB10,000 under each agreement. Each of these agreements has an initial term of ten years from the signing date, which will be automatically renewed for one-year terms unless Ruisike Consulting decides not to renew the agreement. Each agreement may be terminated by a party if there has been a material breach by the other party and the breach is not cured within 30 days after the breaching party receives a written notice from the non-breaching party. In addition, Ruisike Consulting may terminate each agreement at any time during the term of the agreement upon 30-day notice. We subsequently decided to stop charging a fee for the use of our trademarks by our affiliated insurance intermediary companies under these trademark licensing agreements beginning from January 2008.

Consulting and Service Agreement. Pursuant to the consulting and service agreements entered into on various dates between our subsidiary Zhonglian Enterprise and most of the insurance intermediary subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, Zhonglian Enterprise agreed to grant the right to use the “Fanhua” brand and provide financial and tax consulting services and training services to each of the insurance intermediaries, in exchange for fees payable quarterly calculated as a percentage of revenues of each insurance intermediary. The fees may be adjusted upon agreement every quarter based on market condition and business condition of each insurance intermediary company. Each of these agreements has an initial term of one year from the signing date and will be automatically renewed for one-year terms, unless Zhonglian Enterprise decides not to renew the agreement. Each agreement may be terminated by the insurance intermediary company only upon gross negligence, fraud, other illegal conduct or bankruptcy of Zhonglian Enterprise, or by Zhonglian Enterprise upon 30 days notice.

In 2009, our affiliated insurance intermediary companies paid a total of RMB318.7 million (US$46.7 million) under the technology consulting and service agreements and consulting and service agreements to our subsidiaries, representing approximately 42.2% of the net revenues of these affiliated entities. Because of our contractual arrangements with the shareholders of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries, we are the primary beneficiary of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment and have consolidated them into our consolidated financial statements. Revenues generated by the subsidiaries of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment accounted for 92.0% of our total net revenues in 2009. The remainder of our total net revenues in 2009 came from one of our subsidiaries, which runs our operating platform, maintains our customer database and provides information about potential customers to insurance companies. The insurance companies paid fees to this subsidiary if the potential customers introduced by this subsidiary actually purchased insurance. In the opinion of Commerce & Finance Law Offices, our PRC legal counsel:

•

the ownership structures of Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment, their subsidiaries and our subsidiaries in China comply with all existing PRC laws and regulations;

•

the contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment, their shareholders and their subsidiaries governed by PRC law are valid, binding and enforceable, and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and

•

the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries, Meidiya Investment and Yihe Investment and their subsidiaries comply in all material respects with existing PRC laws and regulations.

We have been advised by our PRC legal counsel, however, that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws and regulations. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may in the future take a view that is contrary to the above opinion of our PRC legal counsel. We have been further advised by our PRC counsel that if the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our PRC insurance intermediary businesses do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in the insurance intermediary industry, we could be subject to severe penalties including being prohibited from continuing operation. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our China business do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties” and “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.” However, to date we have not encountered any interference or encumbrance from the PRC government on account of operating our business through these agreements.

D.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Our headquarters are located in Guangzhou, China, where we lease approximately 2,873 square meters of office space. Our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities lease approximately 90,487 square meters of office space. In 2009, our total rental expenses were RMB25.6 million (US$3.8 million).

Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in this annual report. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors” or in other parts of this annual report.

A.

Operating Results

Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

Our financial condition and results of operations are primarily affected by the following factors:

•

the overall premium growth of the Chinese insurance industry;

•

the extent to which insurance companies in the PRC outsource the distribution of their products and claims adjusting functions;

•

premium rate levels and commission and fee rates;

•

the size and productivity of our sale force;

•

acquisitions;

•

commission rates for individual sales agents;

•

product and service mix;

•

share-based compensation expenses;

•

seasonality; and

•

fee-based revenue scheme.

The Overall Growth in Premiums of the Chinese Insurance Industry

The Chinese insurance industry has grown substantially in recent years. Between 2001 and 2009, total insurance premiums increased from RMB212 billion to RMB1,114 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 23.0%, according to data published by CIRC. We believe that certain macroeconomic and demographic factors, such as per capita GDP growth and aging of the population, have contributed to and will continue to drive the growth of the Chinese insurance industry.

We derive our revenue primarily from commissions and fees paid by insurance companies, typically calculated as a percentage of premiums paid by our customers to the insurance companies. Accordingly, continued industry-wide premium growth will have a positive impact on us. However, there is no assurance that the growth trend will continue. Any downturn in the Chinese insurance industry, whether caused by a general slowdown of the PRC economy or otherwise, may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The Extent to Which Insurance Companies in the PRC Outsource the Distribution of Their Products and the Claims Adjusting Functions

Historically, insurance companies in the PRC have relied primarily on their exclusive individual sales agents and direct sales force to sell their products. Only in recent years, as a result of increased competition, have some insurance companies gradually expanded their distribution channels to include insurance intermediaries such as commercial banks, postal offices, insurance agencies and insurance brokerages. In addition, because of a lack of established distribution network of their own, some newly established insurance companies have chosen to rely primarily on insurance intermediaries to distribute their products while they focus on other aspects of their business.

As insurance companies in the PRC become more accustomed to outsourcing the distribution of their products to insurance intermediaries, they may allow insurance intermediaries to distribute a wider variety of insurance products and may provide more monetary incentives to more productive and effective insurance intermediaries. These and other similar measures designed to boost sales through insurance intermediaries can have a positive impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, as competition intensifies and the insurance market becomes more mature in China, we expect that more insurance companies will choose to outsource claims adjusting functions to professional service providers such as our affiliated claims adjusting firms while they focus on the core aspects of their business, including product development, asset and risk management.

Premium Rate Levels and Commission and Fee Rates

Because the commissions and fees we receive from insurance companies for the distribution of insurance products are generally calculated as a percentage of premiums paid by our customers to the insurance companies, our revenue and results of operations are affected by premium rate levels and commission and fee rates. Premium rate levels and commission and fee rates can change based on the prevailing economic conditions, competitive and regulatory landscape, and other factors that affect insurance companies. These other factors include the ability of insurance companies to place new business, underwriting and non-underwriting profits of insurance companies, consumer demand for insurance products, the availability of comparable products from other insurance companies at a lower cost, and the tax deductibility of commissions and fees. In addition, premium rates for certain insurance products, such as the mandatory automobile liability insurance that each automobile owner in the PRC is legally required to purchase, are tightly regulated by the CIRC. In some instance, we can negotiate for better rates as an incentive for generating larger volume of business.

Since China’s entry into the WTO in December 2001, competition among insurance companies has intensified as a result of a significant increase in the number of insurance companies and the existing insurance companies’ expansion into new geographic markets. This competition has led to a gradual increase in the commission and fee rates offered to insurance intermediaries, and such increase has had a positive impact on our results of operations. Meanwhile, the intense competition among insurance companies also has led to a gradual decline in premium rate levels of some property and casualty insurance products. While such decline has had a negative impact on the commissions and fees we earned on a per policy sold basis, it also may have had a positive impact on our total commissions and fees revenue by increasing demand for, and our total sales volume of, those policies.

The Size and Productivity of Our Sale Force

As a distributor of insurance products, we generate revenue primarily through our sales force, which consists of individual sales agents in our distribution and service network and a relatively small number of in-house sales representatives. The size of our sales force and its productivity, as measured by the average number of insurance products sold per person, the average premium per product sold and the average premiums generated per person during any specified period, directly affect our revenue and results of operations. In recent years, some entrepreneurial management staff or senior sales agents of major insurance companies in China have chosen to leave their employers or principals and become independent agents. We refer to these independent agents as “entrepreneurial agents.” An entrepreneurial agent is usually able to assemble and lead a team of sales agents. We have been actively recruiting and will continue to recruit entrepreneurial agents to join our distribution and service network as our sales agents. Entrepreneurial agents have been instrumental to the development of our life insurance business.

Acquisitions

The professional insurance intermediary sector in China is still at an early development stage and highly fragmented. We believe this offers substantial opportunities for consolidation. We intend to grow our distribution and service network in part through selective acquisitions of high-quality independent insurance intermediary companies. Since 2008, we, through our consolidated affiliated entities in the PRC, acquired controlling interests in 15 insurance agencies and four insurance claims adjusting firms as of April 15, 2010. We expect acquisitions to have a positive impact on our results of operations in the long run. However, acquisitions also involve significant risks and uncertainties. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry—If we fail to integrate acquired companies efficiently, or if the acquired companies do not perform to our expectations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.” In addition, any write-down of goodwill due to impairment and the amortization of intangible assets acquired could have a negative impact on our results of operations. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry—If we are required to write down goodwill and other intangible assets, our financial condition and results may be materially and adversely affected.”

Commission Rates for Individual Sales Agents

A large component of our operating costs and expenses is commissions paid to our individual sales agents. In order to retain sales agents, we must pay commissions at a level comparable to the commissions paid by our competitors. Competition for productive sales agents has been intense within the Chinese insurance industry and has led to a gradual increase in commission rates in recent years. The increase in commission rates has had a negative impact on our results of operations. If we are forced to further increase our commission rates for individual sales agents due to competition or otherwise, our operating costs and expenses will increase correspondingly.

Product and Service Mix

We began distributing automobile insurance products in 1999 and expanded our product offerings to other property and casualty insurance products in 2002 and then to individual life insurance products in 2006. We further broadened our service offering to cover insurance claims adjusting services in 2008. The property and casualty insurance policies we distribute are typically for one-year terms, with a single premium payable at the beginning of the term. Accordingly, we receive a single commission or fee for each property and casualty policy our customers purchase. In order for us to have recurring commission and fee revenue from property and casualty insurance products, our customers have to renew their policies or purchase new policies through us every year. Most individual life insurance policies we sell require periodic payment of premiums, typically annually, during a pre-determined payment period, generally ranging from five to 25 years. For such policies we sell, insurance companies will pay us a first-year commission and fee based on a percentage of the first year’s gross premiums, and subsequent commissions and fees based on smaller percentages of the renewal premiums paid by the insured throughout the payment period of the policy. Therefore, once we sell a life insurance policy with a periodic payment schedule, it can bring us a steady flow of commission and fee revenue throughout the payment period as long as the insured meets his or her premium payment commitment.

Because insurance companies pay us first-year commission and fee for most life insurance products at rates higher than those for property and casualty insurance products, we expect positive impact on our revenue if our distribution of life insurance products increases in the future. However, we will also incur a corresponding increase in operating costs because we pay our sales agents a higher commission and fee for distributing life insurance products. Accordingly, the operating margin attributable to life insurance products may not be as high as that of property and casualty insurance products, and may initially have a negative impact on our overall operating margin. We expect that the operating margin for life insurance products will improve because we only need to pay commissions to our sales agents for the first five years of a policy, but continue to earn renewal fees from the insurance company for the entire payment period of the policy, which could be up to 25 years.

The fees we receive for our claims adjusting services are calculated based on the types of insurance involved. For services provided in connection with property and casualty insurance (other than marine cargo insurance and automobile insurance), our fees are calculated as a percentage of the recovered amount from insurance companies plus travel expenses. For services provided in connection with marine cargo insurance, our fees are charged primarily on an hourly basis and, in some cases, as a percentage of the amount recovered from insurance companies. For automobile insurance, our fees are generally fixed and the amounts collected are based on the types of services provided. We pay our in-house claims adjustors a base salary plus a commission calculated based on a small percentage of the service fees we receive from insurance companies or the insured. The insurance claims adjusting business has become and likely will continue to be an important source of our net revenues. However, because the gross margin and operating margin attributable to the claims adjusting business are generally lower than those for property and casualty insurance products but higher than those for new life insurance policies, we expect that the increase in revenues from our insurance claims adjusting business as a percentage of our total net revenues may have a negative impact on our gross margin and operating margin.

Share-based Compensation Expenses

Our historical results of operations have been materially affected by the share-based compensation expenses incurred. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, we incurred share-based compensation expenses of RMB5.0 million, RMB45.7 million, and RMB7.6 million (US$1.1 million), respectively. See “—Key Performance Indicators—Operating Costs and Expenses—Share-based Compensation Expenses” for a more detailed discussion of our historical share-based compensation expenses. In order to attract and retain the best personnel for positions of substantial responsibility, provide additional incentive to employees, directors and consultants and promote the success of our business, we adopted a share incentive plan in October 2007. Under our 2007 share incentive plan, as amended and restated in December 2008, we may issue an aggregate number of our ordinary shares, equal to 15% of our total number of shares outstanding immediately after the closing of our initial public offering, to cover awards granted under the plan. See “Item 6.B. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—Compensation—Share Incentives—2007 Share Incentive Plan.” We expect that share-based compensation expenses will continue to be a significant component of our operating expenses.

Seasonality

Our quarterly results of operations are affected by seasonal variations caused by insurance companies’ business practices and consumer demand. Historically, insurance companies, under pressure to meet their annual sales targets, would increase their sales efforts during the fourth quarter of a year by, for example, offering more incentives for insurance intermediaries to increase sales. As a result, our commission and fee revenue for the fourth quarter of a year has generally been the highest among all four quarters. Business activities, including buying and selling insurance, usually slow down during the Chinese New Year festivities, which occur during the first quarter of each year. As a result, our commission and fee revenue for the first quarter of a year has generally been the lowest among all four quarters.

Fee-based Revenue Scheme

In response to a consultation paper for opinions on the insurance sales system reform circulated by the CIRC in June 2009, we submitted a proposal to the CIRC in June 2009 with respect to our pilot experiment. See “Item 3.D.—Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business and Our Industry—The implementation of the recently proposed insurance sales system reform involves substantial uncertainties and the fee-based revenue scheme adopted by several of our affiliated property and casualty insurance agencies may be subject to challenge by the PRC tax authorities.” Since the second quarter of 2009, several of our affiliated property and casualty insurance agencies have adopted a new fee-based revenue scheme on a trial basis. Under the new scheme, our affiliated subsidiaries earn fees by providing training and IT platforms to external insurance agents and accruing and paying business taxes and surcharges accordingly. We expect that the application of this new fee-based revenue scheme by an increase in the number of our affiliated subsidiaries would result in a decline in the growth of our net revenues. However, it would also have a positive impact on our overall gross margin.

Key Performance Indicators

Net Revenues

Our revenues are net of PRC business tax. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, we generated net revenues of RMB448.1 million, RMB844.0 million and RMB1.2 billion (US$169.2 million), respectively. We derive net revenues from the following sources:

•

commissions and fees paid by insurance companies, which accounted for 99.7%, 99.9% and 99.9% of our net revenues for 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively; and

•

other service fees, which refers to fees paid by insurance companies for certain insurance-related services provided by us to the insured on behalf of the insurance companies and accounted for 0.3%, 0.1% and 0.1% of our net revenues for 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively.

In 2007, 2008 and 2009, we generated commissions and fees of RMB446.9 million, RMB843.1 million and RMB1.2 billion (US$169.1 million), respectively. We derive commissions and fees from distributing property and casualty insurance and life insurance products and providing claims adjusting services.

Total Net Revenues

The following table sets forth our total net revenues earned from the distributions of property and casualty insurance and life insurance products and provision of claims adjusting services, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total net revenues, for the periods indicated:

		Year Ended December 31,
		2007								2008								2009
		RMB				%				RMB				%				RMB				US$				%
		(in thousands except percentages)
Property and casualty insurance products			402,170				89.7				634,385				75.1				783,220				114,743				67.8
Life insurance products			45,975				10.3				120,565				14.3				230,961				33,836				20.0
Claims adjusting services			—				—				89,012				10.6				140,670				20,608				12.2
Total net revenues			448,145				100.0				843,962				100.0				1,154,851				169,187				100.0

Net revenues from property and casualty insurance products, in particular automobile insurance products, have been our primary source of revenue since our inception. While net revenues from property and casualty insurance products increased significantly in absolute terms from 2007 to 2009, their share as a percentage of our total net revenues decreased gradually from 89.7% in 2007 to 67.8% in 2009, primarily reflecting the significant growth of our life insurance and claims adjusting businesses during the corresponding period. As the per capita automobile ownership in China is still low, automobile sales in China still have significant growth potential. Therefore, we expect that automobile insurance products will continue to be a significant contributor to our total net revenues in the next several years.

We began distributing individual life insurance products in 2006. Net revenues from life insurance products increased significantly from 2007 to 2009, both in absolute amounts and as a percentage of our total net revenues earned. We have devoted significant efforts on the distribution of life insurance products and expect net revenues from life insurance products to constitute an increasingly significant portion of our total net revenues in the next several years.

We began providing claims adjusting services in 2008. Net revenues from claims adjusting services increased significantly from 2008 to 2009 in absolute amounts. As we continue to grow our claims adjusting business, we expect that net revenues from claims adjusting services will increase as a percentage of our total net revenues in the next few years.

The commissions and fees we receive from the distribution of insurance products are based on a percentage of the premiums paid by the insured. Commission and fee rates generally depend on the type of insurance products, the particular insurance company and the region in which the insurance products are sold. We typically receive payment of the commissions and fees from insurance companies for insurance products on a monthly basis. Some of the fees are paid to us annually or semi-annually in the form of performance bonuses after we have achieved specified premium volume or policy renewal goals as agreed upon between the insurance companies and us.

We are compensated primarily by insurance companies for our claims adjusting services. The fees we receive for our claims adjusting services depend on the types of insurance involved. For services provided in connection with marine cargo insurance, our fees are charged primarily on an hourly basis and, in some cases, as a percentage of the amount recovered from insurance companies. For services provided in connection with other property and casualty insurance, our fees are calculated as a percentage of the recovered amount from insurance companies plus travel expenses. We typically receive payment for these fees on a semi-annual or annual basis. For claims adjusting services related to automobile insurance, our fees are generally fixed on a per claim basis. These fees are typically paid to us on a quarterly basis.

Other Service Fees

In connection with the distribution of automobile insurance products, we provide some insurance-related services, such as driver’s license renewal and annual inspection for the insured. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, we generated other service fees of RMB1.2 million, RMB0.9 million and RMB0.8 million (US$0.1 million), respectively, for providing these services, which were included in net revenues from the distribution of property and casualty insurance products. We don’t expect other service fees to constitute a significant portion of our total net revenues in the future.

Operating Costs and Expenses

Our operating costs and expenses consist of commissions and fees incurred in connection with the distribution of insurance products and provision of claims adjusting services, selling expenses and general and administrative expenses. The following table sets forth the components of our operating costs and expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our net revenues, for the periods indicated.

		Year Ended December 31,
		2007								2008								2009
		RMB				%				RMB				%				RMB				US$				%
		(in thousands except percentages)
Total net revenues			448,145				100.0				843,962				100.0				1,154,851				169,187				100.0
Operating costs and expenses:
Commissions and fees			(232,550	)			(51.9	)			(436,803	)			(51.8	)			(579,911	)			(84,957	)			(50.2	)
Selling expenses			(9,514	)			(2.1	)			(17,328	)			(2.1	)			(49,498	)			(7,252	)			(4.3	)
General and administrative expenses			(68,177	)			(15.2	)			(180,031	)			(21.3	)			(199,246	)			(29,190	)			(17.3	)
Total operating costs and expenses			(310,241	)			(69.2	)			(634,162	)			(75.2	)			(828,655	)			(121,399	)			(71.8	)

Commissions and Fees

We incur commissions and fees in connection with the distributions of insurance products and provisions of claims adjusting services. The commissions and fees that we incurred increased in absolute amounts each year from 2007 to 2009 primarily as a result of increase in net revenues and increase in the size of our sales force and claims adjustors. We rely mainly on individual sales agents and, to a much lesser degree, on a small number of in-house sales representatives for the distributions of insurance products. For claims adjusting services, we rely entirely on our in-house claims adjustors. Commissions and fees incurred as a percentage of net revenues decreased slightly from 2007 to 2008, primarily because the rates of the commissions and fees we received from insurers increased faster than the rates of the commissions and fees we paid to our sales agents. Commissions and fees incurred as a percentage of net revenues decreased further from 2008 to 2009, primarily as a result of the implementation of fee-based revenues scheme. We anticipate that our commissions and fees will continue to increase as we add more sales agents and claims adjustors to our work force and further grow our business.

Selling Expenses

Our selling expenses primarily consist of:

•

Salaries for employees who work in back office below the provincial management level and employment benefits for our in-house sales staff;

•

office rental, telecommunications expenses and office supply expenses incurred in connection with sales activities; and

•

advertising and marketing expenses.

We expect that our selling expenses will continue to increase as we expand our distribution and service network in both existing markets and new geographic regions. As we grow in size, we also intend to spend more on marketing and advertising to enhance our brand recognition.

General and Administrative Expenses

Our general and administrative expenses principally comprise:

•

salaries and benefits for our administrative staff;

•

share-based compensation expenses for managerial and administrative staff;

•

professional fees paid for certain PRC tax planning, market research, legal and auditing services;

•

compliance-related expenses, including expenses for professional services;

•

depreciations and amortizations;

•

office rental expenses;

•

travel and telecommunications expenses;

•

entertainment expenses;

•

office supply expenses for our administrative staff; and

•

foreign exchange loss.

We expect that our general and administrative expenses will increase as we hire additional administrative personnel and incur additional costs in connection with the expansion of our business, our efforts to improve our operating platform and our status as a publicly traded company, including costs to enhance our internal controls.

Share-based Compensation Expenses. Share-based compensation expenses constituted a smaller portion of our general and administrative expenses in 2007 and 2009, but were one of the largest components of our general and administrative expenses in 2008. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, we incurred share-based compensation only with respect to certain managerial and administrative staff and accordingly, allocated all share-based compensation expenses to general and administrative expenses. The following table sets forth our share-based compensation expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our general and administrative expenses, for the periods indicated.

		For the Year Ended December 31,
		2007								2008								2009
		RMB				%				RMB				%				RMB				US$				%
		(in thousands except percentages)
General and administrative expenses			68,177				100.0				180,031				100.0				199,246				29,190				100.0
Share-based compensation expenses			5,037				7.4				45,659				25.4				7,553				1,107				3.8

Our share-based compensation expenses in 2009 were primarily attributable to options granted to various directors, officers and employees for the purchase of 32,000,000 and 10,000,000 ordinary shares of our company, in November 2008 and March 2009, respectively.

Our share-based compensation expenses in 2008 were primarily attributable to options granted in October 2007, February 2007 and November 2008, including a one-time recognition in the fourth quarter of 2008 of the remaining un-amortized expenses totaling RMB29.6 million in connection with the cancellation of some options granted in October 2007.

Our share-based compensation expenses in 2007 were attributable to the grant of options to purchase 5,473,684 ordinary shares of our company (after giving effect to the 10,000-for-1 share exchange in July 2007) to our former chief financial officer on February 3, 2007 and to the grant of options to purchase an aggregate of 42,000,000 ordinary shares to certain directors, officers and employees of our company on October 30, 2007.

For more information about our share-based compensation expenses, please see Note 19 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

Taxation

We and each of our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities file separate income tax returns.

The Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong

Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, we and our subsidiaries incorporated in the British Virgin Islands are not subject to income or capital gains taxes. In addition, dividend payments are not subject to withholding tax in those jurisdictions. Our subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong is subject to a normal profits tax rate of 16.5% of its assessable profits for the years of assessment ending March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2010. Payment of dividends is not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.

PRC

Pursuant to the PRC EIT laws in effect before January 1, 2008, most of our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China were subject to the standard EIT rate, which was 33%. Our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities located in Shenzhen, a special economic zone, were subject to an EIT rate of 15 %. The EIT was calculated based on taxable income under PRC accounting principles. For some entities, the EIT is calculated based on the actual revenue at a deemed tax rate according to the local practices of the respective local tax bureaus in charge. In addition, our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China are subject to a 5% business tax on gross revenues generated from providing services and two additional fees, the city construction fee and the education fee, which are generally calculated at 7% and 3%, respectively, on business tax.

Pursuant to the Notice Regarding Certain Taxation Policy Issues Relating to the Reemployment of the Laid-off and Unemployed Persons, jointed issued by the PRC Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation and effective from January 1, 2003, a newly established enterprise in the service industry (with limited exceptions) was entitled to an exemption from EIT for three years if at least 30% of its work force is composed of previously “laid-off or unemployed persons” and the enterprise has entered into employment agreements with these individuals with a term of more than three years. “Laid-off or unemployed persons” was defined in the notice to include primarily laid-off or unemployed persons who are former employees of state-owned enterprises. Existing enterprises in the service industry (with limited exceptions) were entitled to a 30% reduction of EIT if they meet similar hiring requirements. Some of our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in the PRC were entitled to an exemption from EIT for a period ranging from two to three years. The following table sets forth the entities that were entitled to the tax exemption under this notice for the periods specified.

Entities Name		Tax Holiday Period
Beijing Fanhua Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.		January 1, 2005 — December 31, 2007
Beijing Fumin Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.		January 11, 2005 — December 31, 2007
Guangzhou Zhongqi Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd.		March 14, 2005 — December 31, 2007
Beijing Ruisike Management Consulting Co., Ltd.		March 28, 2005 — December 31, 2007
Guangzhou Yian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.		January 1, 2005 — December 31, 2007

On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of China enacted the EIT Law which became effective on January 1, 2008. On December 6, 2007, the State Counsel issued the Implementation Rules which became effective on January 1, 2008. On December 26, 2007, the State Council issued the Transition Preferential Policy Circular which also became effective on January 1, 2008. According to the EIT Law, as further clarified by the Implementation Rules, the Transition Preferential Policy Circular and other related regulations, foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises are subject to EIT at a uniform rate of 25%. The EIT rate of enterprises established before March 16, 2007 that were eligible for preferential tax treatments according to then effective tax laws and regulations will continue to enjoy such preferential tax treatments in the following manners: (1) in the case of preferential tax rates, for a five-year transition period starting from January 1, 2008, during which the EIT rate of such enterprises will gradually increase to the uniform 25% EIT rate by January 1, 2012; or (2) in the case of preferential tax exemption or reduction with a specified term, until the expiration of such term. However, if such an enterprise has not enjoyed the preferential treatments yet because of its failure to make a profit, its term for preferential treatment will be deemed to start from 2008.

As a result of the implementation of the EIT Law, certain preferential tax treatments enjoyed by some of our consolidated affiliated entities expired on January 1, 2008. Our effective tax rate increased significantly in 2008 and 2009 compared to 2007, primarily due to these expirations. According to the EIT Law and related regulations, the preferential tax rates enjoyed by some of our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities incorporated in Shenzhen, a special economic zone, will gradually increase to the uniform 25% EIT rate during the five year transition period. An increase in the EIT rates for those entities pursuant to the EIT Law could result in an increase in our effective tax rate, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

Critical Accounting Policies

We prepare financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets and liabilities and the disclosure of our contingent assets and liabilities at the end of each fiscal period, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each fiscal period. We continually evaluate these judgments and estimates based on our own historical experience, knowledge and assessment of current business and other conditions, our expectations regarding the future based on available information and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable. This forms our basis for making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, our actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application.

The selection of critical accounting policies, the judgments and other uncertainties affecting application of those policies and the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions are factors that should be considered when reviewing our financial statements. We believe the following accounting policies involve the most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue when all of the following have occurred: persuasive evidence of an agreement with the insurance company exists, services have been provided, the fees for such services are fixed or determinable, and collectability of the fees is reasonably assured.

Brokerage and agency services are considered to be rendered and completed, and revenue is recognized, at the time the insurance policy becomes effective, that is, when the signed insurance policy is in place and the premium is collected from the insured. We believe that we have met all the four criteria of revenue recognition when the premiums are collected by us or the respective insurance companies and not before, because collectability is not ensured until receipt of the premium. Accordingly, we do not accrue any commissions and fees prior to the receipt of the related premiums. No allowance for cancellation has been recognized as we estimate that, based on our past experience, policy cancellations rarely occur. Any subsequent commission and fee adjustments in connection with policy cancellations, which have been de minimis to date, are recognized upon notification from the insurance companies. Actual commission and fee adjustments in connection with the cancellation of policies were approximately 0.1%, 0.1% and 0.1% of the total commission and fee revenues for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. Other service fees include revenue from the provision of certain insurance-related services, such as driver’s license renewal and annual surveys. We recognize this type of revenue when the services are rendered.

In connection with the distribution of insurance products, our affiliated insurance agencies may receive performance bonuses from insurance companies pursuant to agreements between the insurance agency and the insurance company. Once the agency achieves its performance target, generally a certain sales volume, the bonus will become due. The bonus amount is calculated by multiplying the insurance premium volume by an agreed-upon percentage. In addition, we record discretionary bonuses as revenue when we receive them; in many cases, that is when insurance companies first notify us of the payment of the discretionary bonuses.

Claims adjusting services are considered to be rendered and completed, and revenue is recognized at the time an insurance company confirms the receipt of the adjusting report issued by us. We believe that we have met all the four criteria for revenue recognition when the services are provided and our adjusting report is accepted by the insurance company. We do not accrue any service fee before receiving an insurance company’s acknowledgement that it has received our adjusting report.

Share-based Compensation

We treat all forms of share-based payments to employees, including employee share options and employee share purchase plans, the same as any other form of compensation and recognize the related cost in the statement of operations. Compensation costs related to employee share options or similar equity instruments is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized over the service period, which is usually the vesting period. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of share options.

Determining the value of our share-based compensation expense in future periods requires the input of highly subjective assumptions, including estimated forfeitures and the price volatility of the underlying shares. We estimate our forfeitures of our shares based on past employee retention rates and our expectations of future retention rates, and we will prospectively revise our forfeiture rates based on actual history. Our share compensation charges may change based on changes to our actual forfeitures. Our actual share-based compensation expenses may be materially different from our current expectations.

Impairment of Goodwill and Long-lived Assets

We are required to review our amortizable intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are required to be tested for impairment at least annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that these assets might be impaired. If we determine that the carrying value of our goodwill or acquired intangible assets have been impaired, the carrying value will be written down.

To assess potential impairment of goodwill, we perform an assessment of the carrying value of our reporting units at least on an annual basis or when events and changes in circumstances occur that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of our reporting units below their carrying value. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we would perform the second step in our assessment process and record an impairment loss to earnings to the extent the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units through internal analysis and external valuations, which utilize income and market valuation approaches through the application of capitalized earnings and discounted cash flow. These valuation techniques are based on a number of estimates and assumptions, including the projected future operating results of the reporting unit, appropriate discount rates and long-term growth rates.

The fair value of each reporting unit is determined by analysis of discounted cash flows. The significant assumptions regarding our future operating performance are revenue growth rates, discount rates and terminal values. If any of these assumptions changes, the estimated fair value of our reporting units will change, which could affect the amount of goodwill impairment charges, if any.

We performed the first step of impairment assessment and noted that the total fair value of the segments was significantly higher than the aggregate carrying value of the reporting units. As such, we have not recognized any impairment charge on goodwill and intangibles for the three-year period ended December 31, 2009. We are currently not aware of any impairment charge of the goodwill and intangibles.

Income Taxes

We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements, net operating loss carry-forwards and credits by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in our opinion, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred income tax assets to an amount that we believe will more likely than not be realized. We have considered future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the need and amount for the valuation allowance. In the event we were to determine that we would be able to realize our deferred income tax assets in the future in excess of our net recorded amount, an adjustment to our deferred income tax assets would increase income in the period such determination was made. Alternatively, should we determine that we would not be able to realize all or part of our net deferred income tax assets in the future, an adjustment to our deferred income tax assets would decrease income in the period such determination was made. Current income taxes are provided for in accordance with the laws of the relevant taxing authorities. The components of the deferred tax assets and liabilities are individually classified as current and non-current based on their characteristics.

Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes — An Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 clarifies accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in any entity’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attributes for financial statement disclosure of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. The impact of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax return is recognized at the largest amount that is more-likely-than- not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant taxing authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2009, the FASB, issued ASU No. 2009-05(“ASU 2009-05”), Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820) — Measuring Liabilities at Fair Value. ASU 2009-05 amends ASC Subtopic 820-10, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures—Overall, for the fair value measurement of liabilities. It provides clarification that in circumstances in which a quoted price in an active market for the identical liability is not available, a reporting entity is required to measure the fair value using (1) a valuation technique that uses the quoted price of the identical liability when traded as an asset or quoted prices for similar liabilities or similar liabilities when traded as assets or (2) another valuation technique that is consistent with the principles of Topic 820. It also clarifies that when estimating the fair value of a liability, a reporting entity is not required to include a separate input or adjustment to other inputs relating to the existence of a restriction that prevents the transfer of the liability and that both a quoted price in an active market for the identical liability at measurement date and that the quoted price for the identical liability when traded as an asset in an active market when no adjustments to the quoted price of the asset are required are Level 1 fair value measurements. The provisions of ASU 2009-05 are effective for the first reporting period (including interim periods) beginning after issuance. Early application is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In September 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-12 (“ASU 2009-12”), Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820) — Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent). ASU 2009-12 amends ASC Subtopic 820-10, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures—Overall, to permit a reporting entity to measure the fair value of certain investments on the basis of the net asset value per share of the investment (or its equivalent) if the net asset value of the investment (or its equivalent) is calculated in a manner consistent with the measurement principles of Topic 946 — Financial Services — Investment Companies, as of the reporting entity’s measurement date. It also requires new disclosures, by major category of investments, about the attributes includes of investments within the scope of this amendment to the ASC. The provisions of ASU 2009-12 is effective for interim and annual periods ending after December 15, 2009. Early application is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In October 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-13 (“ASU 2009-13”), Revenue Recognition (Topic 605) — Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements. ASU 2009-13 addresses the accounting for multiple-deliverable arrangements to enable vendors to account for products or services (deliverables) separately rather than as a combined unit. Specifically, this guidance amends the criteria in ASC Subtopic 605-25, Revenue Recognition-Multiple-Element Arrangements, for separating consideration in multiple-deliverable arrangements. This guidance establishes a selling price hierarchy for determining the selling price of a deliverable, which is based on: (a) vendor-specific objective evidence if available; (b) third-party evidence if vendor-specific objective is not available; or (c) estimated selling price if neither vendor-specific objective evidence nor third-party evidence is available. This guidance also eliminates the residual method of allocation and requires that arrangement consideration be allocated at the inception of the arrangement to all deliverables using the relative selling price method. In addition, this guidance significantly expands required disclosures related to a vendor’s multiple-deliverable revenue arrangements. The provisions of ASU 2009-13 are effective prospectively for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In October 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-15(“ASU 2009-15”), Accounting for Own-Share Lending Arrangements in Contemplation of Convertible Debt Issuance or Other Financing which includes amendments to ASC Topic 470, Debt, (Subtopic 470-20), and ASC Topic 260, Earnings per Share (Subtopic 260-10), to provide guidance on share-lending arrangements entered into on an entity’s own shares in contemplation of a convertible debt offering or other financing. The ASU requires that a share-lending arrangement entered into on an entity’s own shares in contemplation of a convertible debt offering or other financing be measured at issuance at fair value and recognized as issuance cost in the consolidated financial statements. Additionally, the ASU requires enhanced disclosures in the consolidated financial statements for annual and interim periods where a share-lending arrangement is outstanding. The provisions of ASU 2009-15 are effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2009, and interim periods within those fiscal years for arrangements outstanding as of the beginning of those years. Retrospective application is required for such arrangements. The provisions of ASU 2009-15 are effective for arrangements entered into on (not outstanding) or after the beginning of the first reporting period that begins on or after June 15, 2009. Additionally, the provisions of this ASU are effective for arrangements outstanding as of the beginning of fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2009 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Certain transition disclosures are also required. Early application is not permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In December 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-16 (“ASU 2009-16”), Transfers and Servicing (Topic 860) — Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets, which formally codifies FASB Statement No. 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets into the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), issued by the FASB in June 2009. ASU 2009-16 represents a revision to the provisions of former FASB Statement No. 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities. The amendments in this ASU eliminate the exceptions for qualifying special-purpose entities from the consolidation guidance and the exception that permitted sale accounting for certain mortgage securitizations when a transferor has not surrendered control over the transferred financial assets. In addition, the amendments require enhanced disclosures about the risks that a transferor continues to be exposed to because of its continuing involvement in transferred financial assets. ASU 2009-16 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2009. Additionally, the recognition and measurement provisions of this ASU should be applied to transfers that occur on or after the effective date. Early application is not permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In December 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-17 (“ASU 2009-17”), Consolidations (Topic 810) — Improvements to Financial Reporting by Enterprises Involved with Variable Interest Entities which amends the FASB Accounting Standards Codification for the issuance of FASB Statement No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), issued by the FASB in June 2009. The amendments in this ASU replace the quantitative-based risks and rewards calculation for determining which reporting entity, if any, has a controlling financial interest in a variable interest entity with an approach primarily focused on identifying which reporting entity has the power to direct the activities of a variable interest entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (1) the obligation to absorb the losses of the entity or (2) the right to receive the benefits from the entity. ASU 2009-17 also requires additional disclosure about a reporting entity’s involvement in variable interest entities, as well as any significant changes in risk exposure due to that involvement. ASU 2009-17 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2009. Early application is not permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2010, the FASB issued ASU No. 2010-06 (“ASU 2010-06”), Improving Disclosures About Fair Value Measurements. The ASU amends ASC 820 (formerly Statement No. 157, Fair Value Measurements) to add new requirements for disclosures about transfers into and out of Levels 1 and 2 and separate disclosures about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements relating to Level 3 measurement on a gross basis rather than as a net basis as currently required. ASU 2010-06 also clarifies existing fair value disclosures about the level of disaggregation and about inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value. ASU 2010-06 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the requirement to provide the level 3 activity of purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements on a gross basis, which will be effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2010. Early application is permitted and in the period of initial adoption, entities are not required to provide the amended disclosures for any previous periods presented for comparative purposes. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

Results of Operations

		For the Year Ended December 31,
						2007 to 2008								2008 to 2009
						Percentage								Percentage
		2007				Change				2008				Change
		(As adjusted) (1)								(As adjusted) (1)								2009
		RMB				%				RMB				%				RMB				US$
		(in thousands except percentages)
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data
Net revenues:
Commissions and fees			446,929				88.6				843,107				36.9				1,154,090				169,075
Other service fees			1,216				(29.7	)			855				(11.0	)			761				112
Total net revenues			448,145				88.3				843,962				36.8				1,154,851				169,187
Operating costs and expenses:
Commissions and fees			(232,550	)			87.8				(436,803	)			32.8				(579,911	)			(84,957	)
Selling expenses			(9,514	)			82.1				(17,328	)			185.7				(49,498	)			(7,252	)
General and administrative expenses			(68,177	)			164.1				(180,031	)			10.7				(199,246	)			(29,190	)
Total operating costs and expenses			(310,241	)			104.4				(634,162	)			30.7				(828,655	)			(121,399	)
Income from operations			137,904				52.1				209,800				55.5				326,196				47,788
Other income (expense), net:
Gain on disposal of investment in a subsidiary			—				*				525				*				—				—
Investment income			—				*				—				*				18,905				2,770
Interest income			16,235				195.5				47,967				(30.6	)			33,299				4,878
Interest expense			(25	)			280.0				(95	)			(95.8	)			(4	)			(1	)
Others, net			(2	)			1,300.0				(28	)			5,128.6				1,408				206
Changes in fair value of contingent consideration payables			—				*				—				*				(5,946	)			(871	)
Net income before income taxes and income of affiliates			154,112				67.5				258,169				44.8				373,858				54,770
Income tax expense			(3,178	)			1,864.7				(62,438	)			53.1				(95,618	)			(14,008	)
Share of income of affiliates			—				*				135				473.3				774				114
Net income			150,934				29.7				195,866				42.5				279,014				40,876
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the noncontrolling interests			(2,424	)			270.3				4,129				(628.6	)			(21,827	)			(3,197	)
Net income attributable to the Company’s shareholders			153,358				25.0				191,737				56.9				300,841				44,073