UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

(Mark One)

or

For the fiscal year ended .

or

or

001-36222

 

Autohome 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)

Haidian District, Beijing 100080

The People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Jun Zou

Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +86 (10) 5985-7001

E-mail:

Fax: +86 (10) 5985-7387

Haidian District, Beijing 100080

The People’s Republic of China

(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

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)

 

118,926,687 Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.01 per share, and 0 Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.01 per share, were outstanding as of December 31, 2019.

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  

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

1

PART I.

2

 

3

 

4

We rely on China’s automotive industry for substantially all of our revenues and future growth. We have greatly benefited from the growth of China’s automotive industry historically. However, this industry has recently experienced headwinds in its development. In July 2018, China’s automotive industry experienced negative growth for the first time in the past 28 years and new automobile purchases in China declined for the whole year of 2019. We cannot predict how this industry will develop in the future, as it could be affected by complex factors, including general economic conditions in China, the urbanization rate of China’s population, the growth of disposable household income, the costs of new automobiles, the trade barriers and tensions and other governmental protectionist measures, as well as taxes and incentives related to automobile purchases. Specifically, tariffs or a global trade war could increase the cost of imported automobiles, which could negatively impact the demand for automobiles and adversely impact our business. In addition, governmental policies – including restrictions by major cities on new passenger vehicle plate issuance, increasingly stringent emission standards, and adjustment of purchase tax – may have a considerable impact on the growth of the automotive industry in China. Recently, the automotive industry in China was negatively impacted as well by the outbreak of coronavirus disease or the outbreak, during which automobile production and the number of purchasers declined due to precautionary government-imposed closures of certain travel and business, the government’s order to delay resumption of service and mass production and the related quarantine measures.

The markets for our services are highly competitive. With respect to our auto media business, we face competition from China’s automotive vertical websites and mobile applications, such as , , and , from the automotive channels of major internet portals, such as and , and from companies engaged in mobile social media, news, video and live-streaming applications. We may also face competition from online automobile transaction platforms, such as ,and as we develop our used car transaction business. Our auto finance business faces competition from other auto finance companies, such as and . In addition, we also face competition from companies engaged in social media business, such as and, and companies engaged in data product offering, such as . Competition with these and other websites and mobile applications is primarily centered on increasing user reach, user engagement and brand recognition, relationships with the suppliers, and attracting and retaining customers, among other factors.

For our media business, we also face competition from traditional advertising media, such as newspapers, magazines, yellow pages, television, radio and outdoor media. Advertisers in China generally allocate a significant portion of their marketing budgets to traditional advertising media. If we cannot effectively compete with traditional media for the marketing budgets of our existing and potential customers, our results of operations and growth prospects could be adversely affected. For our business, as online automobile transaction is a relatively new business model and consumers in China might be accustomed to make automobile purchases offline, we cannot guarantee that the automobile consumers in China will accept such business model. Beginning in 2019, we have extended our business to the European market and established two subsidiaries in the UK and Germany, which have not commenced commercial operation as of December 31, 2019. Our future business in these regions will face competition from local automotive vertical websites and mobile applications and online automobile transaction platforms, such as and, which platforms have longer experience in local operation and relatively more established user base. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to compete effective for talents, users or customers.

5

We have experienced rapid growth in our business in recent years. We have increased our net revenues since 2017 to RMB8,420.8 million (US$1,209.6 million) in 2019, representing a three-year CAGR of 22.1%.We expect to continue to grow our user base and our business operations. We have been implementing our future strategy to integrate and create a consumer centric automotive ecosystem, which continues to drive our growth momentum and guide us in our transformation from a vertical media business to an automotive based on advanced data and technology. Also, we are committed to strengthening our competitive advantage in the core media and leads generation business and have begun to benefit from executing new business initiatives, including data products and auto-financing.

visitor-to-in-store-visitor

We believe an increasing number of sales leads were generated from our mobile applications as evidenced by the significant increase of our revenue via our mobile platform. However, we cannot guarantee that monetization strategies for our mobile internet services will continue to be successful. As our users continue to allocate more time on our mobile services instead of our traditional PC services, mobile monetization has become increasingly important to our results of operations. Accordingly, if we are unable to successfully implement monetization strategies for our mobile internet users, our results of operations may be negatively affected.

A limited number of automaker customers have accounted for, and are expected to continue to account for, a large portion of our revenues. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, 101, 103 and 92 automakers operating in China used our media services, respectively. These automakers include independent Chinese automakers, joint ventures between Chinese and international automakers and international automakers that sell cars made outside of China. In 2019, our top five automaker advertisers contributed 24.0% of our media services revenues. We believe that our major future revenue growth will be focused on deepening our existing commercial relationships with automakers to increase our share of each automaker’s budget. In addition, we have been prioritizing the direct cooperation with the automaker customers on ad placement since 2018. Compared to the indirect cooperation through third-party agencies, such direct cooperation model requires us to undertake more obligations and may impose extra costs and risks on us, such as the periodic issuance of advertising reports to the automaker advertisers and a longer payment collection period for advertising fees to be paid by automaker advertisers. We cannot assure you that our automaker customers will continue to be satisfied with our direct cooperation model and strategy as well as our services, or our relationships with any of these automaker customers will continue in the future. Failure to issue and provide deliverables satisfactory to our automaker customers or failure to reach a mutually amicable agreement with our automaker customers on the collection of payable fees may adversely impact our relationships with our automaker customers, which would have a negative impact on our reputation and results of operations. If we lose one or more of our important automaker customers, or if they materially reduce their purchase of our services, our results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

We typically extend credit terms to automaker customers, which is relatively longer than other customers. We generally make a credit assessment of automaker customers and other customers before entering into an agreement with them. However, we nevertheless face risk of being unable to collect all the accounts receivable from automaker customers in light of the slowdown in China’s domestic automotive market. If we fail to collect accounts receivable from automakers in a timely manner, or at all, our business, results of operations and financial conditions may be materially and adversely affected.

Due to the limited number of automakers operating in China and our revenue concentration attributable to a small number of these companies, any of the following events, among others, may cause a material decline in our revenue and materially and adversely affect our results of operations and prospects:

We may not be able to successfully grow our used automobile-related business. Although the used automobile market in China is growing due to the increased number of consumer-owned automobiles, there is still significant uncertainty regarding the extent to which our used automobile-related business may benefit from such growth. We may not be able to source sufficient used automobiles or attract a broad user base to our che168.com website and mobile application or be successful compared to our competitors. Even if we are able to do so, we may not be able to establish a business model that allows us to effectively monetize the user traffic. We may not be able to successfully facilitate used car transactions and our services might not be satisfactory to the used car buyers or sellers. Additionally, customers may not respond well to our new business initiatives as we expect. In such cases, we may suffer negative publicity and may not be able to achieve our expected business growth and our results of operations may be adversely affected.

One element of our growth strategy is to expand our services to customers. As a result, we have added additional services in the past few years. To serve our dealer customers, we had local sales and service representatives covering 72 cities across China as of December 31, 2019. We intend to increase our penetration in existing dealer advertising and subscription services markets. We have implemented business strategies to further monetize our large dealer network by enlarging the offering of products and services with new technologies on our dealer digital platform, increasing the average spending of our existing dealer subscribers and upselling our dealership packages for our leads generation services. In order to increase the average spending of our existing dealer subscribers, we keep close communications and negotiations with relevant parties such as dealers, dealers group and automakers. However, we may not succeed in making our customers sufficiently aware of existing and future services or in creating customer acceptance of these services at the prices we would want to charge, and we cannot guarantee that our pricing strategy and measures will always be agreed and accepted by any and all of our customers. We may not be able to achieve the market acceptance of our products and services as we expect and thus may fail to achieve an increase from our “share of wallet” approach. Our existing customers may even terminate their cooperation with us if they are not satisfied with our pricing strategy or measures, which may subject us to negative publicity and adversely impact our business. Also, we may not identify trends correctly, or may not be able to bring new services to market as quickly, effectively or price-competitively as our competitors. New services may alienate existing customers or cause us to lose business to our competitors. If the number of our dealer customers decreases, we will not be able to generate sufficient revenues to cover our increased costs and expenses. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Maintaining and enhancing our “Autohome” and “Che168” brands is critical to our business and prospects. We believe that brand recognition will become increasingly important as the number of internet users in China grows and competition in our industry intensifies. A number of factors could prevent us from successfully promoting our brands, including user dissatisfaction with the content offered on our websites or mobile applications, negative publicity involving our business, our management, our brand spokespersons, our relationship with our partners and customers, the failure of our sales and marketing activities, employee relationship and welfare, regulatory compliance and financial conditions. If we fail to maintain and enhance our brands, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

Our historical growth rates may not be indicative of our future growth, and we may not be able to generate similar growth rates in the future. We have increased our net revenue since 2017 to RMB8,420.8 million (US$1,209.6 million) in 2019, representing a three-year CAGR of 22.1%. Also, our net income attributable to Autohome Inc. increased from RMB2,001.6 million in 2017 to RMB2,871.0 million in 2018 and to RMB3,200.0 million (US$459.6 million), representing a CAGR of 26.4%. Our revenue or profit growth may slow down, or our revenues or profits may decline for any occurrence of possible reasons, including increasing operating expenses, increasing competition, slow growth of our business development, emergence of alternative business models, and changes in government policies or general economic conditions. We cannot assure you that we will grow at the same rate as we had in the past. If our growth rate declines, investors’ perceptions of our business and business prospects may be adversely affected and the market price of our ADSs could decline.

up-to-date

Our traveler channel, while serving as an engaged community for our users to share road trip experience, allows travel agencies, both our own and external agencies, to showcase tourism products, such as hotels, flights, and road trip packages. We have limited control over the quality of such trip and services provided by external travel agencies offline, and we cannot guarantee that customers are or will be satisfied with the quality of trips and services provided by our own travel agency. If our users are unsatisfied with the services purchased from such travel agencies and leave negative postings or comments on our channel, or if any claim or dispute arises as a result, our traveler channel may be perceived by users as unreliable and visits to our channel may be deterred, resulting in a decline in user traffic and rendering our platform less attractive to advertisers. Additionally, we may face complaints from users or be subject to administrative proceedings or civil law suits as a result, which could be costly and time consuming to resolve. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to resolve such complaints or disputes cost-efficiently and to the satisfaction of users. If any of these occurs, our reputation may be harmed and our business and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

end-customers

In addition, we have been relying on third-party advertising agencies for the collection of payment from advertisers and we have been relying on a few advertising agencies to collect a significant portion of our total account receivables. As a result, the financial soundness of advertising agencies may affect our collection of accounts receivable. We make a credit assessment of a potential advertising agency to evaluate the collectability of the advertising service fees before entering into an advertising contract. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to accurately assess the creditworthiness of each advertising agency, and any failure of advertising agencies to pay us in a timely manner may adversely affect our liquidity and cash flows. Amid the sustained decline in new automobile purchases in China, certain automakers operating in China have suffered declining performance or financial difficulties. As a result, advertising agencies that represent the automakers and automobile dealers may encounter financial and operational difficulties, or even go out of businesses. This in turn causes us to suffer from longer accounts receivable turnover days, allowance for doubtful accounts or even bad debt. Initiating legal proceedings against such advertising agencies can be expensive and time-consuming, and could divert our management’s attention and other resources from our business operations, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Even if we receive a favorable judgment in such legal proceedings, it may still be challenging and uncertain for us to collect the outstanding payments promptly and in full from the advertising agencies if they are experiencing financial difficulties or even go bankrupt. Moreover, even if we are able to enforce our rights against any collaterals other than cash for the outstanding payments, it may still be challenging and uncertain for us to effectively liquidate such collaterals.

If the internet does not become more widely accepted as an effective media platform for advertising and marketing by China’s automotive industry, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

non-compliance

 

non-compliance

In early 2017, we launched our auto finance business and started to provide services to our cooperative banks and financial institutions by displaying and marketing their financial products, including financing and financial leasing products, on our platform. We enable our cooperative banks and financial institutions to present their financial products to users of our websites and mobile applications and to accept users’ auto financing applications. Although we have an existing large user base, we cannot assure you that the business model of our auto finance business will be attractive to users and financial partners. Failure to provide satisfactory services on our platform or facilitate financing transactions between our users and financial product providers would cause an adverse impact on our auto finance business. As a result, we may not be able to achieve our expected business growth and our results of operations may be adversely affected.

Since our auto finance business is subject to broad regulation and supervision in the PRC, we may need to handle regulatory inspections during our ordinary course of business from time to time. In addition, although we don’t have business operations in the U.S., we may nevertheless be subject to its laws and regulations related to our auto finance business such as anti-money laundering laws and regulations. We have developed an internal control system relating to compliance matters for auto finance business. However, as our auto finance business grows rapidly, we cannot assure you that the internal control system could always work effectively in tracking and administering the compliance matters relevant to our auto finance business and we may need to incur increased compliance costs to maintain and upgrade such internal control system effectively. If we cannot satisfy any of the requirements of competent authorities, we would be exposed to the relevant regulatory risks, which may result in penalties imposed against us.

period-to-period

In addition, because a portion of our revenues arising from our media services is attributable to new model promotion campaigns, the timing of new car releases of our major automaker advertisers can have a significant impact on our results of operations. The timing of such releases, however, is subject to uncertainty due to various factors, such as automakers’ design or manufacturing issues, marketing conditions and government incentives or restrictions. These factors may make our results of operations difficult to predict and cause our quarterly results of operations to fall short of expectations.

pre-launch

In addition, we rely on content delivery networks, data centers and other network facilities provided by third parties. Any disruption to these network facilities may result in service interruptions, decreases in connection speed, degradation of our services or the permanent loss of user data and uploaded content. If we experience frequent or persistent service disruptions, whether caused by failures of our own systems or those of third-party service providers, our reputation or relationships with our users or customers may be damaged and our users and customers may switch to our competitors, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

e-mail

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

Practices regarding the collection, use, storage, transmission and security of personal information by companies operating over the internet and mobile platforms have recently come under increased public scrutiny. As China’s internet industry continues to evolve, PRC government has been strengthening the supervision and regulation on data privacy on the internet. Excessive collection or illegal collection and use of personal information through the internet or app are facing increasingly heavier penalties.

E-commerce

non-financial

Significant capital and other resources may be required to protect against information security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches or to comply with our privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations. The resources required may increase over time as, on the one hand, the methods used by hackers and others engaged in online criminal activities are increasingly sophisticated, well-funded and constantly evolving, and, on the other hand, more efforts are required to integrate and upgrade the protective measures to satisfy the varying legal requirements across geographies, especially those of UK, Germany and other jurisdictions of the European Economic Area, which are usually more stringent. Any failure or perceived failure by us to prevent information security breaches or to comply with privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other customer data, could cause our customers to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims. Any perception by the public that online transactions or the privacy of user information is becoming increasingly unsafe or vulnerable to attacks could inhibit the growth of online retail and other online services generally, which may reduce the number of orders we receive.

know-how

non-competition

Our performance and future success also depend on our ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain skilled personnel for all areas of our organization. Competition in the automotive and internet advertising industries and the online automobile transaction industry for qualified employees is intense, and if competition in these industries further intensifies, it may be more difficult for us to hire, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel. If the personnel holding key positions at our company are not as qualified as we expect or if we do not succeed in attracting additional highly skilled personnel or retaining or motivating our existing personnel, we may be unable to grow effectively or at all.

In addition, employee misconduct could expose us to significant legal liability and reputational harm. If any of our employees and management members engages in improper, illegal or suspicious activities or other misconduct in violation of our ethical policies, regulatory rules or regulations concerning anti-corruption, bribery and other ethical issues, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial condition, relationships with our business partners, automakers and dealers and our ability to attract new users and customers. We could even be subject to regulatory sanctions and significant legal liability.

We may be subject to claims, suits, and government investigations involving competition, intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, tax, labor and employment, commercial disputes, advertisements and content placed on our websites and mobile applications, and other matters. Our business may also face intellectual property infringement claims, as further discussed elsewhere in this annual report, that expose us to the risk of reputation damage. Such claims, suits, and government investigations are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted with certainty. Regardless of the outcome, any of these types of legal proceedings can have an adverse impact on us due to the legal costs, diversion of management resources, negative publicity and other factors involved therein. It is possible that one or more of such proceedings could result in substantial fines and penalties that could adversely affect our business.

We rely on a combination of trademark, patent, copyright and trade secret protection laws in the PRC and other jurisdictions, as well as through confidentiality agreements and other measures, to protect our intellectual property rights. Our major brand names and logos are registered trademarks in China. Most of our original generated content and professionally generated content available on our websites and mobile applications and proprietary software are protected by copyright laws. Despite our precautions, third parties may obtain and use our intellectual property without our authorization. Historically, the legal system and courts of the PRC have not protected intellectual property rights to the same extent as the legal system and courts of the United States, and companies operating in the PRC continue to face an increased risk of intellectual property infringement. Furthermore, the validity, application, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights for many internet-related activities, such as internet commercial methods patents, are uncertain and still evolving in China and abroad, which may make it more difficult for us to protect our intellectual property. From time to time, other websites may use our articles, photos or other content without our proper authorization. Although such use has not in the past caused any material damage to our business, it is possible that there may be misappropriation on a much larger scale with a material adverse impact to our business. If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property rights in the future, our brand and business may suffer.

Internet, technology and media companies are frequently involved in litigation based on allegations of infringement of intellectual property rights, unfair competition, invasion of privacy, defamation and other violation of other parties’ rights. We have not experienced any material claims on these issues against us in the past, but as we face increasing competition and as litigation becomes more common in China in resolving commercial disputes, we face a higher risk of being the subject of intellectual property infringement claims. Also, third parties may submit intellectual property infringement claims against us to the app stores where our mobile applications are available. In such cases, our mobile applications may be taken down by the relevant app stores until such claims have been resolved, which could significantly restrict our users from downloading or updating our mobile applications and thus adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time relating to the intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of our business. We could also be subject to claims based upon the content that is displayed on our websites, our mobile platforms or accessible from our websites through links to other websites or information on our websites and mobile applications supplied by third parties. Intellectual property claims and litigation are expensive and time-consuming to investigate and defend and may divert resources and management attention from the operation of our websites and mobile applications. Such claims, even if they do not result in liability, may harm our reputation. Any resulting liability or expenses, or changes required to our websites and mobile applications to reduce the risk of future liability, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The PRC government has adopted regulations governing advertising content as well as internet access and the distribution of information over the internet. Under PRC advertising laws and regulations, we are obligated to monitor the advertising content shown on our websites and mobile applications to ensure that such content is true and accurate and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—PRC Regulation—Regulations on Advertisements.” Under the Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services, which were promulgated in September 2000 and revised in January 2011, internet content providers and internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the internet content that, among other things, compromises national security, harms the dignity or interests of the state, incites ethnic hatred or racial discrimination, undermines the PRC’s religious policy, disturbs social order, disseminates obscenity or pornography, encourages gambling, violence, murder or fear, incites the commission of a crime, infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of a third party, or is otherwise prohibited by law or administrative regulations. Internet service providers are required to conduct verification of identity information of users. If information disseminated by internet users on their internet accounts or internet chat groups contains information prohibited by laws and regulations, the service providers are obliged to take measures including issuing warnings to the relevant users, suspending their publication of the inappropriate information or closing their accounts or chat groups. Under the Provisions on Governance of Network Information Content Ecology, which was promulgated on December 15, 2019 and came into effect on March 1, 2020, the network information content service platform shall strengthen the management of information content, and upon detecting any illegal information, shall immediately take measures prescribed by laws, keep relevant records, and report to the relevant competent authority. Additionally, the network information content platform shall also strengthen the examination and inspection of the advertising space set on the platform and the advertising content displayed on the platform. Those who publish illegal advertisements shall be punished according to laws. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—PRC Regulation—Regulations on Internet Content Services.” Under the regulations on online live-streaming services, online live-streaming service providers shall establish platforms for reviewing live-streaming content. Online live-streaming service providers and online live-streaming publishers that provide internet news information services without permits, or exceeding the scope of their permits, are subject to punishment. In addition, online live-streaming service providers shall make record filings with the local internet information office and the local public security authorities. Online live-streaming service providers that fail to file records with or get relevant permission from relevant authorities will be punished in accordance with laws. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulations on Online Performances and Online Live-streaming Services.”

non-automotive

 

If PRC regulatory authorities determine that any advertisements or content displayed on our websites and mobile applications do not adhere to applicable laws and regulations, they may require us to limit or eliminate the dissemination or availability of such advertisements and other content on our websites and mobile applications in the form of take-down orders or otherwise. Such regulatory authorities may also impose penalties on us, including fines, confiscation of advertising income or, in circumstances involving more serious violations by us, the termination of our advertising or internet content licenses, any of which would materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In addition, we may be subject to claims by consumers asserting that the information on our websites and mobile applications is misleading, and we may not be able to recover our losses from advertisers. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

As part of our business strategy, we regularly evaluate potential acquisitions, investments and alliances, including joint ventures, minority equity investments and strategic investments. These transactions involve numerous risks, including:

The realization of any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our business. To the extent any of our directors or officers also invests in a capacity other than as our director or officer, his or her interest may not be aligned with ours.

In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our existing shareholders may be diluted, which could affect the market price of our ADSs.

Furthermore, we may fail to identify or secure suitable acquisition, investment and other strategic opportunities, or our competitors may capitalize on such opportunities before we do, which could impair our ability to compete with our competitors and adversely affect our growth prospects and results of operations.

The global financial markets experienced significant disruptions in 2008 and the United States, European and other economies went into recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 was uneven and the global financial markets are facing new challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis since 2011, the hostilities in the Ukraine, the end of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the economic slowdown in the Eurozone in 2014. It is unclear whether these challenges will continue to exist and what effects they each may have. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies that have been adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including China’s. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. Any prolonged slowdown in China’s economic development might lead to tighter credit markets, increased market volatility, sudden drops in business and consumer confidence and dramatic changes in business and consumer behaviors. In response to their perceived uncertainty in economic conditions, consumers might delay, reduce or cancel purchases of automobiles, and our customers may also defer, reduce or cancel purchasing our services. To the extent any fluctuations in the Chinese economy significantly affect automakers’ and dealers’ demand for our services or change their spending habits, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We rely on third parties for certain essential services such as internet services and we may not have any control over the costs of the services they provide. The third-party service providers may raise prices, which might not be commercially reasonable to us. If we are forced to seek other providers, there is no assurance that we will be able to find alternative providers that are willing or able to provide comparable high-quality services and that will not charge us higher prices for their services. If the prices that we are required to pay to third-party service providers rise significantly, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

As of February 29, 2020, Yun Chen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., or Ping An Group, owned 51.9% of the total voting rights in our company, and we are a “controlled company” under Section 303A of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual. As a controlled company, we rely on certain exemptions that are available to controlled companies from the NYSE corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:

We are not required to and will not voluntarily meet these requirements. As a result of our use of the “controlled company” exemption, our investors will not have the same protection as they would if we were not a controlled company.

In addition, because Ping An Group beneficially owns over 50% of the voting rights in our company, it has decisive influence in determining the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matter submitted to the shareholders for approval, including mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. Without the consent of Ping An Group, we may be prevented from entering into transactions that could be beneficial to us. The interests of Ping An Group may differ from the interests of our other shareholders. Furthermore, Ping An Group’s business activities, although not related to our operations, may adversely impact reputation. As Ping An Group is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and beneficially controls a majority of our voting rights, Ping An Group may be required to disclose information on us from time to time, which may subject us to additional costs and efforts in making such disclosures.

We have and expect to continue to have related party transactions with Ping An Group. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Ping An Group provided us with services and assets in the amount of RMB55.2 million, RMB88.7 million and RMB107.7 million (US$15.5 million), respectively. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, we provided services to Ping An Group in the amount of RMB21.2 million, RMB473.5 million and RMB447.0 million (US$64.2 million), respectively. The tax authorities may impose reasonable adjustments on taxation if they have identified any related party transactions that are inconsistent with arm’s length principle. In addition, although we did not and do not expect to rely upon revenues from Ping An Group, if Ping An Group decides to reduce or even terminate its transactions with us, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, adopted rules requiring every public company to include a management report on the company’s internal control over financial reporting in its annual report, which contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting. Our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2019. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures—Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.” Our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report, which has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective in all material aspects as of December 31, 2019. However, if we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, our management and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level. This could in turn result in loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs. Furthermore, we have incurred and anticipate that we will continue to incur considerable costs, management time and other resources in an effort to comply with Section 404 and other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

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

COVID-19

Current PRC laws and regulations place certain restrictions on foreign ownership of companies that provide internet content services in China. Specifically, foreign ownership of internet service providers or other value-added telecommunication service providers may not exceed 50%. In addition, according to the Several Opinions on the Introduction of Foreign Investment in the Cultural Industry promulgated by the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or the SARFT, the General Administration of Press and Publication, or the GAPP, the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC, and the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, in July 2005, foreign investors are prohibited from investing in or operating “internet cultural activities.” We are a Cayman Islands company and foreign legal person under PRC laws. Accordingly, neither we nor our wholly foreign-invested PRC subsidiaries are currently eligible to apply for the required licenses for providing internet content services in China.

These two VIEs are currently owned by individual shareholders who are PRC citizens and hold the requisite licenses or permits to operate internet business in China. We do not have any equity interests in these two VIEs but substantially control their operations and receive the economic benefits through contractual arrangements. We have been and are expected to continue to be dependent upon these two VIEs and their respective subsidiaries for the above mentioned business operations. For more information regarding these contractual arrangements, see “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements with Our Variable Interest Entities.”

In consideration of the previous restrictions imposed on the shareholders of foreign-invested companies engaging in advertising business, we once conducted advertising business by entering into a series of contractual arrangements with the other two VIEs in China, namely Guangzhou You Che You Jia Advertising Co., Ltd., or Guangzhou Advertising, and Shanghai You Che You Jia Advertising Co., Ltd., or Shanghai Advertising, and two subsidiaries of Autohome Information, Beijing Shengtuo Autohome Advertising Co., Ltd., or Autohome Advertising, and Beijing Shengtuo Chengshi Advertising Co., Ltd., or Chengshi Advertising. Since the relevant regulatory environment developed, such restrictions were lifted in 2015. Therefore, in 2015, we completed the migration of our advertising business from Guangzhou Advertising, Shanghai Advertising and other PRC entities to the PRC subsidiaries of Autohome Media Limited, or Autohome Media, a Hong Kong advertising and marketing company previously named as Prbrownies Marketing Limited. We have completed the dissolution and deregistration of Guangzhou Advertising in December 2018. Shanghai Advertising currently is not conducting any business and is in the process of liquidation and dissolution.

Based on the advice of our PRC legal counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, the corporate structure of our VIEs and our subsidiaries in China are in compliance with all existing PRC laws and regulations. However, as there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that the PRC government would agree that our corporate structure or any of the above contractual arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or policies that may be adopted in the future. PRC laws and regulations governing the validity of these contractual arrangements are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations.

 

Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and severely damage our reputation, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, if the imposition of any of these penalties causes us to lose the rights to direct the activities of the VIEs or our right to receive their economic benefits, we would no longer be able to consolidate the VIEs.

We have relied and expect to continue to rely on (i) contractual arrangements with Autohome Information and its shareholders and (ii) contractual arrangements with Shengtuo Hongyuan and its shareholders to operate our business. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements with Our Variable Interest Entities.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with control over our VIEs as direct ownership. If we had direct ownership of these entities, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by these entities and their shareholders of their contractual obligations to exercise control over our VIEs. Therefore, our contractual arrangements with our VIEs may not be as effective in ensuring our control over their operations as direct ownership would be.

The shareholders of our VIEs may breach, or cause our VIEs to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and our VIEs. If our VIEs or their shareholders fail to perform their obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend resources to enforce our rights under the contracts. We may have to 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 Autohome Information and Shengtuo Hongyuan were to refuse to transfer their equity interests in those companies to us or our designee when we exercise the call option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, if they transfer the equity interests to other persons against our interests, 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 of these contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Under PRC law, rulings by arbitrators are final, parties cannot appeal the arbitration results in courts, and the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would incur additional expenses and delay. 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.

Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities within ten years after the taxable year when the transactions are conducted. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among Autohome WFOE, Chezhiying WFOE, our VIEs and the shareholders of our VIEs do not represent arm’s length prices and consequently adjust Autohome WFOE and Chezhiying WFOE’s or our VIEs’ income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by our VIEs, which could in turn increase their tax liabilities. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on Autohome WFOE, Chezhiying WFOE or our VIEs for any unpaid taxes. Our consolidated net income may be materially and adversely affected if Autohome WFOE and Chezhiying WFOE or our VIEs’ tax liabilities increase or if they are subject to late payment fees or other penalties.

The individual nominee shareholders of Shanghai Advertising, Autohome Information and Shengtuo Hongyuan are Min Lu, the chairman of our board of directors and our chief executive officer, and Haiyun Lei, an employee of the affiliate of Yun Chen who has been working with Ping An Group and its affiliates for more than 20 years. They each hold 50% of the equity interests in Shanghai Advertising, Autohome Information and Shengtuo Hongyuan. Each of these two individuals is a PRC citizen. The interests of the individual nominee shareholders of our VIEs may be different from our interest. For example, the individual nominee shareholders of our consolidated affiliated entities do not have a significant equity stake in our company. These shareholders may breach, or cause our VIEs to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and our VIEs, which would have a material and adverse effect on our ability to effectively control our VIEs and receive substantially all the economic benefits from them. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with our VIEs to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when a conflict of interest arises, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflict will be resolved in our favor.

Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address any potential difference of interests between these individual nominee shareholders and our company. We rely on these individuals to comply with the laws of China, which protect contracts, provide that directors and executive officers owe a duty of loyalty and a duty of diligence to our company and require them to avoid conflicts of interest and not to take advantage of their positions for personal gain. We also rely on Mr. Min Lu, the chairman of our board of directors and our chief executive officer, to abide by the laws of the Cayman Islands, which provide that directors owe a duty of care to our company. However, the legal frameworks of China and the Cayman Islands do not provide guidance on resolving conflicts in the event of a conflict with another corporate governance regime. If we cannot resolve any difference of interests or dispute between us and the shareholders of our VIEs, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

We are a holding company and conduct all of our business through our operating subsidiaries. We may rely to a significant extent on dividends and other distributions on equity to be paid by our wholly owned PRC subsidiaries for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur. If our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.

after-tax

Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

We are an offshore holding company conducting our operations in China through our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs. We may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries. Any loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law, are subject to PRC regulations and foreign exchange loan registrations. For example, loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries to finance its activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the competent local counterpart of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE. We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. These capital contributions must be filed with the MOFCOM or its local counterpart. Due to the restrictions imposed on loans in foreign currencies extended to any PRC domestic companies, we are not likely to make such loans to our VIEs, which are PRC domestic companies. Further, we are not likely to finance the activities of our VIEs by means of capital contributions due to regulatory restrictions relating to foreign investment in PRC domestic enterprises engaged in internet content services.

“conversion-at-will”

In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans 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 use the proceeds we received from our equity offerings and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

As of the date of this annual report, we conduct our business mostly through our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs, namely, Autohome Information and Shengtuo Hongyuan, which hold operating permits and licenses and some of the key assets that are important to the operation of our business. We expect to continue to be dependent on these VIEs to operate our business related to internet content services in China. If the above-mentioned VIEs go bankrupt and all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If such VIEs undergo a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, their equity holders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which would materially and adversely affect our business, our ability to generate revenues and the market price of our ADSs.

We are subject to rules and regulations by various governmental and self-regulatory organizations at various levels of the governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC and financial market exchange entities, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and various regulatory authorities in China, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Germany, Ireland and the UK, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.

Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.

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

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures since the late 1970s emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

 

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, the growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In addition, in the past the Chinese government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate increases, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, which may adversely affect our business and operating results.

We conduct our business primarily through our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us. In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past several decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all, which 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. In addition, any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

In March 2019, the Foreign Investment Law was enacted by the National People’s Congress and it became effective in January 2020. The Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments.

PRC-based

catch-all

 

If our contractual arrangements with our VIEs are defined or regarded as a form of foreign investment in the future, our corporate governance practice may be impacted and our compliance costs may increase. For instance, the Foreign Investment Law requires foreign investors or foreign-funded enterprises to submit the investment information to competent governmental authorities for review. Although the contents and scope of such information shall be determined under the principle of necessity and the information that can be obtained through interdepartmental information sharing will not be required to be resubmitted, foreign investors or foreign-funded enterprises which fail to report their investment information as requested will be required to take corrective measures or be subject to fines. Moreover, the Foreign Investment Law provides that a security examination mechanism will be established to examine any foreign investment activity that affects or may affect national security. The decision made upon the security examination may impact the operations of the foreign-funded enterprises.

The PRC government extensively regulates the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the internet industry. These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be violations of applicable laws and regulations. Issues, risks and uncertainties relating to the PRC government regulation of the internet industry include, but are not limited to, the following:

On July 13, 2006, the MIIT, the predecessor of which was the Ministry of Information Industry, issued the Notice of the Ministry of Information Industry on Intensifying the Administration of Foreign Investment in Value-added Telecommunications Services. This notice prohibits domestic telecommunication service providers from leasing, transferring or selling telecommunications business operating licenses to any foreign investor in any form, or providing any resources, sites or facilities to any foreign investor for their illegal operation of a telecommunications business in China. According to this notice, either the holder of a value-added telecommunication services operation permit or its shareholders must directly own the domain names and trademarks used by such license holders in their provision of value-added telecommunication services. The notice also requires each license holder to have the necessary facilities, including servers, for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. Currently, Autohome Information and Shengtuo Hongyuan, two of our VIEs, own the related domain names and trademarks and hold the internet content provider licenses, or ICP licenses, necessary to conduct our operations for websites and mobile applications in China

The interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies relating to the internet industry have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of, internet businesses in China, including our business. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain any new licenses if required by any new laws or regulations. There are also risks that we may be found to violate existing or future laws and regulations given the uncertainty and complexity of China’s regulation of the internet industry. If we or our VIEs fail to obtain or maintain any of the required assets, licenses or approvals, our continued business operations in the internet industry may subject us to various penalties, including the confiscation of illegal net revenues, fines and the discontinuation or restriction of our operations, any of which would materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

E-commerce

E-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

e-commerce

E-commerce

e-commerce

E-commerce

E-commerce

E-commerce

E-commerce

non-compliance

On July 1, 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China issued the National Security Law, which came into effect on the same day. The National Security Law provides that the state shall safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests of cyberspace in the state, and the state shall establish a national security review and supervision system to review foreign investment, key technologies, internet and information technology products and services and other important activities that are likely to impact the national security of China.

e-government

There were no new detailed rules issued or becoming effective in 2019. The uncertainties regarding the implementation of the Cyber Security Law may increase the costs for us to comply with it, which may also divert our resources and management attention.

decades-old

one-year

Significant revaluation of the RMB may have a material and adverse effect on your investment. To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for capital expenditures and working capital and other business purposes, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs, strategic acquisitions or investments or other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. In addition, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or to hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in RMB. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior SAFE approval by complying with certain procedural requirements. Therefore, our PRC subsidiaries are able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE. However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.

change-of-control

non-PRC

non-PRC

non-resident