UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

☐  REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

☒  ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

OR

☐  TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

☐  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

For the transition period from             to           

Commission file number: 001-33768

FANHUA INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

N/A

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

60/F, Pearl River Tower

No. 15 West Zhujiang Road

Guangzhou, Guangdong 510623

People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Peng Ge, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +86 20 83883033

E-mail: gepeng@fanhuaholdings.com

Fax: +86 20 83883181

60/F, Pearl River Tower

No. 15 West Zhujiang Road

Guangzhou, Guangdong 510623

People’s Republic of China

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

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

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

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

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.

1,074,291,784 ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share as of December 31, 2021

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐ No ☒

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 ☐ No ☒

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 ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically 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 ☒ No ☐

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

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards † provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 † The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

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

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 ☐ Item 18 ☐

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 ☐ No ☒

(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 ☐ No ☐

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

In this annual report, unless the context otherwise requires:

Fanhua Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company primarily operating in China through (i) its PRC subsidiaries, including Fanhua Zhonglian Enterprise Image Planning (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., or Zhonglian Enterprise, and Fanhua Xinlian Information Technology Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., or Xinlian Information, and their subsidiaries in which we hold equity ownership interests, and (ii) contractual arrangements among (x) our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary Fanhua Insurance Sales Service Group Company Limited, or Fanhua Group Company, (y) the consolidated VIE, namely, Shenzhen Xinbao Investment Management Co., Ltd., or Xinbao Investment, a limited liability company established under PRC law, and (z) the individual nominee shareholder of the consolidated VIE. Fanhua Inc. holds 49% equity interests in the consolidated VIE. Investors in the ADSs thus are not purchasing, and may never directly hold all equity interests in the consolidated VIE. PRC laws, regulations, and rules restrict and impose conditions on direct foreign investment in certain types of business, and we therefore operate these businesses in China through the consolidated VIE. For a summary of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.” As used in this annual report, “we”, “us”, or “our” refers to Fanhua Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Our corporate structure is subject to risks relating to our contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and its individual nominee shareholder. If the PRC government finds these contractual arrangements non-compliant with the restrictions on direct foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if the relevant PRC laws, regulations, and rules or the interpretation thereof change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the consolidated VIE or forfeit our rights under the contractual arrangements. Fanhua Inc. and investors in the ADSs face uncertainty about potential future actions by the PRC government, which could affect the enforceability of our contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and, consequently, significantly affect the financial condition and results of operations of Fanhua Inc. If we are unable to claim our right to control the assets of the consolidated VIE, the ADSs may decline in value or become worthless. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.”

We face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties relating to doing business in China. We operate our business primarily in China, and are subject to complex and evolving PRC laws and regulations. For example, we face risks relating to regulatory approvals on overseas listings, oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, and the expanding efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. Uncertainties in the PRC legal system and the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protection available to you and us, hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer the ADSs, result in a material adverse effect on our business operations, and damage our reputation, which might further cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China.”

On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report notifying the Commission of its determinations that they are unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong. The report sets forth lists identifying the registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively, that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. Our financial statements contained in this annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP, or Deloitte, an independent registered public accounting firm that is headquartered in Mainland China and is on such lists. However, as of the date hereof, we have not been identified by the Commission as a commission-identified issuer under the Holding Foreign Company Accountable Act (“HFCA Act”). If, in the future, we have been identified by the Commission for three consecutive years as an issuer whose registered public accounting firm is determined by the PCAOB that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by one or more authorities in China, the Commission may prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the “over-the-counter” trading market in the United States. Additionally, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two. On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which contained, among other things, an identical provision. If this provision is enacted into law and the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act is reduced from three years to two, then our ADSs could be prohibited from trading in the United States as early as 2023. Furthermore, we and our investors are deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our securities to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements. If we fail to meet the new listing standards specified in the HFCA Act, we could face possible delisting from the Nasdaq, cessation of trading in the “over-the-counter” market, deregistration from the Commission and/or other risks, which may materially and adversely affect, or effectively terminate, our ADSs trading in the United States.

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

The Consolidated VIE and China Operations

Fanhua Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company primarily operating in China through (i) its PRC subsidiaries, including Zhonglian Enterprise and Xinlian Information, and their subsidiaries in which we hold equity ownership interests, and (ii) contractual arrangements among (x) our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary Fanhua Group Company, (y) the consolidated VIE, Xinbao Investment, a limited liability company established under PRC law, and (z) the individual nominee shareholder of the consolidated VIE. Fanhua Inc. holds 49% equity interests in the consolidated VIE. Investors in the ADSs thus are not purchasing, and may never directly hold all equity interests in the consolidated VIE.

We commenced a restructuring in August 2021 to re-establish the VIE structure for our online insurance business where our direct equity interests in Xinbao Investment were reduced from 100% to 49% and the remaining 51% is nominally held by an employee of the Company on behalf of the Company. The restructuring completed in December 2021. Concurrently, our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary, Fanhua Group Company, entered into contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and the individual nominee shareholder. These agreements include:(i) a technology consulting and service agreement, which enables us to receive all of the economic benefits of Xinbao investment and its subsidiaries, (ii) a loan agreement, powers of attorney and an equity pledge agreement, which provide us with effective control over Xinbao Investment, and (iii) an exclusive purchase option agreement, which provides us with the option to purchase part of the equity interests in Xinbao Investment. For more details of the restructuring and the contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.”

In the opinion of the Company' s legal counsel, (i) the ownership structure relating to the consolidated VIE of the Company is in compliance with PRC laws and regulations; (ii) the contractual arrangements with the consolidated VIE and the individual shareholder are legal, valid and binding obligation of such party, and enforceable against such party in accordance with their respective terms; and (iii) the execution, delivery and performance of the consolidated VIE and its shareholders do not result in any violation of the provisions of the articles of association and business licenses of the consolidated VIE, and any violation of any current PRC laws and regulations.

However, control through these contractual arrangements may be less effective than direct ownership, and we could face heightened risks and costs in enforcing these contractual arrangements, because there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law. If the PRC government finds such agreements non-compliant with relevant PRC laws, regulations, and rules, or if these laws, regulations, and rules or the interpretation thereof change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in Xinbao Investment or forfeit our rights under the contractual arrangements. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government finds that the contractual arrangements that establish the structure for operating part of our China business does not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties.” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIE, Xinbao Investment, and its shareholder to conduct a small part of our China operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership, and these contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law.”

The following diagram illustrates the corporate structure of us and the consolidated VIE, including the names, places of incorporation and the proportion of ownership interests in our and the consolidated VIE’s significant subsidiaries and their respective subsidiaries as of March 31, 2022:

The diagram above omits the names of subsidiaries that are immaterial individually and in the aggregate. For a complete list of our subsidiaries as of March 31, 2022, see Exhibit 8.1 to this annual report.

Fund Flows between Fanhua Inc., Its Subsidiaries and the Consolidated VIE

Under PRC law, we may provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through capital contributions or loans, and to the consolidated VIE only through loans, subject to the satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements. We rely on dividends and other distributions from our PRC subsidiaries to satisfy part of our liquidity requirement. Under the contractual arrangements among Fanhua Group Company, the consolidated VIE, and the shareholders of the consolidated VIE, Fanhua Group Company is entitled to all of the economic benefits of the consolidated VIE and its subsidiaries in the form of service fees. For risks relating to the fund flows of our China operations, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—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.”

Assets Transfer Occurred Between the Parent, Its Subsidiaries and the Consolidated VIE

Under the Contractual Arrangements, Fanhua Group Company, provides consultation and training services to the consolidated VIE and is entitled to receive service fees from the consolidated VIE in exchange. The Contractual Arrangements provide that the consolidated VIE shall pay a quarterly fee calculated primarily based on a percentage of its revenues.

The technology consulting and service agreement was entered into between Fanhua Group Company and Xinbao Investment on March 1, 2022. No service fees have been incurred in 2021. The cash flows occurred between our subsidiaries and the consolidated VIE included the following: (1) cash received by our subsidiaries from our VIEs as inter-company advances amounted to RMB89.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021; (2) repayment of inter-company advances by our subsidiaries to our VIEs amounted to RMB16.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021; and (3) commissions paid by our VIEs to our subsidiaries amounted to 16.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Dividends or Distributions on Our ADSs or Ordinary Shares Made to the U.S. Investors and Their Tax Consequences

Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to applicable laws. Although Fanhua Inc. has previously paid dividends on a quarterly basis, the amount and form of future dividends 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. See “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Dividend Policy.”

In addition, subject to the passive foreign investment company rules discussed in detail under “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company”, the gross amount of any distribution that we make to investors with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares (including any amounts withheld to reflect PRC or other withholding taxes) will be taxable as a dividend, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under United States federal income tax principles. Furthermore, if we are considered a PRC tax resident enterprise for tax purposes, any dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders may be regarded as China-sourced income and as a result may be subject to PRC withholding tax. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. 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.” For further discussion on PRC and United States federal income tax considerations of an investment in the ADSs, see “Item 10—Additional Information—E. Taxation.”

Restrictions on Foreign Exchange and the Ability to Transfer Cash between Entities, Across Borders and to U.S. Investors

Our cash dividends are paid in U.S. dollars. The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. The majority of our income is received in Renminbi and shortages in foreign currencies may restrict our ability to pay dividends or other payments, or otherwise satisfy our foreign-currency-denominated obligations, if any. 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 SAFE as long as certain procedural requirements are met. Approval from appropriate government authorities is required if Renminbi is 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, at its discretion, impose restrictions on access to foreign currencies for current account transactions and if this occurs in the future, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders.

Relevant PRC laws and regulations permit the PRC companies to pay dividends only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Additionally, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated VIE can only distribute dividends upon approval of the shareholders after they have met the PRC requirements for appropriation to the statutory reserves. As a result of these and other restrictions under the PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated VIE are restricted to transfer a portion of their net assets to us either in the form of dividends, loans or advances. Even though we currently do not require any such dividends, loans or advances from our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated VIE for working capital and other funding purposes, we may in the future require additional cash resources from our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated VIE due to changes in business conditions, to fund future acquisitions and developments, or merely pay dividends to or distributions to our shareholders.

Financial Information Related to the VIEs

As disclosed in Note (19) of our consolidated financial statements, upon the cancellation of the 521 Plan in December 2020, we no longer have the power to direct the significant activities of the 521 Plan Employee Companies, and no longer bear potentially significant economic exposure through its indirect interests to the 521 Plan Employee Companies, and stopped consolidating the 521 Plan Employee Companies. Accordingly, we refunded all share rights deposits amounted to RMB266.9 million back to the Participants which was presented as cash outflows from financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The following tables set forth the summary consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2021 of the Parent, our wholly-owned subsidiary (“WOFE”) that is the primary beneficiary of the VIE under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP (the “Primary Beneficiaries of VIE”), our other subsidiaries and the consolidated VIE and its subsidiaries, and the summary of the consolidated statement of income and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our and the consolidated VIE’s historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this information together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this annual report.

Note:

Approvals Required from the PRC Authorities for Offering Securities to Foreign Investors

We believe we are not required to obtain any approvals from any PRC authorities for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, and the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC. As of the date hereof, we have not been notified of any requirements for such approvals by, nor have we applied for any such approvals with, the PRC authorities.

However, our belief that no such approvals are required is based upon existing PRC laws and regulations, which are subject to differing interpretations or change. As such, there can be no assurance that the PRC regulators or a court will not take a contrary position. We may also be required to obtain such approvals in the future. If the CSRC later requires that we obtain its approval, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of the CSRC approval requirements if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding this CSRC approval requirement could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs. For more details on the recent regulatory developments and the risks to us and our investors relating to our failure to obtain or maintain any approvals that might be required for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure —Although we believe we are not required to obtain any approvals of any PRC authorities for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, including the CSRC and the CAC, under current PRC laws and regulations, the PRC regulators or a court may take a contrary position. In addition, applicable laws, regulations or interpretations may change and we thus may be required to obtain such approvals in the future.”

Summary of Risk Factors

Investing in the ADSs involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” and other information contained in this annual report on Form 20-F, before you decide whether to purchase the ADSs. Below please find a summary of the principal risks and uncertainties we face, organized under relevant headings:

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Risks Related to Our ADSs

Risks Related to PCAOB Inspections

On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report notifying the Commission of its determinations (the “PCAOB Determinations”) that they are unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong. The report sets forth lists identifying the registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively, that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. Our financial statements contained in this annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by Deloitte, an independent registered public accounting firm that is headquartered in Mainland China and is on such lists. However, as of the date hereof, we have not been identified by the Commission as a commission-identified issuer under the HFCA Act. If, in the future, we have been identified by the Commission for three consecutive years as an issuer whose registered public accounting firm is determined by the PCAOB that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by one or more authorities in China, the Commission may prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the “over-the-counter” trading market in the United States. Additionally, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two. On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which contained, among other things, an identical provision. If this provision is enacted into law and the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act is reduced from three years to two, then our ADSs could be prohibited from trading in the United States as early as 2023. Furthermore, we and our investors are deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our securities to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements. If we fail to meet the new listing standards specified in the HFCA Act, we could face possible delisting from the Nasdaq, cessation of trading in the “over-the-counter” market, deregistration from the Commission and/or other risks, which may materially and adversely affect, or effectively terminate, our ADSs trading in the United States.

Not Applicable.

Not Applicable.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

Fanhua Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company operating in China primarily through its subsidiaries and a small part of its business through contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment. Investors in the ADSs thus are not purchasing, and may never directly hold, all equity interests in the consolidated VIE. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to such agreements that establish the VIE structure for our consolidated VIE’s operations in China, including potential future actions by the PRC government, which could affect the enforceability of our contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and, consequently, adversely affect the financial condition and results of operations of Fanhua Inc. If the PRC government finds such agreements non-compliant with relevant PRC laws, regulations, and rules, or if these laws, regulations, and rules or the interpretation thereof change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish part of our interests in Xinbao Investment or forfeit our rights under the contractual arrangements.

We are a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and Fanhua Group Company, our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary, is considered a foreign-invested enterprise. We operate our online insurance distribution business, which accounted for 4.1% of our total net revenues in 2021, through Baoxian.com or Baowang. Previously, the domain name of Baowang was owned by Shenzhen Baowang E-commerce Co., Ltd., or Shenzhen Baowang, while its direct parent company Fanhua RONS Insurance Sales & Service Co. Ltd. (formerly known as Fanhua Century Insurance Sales & Service Co., Ltd.) or Fanhua RONS, one wholly-owned subsidiary of Xinbao Investment, owns a national insurance service operating license. To keep compliance with the Measures on the Supervision of Internet Insurance Business, or the Measures, which became effective on February 1, 2021 which requires any insurance institution that intends to engage in internet insurance business to directly own the online platform instead of through its subsidiary, we determined to register Fanhua RONS as the owner of baoxian.com and apply for a new Value-added Telecommunication Business Operation Permit for ICP services, or an ICP license for Fanhua RONS, although the Measures only requires the online platform owner to make ICP filing. As the applicant for an ICP license may be subject to foreign investment restriction, we commenced a restructuring to re-establish the VIE structure for our online insurance business which was completed in December 2021, pursuant to which our direct equity interests in Xinbao Investment was reduced from 100% to 49% and the remaining 51% is nominally held by an employee of the Company on behalf of the Company. Concurrently, Fanhua Group Company, entered into contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and the individual nominee shareholder, pursuant to which, we are able to: (i) exercise effective control over Xinbao Investment and its subsidiaries; (ii) have an exclusive option to purchase part of the equity interests in Xinbao Investment when and to the extent permitted by PRC law; and (iii) receive all of the economic benefits from the consolidated VIE in consideration for the services provided by our subsidiaries in China. The Contractual Arrangements allow us to be the primary beneficiary of the consolidated VIE and to consolidate the Consolidated VIE’s results of operations into our financial statements.

If the Contractual Arrangements that establish the structure for operating our and the consolidated VIE’s business in the PRC are found to be in violation of any existing or any PRC laws or regulations in the future, or the PRC government finds that we, or the consolidated VIE fails to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the MIIT, MOFCOM and STA, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

Any of these actions could cause significant disruption or result in a material change to our and the consolidated VIE’s business operations, and may materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, it is unclear what impact the PRC government actions would have on us and on our ability to consolidate the financial results of Xinbao Investment and its subsidiaries in our consolidated financial statements, if the PRC governmental authorities find the consolidated VIE’s legal structure and Contractual Arrangements to be in violation of PRC laws, rules and regulations. If any of these penalties results in our inability to direct the activities of Xinbao Investment or its subsidiaries that most significantly impact its economic performance and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from Xinbao Investment or its subsidiaries, we may not be able to consolidate Xinbao Investment and/or its subsidiaries into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. If we are unable to claim our right to control the assets of the consolidated VIE, the ADSs may decline in value or become worthless.

The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the China operations of an offshore holding company, such as us. Therefore, investors in the ADSs and our and the consolidated VIE’s business face potential uncertainty from the PRC government’s policy. Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions, or government policies could materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Substantially all of our and the consolidated VIE’s operations are located in China. The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the China operations of an offshore holding company, such as us. Despite economic reforms and measures implemented by the PRC government, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industrial development, allocation of natural and other resources, production, pricing and management of currency, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will continue to pursue a policy of economic reform or that the direction of reform will continue to be market friendly.

Our and the consolidated VIE’s ability to successfully expand business operations in the PRC depends on a number of factors, including macro-economic and other market conditions. Demand for our and the consolidated VIE’s services and our and the consolidated VIE’s business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected by the following factors:

These factors are affected by a number of variables which are beyond our and the consolidated VIE’s control.

We and the consolidated VIE are subject to extensive and evolving legal development, non-compliance with which, or changes in which, may materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s business and prospects, and may result in a material change in our and the consolidated VIE’s operations and/or the value of our ADSs or could significantly limit or completely hinder our and the consolidated VIE’s ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

PRC companies are subject to various PRC laws, regulations and government policies and the relevant laws, regulations and policies continue to evolve. Recently, the PRC government is enhancing supervision over companies seeking listings overseas and some specific business or activities such as the use of variable interest entities and data security or anti-monopoly. The PRC government may adopt new measures that may affect our and the consolidated VIE’s operations, or may exert more oversight and control over offerings conducted outside of China and foreign investment in China-based companies, and we and the consolidated VIE may be subject to challenges brought by these new laws, regulations and policies. However, since these laws, regulations and policies are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties. Furthermore, as we and the consolidated VIE may be subject to additional, yet undetermined, laws and regulations, compliance may require us to obtain additional permits and licenses, complete or update registrations with relevant regulatory authorities, adjust our and the consolidated VIE’s business operations, as well as allocate additional resources to monitor developments in the relevant regulatory environment. However, under the stringent regulatory environment, it may take much more time for the relevant regulatory authorities to approve new applications for permits and licenses, and complete or update registrations and we cannot assure you that we and the consolidated VIE will be able to comply with these laws and regulations in a timely manner or at all. The failure to comply with these laws and regulations may delay, or possibly prevent, us to conduct business, accept foreign investments, or listing overseas.

The occurrence of any of these events may materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s business and prospects and may result in a material change in our and the consolidated VIE’s operations and/or the value of our ADSs or could significantly limit or completely hinder our and the consolidated VIE’s ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. In addition, if any of changes causes us unable to direct the activities of the consolidated VIE or lose the right to receive their economic benefits, we may not be able to consolidate the VIE into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which could cause the value of our ADSs to significantly decline or become worthless.

It is unclear whether we and the consolidated VIE will be subject to the oversight of the Cyberspace Administration of China and how such oversight may impact us. Our and the consolidated VIE’s business could be interrupted or we and the consolidated VIE could be subject to liabilities which may materially and adversely affect the results of our and the consolidated VIE’s operation and the value of your investment.

Pursuant to the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the Measures for Cybersecurity Censorship, if a critical information infrastructure operator that intends to purchase internet products and services and data processing operators (collectively, the “operators”) engaging in data processing activities that affect or may affect national security must be subject to the cybersecurity review. According to the Regulations for Safe Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, or the Safe Protection Regulations, which took effect on September 1, 2021, critical information infrastructure refers to important network infrastructure and information systems in public telecommunications, information services, energy sources, transportation and other critical industries and domains, in which any destruction or data leakage will have severe impact on national security, the nation’s welfare, the people’s living and public interests. As of the date hereof, we and the consolidated VIE have not received any notice from such authorities identifying us as a critical information infrastructure operator or requiring us to going through cybersecurity review by the CAC.

On December 28, 2021, the CAC, NDRC, MIIT, the MPS, the Ministry of National Security, the MOF, the MOFCOM, the PBOC, the National Radio and Television Administration, the CSRC, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection and the State Cryptography Administration jointly released the Measures for Cybersecurity Review Measures, or the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which took effect on February 15, 2022. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, the scope of cybersecurity reviews is extended to data processing operators engaging in data processing activities that affect or may affect national security. The Cybersecurity Review Measures further requires that any operator applying for listing on a foreign exchange must go through cybersecurity review if it possesses personal information of more than one million users. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, a cybersecurity review assesses potential national security risks that may be brought about by any procurement, data processing, or overseas listing. The review focuses on several factors, including, among others, (i) the risk of theft, leakage, corruption, illegal use or export of any core or important data, or a large amount of personal information, and (ii) the risk of any critical information infrastructure, core or important data, or a large amount of personal information being affected, controlled or maliciously exploited by a foreign government after a company is listed overseas.

Our PRC counsel is of the view that there is a relatively low likelihood that we and the consolidated VIE will be subject to the cybersecurity review by the CAC for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, given that: (i) we and the consolidated VIE have not been recognized as critical information infrastructure operators; (ii) data processed in our and the consolidated VIE’s business do not have an impact or potential impact on national security; and (iii) the Cybersecurity Review Measures require operators of online platforms that hold personal information of more than one million users to file a cybersecurity review with the Cybersecurity Review Office when they go public abroad, however it is still uncertain whether the Cybersecurity Review Measures will be applicable to China-based companies listed overseas. However, there remains uncertainty as to how the Cybersecurity Review Measures will be interpreted and whether the PRC regulatory agencies, including the CAC, may adopt new laws, regulations, rules, or detailed implementation and interpretation related to the Cybersecurity Review Measures. If any such new laws, regulations, rules, or implementation and interpretation comes into effect, we and the consolidated VIE will take all reasonable measures and actions to comply and minimize the adverse effect of such laws on us.

We cannot assure you that PRC regulatory agencies, including the CAC, would take the same view as we do, and there is no assurance that we and the consolidated VIE can fully or timely comply with such laws. In the event that we and the consolidated VIE are subject to any mandatory cybersecurity review and other specific actions required by the CAC, we and the consolidated VIE face uncertainty as to whether any clearance or other required actions can be timely completed, or at all. Given such uncertainty, we and the consolidated VIE may be further required to suspend our and the consolidated VIE’s relevant business, shut down our and the consolidated VIE’s website, or face other penalties, which could materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s business, financial condition, and results of operations, and/or the value of our ADSs or could significantly limit or completely hinder our and the consolidated VIE’s ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. In addition, if any of these events causes us unable to direct the activities of the consolidated VIE or lose the right to receive their economic benefits, we may not be able to consolidate the VIE into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which could cause the value of our ADSs to significantly decline or become worthless.

On November 14, 2021, the CAC published the Regulations on the Network Data Security (Draft for Comments), which further regulate the internet data processing activities and emphasize on the supervision and management of network data security, and further stipulate the obligations of internet platform operators, such as to establish a system for disclosure of platform rules, privacy policies and algorithmic strategies related to data. Specifically, the draft regulations require data processors to, among others, (i) adopt immediate remediation measures when they discover that network products and services they use or provide have security defects and vulnerabilities, or threaten national security or endanger public interest, and (ii) follow a series of detailed requirements with respect to processing personal information, management of important data and proposed overseas transfer of data. In addition, the draft regulations require data processors that handle important data or are seeking to be listed overseas to complete an annual data security assessment and file a data security assessment report to applicable regulators. Such annual assessment, as required by the draft regulations, would encompass areas including but not limited to the status of important data processing, data security risks identified and the rectification measures adopted, the effectiveness of data protection measures, the implementation of national data security laws and regulations, data security incidents that occurred and how they were resolved, and a security assessment with respect to sharing and provision of important data overseas. As of the date hereof, the draft regulations have been released for public comment only and have not been formally adopted. The final provisions and the timeline for its adoption are subject to changes and uncertainties.

As there remain uncertainties regarding the interpretation and implementation of such regulatory guidance, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with new regulatory requirements relating to our future overseas capital raising activities, and may be subject to more stringent requirements with respect to matters including data privacy and cross-border investigation and enforcement of legal claims. In the event that we and the consolidated VIE are subject to any mandatory cybersecurity review and other specific actions required by the CAC, we and the consolidated VIE face uncertainty as to whether any clearance or other required actions can be timely completed, or at all. Given such uncertainty, we and the consolidated VIE may be further required to suspend our and the consolidated VIE’s relevant business, shut down our and the consolidated VIE’s website, or face other penalties, which could materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s business, financial condition, and results of operations, and/or the value of our ADSs or could significantly limit or completely hinder our and the consolidated VIE’s ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. In addition, if any of these events causes us unable to direct the activities of the consolidated VIE or lose the right to receive their economic benefits, we may not be able to consolidate the VIE into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which could cause the value of our ADSs to significantly decline or become worthless.

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

We conduct our business in China primarily through our PRC subsidiaries, including Fanhua Group Company and its subsidiaries in which we hold equity ownership interests, and the contractual arrangements with the consolidated VIE. Our and the consolidated VIE’s operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. The PRC government has significant oversight over the conduct of our and the consolidated VIE’s business, and it regulates and may intervene our and the consolidated VIE’s operations at any time, which could result in a material adverse change in our and the consolidated VIE’s operation and/or the value of our ADSs. Also, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers like us. Any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. In addition, implementation of industry-wide regulations directly targeting our and the consolidated VIE’s operations could cause the value of our securities to significantly decline. Therefore, investors of us and the consolidated VIE and our and the consolidated VIE’s business face potential uncertainty from actions taken by the PRC government.

Although we believe we are not required to obtain any approvals of any PRC authorities for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, including the CSRC and the CAC, under current PRC laws and regulations, the PRC regulators or a court may take a contrary position. In addition, applicable laws, regulations or interpretations may change and we thus may be required to obtain such approvals in the future.

We believe we are not required to obtain any approvals from any PRC authorities for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, and the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC. As of the date hereof, we have not been notified of any requirements for such approvals by, nor have we applied for any such approvals with, the PRC authorities.

Specifically, with respect to the CSRC, the M&A Rules requires an overseas special purpose vehicle that is controlled by PRC companies or individuals formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies using shares of such special purpose vehicle or held by its shareholders as considerations to obtain the approval of the CSRC, prior to an offering and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on a stock exchange outside the PRC. We believe we are not required to obtain any approvals from CSRC for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors under M&A rules because: (i) we established Fanhua Group Company by means of direct investment, rather than a merger with or an acquisition of any PRC domestic companies as defined under the M&A Rules, and Fanhua Group Company is not a PRC domestic company as defined under the M&A Rules, and (ii) no explicit provision in the M&A Rules clearly classifies the contractual arrangements as a type of acquisition transaction subject to the M&A Rules.

With respect to the CAC, it is unclear whether we and the consolidated VIE will be subject to its oversight and how such oversight may impact us in connection with a future offering of our ADSs to foreign investors. For further discussion on the risks relating to the oversight of the CAC, see “—It is unclear whether we and the consolidated VIE will be subject to the oversight of the Cyberspace Administration of China and how such oversight may impact us. Our and the consolidated VIE’s business could be interrupted or we and the consolidated VIE could be subject to liabilities which may materially and adversely affect the results of our and the consolidated VIE’s operation and the value of your investment.”

Our belief that no such approvals are required is based upon existing PRC laws and regulations, which are subject to differing interpretations or change. As such, there can be no assurance that the PRC regulators or a court will not take a contrary position. In addition, applicable laws, regulations or interpretations may change and we thus may be required to obtain such approvals in the future. If it is determined that we are required to obtain approvals for a future offering of our securities to foreign investors, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such approvals in a timely manner, or at all. Even if we obtain such approval, it could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining the approval for any of our future offerings, or a rescission of such approval obtained by us, would subject us to sanctions imposed by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities, which could include fines and penalties on our operations in China, restrictions or limitations on our ability to pay dividends outside of China, and other forms of sanctions that may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ADSs in the offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur.”

Any failure by Xinbao Investment or shareholders of Xinbao Investment to perform their obligations under our Contractual Arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We have entered into a series of Contractual Arrangements with Xinbao Investment, our consolidated VIE and the shareholders of Xinbao Investment. For a description of these Contractual Arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.” If our consolidated VIE or the shareholder of Xinbao Investment fail to perform their respective obligations under the Contractual Arrangements, we may incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you that it will be effective under PRC laws. For example, if the shareholders of Xinbao Investment were to refuse to transfer their equity interests in Xinbao Investment to us or our designee when we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these Contractual Arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.

All the agreements under our Contractual Arrangements are governed by PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in China. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these Contractual Arrangements. Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how Contractual Arrangements in the context of a variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC laws. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under PRC laws, rulings by arbitrators are final and parties cannot appeal arbitration results in court unless such rulings are revoked or determined unenforceable by a competent court. If the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that we are unable to enforce these Contractual Arrangements, or if we suffer significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these Contractual Arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over Xinbao Investment and its subsidiaries, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the PRC legal system and the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ADSs, cause significant disruption to our and the consolidated VIE’s business operations, and severely damage our and the consolidated VIE’s reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s financial condition and results of operations and cause our ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. In addition, rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice, therefore, our assertions and beliefs of the risks imposed by the Chinese legal and regulatory system cannot be certain.”

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

Currently, we conduct our business activities primarily through our subsidiaries in China and a small part of our business through our consolidated VIE in China.

Historically, PRC laws and regulations have restricted foreign investment in and ownership of insurance intermediary companies. As a result, we conducted our insurance intermediary business through contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, our consolidated VIEs (including Meidiya Investment, Sichuan Yihe Investment Co., Ltd., or Yihe Investment, Xinbao Investment and Shenzhen Dianliang Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Dianliang Information), and their individual shareholders between December 2005 and May 2016.

In recent years, some rules and regulations governing the insurance intermediary sector in China have begun to encourage foreign investment. For instance, under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA, Supplement IV signed on June 29, 2007 and CEPA Supplement VIII signed on December 13, 2011, between the PRC Ministry of Commerce and the governments of Hong Kong and Macau, local insurance agencies in Hong Kong and Macau are allowed to set up wholly-owned insurance agency companies in Guangdong Province if they meet certain threshold requirements. On December 26, 2007, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (“CIRC”), the predecessor of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Committee (“CBIRC”), issued an Announcement on the Establishment of Wholly-owned Insurance Agencies in Mainland China by Hong Kong and Macau Insurance Agencies, which sets forth specific qualification criteria for implementation purposes. On August 26, 2010, the CIRC released a Circular on the Cancellation of the Fifth Batch of Administrative Approval Items, pursuant to which foreign ownership in a professional insurance intermediary in excess of 25% only requires a filing to be made with the relevant authorities and no longer requires prior approval. On March 1, 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (Revision 2015), or the CGFII 2015 Revision, pursuant to which insurance brokerage firms are removed from the list of industries subject to foreign investment restriction.

Following the changes in applicable foreign investment regulations, we commenced a restructuring of our company in October 2011 and subsequently terminated all the contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries and the then-consolidated VIEs such as Meidiya Investment, Yihe Investment and Dianliang Information, which became our wholly-owned subsidiaries in 2015, 2015 and 2016, respectively. As a result, we obtained direct control or significant equity ownership in each of our insurance intermediary companies in 2015 except for Xinbao Investment and its wholly-owned subsidiary Fanhua RONS Insurance & Service Co., Ltd., which is the operating entity of Baoxian.com, an online insurance marketplace.

We operate our online insurance distribution business through Baoxian.com which was subject to foreign investment restrictions. On June 19, 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a Notice on Removing the Foreign Ownership Restriction on Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing Business (Operating E-commerce), or the No. 196 Notice. Foreign ownership in online data processing and transaction process business (operating e-commerce) is allowed to increase to 100% as long as the foreign-invested entities obtain necessary licenses to conduct the business. Accordingly, we commenced a restructuring of our online operations in 2016 and terminated the contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, Xinbao Investment and its individual nominee shareholder. As a result, Xinbao investment became our wholly-owned subsidiary in 2016 and we had obtained direct equity ownership of 100% in our online insurance distribution operation since 2016.

Previously, the domain name of Baowang was owned by Shenzhen Baowang while its direct parent company Fanhua RONS, one wholly-owned subsidiary of Xinbao Investment, owns a national insurance service operating license. To keep compliance with the Measures on the Supervision of Internet Insurance Business, or the Measures, which became effective on February 1, 2021 which requires any insurance institution that intends to engage in internet insurance business to directly own the online platform instead of through its subsidiary, we determined to register Fanhua RONS as the owner of baoxian.com and apply for a new Value-added Telecommunication Business Operation Permit for ICP services, or an ICP license for Fanhua RONS although the Measures only requires the online platform owner to make ICP filing. As the applicant for an ICP license may be subject to foreign investment restriction, we commenced a restructuring in August 2021, and completed in December 2021, to re-establish the VIE structure for our online insurance business, pursuant to which our direct equity interests in Xinbao Investment was reduced from 100% to 49% and the remaining 51% is nominally held by an employee of the Company on behalf of the Company. Concurrently, our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary Fanhua Group Company entered into contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and the individual nominee shareholder. For further details, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.” The subsidiary of Xinbao Investment holds the licenses and permits necessary to conduct our online operations in China. Our contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and its nominee shareholder enable us to:

Because of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of our VIEs and have consolidated them into our consolidated financial statements. If such contractual arrangements 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 CBIRC, will have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

Any of these or similar actions could cause disruptions to our business, as well as reduce our revenues, profitability and cash flows. In addition, if any of these actions results in our inability to direct the activities of our VIEs and their subsidiaries that most significantly impact their economic performance, and/or such actions prevent us from receiving the economic benefits from our consolidated variable interest entities, we may not be able to consolidate the financial results of these variable interest entities into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIE, Xinbao Investment, and its shareholder to conduct a small part of our China operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership, and these contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law.

Although we have obtained direct equity ownership in almost all of our insurance intermediary operating companies, we have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and its individual nominee shareholder to operate Baowang, (“保网”) (www.baoxian.com), an online insurance distribution platform, which constitutes a small part of our business in China. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our consolidated VIE, and these contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with control over our VIEs as direct ownership.

If we had direct controlling ownership of our consolidated VIEs, we would be able to exercise our rights as a controlling shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of these entities, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, as a legal matter, if our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders fail to perform their obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend significant 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 our consolidated VIEs were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in such entities 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 Xinbao Investment and its individual nominee shareholder 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 may bear significant difference from those of 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 VIEs, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.

The individual shareholder of Xinbao Investment, our consolidated VIE, may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

As of March 31, 2022, Mr. Shuangping Jiang, held 51% of the equity interests in Xinbao Investment with the remaining 49% held by our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary Fanhua Group Company. Conflicts of interest may arise between the dual roles of Mr. Jiang as a shareholder of Xinbao Investment and as an employee of our company. We do not have existing arrangements to address these potential conflicts of interest and cannot assure you that when conflicts arise, Mr. Jiang 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 Xinbao 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 challenged by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements between us and our VIEs are not on an arm’s-length basis and that we adjusted the income of our consolidated VIEs in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. Particularly, the State Administration of Taxation issued a Public Notice, or Public Notice 16, on March 18, 2015, to further regulate and strengthen the transfer pricing administration on outbound payments by a PRC enterprise to its overseas related parties. In addition to emphasizing that outbound payments by a PRC enterprise to its overseas related parties must comply with arm’s-length principles, Public Notice 16 specifies certain circumstances whereby such payments are not deductible for the purpose of the enterprise income tax of the PRC enterprise, including payments to an overseas related party which does not undertake any function, bear any risk or have any substantial operation or activities, payments for services which do not enable the PRC enterprise to obtain direct or indirect economic benefits, or for services that are unrelated to the functions and risks borne by the PRC enterprise, or relate to the protection of the investment interests of the direct or indirect investor of the PRC enterprise, or for services that have already been purchased from a third party or undertaken by the PRC enterprise itself, and royalties paid to an overseas related party which only owns the legal rights of the intangible assets but has no contribution to the creation of such intangible assets. Although we believe all our related party transactions, including all payments by our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs to our non-PRC entities, are made on an arm’s-length basis and our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate decisions by the relevant tax authorities may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and may materially adversely affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by our consolidated VIEs, which could in turn increase their respective tax liabilities. Moreover, the PRC tax authorities may impose penalties on our consolidated VIEs 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 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 primarily through our PRC subsidiaries and to a small part through our consolidated VIEs. In order to provide additional funding to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs, we may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs.

Any loans we make to any of our directly-held PRC subsidiaries (which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law), namely, Fanhua Zhonglian Enterprise Image Planning (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., or Zhonglian Enterprise, and Fanhua Xinlian Information Technology 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 amount of a foreign-invested enterprise’s registered capital represents shareholders’ equity investments over a defined period of time, and the foreign-invested enterprise’s total investment 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 HK300 million (US$38.5 million) in foreign debts as of March 31, 2022. 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 consolidated VIEs, 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.

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 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 materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

On August 29, 2008, SAFE promulgated Circular 142, a notice regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested company of its capital contribution in foreign currency into RMB. The notice requires that the capital of a foreign-invested company settled in RMB converted from foreign currencies shall be used only for purposes within the business scope as approved by the authorities in charge of foreign investment or by other government authorities and as registered with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and, unless set forth in the business scope or in other regulations, may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the capital of a foreign-invested company settled in RMB converted from foreign currencies. The use of such RMB capital may not be changed without SAFE’s approval, and may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of Circular 142 will result in severe penalties, including heavy fines. As a result, Circular 142 may significantly limit our ability to provide additional funding to our PRC subsidiaries through our directly-held PRC subsidiaries in the PRC, which may adversely affect our ability to expand our business.

However, on June 9, 2016, SAFE promulgated Circular 16, a notice on reforming and standardizing the administrative provisions on capital account foreign exchange settlement, which became effective on June 9, 2016. The new notice states that domestic enterprises (including Chinese-funded enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises, excluding financial institutions) shall be allowed to settle their foreign exchange capitals on a discretionary basis. The discretionary settlement by a foreign-invested enterprise of its foreign exchange capital shall mean that the foreign-invested enterprise may, according to its actual business needs, settle with a bank the portion of the foreign exchange capital in its capital account for which the application of discretionary settlement has been specified by relevant policies (including capitals in foreign currencies, external debts, funds repatriated from overseas listing, etc.). For the time being, foreign-invested enterprises are allowed to settle 100% of their foreign exchange capitals on a discretionary basis. The SAFE may adjust the foregoing percentage as appropriate according to balance of payments situations. As a result, Circular 16 will relax the limitation of our ability to provide additional funding to our PRC subsidiaries through our directly-held PRC subsidiaries in the PRC and consolidated VIEs.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We may not be successful in implementing our new strategic initiatives, which may have an adverse impact on our business and financial results.

There is no assurance that we will be able to implement important strategic initiatives in accordance with our expectations, which may result in an adverse impact on our business and financial results. In late 2020, we launched new strategic initiatives with focus on (i) building a professional insurance advisor team with profound insurance knowledge and capabilities to provide family financial asset allocation services to the emerging middle-class and mass-affluent individuals and families; (ii) developing an integrated digital platform utilizing artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing to optimize the use of data to provide the most appropriate products for existing and potential customers and increase agent productivity and (iii) building an open platform to share our advantages in technology, system, contractual relationship, and nationwide network with various industry participants to help them monetize their existing customer resources and to strengthen our value proposition to the market.

If and when our contracts with insurance companies are suspended or changed, our business and operating results will be materially and 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. We have entered into strategic partnership agreements with most of our major insurance company partners for the distribution of life, property and casualty insurance products and the provision of claims adjusting services at the corporate headquarters level. While this approach allows us to obtain more favorable terms from insurance companies by combining the sales volumes and service fees of all of our subsidiaries and branches operating insurance agency and claims adjusting businesses, it also means that the termination of a major contract could have a material adverse effect on our business. Under the framework of the headquarter-to-headquarter agreements, our subsidiaries and branches operating insurance agency and claims adjusting businesses generally also enter into contracts at a local level with the respective provincial, city and district branches of the insurance companies. Generally, each branch of these insurance companies has independent authority to enter into contracts with our relevant subsidiaries and branches, and the termination of a contract with one branch has no significant effect on our contracts with the other branches. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. 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 certain contracts 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 material terms, including the amount of commissions and fees we receive, which could reduce our revenues to be generated from that contract.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, our top five insurance company partners were Sinatay Life Insurance Co., Ltd., or Sinatay, Aeon Life Insurance Co., Ltd., or Aeon, Huaxia Life Insurance Co., Ltd., or Huaxia, Evergrande Life Insurance Co., Ltd., or Evergrande and Tian’an Life Insurance Co., Ltd., or Tian’an by net revenues. Among these top five partners, each of Sinatay, Aeon and Huaxia accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues individually in 2021, with Sinatay accounting for 15.0%, Aeon accounting for 14.5% and Huaxia accounting for 10.7%, respectively.

If we fail to attract and retain productive agents, especially entrepreneurial agents, and qualified claims adjustors, our business and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

A substantial portion of our sales of insurance products are conducted through our individual sales agents. 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 primarily on our in-house claims adjustors to provide claims adjusting services. Because claims adjustment requires technical skills, the technical competence of claims adjustors is essential to establishing and maintaining our brand image and relationships with our customers.

As of December 31, 2021, we had 284,053 sales agents and 2,156 claims adjustors. Out of the 284,053 sales agents, 111,602 were performing agents, who are defined as sales agents that have sold at least one insurance policy in 2021, and among these performing agents, 53,322 of them sold at least one life insurance policy in 2021. 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, and claims adjustors, which would increase operating costs and reduce our profitability.

If our digitalization initiatives are not successful, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We have devoted significant efforts to developing and managing our online platforms and developing digital technologies to empower our business operations. In 2012, we launched Baowang (“保网”) (www.baoxian.com), an online insurance distribution platform operated through its application, WeChat public account and mini program, which aggregates more than 300 insurance products in partnership with over 30 insurers. Its insurance products cover from accident insurance, indemnity medical insurance, travel insurance, homeowner insurance, and a limited number of internet-specific regular life insurance products. In August 2014, we unveiled eHuzhu (“e互助”) (www.ehuzhu.com), an online mutual aid platform that provides risk-protection programs on a mutual commitment basis among program members. In August 2014, we also rolled out Chetong.net (“车童网”) (www.chetong.net), an online-to-offline platform that integrates claims services and auto service resources. In September 2017, we launched Lan Zhanggui (“懒掌柜”), a mobile internet application and WeChat mini program, which provides various sales support services including insurance transaction processing services to our sales agents. In 2020, we announced an initiative to empower our operation by utilizing digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to gain more customer insight, match sales leads with the most suitable sales agents to maximize their productivity and help customers find the products that suit their different needs throughout different stages of their lives. We have launched several digital toolkits including Fanhua RONS Assistant Digital Operating Platform(“泛华榕数助理”), or RONS DOP to empower our agents in online customer engagement, and Fanhua RONS Guanjia (“泛华榕数管家”), a comprehensive digital customer service platform. See detailed description about our online platforms and digital toolkits in “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview”. The success of our strategies may depend on a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including but not limited to:

Our digitalization efforts may not be successful or yield the benefits that we anticipate. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Regulations on online insurance distribution are evolving rapidly. If we are unable to adapt to regulatory changes and keep compliant, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Since online insurance distribution has emerged only recently in China and is evolving rapidly, the CBIRC may promulgate and implement new rules and regulations to govern this sector from time to time. On December 7, 2020, the CBIRC promulgated the Measures for the Supervision of the Internet Insurance Business, or the Measures, which became effective on February 1, 2021 and replaces the Interim Measures for the Regulation of Internet Insurance Business. The Measures provides clarity on the qualifications for entities to operate online insurance business in China and sets higher requirements on entities which intend to engage in online insurance business. For example, the Measures in effect requires that any insurance institution which conducts internet business through its self-operated online platform to directly own the domain name instead of through its subsidiary, both the insurance institution and its self-operated online platform shall make Internet Content Provider (“ICP”) filing and the insurance institutions engaged in online insurance business shall have IT systems that are certified as at least Safety Level III Computer Information Systems. We operate our online insurance distribution business through Baowang (www.baoxian.com), which accounted for 4.1% of our total net revenues in 2021. Shenzhen Baowang previously owned the domain name of Baowang and held a Value-added Telecommunication Business Operation Permit for ICP services, or ICP license. To remain compliant with the requirements of the Measures, in September 2020, Shenzhen Baowang transferred the domain name of www.baoxian.com to its direct parent company, Fanhua RONS which holds a national insurance service operating license. Fanhua RONS has made ICP filing and is in the process of applying for a new ICP license. Baowang’s system has been certified as Safety Level III Computer Information System for two consecutive years. As advised by our PRC counsel, we have obtained the necessary approvals and licenses, and our operations meet the qualification requirements of the Measures.

In addition, we provide our insurance information and transaction processing services through mobile apps and mini programs—“Lan Zhanggui”, “RONS DOP” and Fanhua RONS Guanjia. According to the Provisions on the Administration of Mobile Internet Application Information Services (the “App Provisions”) issued by the CAC on June 28, 2016, any owner or operator providing information services through a mobile internet application, or an “app,” must obtain the relevant qualification(s) as required by the relevant laws and regulations. The App Provisions, however, do not further clarify the scope of “information services,” nor do they specify what “relevant qualification(s)” that a mobile app owner or operator must obtain. In practice, operational activities of a company conducted through an app are subject to the supervision of the local counterparts of the Information Communications Administration, which has different polices on the operational activities conducted through websites and those through mobile apps. In many cases, companies providing information services through standalone mobile apps without any web-based online services are not required to obtain ICP licenses. However, the interpretation and enforcement of such laws and regulations are subject to substantial discretion of the local authorities. We cannot rule out the possibility that the local counterparts of the Information Communications Administration would take the view that our current information services and transaction processing services provided through mobile apps would require an ICP license or that, without such license, we would be prohibited from rendering such services.

If we are unable to adapt to any new changes to the regulation governing online insurance business and remain fully compliant, the business operation of Baowang and our mobile applications and mini programs could be suspended, which may adversely impact our business results of operation.

There are uncertainties with regard to how the changing laws, regulations and regulatory requirements would apply to our business. We cannot assure you that our operations will remain fully compliant with the changes in and further development of regulations applicable to us or we will be able to obtain the necessary approvals and licenses as required in a timely manner.

Any failure to successfully identify the risks as part of our expansion into the online and mobile insurance distribution business 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.

All of our personnel engaging in insurance agency, or claims adjusting activities are required under relevant PRC regulations to register with the CBIRC’s Insurance Intermediaries Regulatory Information System. If our sales personnel fail to finish practice registration, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

All of our personnel who engage in insurance agency and claims adjusting activities are required under relevant PRC regulations to be registered with the CBIRC’s Insurance Intermediary Regulatory Information System, or the IIRIS, through the insurance company or insurance intermediary company to which he or she belongs. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation.” In addition, under the relevant PRC regulations, such as the Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Insurance Agents issued on November 12, 2020 and Provisions on the Supervision of Insurance Claims Adjusting Firms issued by the CBIRC in February 2018, an insurance agency or claims adjusting firm that retains a personnel who has not been registered with the IIRIS through the insurance agency or claims adjusting firm to engage in insurance intermediary activities may be subject to rectification request, warning and fines up to RMB10,000 per intermediary by the CBIRC. If a substantial portion of our sales force were found to have not been properly registered with the IIRIS, our business may be adversely affected. Moreover, we may be subject to fines and other administrative proceedings for the failure by our sales agents or sales representatives to register with the CBIRC. Such fines or administrative proceedings could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Material changes in the regulatory environment could change the competitive landscape of our industry or require us to change the way we do business. The administration, interpretation and enforcement of the laws and regulations currently applicable to us could change rapidly. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties or lose the ability to conduct our business.

We operate in a highly regulated industry. The laws and regulations applicable to us are evolving and may change rapidly, which could change the competitive environment of our industry significantly and cause us to lose some or all of our competitive advantages. In recent years, the CBIRC and its predecessor have increasingly tightened regulations and supervision of the Chinese insurance market. For example, on April 2, 2019, the CBIRC issued a Notice to Rectify the Irregularities in the Insurance Intermediary Market in 2019 and subsequently on May 26, 2020, the CBIRC issued similar guidelines requiring all insurance companies and insurance intermediaries to conduct self-check on various practices in violation of relevant regulations. Although we believe we have not had any material violations to date, we could be required to spend significant time and resources in complying with the requirement and the attention of our management team and key employees could be diverted to these efforts, which may adversely affect our business operations.

The CBIRC has extensive authority to supervise and regulate the insurance industry in China. In exercising its authority, the CBIRC 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. The People’s Bank of China and other government agencies may promulgate new rules governing online financial services. In July 2015, ten government agencies including the People’s Bank of China, the Ministry of Finance and CIRC promulgated a guidance letter on how to promote the healthy growth of internet financial services, which set forth the principles of supervision based on the rule of law, the appropriate level of regulation, proper categorization, cooperation among different government agencies and promoting innovation. Not only may the laws and regulations applicable to us change rapidly, but it may also sometimes be unclear how they apply to our business. For example, the laws and regulations applicable to our online and mobile platforms may be unclear. Our products or services may be determined or alleged to be in violation of the applicable laws and regulations. Any failure of our products or services to comply with these laws and regulations could result in substantial civil or criminal liability, adversely affect demand for our services, invalidate all or a portion of our customer contracts, require us to change or terminate some of our businesses, require us to refund a portion of our services fees, or cause us to be disqualified from serving customers, and therefore could have a material and adverse effect on our business.

Although we have not had any material violations to date, we cannot assure you that our operations will always comply with the interpretation and enforcement of the laws and regulations implemented by the CBIRC. Any determination by a provincial or national government authority that our activities or those of our vendors or customers violate any of these laws could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, require us to change or terminate some of our operations or business, or disqualify us from providing services to insurance companies or other customers; and, thus have a materially adverse effect on our business.

Our business could be negatively impacted if we are unable to adapt our services to regulatory changes in China.

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, pursuant to a notice issued by the CBIRC in August 2019, insurance companies must seek approval for annuity insurance products with the assumed valuation interest rate of above 3.5%. In November 2019, the CBIRC requested 13 insurance companies to terminate the sales of their annuity insurance products with 4.025% interest rate by December 31, 2019. Several of our major insurance company partners have subsequently terminated their high-interest rate annuity products. While the cessation of higher interest-rate annuity products boosted the sales of annuity products in December 2019, the sales of annuity products dropped substantially in 2020.

On November 5, 2020, China Insurance Industry Association and China Medical Doctor Association jointly published Definition Framework 2020, announcing changes to the definition of critical illnesses, or CI, which will be adopted after a transition period ending January 31, 2021. After January 31, 2021, all critical illness products based on the previous definition framework will not be sold in China. Major changes to the CI definition framework include, among others, (i) setting the upper limit for insurance benefits for mild illness at no more than 30% of total insured amount; (ii) expanding the types of illnesses covered from 25 types to 28 types of critical illnesses and three types of mild illness; (iii) exclusion of cancer that is in situ from the scope of CI coverage; and (iv) categorizing thyroid cancer at different stages into critical illness category and mild illness category. The expected cessation of the critical illness products under the previous CI definition framework has resulted in strong growth in our sales of critical illness policies in January 2021 followed by a drop afterwards.

On October 12, 2021, the CBIRC promulgated the Notice on Further Regulation of Matters Relating to the Internet Life Insurance Business of Insurance Institutions, which, among others, raised the qualification requirements for insurance companies and insurance intermediaries to engage in Internet life insurance business nationwide, limited products that could be sold on the Internet nationwide to accident, health, term life, 10-year (or longer) traditional life, and 10-year (or longer) annuities and capped the preset expense ratio to be no higher than 35% for one-year life insurance and first year preset expense ratio no higher than 60% with average expense ratio no higher than 25% for over-one-year life insurance. Incumbent companies have until the end of 2021 to comply with the new regulations. Subsequently, many insurance companies which could not meet the qualification requirements have stopped selling life insurance products online before Jan 1, 2022. As our online insurance business operated through Baowang is subject to this regulation, the disruption in internet life insurance product supply and the cap on expense ratio have adversely impacted and may continue to impact Baowang which currently contributed 4.1% to our total net revenues in 2021.

Any future change in regulatory requirements may make our products less attractive to consumers or disrupt product supply, and our business results of operations could fluctuate significantly and be adversely affected.

On July 10, 2017, the CIRC, the predecessor of CBIRC, promulgated the Interim Measures on Retrospective Management of Insurance Sales Behaviors, effective November 1, 2017 which required (1) ancillary insurance agencies to take video and audio-recording, or double-recording for the sales of all insurance products that they facilitate and (2) other insurance distribution channels to take double-recording for the sales of investment-linked insurance products and for the sale of life insurance products with a payment period of more than one year to the elderly of over 60 years old. On June 11, 2019, the Jiangsu Branch of the CBIRC published the Notice on Deepening the Implementation of the Retrospective Management of Personal Insurance Sales Behaviors or the Notice, requiring all insurance companies and insurance intermediary companies to start double-recording process for the sales of all long-term personal insurance products in Jiangsu Province starting from October 1, 2019. Similar rules have also been implemented in a few other regions, including Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, certain parts of Shandong since mid-2020 and Shanghai since early 2020. In June 2021, the CBIRC promulgated the Measures on Retrospective Management of Insurance Sales Behaviors for public consultation which requires that retrospective management must be conducted for face-to-face sales by sales agents of all life insurance products with a payment period of over one-year or less than one-year but with renewal obligation, and that insurance institutions must establish sound insurance sales retrospective management working mechanism and designated retrospective management information system. Retrospective management specially refers to the recording and preservation of the key insurance sales processes and sales behaviors by means of double recording, sales page management and operation tracking record to ensure future replay of the sales behaviors, search of important information and accountability of insurance institutions. As a significant portion of our insurance products are personal life insurance products with a payment period of over one year and are distributed through our individual sales agents, the sales processes of our sales agents to customers are subject to double recording requirements. As the double recording process can be complicated and time-consuming, our sales activities in those regions that have previously implemented such rules have been adversely impacted. If similar rules are implemented nationwide, our sales activities can be materially impacted, and our compliance cost may be increased, as a result of which our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

On January 12, 2021, the CBIRC promulgated Measures on The Supervision of Informatization of Insurance Intermediary Institutions, or the Informatization Measures, requiring insurance intermediary institutions to establish proper information system and provide specific requirements on the security system, security level protection certification, data security, personal information protection, terminal security and training.  Insurance intermediary companies must comply with the Information Security Measures to engage in insurance intermediary business. Insurance intermediaries should conduct self-examination of informatization work in accordance with the Informatization Measures, and complete rectification within one year from the date of implementation of the Informatization Measures. We have completed self-examination and rectification and believe we have met the requirements of the Informatization Measures. However, if more stringent requirements are implemented in the future, our compliance cost may increase which may adversely impact our operation results.

Our mutual-aid platform eHuzhu currently is not subject to any license requirement or any other supervision by the CBIRC because the mutual aid plans offered on the platform are not technically insurance. If the CBIRC determines to include mutual aid platform into its supervision in the future, our compliance cost could be increased, and if we are unable to meet the qualification requirement to obtain a proper license, the operation of eHuzhu could be disrupted. In 2021, a few internet giant-backed mutual aid platforms voluntarily chose to shut down operations. As of the date of this filing, eHuzhu hasn’t received any requirement from the CBIRC or other regulatory authority to terminate operations. If the CBIRC determines eHuzhu’s operation is not compliant with current regulations, eHuzhu would be required to terminate its operation, which could harm the interests of the members of eHuzhu and damage our reputation.

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

We may pursue acquisition of companies that can complement our existing business, diversify our product offerings and improve our customers’ experience in the future. However, there is no assurance that we can successfully identify suitable acquisition candidates. Even if we identify suitable candidates, we may not be able to complete an acquisition on terms that are commercially acceptable to us. Our competitors 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.

Competition in our industry is intense and, if we are unable to compete effectively with both existing and new market participants, 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 as more internet giants and other online insurance intermediaries and foreign-invested insurance intermediary companies enter the market. In insurance product distribution, we face competition from insurance companies that use their in-house sales force, exclusive sales agents, telemarketing and internet channels to distribute their products, 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 traditional or online 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, both existing and newly emerging, 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.

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

We are engaged in life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance and claims adjusting businesses 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. Our commission and fee rates are set by insurance companies and are based on the premiums that the insurance companies charge or the amount recovered by 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 CBIRC.

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. 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.

Quarterly and annual variations in our commission and fee revenue may unexpectedly impact 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. Life insurance commission revenue is usually the highest in the first quarter and lowest in the fourth quarter of any given year as much of the jumpstart sales activities of life insurance companies occur in January and February during which life insurance companies would increase their sales efforts by offering more incentives for insurance agents and insurance intermediaries to increase sales, while the preparation for the jumpstart sales starts in the fourth quarter of each year. However, the general seasonality trend in 2020 has been affected by the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19 as it hit China the hardest in the first quarter of 2020. Started in 2021, we also record estimated renewal commission revenue for long-term policy based on the expected renewal rate as well as the possibility of achieving performance targets. This, in a way, mitigates some degree of seasonality issue. Apart from the outbreak of epidemic and the recognition of estimated renewal commissions, some other factors that cause the quarterly and annual variations are not within our control. Specifically, regulatory changes to product design may result in cessation of products from time to time and cause quarterly fluctuation in the results of our operations. In addition, 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.

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 primarily through our wholly-owned or majority-owned insurance agencies and claims adjusting firms and their branches and to a smaller extent through our consolidated VIE located in 31 provinces in China. These companies report their financial results to our corporate headquarters monthly. If these companies delay either reporting results or informing corporate headquarters of negative business developments such as losses of relationships 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 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, or Mr. Hu, our chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, Mr. Peng Ge, or, Mr. Ge, our chief financial officer, Mr. Lichong Liu, our chief operating officer and vice president and Mr. Jun Li, our chief digital officer and vice president. 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 in our industry is intense because of a number of factors including the limited pool of qualified candidates. 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, 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. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—A. 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.

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

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

We have internal policies and procedures to deter salesperson or employee misconduct. However, the measures and precautions we take to prevent and detect these activities may not be effective in all cases. Therefore, salesperson or employee misconduct could lead to a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, the general increase in misconduct in the industry could potentially harm the reputation of the industry and have an adverse impact on our business.

Our investments in certain financial products may not yield the benefits we anticipate or incur financial loss, which could adversely affect our cash position.

In order to improve our return on capital, we may from time to time, upon board approval, invest a certain portion of our cash in financial products, such as trust products, with terms of half a year to two years. These products may involve various risks, including default risks, interest risks, and other risks. We cannot guarantee these investments will yield the returns we anticipate and we could suffer financial loss resulting from the purchase of these financial products.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control 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, or the SEC, 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.

As required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related rules as promulgated by the SEC, our management assessed the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 using criteria established in “Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013)” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment for our financial reporting, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which could result in inaccuracies in our consolidated financial statements and could also impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and make related regulatory filings on a timely basis. As a result, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs, may be materially and adversely affected. Moreover, if we are not able to conclude that we have effective internal control 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 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 his or her 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’s 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.

If we are required to write down goodwill and investment in affiliates, our financial condition and results may be materially and adversely affected.

When we acquire a business, the amount of the purchase price that is allocated to goodwill is determined by the excess of the fair value of purchase price and any controlling interest over the net identifiable tangible assets acquired. As of December 31, 2021, goodwill represented RMB109.9 million (US$17.2 million), or 5.6% of our total shareholders’ equity. Our management performs impairment assessments annually and we did not recognize any impairment loss between 2016 and 2021. Under current accounting standards, if we determine that goodwill is impaired, we will be required to write down the value of such assets and recognize corresponding impairment charges.

We account for our 18.5% of equity interests in CNFinance Holdings Limited (“CNFinance”) using the equity method. We review our equity method investment periodically to determine whether a decline in fair value to an amount below the carrying value is other-than-temporary. As of December 31, 2021, the fair value of the investment in CNFinance was below the carrying value although the investment in CNFinance generated positive equity income. Based on management’s evaluation, it was concluded that the decline in fair value of our investment in CNFinance below its carrying value is deemed to be other-than-temporary. Accordingly, a provision of an impairment of million) on investment in CNFinance was recognized in 2021. Any future write-down related to such goodwill and equity method investments may materially and adversely affect our shareholders’ equity and financial results.

Preparing and forecasting our financial results requires us to make judgments and estimates which may differ materially from actual results.

Given the evolving regulatory and competitive environment and the inherent limitations in predicting the future, forecasts of our revenues, operating income, net income and other financial and operating data may differ materially from actual results. Such discrepancies could cause a decline in the trading price of our stock. In addition, the preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported period. Our management base their estimates on historical experience and various other factors which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, and the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant accounting estimates reflected in our consolidated financial statements included estimates of allowance for doubtful receivables and estimates associated with equity-method investment impairment assessments. Actual results could differ from those estimates, which could negatively affect our stock price.

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, branches and our main offices in Guangzhou, is critical to our business and our ability to compete effectively. Our business activities could 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.

A computer system failure, cyber-attacks, any failure to protect the confidential information of our customers or other security breaches may disrupt our business, loss of customers, damage our reputation, result in potential liability and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We use computer systems to store, retrieve, evaluate and utilize customer and company data and information. Our business is highly dependent on our ability to access these systems to perform necessary business functions such as selling insurance products, providing customer support, policy management and claims assistance. Although we have designed and implemented a variety of security measures and backup plans to prevent or limit the effect of failure, our computer systems may be vulnerable to disruptions as a result of natural disasters, man-made disasters, criminal activities, pandemics or other events beyond our control. In addition, our computer systems may be subject to computer viruses or other malicious codes, unauthorized access, cyber-attacks or other computer-related penetrations. The failure of our computer systems for any reason could disrupt our operations and may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Although we have not experienced such a computer system failure or security breach in the past, we cannot assure you that we will not encounter a failure or security breach in the future.

Our customer database holds confidential information concerning our customers. We may be unable to prevent third parties, such as hackers or criminal organizations, from stealing information provided by our customers to us. Confidential information of our customers may also be misappropriated or inadvertently disclosed through employee misconduct or mistake. We may also in the future be required to disclose to government authorities certain confidential information concerning our customers. In addition, many of our customers pay for our insurance services through third-party online payment services. In such transactions, maintaining complete security during the transmission of confidential information, such as personal information, is essential to maintaining consumer confidence. We have limited influence over the security measures of third-party online payment service providers. In addition, our third-party merchants may violate their confidentiality obligations and disclose information about our customers. Any compromise of our security or third-party service providers’ security could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Though we have not experienced any material cybersecurity incidents in the past, if our database were compromised by outside sources or if we are accused of failing to protect the confidential information of our customers, we may be forced to expend significant financial and managerial resources in remedying the situation, defending against these accusations and we may face potential liability. Any negative publicity, especially concerning breaches in our cybersecurity systems, may adversely affect our public image and reputation. Though we take proactive measures to protect against these risks and we believe that our efforts in this area are sufficient for our business, we cannot be certain that such measures will prove effective against all cybersecurity risks. In addition, any perception by the public that online commerce is becoming increasingly unsafe or that the privacy of customer information is vulnerable to attack could inhibit the growth of online services generally, which in turn may reduce the number of our customers.

Our business is subject to insurance company partner concentration risks arising from dependence on a single or limited number of insurance company partners.

We derive a significant portion of net revenues from distributing insurance products supplied by our important insurance company partners. Among the top five of our insurance company partners, each of Sinatay, Aeon and Huaxia, accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues in 2021, with Sinatay accounting for 15.0%, Aeon accounting for 14.5% and Huaxia accounting for 10.7%, respectively.

Because of this concentration in the supply of the insurance products we distribute, our business and operations would be negatively affected if we experience a partial or complete loss of any of these insurance company partners. In addition, any significant adverse change in our relationship with any of these insurance company partners could result in loss of revenue, increased costs and distribution delays that could harm our business and customer relationships. In addition, this concentration can exacerbate our exposure to risks associated with the termination by key insurance company partners of our agreements or any adverse change in the terms of such agreements, which could have an adverse impact on our revenues and profitability.

If we are unable to respond in a timely and cost-effective manner to rapid technological change in the insurance intermediary industry, it may result in a material adverse effect.

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 the use of the Internet to communicate benefits and related information to consumers and to facilitate information exchange, transactions and training. We believe that our future success will depend on our ability to anticipate and adapt to technological changes and to offer additional products and services that meet evolving standards on a timely and cost-effective manner. We may not be able to successfully identify new product and service opportunities or develop and introduce these opportunities in a timely and cost-effective manner. In addition, new products and services that our competitors develop or introduce may render our products and services uncompetitive. As a result, if we are not able to respond or adapt to technological changes that may affect our industry in the future, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We face risks related to health epidemics, including the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, 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 health epidemics, severe weather conditions or other catastrophes. In December 2019, COVID-19 was first detected in China and then quickly in other countries. The outbreak of the COVID-19 has caused material adverse impact on Chinese economy and China’s insurance industry, disrupted our operations and adversely affected our business financial condition and results of operations in 2020. In particular, our sales agents have experienced and may continue to experience limitations to face-to-face meetings due to social-distancing measures and travel restrictions adopted by governments to contain the spread of this outbreak. In 2021, although our business activities have substantially returned to normal levels because (i) consumers’ consumption confidence for non-necessity products or services was adversely affected due to increased uncertainty in China’s economic outlook; and (ii) offline activities related to customer engagement, agent recruitment and training were disrupted from time to time as a result of the social-distancing measures imposed in regions where there were resurgences. The business operation of our non-consolidated affiliated investees has also been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak which had affected the fair value of our investment in affiliates.

Recently, there has been an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, including the COVID-19 Delta and Omicron variant cases, in multiple cities in China. As a result, various restrictive measures including partial lockdown have been reinstated and we may have to adjust various aspects of our operations. There remain significant uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, including the existing and new variants of COVID-19. The extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak will continue to impact our results will depend on its future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including sporadic recurrence of local and imported COVID-19 cases from time to time and the actions to contain the disease or treat its impact, among others. Even if the economic impact of COVID-19 gradually recedes, the pandemic will have a lingering, long-term effect on business activities and consumption behavior. There is no assurance that we will be able to adjust our business operations to adapt to these changes and the increasingly complex environment in which we operate.

In addition, our results of operations have been and could continue to be adversely affected to the extent the COVID-19 pandemic or any other epidemic harms the Chinese economy in general.

Any occurrence of other adverse public health developments or severe weather conditions may also 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.

We may be at risk of securities class action litigation.

Historically, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following periods of instability in the market price of its securities. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

Recently, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by some investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in some cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stocks of many U.S.-listed Chinese companies have sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, have become virtually worthless. Some of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting or subject to internal and external investigations into the allegations. We had been targeted by short selling reports in the past and became subject to class action lawsuits which were subsequently dismissed or settled. Shortselling firms or others may in the future publish additional short seller reports with respect to our business, officers, directors and shareholders, and we may become subject to other unfavorable allegations, which might cause further fluctuations in the trading price of our ADSs. Such volatility in our share price could subject us to increased risk of securities class action lawsuits or derivative actions.

Any future class action lawsuit against us, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, the allegations or the process of dealing with them could severely impact our business operations and stockholder’s equity, and any investment in our ADSs could be greatly reduced.

We may be subject, from time to time, to adverse actions taken by other parties, including lawsuits and negative reports and regulatory proceedings, which may divert resources and the time and attention of our management and may otherwise adversely affect us.

From time to time, we may become a party to litigations incidental to the operation of our business, including class action lawsuits and disputes with other third parties. Litigation usually requires a significant amount of management time and effort, which may adversely affect our business by diverting management’s focus from the needs of our business and the development of strategic opportunities.

We cannot predict the outcome of these lawsuits. Regardless of the outcome, these lawsuits, and any other litigation that may be brought against us or our current or former directors and officers, could be time-consuming, result in significant expenses and divert the attention and resources of our management and other key employees. An unfavorable outcome in any of these matters could also exceed coverage provided under applicable insurance policies, which is limited. Any such unfavorable outcome could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further, we could be required to pay damages or additional penalties or have other remedies imposed against us, or our current or former directors or officers, which could harm our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In addition, the CBIRC may from time to time make inquiries and conduct examinations concerning our compliance with PRC laws and regulations. These administrative proceedings have in the past resulted in administrative sanctions, including fines, which have not been material to us. While we cannot predict the outcome of any pending or future examination, we do not believe that any pending legal matter will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. However, we cannot assure you that any future regulatory proceeding will not have an adverse outcome, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results or cash flows.

There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made with respect to the going private transaction proposed by the Consortium, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. Potential uncertainty involving the proposed going private transaction may adversely affect our business and the market price of our ordinary shares and warrants.

On December 16, 2021, our board of directors, or the Board, received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter (the “Proposal Letter”) from a consortium (the “Consortium”) led by Mr. Yinan Hu, founder, chairman of the Board and, chief executive officer of the Company, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company not already owned by the Consortium for $9.8 per ADS, or $0.49 per ordinary share in a going private transaction, (the “Proposed Transaction”). For more details, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company—Proposed Going Private Transaction.” There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that any proposed going private transaction will be approved or consummated. These uncertainties may increase the volatility of the market price of our ordinary shares and have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares.

The proposed going private transaction, whether or not pursued or consummated, presents a risk of diverting our management’s focus, our employees’ attention and resources from other strategic opportunities and from operational matters. In addition, if we sign any definitive agreement with the Consortium, we may be subject to various restrictions under those agreements on the conduct of our business prior to the completion of the transaction, which may delay or prevent us from undertaking business opportunities that may arise pending completion of the transaction. Also, any development of the going private transaction, such as entering into or termination of any definitive agreement, may increase volatility of the trading price of our securities.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Uncertainties in the PRC legal system and the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ADSs, cause significant disruption to our and the consolidated VIE’s business operations, and severely damage our and the consolidated VIE’s reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s financial condition and results of operations and cause our ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. In addition, rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice, therefore, our assertions and beliefs of the risks imposed by the Chinese legal and regulatory system cannot be certain.

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes and prior court decisions have limited value as precedents. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties. In addition, rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice, therefore, our assertions and beliefs of the risks imposed by the Chinese legal and regulatory system cannot be certain.

In particular, PRC laws and regulations concerning the insurance industry are developing and evolving. Although we have taken measures to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations, and avoid conducting any non-compliant activities under the applicable laws and regulations, such as illegal fund-raising, forming capital pool or providing guarantee to investors, the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating the insurance industry in the future. We cannot assure you that our practice would not be deemed to violate any new PRC laws or regulations relating to insurance. Moreover, developments in the insurance industry may lead to changes in PRC laws, regulations and policies or in the interpretation and application of existing laws, regulations and policies that may limit or restrict insurance agency and brokerage services like us, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operations.

From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, could limit the legal protections available to you and us, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ADSs, cause significant disruption to our and the consolidated VIE’s business operations, and severely damage our and the consolidated VIE’s reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our and the consolidated VIE’s financial condition and results of operations and cause our ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless.

A downturn in the Chinese or global economy could have a material adverse effect on 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. 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. Economic growth in China has been slowing in the past few years and China’s GDP growth dropped to 2.3% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak before recovering to 8.1% in 2021. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic development and guide the allocation of resources. However, these measures may not be successful in transforming the Chinese economy or spurring growth. 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.

In addition, the global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions between 2008 and 2009, and the United States, Europe and other economies have experienced periods of recessions. The recovery from the economic downturns of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and is facing new challenges, including the announcement of Brexit which creates additional global economic uncertainty. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have also been concerns over unrest in the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in financial and other markets. There have also been concerns about the economic effect of the tensions in the relationship between China and surrounding Asian countries. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. Any prolonged slowdown in the global or Chinese economy may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, continued turbulence in the international markets may adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs.

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 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. However, 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 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, 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, which was subsequently amended on February 24, 2017 and December 29, 2018, 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 subsidiaries expired on January 1, 2008. According to the EIT Law and related regulations, such as the Circular on Issues Regarding Tax-related Preferential Policies for Further Implementation of Western Development Strategy jointly issued by the State Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, China and State Administration for Taxation, enterprises located in the western China regions that fall into the encouraged industries are entitled to 15% EIT preferential tax treatment from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2020. The preferential tax treatment is subsequently extended to December 31, 2030, according to No. 23 Announcement Concerning the Extension of the EIT Policies for Enterprises Located in Western China issued by the Ministry of Finance on April 23, 2020. The preferential tax rates enjoyed by some of our PRC subsidiaries incorporated in such regions, will increase to the uniform 25% EIT rate after 2030. 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.

We have been advised by our PRC counsel, Global Law Office, that pursuant to the EIT Law and the Implementation Rules, 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. However, pursuant to the Arrangement between the PRC and Hong Kong on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion, or the Double Taxation Arrangement, which became effective on January 1, 2007 and was subsequently amended on January 30, 2008, May 27, 2010, April 1,2015 and July 19, 2019, dividends from our PRC subsidiaries paid to us through our Hong Kong wholly-owned subsidiary CNinsure Holdings Ltd. are subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 5% since CNinsure Holdings Ltd. is treated as a Hong Kong resident enterprise for taxation purpose. 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 5% or 10% withholding tax, as the case may be, 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.

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 will rely principally on dividends from our subsidiaries in China and service, license and other fees paid to our subsidiaries by our consolidated VIE 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, according to the PRC Company Law, 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. In addition, 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 its board. In addition, according to the Regulation on the Supervision of Insurance Agents, our insurance agency subsidiaries are required to either procure professional liability insurance with minimum compensation for each accident under the one-year professional liability insurance policy no less than RMB1 million, and accumulative compensation under the one-year insurance policy no less than RMB10 million and the total core business revenue of the professional insurance agency company in the previous year, or make a contribution to deposit which shall represent 5% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.

As of December 31, 2021, the total retained earnings of our PRC subsidiaries were RMB1.3 billion (US$205.8 million). Furthermore, if our subsidiaries in China incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends or other payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents and employee stock options granted by overseas-listed companies may increase our administrative burden, restrict our overseas and cross-border investment activity, or otherwise adversely affect us. If our shareholders who are PRC residents, or our PRC employees who are granted or exercise stock options, fail to make any required registrations or filings under such regulations, we may be unable to distribute profits and may become subject to liability under PRC laws. We may also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional equity compensation plans for our directors and employees and other parties under PRC law.

On October 21, 2005, the SAFE issued a 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 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. On July 4, 2014, the SAFE issued the Notice on the Administration of Foreign Exchange Involved in Overseas Investment, Financing and Return on Investment Conducted by PRC Residents via Special-Purpose Companies, or SAFE Circular 37, simultaneously repealing SAFE Circular 75. SAFE Circular 37 also requires PRC residents to register with relevant Foreign Exchange Bureau for foreign exchange registration of overseas investment before making a contribution to a special purpose company, or SPC, with legitimate holdings of domestic or overseas assets or interests. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. 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 37 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 37 or other related rules. The failure of these beneficial owners to timely amend their SAFE registrations pursuant to SAFE Circular 37 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 37 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, or the PBOC, 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.

On February 15, 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues Related to Foreign Exchange Administration in Domestic Individuals’ Participation in Equity Incentive Plans of Companies Listed Abroad, or the No. 7 Notice, which supersedes the Operation Rules on Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Holding Plan or Stock Option Plan of Overseas-Listed Company, or the Stock Option Rule, in its entirety and immediately became effective upon circulation. No. 7 Notice covers all forms of equity compensation plans including employee stock ownership plans, employee stock option plans and other equity compensation plans permitted by relevant laws and regulations. According to the No. 7 Notice, all participants of such plans who are PRC citizens shall register with and obtain approvals from SAFE prior to their participation in the equity incentive plan of an overseas listed company. Domestic individuals, which include any directors, supervisors, senior managerial personnel or other employees of a domestic company who are PRC citizens (including citizens of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) or foreign individuals who consecutively reside in the territory of PRC for one year, who participate in the same equity incentive plan of an overseas listed company shall, through the domestic companies they serve, collectively entrust a domestic agency to handle issues like foreign exchange registration, account opening, funds transfer and remittance, and entrust an overseas institution to handle issues like an exercise of options, purchasing and sale of related stocks or equity, and funds transfer. As an overseas publicly listed company, we and our employees who have been granted stock options or any type of equity awards may be subject to the No. 7 Notice. If we or our employees who are subject to the No. 7 Notice fail to comply with these regulations, we may be subject to fines and legal sanctions, which will depend on how the SAFE interprets, applies and enforces Circular 7. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations on Foreign Exchange—SAFE Regulations on Employee Share Options.”

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. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and Renminbi internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system and we cannot assure you that the Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or United States government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the 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 on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries 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 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.

Certain PRC regulations could also make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.

Among other things, Provisions on the Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investor, or the M&A Rule, 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. In the future, we may grow our business in part by directly acquiring complementary businesses. 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.

Risks Related to Our ADSs

The Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if enacted, would reduce the time period before our ADSs may be prohibited from trading or delisted. The delisting of our ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct adequate inspections deprives our investors with the benefits of such inspections.

Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in our annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Since our auditor is located in China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB has been unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditor is currently not inspected by the PCAOB.

This lack of PCAOB inspections of audit work performed in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly and fully evaluating the audit work of any auditors that was performed in China, including that performed by Deloitte. As a result, investors may be deprived of the full benefits of PCAOB inspections, and thus may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

On December 18, 2020, the former U.S. president signed into law the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act. In essence, the HFCA Act requires the SEC to prohibit foreign companies from listing securities on U.S. securities exchanges if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCA Act. On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act which will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Registrar. The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection.

In addition, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two. On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which contained, among other things, an identical provision. If this provision is enacted into law and the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act is reduced from three years to two, then our ADSs could be prohibited from trading in the United States as early as 2023.

On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a new rule related to its responsibilities under the HFCA Act, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. The new rule became effective on November 4, 2021. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report notifying the Commission of its determinations (the “PCAOB Determinations”) that they are unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong. The report sets forth lists identifying the registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively, that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely, and our auditor, Deloitte, was on such lists.

The prospect and implications of possible regulation on this subject, in addition to the prevailing requirements of the HFCA Act, are uncertain. Such uncertainty could cause the market price of our ADSs to be materially and adversely affected, and our securities could be delisted or prohibited from being traded “over-the-counter” earlier than would be required by the HFCA Act as it currently provides. If our securities are unable to be listed on another securities exchange by then, such a delisting would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with a potential delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our ADSs.

If the settlement reached between the SEC and the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms (including the Chinese affiliate of our independent registered public accounting firm), concerning the manner in which the SEC may seek access to audit working papers from audits in China of U.S.-listed companies, is not or cannot be performed in a manner acceptable to authorities in China and the United States, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

In late 2012, the SEC commenced administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the mainland Chinese affiliates of the “Big Four” accounting firms (including the mainland Chinese affiliate of our independent registered public accounting firm). A first instance trial of the proceedings in July 2013 in the SEC’s internal administrative court resulted in an adverse judgment against the firms. The administrative law judge proposed penalties on the Chinese accounting firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although that proposed penalty did not take effect pending review by the Commissioners of the SEC. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the Commissioner had taken place, the Chinese accounting firms reached a settlement with the SEC whereby the proceedings were stayed. Under the settlement, the SEC accepted that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents would normally be made to the CSRC. The Chinese accounting firms would receive requests matching those under Section 106 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and would be required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance would require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. The CSRC for its part initiated a procedure whereby, under its supervision and subject to its approval, requested classes of documents held by the accounting firms could be sanitized of problematic and sensitive content so as to render them capable of being made available by the CSRC to US regulators.

Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four PRC-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice at the end of four years starting from the settlement date, which was on February 6, 2019. Despite the final ending of the proceedings, the presumption is that all parties will continue to apply the same procedures: i.e. the SEC will continue to make its requests for the production of documents to the CSRC, and the CSRC will normally process those requests applying the sanitization procedure. We cannot predict whether, in cases where the CSRC does not authorize production of requested documents to the SEC, the SEC will further challenge the four PRC-based accounting firms’ compliance with U.S. law. If additional challenges are imposed on the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these accounting firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

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

The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile.

The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation in the market prices or the underperformance or deteriorating financial results of other listed companies based in China. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial price declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of other Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings, may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. U.S. government’s recent policies concerning Chinese companies listed in the U.S. may also cause great uncertainty in the listing status of companies like us and result in fluctuation in the trading rice of our ADSs. In addition, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, which may have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs.

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

Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and trading price of our ADSs. In addition, the stock market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies and industries.

The volatility resulting from any of the above factors may affect the price at which you could sell the 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 or perceived potential sales of our ordinary shares, ADSs or other equity securities in the public market 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 March 31, 2022, our executive officers and directors beneficially owned approximately 23.6% 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.

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

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as our registered shareholders. The holders of our ADSs will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to directly cast any votes at such meetings. The holders of our ADSs will only be able to exercise the voting rights which are carried by the underlying ordinary shares represented by their ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement (“unrestricted deposit agreement”), and the deposit agreement for restricted securities (as defined below) (each also referred to as a “deposit agreement”, and together with the “deposit agreements”). Under the deposit agreements, the holders of our ADSs may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary. Upon receipt of the voting instructions from the holders of our ADSs, the depositary will vote the underlying ordinary shares represented by their ADSs in accordance with these instructions. The holders of our ADSs will not be able to directly exercise their right to vote with respect to the underlying ordinary shares unless they withdraw such shares and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required to be given by our company to our registered shareholders to convene a general meeting is fourteen calendar days. When a general meeting is convened, the holders of our ADSs may not receive sufficient advance notice of the meeting to permit the holders of our ADSs to withdraw the underlying ordinary shares represented by their ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares to allow the holders of our ADSs to attend the general meeting and to cast their vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. Furthermore, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent the holders of our ADSs from withdrawing the underlying ordinary shares represented by their ADSs and becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that they would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. If we ask for their instructions, the depositary will notify the holders of our ADSs of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to them. We cannot assure the holders of our ADSs that they will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that they can instruct the depositary to vote the ordinary shares underlying their ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out the voting instructions of the holders of our ADSs. This means that the holders of our ADSs may not be able to exercise their right to direct how the underlying ordinary shares represented by their ADSs are voted and they may have no legal remedy if the underlying ordinary shares represented by their ADSs are not voted as they requested. In addition, in their capacity as an ADS holder, the holders of our ADSs will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting. Furthermore, 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.

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 attached 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.

Right of holders of our ADSs to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to their holdings.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make rights available to holders of our ADSs in the United States unless we register both the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Under the deposit agreements, the depositary will not make rights available to holders of our ADSs unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act or exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective and we may not be able to establish a necessary exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, holders of our ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in their holdings.

Holders of our restricted ADSs may be subject to limitations on transfer of their ADSs.

Restricted 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 restricted ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreements, or for any other reason.

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

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct our operations outside the United States and substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, substantially all of our directors and officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for our shareholders to bring an action against us or against them in the United States in the event that our shareholders believe that their rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if our shareholders are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands, the PRC or other relevant jurisdictions may render our shareholders unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

Since we are a Cayman Islands company, the rights of our shareholders may be more limited than those of shareholders of a company organized in the United States.

Under the laws of some jurisdictions in the United States, majority and controlling shareholders generally have certain fiduciary responsibilities to the minority shareholders. Shareholder action must be taken in good faith, and actions by controlling shareholders which are obviously unreasonable may be declared null and void. Cayman Island law protecting the interests of minority shareholders may not be as protective in all circumstances as the law protecting minority shareholders in some U.S. jurisdictions. In addition, the circumstances in which a shareholder of a Cayman Islands company may sue the company derivatively, and the procedures and defenses that may be available to the company, may result in the rights of shareholders of a Cayman Islands company being more limited than those of shareholders of a company organized in the United States.

Furthermore, our directors have the power to take certain actions without shareholder approval which would require shareholder approval under the laws of most U.S. jurisdictions. The directors of a Cayman Islands company, without shareholder approval, may implement a sale of any assets, property, part of the business, or securities of the company. Our ability to create and issue new classes or series of shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of our Company without any further action by our shareholders, including a tender offer to purchase our ordinary shares at a premium over prevailing market prices.

Our articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us, which could limit our shareholders’ opportunity to sell their shares, including ordinary shares represented by our ADSs, at a premium.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions which have the potential to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions 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 other rights, 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, at such time and on such terms as they may think appropriate. In the event these preferred shares have better voting rights than our ordinary shares, in the form of ADSs or otherwise, they 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 primarily on price appreciation of our ADSs for any return on your investment.

Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to applicable laws. Although our board of directors has announced a policy to declare and pay dividends on a quarterly basis, the amount and form of future dividends 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 primarily 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.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain disclosure requirements under the Exchange Act, which may afford less protection to our shareholders than they would enjoy if we were a domestic U.S. company.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements under the Exchange Act. In addition, our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit and recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. We are also not required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic U.S. companies with securities registered under the Exchange Act although we have voluntarily filed and will continue to file periodic reports and financial statements. As a result, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they would under the Exchange Act rules applicable to domestic U.S. companies.

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 the majority of our officers reside outside the United States

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and conduct substantially all of our operations in China through our subsidiaries in China. Most of our officers reside outside the United States and some or all of the assets of those persons are located outside of the United States. The legal system in Cayman, the PRC or other relevant jurisdictions may not afford our shareholders the same level of protection as the legal system in the United States would. For instance, the Securities Laws of the PRC regulates only security issuances and trading outside of the PRC to the extent that such issuance and trading disrupts domestic markets and negatively affects the interest of domestic investors in the PRC. As such, investors in the United States may not be able to file a lawsuit under the Securities Law in the PRC. Even if you are successful in bringing an action in the PRC, shareholder claims that are common in the United States, including class action suits securities law and fraud claims, may be difficult or impossible to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in the PRC. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the Cayman Islands or in China in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind outside the Cayman Islands or China, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to effect service of process upon, or to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

The SEC, U.S. Department of Justice, or the DOJ, and other relevant regulatory authorities in the United States play vital roles in enforcing laws and regulations that protect securities investors. These U.S. authorities may face significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for investigations or litigation. Further, these U.S. authorities may have substantial difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons, including company directors and officers, which will further limit protections available to our shareholders. According to the Securities Laws of the PRC, without the approval of securities regulators and other actors within the Chinese government, no entity or individual in China may provide documents and information relating to securities business activities to overseas regulators. In addition, local authorities in Cayman, the PRC or other relevant jurisdictions often are constrained in their ability to assist U.S. authorities and overseas investors more generally. There are also legal or other obstacles to seeking access to funds in a foreign country.

There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although a judgment obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States courts will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment: (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (c) is final, (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine, or a penalty, and (d) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands. However, the Cayman Islands courts are unlikely to enforce a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities law if such judgment is determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands to give rise to obligations to make payments that are penal or punitive in nature. A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere. A judgment of a court of another jurisdiction may be reciprocally recognized or enforced if the jurisdiction has a treaty with China or if judgments of the PRC courts have been recognized before in that jurisdiction, subject to the satisfaction of other requirements. However, China does not have treaties providing for the reciprocal enforcement of judgments of courts with Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and most other Western countries.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Act (As Revised) (the “Companies Act”) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against our directors and us, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law 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 duties 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, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and provides significantly less protection to investors. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have stood to initiate a shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States.

As a result of all of the above, our investors 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.

We may be a passive foreign investment company for United States federal income tax purposes, which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to United States Holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

We will be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes for any taxable year if, applying applicable look-through rules, either (1) at least 75% of our gross income for such year is passive income or (2) at least 50% of the value of our assets (generally determined 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. 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 PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes for our taxable year ended December 31, 2021. However, we believe we were a PFIC for 2017 and prior years. In addition, we believe that it is likely that one or more of our subsidiaries were also PFICs for such prior years. 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, our PFIC status will depend in large part on the market price of the ADSs or ordinary shares, which may fluctuate significantly. If our market capitalization declines, we may be or become a PFIC because our liquid assets and cash (which are for this purpose considered assets that produce passive income) may then represent a greater percentage of our overall assets. In addition, the application of the PFIC rules is subject to uncertainty in several respects, and we cannot assure you that the United States Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, will agree with any positions that we ultimately take. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will not be treated as a PFIC for any taxable year or that the IRS will not take a contrary position to any determination we make.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (as we believe we were for 2017 and prior years) during which a United States Holder (as defined in “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation”) holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, certain adverse United States federal income tax consequences could apply to such United States Holder. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company.”

Item 4. Information on the Company

A. History and Development of the Company

History of Our Corporate Structure

We started our operation in 1999 through Guangzhou Nanyun Car Rental Services Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Nanfeng Automobile Association Co., Ltd. In 2001, we formed China United Financial Services Holdings Limited, or China United Financial Services, a British Virgin Islands company, as the offshore holding company of our PRC subsidiaries. In June 2004, CISG Holdings Ltd., or CISG Holdings was incorporated in British Virgin Islands and became our holding company through share exchanges with China United Financial Services.

In anticipation of our initial public offering, we incorporated CNinsure Inc. in the Cayman Islands in April 2007. After a series of restructuring transactions, 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.

In October 2012, we obtained license approval from the then CIRC to establish an insurance sales service group company and renamed Shenzhen Nanfeng Investment, our wholly-owned subsidiary in the PRC, as “Fanhua Insurance Sales Service Group Company Limited”, or Fanhua Group Company, to serve as the onshore holding company of our PRC operating entities.

Historically, PRC laws and regulations restricted foreign investment in and ownership of insurance intermediary companies and internet companies. Accordingly, from December 2005 to May 2016, we conducted all or part of our business in China through contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, then-existing VIEs and their shareholders. In October 2011, we commenced a restructuring of our company. Through a series of equity transfers, we had obtained direct controlling or significant equity ownership in all of our insurance intermediary companies and our online operations by May 2016.

In October 2015, we, through our wholly-owned subsidiary Meidiya Investment, entered into act-in-concert agreements with 5 equity interest holders of Fanhua Insurance Surveyors & Loss Adjustors Company Limited, or FHISLA which enables us to control 69.0% of the voting interests of FHISLA in aggregate.

To remain compliant with the Measures on the Supervision of Internet Insurance Business implemented in February 2021, we commenced a restructuring of our online operations in 2021, as a result of which, our wholly-owned subsidiary Fanhua Group Company’s direct equity interests in Xinbao Investment, which directly owns 100% of Fanhua RONS which operates our online operation through baoxian.com was reduced from 100% to 49% and the remaining 51% equity interests was owned by an individual who is nominally holding the shares on behalf of Fanhua. Concurrently, Fanhua Group Company entered into contractual arrangements with Xinbao Investment and its individual nominee shareholder to control and receive economic benefits from our consolidated VIEs. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure—Changes in our Corporate Structure” for more details.

As a result, we currently conduct our insurance agency and claims adjusting business in China primarily through our wholly-owned subsidiary Fanhua Group Company and its subsidiaries and a small part of our business through the consolidated VIE in China.

On December 6, 2016, our shareholders approved the change of our company name from CNinsure Inc. to Fanhua Inc. Our ticker symbol was changed to “FANH” subsequently.

History of Our Business Operation

We began our insurance intermediary business in 1999 by distributing auto insurance products and auto loans on an ancillary basis and expanded our product offerings to other property and casualty insurance products in 2002. We commenced life insurance products distribution by acquiring three life insurance agencies in 2006 and began to offer claims adjusting services by acquiring four claims adjusting firms in 2008. In June 2010, we established an insurance brokerage business unit to expand our product offerings from retail to commercial lines.

We have grown both organically and through acquisitions. Since 2002, we expanded our operations nationwide by establishing 21 insurance agencies and two insurance brokerage firms and acquiring majority interests in 21 insurance agencies and five claims adjusting firms.

In October 2017, we sold Fanhua Times Sales & Service Co., Ltd., and all of its subsidiaries, including 18 P&C insurance agencies and one insurance brokerage firm, to a third party and divested our insurance brokerage segment in November 2017.

We have devoted significant efforts to developing and managing our mobile and online platforms since 2010. We operate an online insurance distribution platform Baowang (www.baoxian.com), an online mutual aid platform eHuzhu and (www.ehuzhu.com), and Chetong.net, an online claims services resource aggregating platform.

We have also made investments in complementary business areas, such as consumer finance and wealth management since 2009. We currently own an 18.5% equity interest in CNFinance (NYSE: CNF), a leading home equity loan service provider in China, and a 4.5% equity interest in Puyi Inc. (NASDAQ: PUYI), a leading third-party wealth management service provider in China which beneficially owns 100% in Fanhua Puyi Fund Distribution Co., Ltd., or Fanhua Puyi.

Our principal executive offices are located at 60/F, Pearl River Tower, No. 15 West Zhujiang Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510623, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86-20-8388-6888. Our registered office is at the offices of Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is CT Corporation System, located at 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.

Capital Expenditure

Our capital expenditures have been used primarily to construct, upgrade and maintain our online platforms. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Proposed Going Private Transaction

On December 16, 2021, our board of directors, or the Board, received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter (the “Proposal Letter”) from a consortium (the “Consortium”) led by Mr. Yinan Hu, founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of the Company, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company not already owned by the Consortium for $9.8 per American Depositary Share (“ADS”), or $0.49 per ordinary share in a going private transaction, (the “Proposed Transaction”), subject to certain conditions. According to the Proposal Letter, Mr. Yinan Hu will form an acquisition vehicle for the purpose of implementing the Proposed Transaction, which may admit other existing shareholders of the Company and equity investors as consortium members (the “Potential Consortium Members”) and the acquisition is intended to be financed by a combination of debt and/or equity capital from the Potential Consortium Members.

As of the date of this annual report, no definitive offer has been made with respect to the proposed going private transaction. There can be no assurance that the proposed going private transaction will continue to be pursued, approved or consummated. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made with respect to the going private transaction proposed by the Consortium, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. Potential uncertainty involving the proposed going private transaction may adversely affect our business and the market price of our ordinary shares and warrants.”

B. Business Overview

Overview

Driven by our cutting-edge technologies and insurance industry expertise, we are the leading independent insurance intermediary group in China. We connect millions of individual customers to our 109 insurance company partners as of March 31, 2022. As an independent insurance agency, we possess unique advantages over the exclusive distribution channels of insurance companies. We offer not only a broad range of insurance products underwritten by multiple insurance companies to address the needs of increasingly sophisticated customers with diverse needs and preferences but also quality services backed by our nationwide network.

We focus on offering long-term life and health insurance products including critical illness, annuity, whole life, term life and endowment life insurance and distribute property and casualty insurance products including individual accident insurance, homeowner insurance, liability insurance and travel insurance. We also provide insurance claims adjusting services such as damage assessment and loss estimations.

With strategic focus on long-term life and health insurance products and services, we were one of the first independent insurance agencies to enter China’s life insurance agency market. We began distributing long-term life and health insurance products in 2006 and have become an industry leader after accumulating valuable industry experience for over 10 years.

We have adopted an integrated offline-to-online (“O2O”) operating model. We use our technology platforms to boost efficiency and improve user experience, and rely on our extensive offline distribution and service network to facilitate sales of complex insurance products and offer reliable after-sales services.

We began building online platforms to sell insurance products as early as 2010 and pioneered the adoption of digital technologies in China’s insurance agency industry. To enable higher efficiency to connect with our agents and meet the demand for different insurance products and customer services, we have established several industry-leading online platforms including Lan Zhanggui, Baowang (www.baoxian.com), eHuzhu (www.ehuzhu.com) and digital toolkits. Our technology platforms enable intelligent deal management to help customers find the products that best match their needs and streamline and expedite transaction processes while our offline distribution and service network provides an effective channel for us to engage with and serve our clients. This O2O model significantly enhances our operational efficiency and scalability.

We have an extensive independent insurance product distribution network and comprehensive insurance service network in China. With 284,053 sales agents, 30 provincial branches, 771 sales outlets in 23 provinces as of December 31, 2021, our distribution network was the largest among independent insurance agencies in China. With 2,156 claims adjusters in 109 service outlets as of December 31, 2021, our claims adjustment service network covered 31 provinces in China. Our extensive distribution and service network and sizable sales and service work force allow us to engage and serve customers nationwide and serve as a substantial entry barrier to China’s insurance agency industry.

With a rapidly aging society and the rise of the middle-class in China, there is burgeoning demand for elderly care and legacy management among Chinese consumers which provides tremendous growth opportunities in China’s life insurance market over the long run despite industry headwinds in recent years. In addition, the separation of insurance underwriting and distribution is a significant trend in China’s insurance industry. Historically dominated by in-house sales forces and exclusive agents, insurance distribution channels in China have gradually shifted towards independent insurance agencies, as demand for insurance products and services has diversified in recent years. With strong brand recognition, established relationships with major insurance companies, an extensive distribution and sales network and cutting-edge technology, we intend to take advantage of the opportunities resulting from the growth and transformation of the insurance agency industry in China to increase our market share by professionalizing our sales force, enhancing digital capabilities and opening up our platform to more market participations.

Our Platforms and Technologies

Technological developments and the growth of digital technologies mobile internet access have significantly changed the way we operate our business. We operate several online platforms, which we define as websites and develop digital toolkits to empower our agents to engage with customers more efficiently with Internet-enabled applications that aggregate insurance product offerings from various insurance companies:

Digital Technologies

We also develop digital toolkits to enable more efficient agent and customer engagement which includes the following:

Online Mutual Aid Platform/ESG Initiatives

In line with our commitment to be socially responsible, in 2014, we launched an online mutual aid platform called eHuzhu (www.ehuzhu.com). The platform provides people access to alternative risk-protection programs at more affordable costs, especially for the lower-income group. eHuzhu primarily offers programs that provide mutual aid for cancer and accidental death. Users join as members with a small amount of deposits which will be used to evenly contribute to the medical costs or death benefits of the claimants, in exchange for benefits contributed by the rest of the members when in need. As of March 31, 2022, eHuzhu had gathered over 2.1 million paying members, assisting 8,829 families to raise over RMB1.1 billion funds to get through tough times. The platform is accessible primarily through its WeChat official account.

In addition, eHuzhu organized a variety of public charity activities focusing on care for breast cancer, veterans and COVID-19 patients, book donations for children and so on. eHuzhu has also set up “Mutual Aid Villages” across the country to lower the medical burden of people in poverty-stricken areas.

In order to create more value for its members, in 2021, eHuzhu added medical and health services on its platform, through which its members can access a variety of services including health consultation, medical treatment assistance and medicine delivery.

As of March 31, 2022, we, through Fanhua Group Company, operated one e-commerce insurance platform and one online mutual aid platform, and controlled nine insurance intermediary companies in the PRC, of which seven were insurance agencies including two with national operating licenses and two were insurance claims adjusting firms. As of March 31, 2022, we also owned (i) 18.5% of the equity interests in CNFinance Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: CNF), a leading home equity loan service provider, (ii) 4.5% of the equity interests in Puyi Inc. (NASDAQ: PUYI), a leading third party wealth management services provider focusing on mass affluent and emerging middle class population, and (iii) 14.9% of the equity interests in Shenzhen Chetong Network Co., Ltd., an online insurance claims services provider.

Segment Information

As of December 31, 2021, we operated two segments: (1) the insurance agency segment, which mainly consists of providing agency services for distributing life insurance products and P&C insurance products on behalf of insurance companies, and (2) the claims adjusting segment, which consists of providing pre-underwriting survey services, claims adjusting services, disposal of residual value services, loading and unloading supervision services, and consulting services.

Insurance Agency Segment

Our insurance agency segment accounted for 86.7% and 86.0% of our net revenues in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Revenue from this segment is derived from two broad categories of insurance products: (i) life and health insurance products, and (ii) property and casualty insurance products both primarily focused on meeting the insurance needs of individuals.

Life and Health Insurance Products

Our life and health insurance business accounted for 81.9% of our net revenues in 2021. We expect the sale of life insurance products to be the major source of our revenue in the next several years. The life and health 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:

The life insurance products we distributed in 2021 were primarily underwritten by Sinatay, Aeon, Huaxia, Evergrande and Tian’an.

Property and Casualty Insurance Products

Our property and casualty insurance business accounted for 4.1% of our net revenues in 2021, primarily representing insurance products we distributed through Baowang. Our main property and casualty insurance product in terms of net revenues contribution in 2021 is individual accident insurance and indemnity medical insurance which we distribute through Baowang. We also offer lifestyle insurance such as travel insurance, homeowner insurance, and other innovative products on Baowang. In addition, we have started to offer certain long-term life and health insurance products specifically designed for internet distribution channels since 2019. The major insurance products we offer or facilitate to individual customers through Baowang can be further classified into the following categories:

We primarily partnered with Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited, or Zhong An, Ping An Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited, or Ping An, Ping An Health Insurance Company Limited, JD Alliance Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited, and China Life Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited for the distribution of property and casualty insurance products in 2021.

Claims Adjusting Segment

Total net revenues derived from our claims adjusting segment accounted for 14.0% of our total net revenues in 2021. We offer the following insurance claims adjusting services:

We primarily provided claims adjusting services to Ping An, Suzhou Haizhijian Health Technology Co., Ltd, China Pacific Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited, Shanghai Nuanwa Technology Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Zhong An and Bohai Property and Casualty Insurance Co. Ltd in 2021.

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 and asset and risk management. We believe we are well-positioned to capture such outsourcing opportunities.

Seasonality

See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Seasonality.”

Distribution and Service Network and Marketing

We have an offline distribution and service network that, as of March 31, 2022, consisted of one insurance sales and service group, seven insurance agencies including two with national operating licenses, and two claims adjusting firms, with 229,388 registered independent sales agents, 416 insurance advisors of our Yuntong Branches and 2,174 in-house claims adjustors. Our distribution and service network consisted of 717 sales outlets in 23 provinces and 109 claims services outlets in 31 provinces.

The following table sets forth additional information concerning our distribution and service network as of March 31, 2022, broken down by provinces:

We market and sell long-term personal lines of life and health insurance products and property and casualty insurance products to customers mainly through both independent sales agents, most of whom are not our employees, and insurance advisors who are our employees. We also market and sell certain critical illness, term life, accident, short-term health, travel and homeowner insurance products directly to customers through our online platform Baowang (www.baoxian.com). We market and sell insurance claims adjusting services primarily to insurance companies through our in-house professional claims adjustors and to non-affiliated service representatives through Chetong.net, an online service platform, by bidding for claims adjusting business contracts.

Customers

We sell life and health insurance products including critical illness, annuity insurance, whole life insurance and term life insurance and endowment insurance primarily to individual customers as well as property and casualty insurance products including individual accident insurance, homeowner insurance products, liability insurance and travel insurance. Customers for the life and health insurance products we distribute are primarily individuals under 50 years of age. For the year ended December 31, 2021, no single individual customer who has purchased insurance products through us accounted for more than 1% of our net revenues. Our customers for the claims adjusting services are primarily insurance companies and online mutual-aid platforms.

As of December 31, 2021, we had accumulated approximately 12.4 million individual customers, of which over 1.9 million have purchased at least one regular long-term life and health insurance policy. By providing certain value-added services to these customers at no additional charge, we seek to build a loyal customer base that generates referrals and cross-selling opportunities.

Insurance Company Partners

As of March 31, 2022, we had established business relationships with 109 insurance companies 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. Since 2007, we have sought to establish business relationships with insurance companies at the corporate headquarters level in order to leverage the combined sales volumes of all our subsidiaries located in different parts of China. For the distribution of insurance products, we had outstanding contracts with 45 life insurance companies, four health and pension insurance companies and 16 property and casualty insurance companies, which were all signed at the corporate headquarter level as of March 31, 2022. For the provision of claims adjusting services, we also had outstanding contracts with 72 insurance companies, and 13 other institutions as of March 31, 2022.

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:

We compete primarily with the other major claims adjusting firms in China, particularly Min Tai’an Insurance Surveyors & Loss Adjusters Co., Ltd., or Min Tai’an. We believe that we can compete effectively with Min Tai’an and other major insurance claims adjusting firms because we offer our customers a diversified range of claims adjusting services covering medical insurance, property insurance, auto insurance, marine and cargo insurance, and personal injury and accident 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. As of March 31, 2022, we had 87 registered trademarks in China, including our corporate logo. Our main website is www.fanhuaholdings.com.

Regulation

Regulations of the Insurance Industry

The insurance industry in the PRC is highly regulated. Between 1998 and March 2018, CIRC was the regulatory authority responsible for the supervision of the Chinese insurance industry. In March 2018, the CBIRC, was established as the result of the merger between CIRC and CBRC, replacing CIRC as the regulatory authority 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:

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 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:

2009 Amendments to the Insurance Law

The 2002 Insurance Law was 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: