Table of Contents

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 20-F

 

(Mark One)

 

o

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

 

 

OR

 

 

x

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

 

 

OR

 

 

o

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from                     to                     

 

 

OR

 

 

o

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

 

Date of event requiring this shell company report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Commission file number: 001-36144

 

Qunar Cayman Islands Limited

(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)

 

17th Floor, Viva Plaza, Building 18, Yard 29,

Suzhou Street, Haidian District

Beijing 100080

The People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Xiaolu Zhu, Chief Financial Officer

Telephone: +86 10 5760 3000

Email: xiaolu.zhu@qunar.com

Facsimile: +86 10 5760 3530

17th Floor, Viva Plaza, Building 18, Yard 29,

Suzhou Street, 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(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Name of each exchange on which registered

American depositary shares (each representing three Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share)

 

The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

(The NASDAQ Global Market)

The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share*

 

(The NASDAQ Global Market)

 


* Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing on The NASDAQ Global Market of American depositary shares. Currently, one ADS represents three Class B ordinary shares.

 

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: 13,517,672 Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share, and 419,204,400 Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share as of December 31, 2015.

 

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

x Yes    o No

 

If this report is an annual or transaction 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.

o Yes    x 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.

x Yes    o No

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

x Yes    o No

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer.

 

Large accelerated filer x

 

Accelerated filer o

 

Non-accelerated filer o

 

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

 

U.S. GAAP x

 

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued
by the International Accounting Standard Boards
o

 

Other o

 

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

o Item 17    o 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).

o Yes    x No

 



Table of Contents

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 


 

INTRODUCTION

1

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

3

PART I

4

Item 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORS

4

Item 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

4

Item 3. KEY INFORMATION

4

Item 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

56

Item 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

100

Item 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

100

Item 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES

125

Item 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

135

Item 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

139

Item 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING

141

Item 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

142

Item 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

150

Item 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES

151

PART II

153

Item 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES

153

Item 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS

153

Item 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

154

Item 16 [RESERVED]

156

Item 16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT

156

Item 16B. CODE OF ETHICS

156

Item 16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

156

Item 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES

157

Item 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS

157

Item 16F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT

157

Item 16G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

157

Item 16H. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE

158

PART III

159

Item 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

159

Item 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

159

Item 19. EXHIBITS

159

 



Table of Contents

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report on Form 20-F only:

 

·                   “ADSs” refers to our American depositary shares, each of which represents three Class B ordinary shares, and “ADRs” refers to the American depositary receipts that evidence our ADSs;

 

·                   “active mobile users” refers to mobile users who accessed our mobile platform, including our mobile application and mobile website, on three or more different days in the preceding 12-month period as of any given date;

 

·                   “active web users” refers to web users who accessed our website on three or more different days in the preceding 12-month period as of any given date;

 

·                   “Baidu” refers to Baidu, Inc. and its subsidiaries;

 

·                   “Baidu Transaction” refers to a transaction completed pursuant to an agreement we entered into with Baidu Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary and the investment vehicle of Baidu, Inc., under which Baidu paid US$306 million to acquire 181,402,116 of our ordinary shares and became our majority shareholder;

 

·                   “Baidu Zhixin Cooperation” refers to the cooperating arrangements between Baidu and us relating to the Zhixin Platform pursuant to the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement;

 

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

 

·                   “Cooperation Platform” refers to the travel-related Zhixin Platform and the travel-related Intermediate Page on PC Internet, as defined in the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement;

 

·                   “Ctrip” refers to Ctrip.com International, Ltd. and its subsidiaries;

 

·                   “Ctrip Transaction” refers to the transaction between Baidu and Ctrip in October 2015 whereby Baidu sold 178,702,519 of our Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 of our Class B ordinary shares to Ctrip in exchange for ordinary shares of Ctrip;

 

·                   “Flight TSPs” refers to flight travel service providers, including flight ticket wholesalers and distributors;

 

·                   “merchant model program” refers to our program for pre-purchasing air tickets and hotel rooms from airlines and hotels for sale to end users;

 

·                   “mobile users” refers to users who accessed our mobile platform, including our mobile application and mobile website, in the preceding 12-month period as of any given date, each being identified by a unique serial number of the user’s mobile device;

 

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

 

·                   “OTAs” refers to online travel agencies;

 

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Table of Contents

 

·                   “our VIE” refers to Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, which, together with its subsidiaries, holds the licenses, approvals and key assets such as our mobile application and website that are essential for our business operations;

 

·                   “qualified click” refers to a user click which occurs when the user is directed to a customer’s website or our SaaS system by clicking on a search result on our website, regardless of whether the user proceeds to make a purchase from the customer, excluding repeating clicks resulting from suspected frauds or mistakes;

 

·                   “SaaS” refers to our proprietary software-as-a-service, a system on which we host the web outlets for certain travel service providers;

 

·                   “TEFT” refers to Total Estimated Flight Ticket, which is calculated by dividing flight ticket volume sold on SaaS by qualified flight clicks from SaaS as a percentage of total qualified flight clicks;

 

·                   “TEHR” refers to Total Estimated Hotel Room Night Stayed volume, which is calculated by dividing hotel room night stayed volume sold on SaaS by qualified hotel clicks from SaaS as a percentage of total qualified hotel clicks;

 

·                   “VIEs” refers to variable interest entities;

 

·                   “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our” or “Qunar” refers to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, a Cayman Islands company, and unless the context requires otherwise, includes its predecessor entities and consolidated subsidiaries and variable interest entities;

 

·                   “web users” refers to users who accessed our website in the preceding 12-month period as of any given date, each being identified by a unique cookie installed on the user’s computer;

 

·                   “WFOE” refers to our wholly foreign owned enterprise, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited;

 

·                   “Zhixin Cooperation Agreement” refers to the cooperation agreement we entered into with Baidu on October 1, 2013;

 

·                   “Zhixin Platform” refers to the Zhixin platform maintained on the Baidu website, or any successor, derivation or replacement thereof;

 

·                   “US$,” “U.S. dollars” or “dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States;

 

·                   “RMB” or “Renminbi” refers to the legal currency of China;

 

·                   “funds receivable” refers to cash due from third-party on-line payment service providers, net of service fees, for clearing transactions;

 

·                   “restricted cash”  refers to the cash collected from users and deposited in banks in connection with their payments for Flight TSPs, OTAs and other travel services providers through our mobile or website platform which cannot be used for our operations and is subject to remittance to these customers in a short period of time, and cash deposits in connection with guarantee letters and as guarantee for loans to subsidiaries;

 

·                   “Exchange Act” refers to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

 

·                   “Securities Act” refers to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

2



Table of Contents

 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this annual report are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this annual report relate to, among others:

 

·                   our goals and strategies;

 

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

 

·                   the expected growth of the online travel markets in China;

 

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

 

·                   our expectations regarding our relationships with our users and customers;

 

·                   our plans to invest in our technology platform;

 

·                   competition in our industry;

 

·                   fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China; and

 

·                   relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry.

 

These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that our expectations will turn out to be correct. Our actual results could be materially different from and worse than our expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from our expectations are generally set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of Item 3 and elsewhere in this annual report. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

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Table of Contents

 

PART I

 

Item 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORS

 

Not Applicable.

 

Item 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

 

Not Applicable.

 

Item 3. KEY INFORMATION

 

A.                  SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

The following table presents the selected consolidated financial information for our company. The consolidated statements of operations data for the three years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and the consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2014 and 2015 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 and the consolidated balance sheet s data as of December 31, 2011, 2012 and 2013 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements for those years and are not included in this annual report. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future period. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or U.S. GAAP.

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2011

 

2012

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands, except for number of shares and per share (or ADS) data)

 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues (*) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight and flight related services

 

170,577

 

307,708

 

551,122

 

1,171,229

 

2,206,948

 

340,694

 

Accommodation reservation services

 

51,795

 

125,779

 

194,030

 

347,281

 

1,472,925

 

227,380

 

Display advertising services

 

33,334

 

46,670

 

63,503

 

87,894

 

117,945

 

18,208

 

Other services

 

6,721

 

21,568

 

42,267

 

150,351

 

373,394

 

57,642

 

Total revenues

 

262,427

 

501,725

 

850,922

 

1,756,755

 

4,171,212

 

643,924

 

Cost of revenues

 

(43,682

)

(95,787

)

(173,395

)

(454,902

)

(1,433,237

)

(221,253

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

 

218,745

 

405,938

 

677,527

 

1,301,853

 

2,737,975

 

422,671

 

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product developments (1)

 

(83,110

)

(187,266

)

(319,021

)

(774,511

)

(2,578,528

)

(398,056

)

Product sourcing (1)

 

 

(26,947

)

(67,271

)

(316,903

)

(785,385

)

(121,243

)

Sales and marketing (1)

 

(134,246

)

(216,853

)

(315,506

)

(890,861

)

(2,671,637

)

(412,430

)

General and administrative (1)

 

(43,135

)

(50,574

)

(129,209

)

(399,914

)

(3,388,467

)

(523,089

)

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

 

 

 

(699,983

)

(37,178

)

(5,739

)

Contract termination loss provision

 

 

 

 

(64,485

)

 

 

Operating loss

 

(41,746

)

(75,702

)

(153,480

)

(1,844,804

)

(6,723,220

)

(1,037,886

)

Interest income (expenses), net

 

1,767

 

832

 

4,757

 

31,329

 

(110,233

)

(17,017

)

Foreign exchange (loss) gain, net

 

(33

)

(656

)

1,469

 

(20,739

)

(64,106

)

(9,896

)

Other income (loss), net

 

6

 

363

 

1,057

 

4,873

 

(25,161

)

(3,884

)

Fair value change in warrant liability

 

 

 

 

 

(397,987

)

(61,439

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

 

(40,006

)

(75,163

)

(146,197

)

(1,829,341

)

(7,320,707

)

(1,130,122

)

Income tax expense

 

(5,945

)

(15,950

)

(41,092

)

(17,560

)

(22,784

)

(3,517

)

Equity in loss of affiliated companies, net of tax

 

 

 

 

 

(5,840

)

(902

)

Net loss

 

(45,951

)

(91,113

)

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,349,331

)

(1,134,541

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deemed dividend

 

(31,181

)

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

(6,622

)

(1,022

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders

 

(77,132

)

(91,113

)

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,342,709

)

(1,133,519

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss per share for ordinary shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

(0.51

)

(0.32

)

(0.61

)

(5.26

)

(19.14

)

(2.95

)

Loss per ADS (each ADS represents three Class B ordinary shares )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

(1.53

)

(0.96

)

(1.83

)

(15.78

)

(57.42

)

(8.85

)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

151,820,420

 

281,682,508

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted

 

151,820,420

 

281,682,508

 

 

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

 

299,524,536

 

266,696,495

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

Diluted

 

 

 

299,524,536

 

266,696,495

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

Class B ordinary shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

 

6,403,973

 

84,713,813

 

201,373,547

 

201,373,547

 

Diluted

 

 

 

305,928,509

 

351,410,308

 

383,692,654

 

383,692,654

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of nil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

(5,491

)

(542

)

(16,873

)

32,639

 

132,647

 

20,477

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

 

(51,442

)

(91,655

)

(204,162

)

(1,814,262

)

(7,216,684

)

(1,114,064

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

(6,622

)

(1,022

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders

 

(51,442

)

(91,655

)

(204,162

)

(1,814,262

)

(7,210,062

)

(1,113,042

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Non-GAAP Financial Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted net loss (2)(3)

 

(9,865

)

(57,257

)

(117,662

)

(812,759

)

(2,092,168

)

(322,975

)

Adjusted EBITDA (2)(4)

 

2,771

 

(24,010

)

(51,669

)

(743,151

)

(1,818,697

)

(280,759

)

Adjusted operating loss (2)(5)

 

(5,660

)

(41,846

)

(83,853

)

(810,662

)

(1,903,469

)

(293,845

)

 


* Starting from January 2015, we present our revenues by primary business lines of flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services. Comparative amounts for the prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

 

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Table of Contents

 

(1) Share-based compensation expenses were allocated in the operating expenses as follows:

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2011

 

2012

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Product developments

 

13,546

 

15,241

 

20,784

 

59,884

 

1,299,625

 

200,628

 

Product sourcing

 

 

1,330

 

2,117

 

2,958

 

151,864

 

23,444

 

Sales and marketing

 

5,471

 

5,243

 

5,417

 

12,565

 

310,604

 

47,949

 

General and administrative

 

9,437

 

5,392

 

35,389

 

190,963

 

3,020,480

 

466,281

 

Total share-based compensation expenses

 

28,454

 

27,206

 

63,707

 

266,370

 

4,782,573

 

738,302

 

 

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(2) See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

(3) Adjusted net loss (non-GAAP), defined as net loss excluding share-based compensation expenses, impairment loss of the long-term investments, non-cash expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu, Inc., expenses relating to Baidu Transaction, online marketing expenses for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation, fair value change in warrant liability and contract termination loss provision.

 

(4) Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP), defined as net loss before income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, interest expenses, further adjusted to exclude share-based compensation expenses, impairment loss of the long-term investments, non-cash expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu, Inc., expenses relating to Baidu Transaction, online marketing expenses for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation, fair value change in warrant liability and contract termination loss provision.

 

(5) Adjusted operating loss(non-GAAP), defined as operating loss excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-cash expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu, Inc., expenses relating to Baidu Transaction, online marketing expenses for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation and contract termination loss provision.

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2011

 

2012

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

123,445

 

148,511

 

980,129

 

812,972

 

4,115,650

 

635,347

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

37,851

 

45,631

 

99,892

 

165,404

 

278,382

 

42,975

 

Funds receivable

 

3,347

 

30,838

 

241,122

 

413,084

 

715,365

 

110,433

 

Short-term investments

 

98,394

 

521

 

485,945

 

 

351,189

 

54,214

 

Total current assets

 

290,546

 

359,478

 

2,055,134

 

1,950,933

 

9,422,317

 

1,454,555

 

Property and equipment, net

 

25,058

 

32,298

 

45,690

 

149,307

 

232,085

 

35,828

 

Total assets

 

320,973

 

392,352

 

2,124,775

 

2,267,717

 

10,505,545

 

1,621,776

 

Total current liabilities

 

193,020

 

315,016

 

704,485

 

2,366,687

 

6,550,800

 

1,011,270

 

Total liabilities

 

196,158

 

332,610

 

762,348

 

2,438,303

 

9,302,177

 

1,436,009

 

Total mezzanine equity

 

998,666

 

998,666

 

 

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ (deficit) equity

 

(873,851

)

(938,924

)

1,362,427

 

(170,586

)

1,203,368

 

185,767

 

Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ (deficit) equity

 

320,973

 

392,352

 

2,124,775

 

2,267,717

 

10,505,545

 

1,621,776

 

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

 

To supplement our consolidated financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we also use adjusted net loss, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating loss as additional non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures enable management to assess our operating results without considering the impact of expenses relating to non-cash charges, including depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expenses, impairment loss of the long-term investments, expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu, Inc., expenses relating to other one-off events including the Baidu Transaction, online marketing expenses incurred in connection with the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation, fair value change in warrant liability, and contract termination loss provision recorded as a result of the legal proceedings between eLong, Inc., or eLong, and us. Furthermore, these non-GAAP financial measures eliminate the impact of items that we do not consider to be indicative of the performance of our business.

 

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We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by management to evaluate our operating performance, formulate business plans, and make strategic decisions on capital allocation. We also believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating performance and consolidated results of operations in the same manner as our management and in comparing financial results across accounting periods and to those of our peer companies. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that these non-GAAP measures do not include all items that impact our results of operations for the period. The following table reconciles our adjusted loss, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating loss in the years presented to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2011

 

2012

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Net loss

 

(45,951

)

(91,113

)

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,349,331

)

(1,134,541

)

Add: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share-based compensation expenses 

 

28,454

 

27,206

 

63,707

 

266,370

 

4,782,573

 

738,302

 

Impairment loss of the long-term investments

 

 

 

 

 

39,425

 

6,086

 

Non-cash expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu

 

1,200

 

6,650

 

5,920

 

3,304

 

 

 

Expenses relating to Baidu Transaction

 

6,432

 

 

 

 

 

 

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

 

 

 

699,983

 

37,178

 

5,739

 

Fair Value change in warrant liability

 

 

 

 

 

397,987

 

61,439

 

Contract termination loss provision

 

 

 

 

64,485

 

 

 

Adjusted net loss

 

(9,865

)

(57,257

)

(117,662

)

(812,759

)

(2,092,168

)

(322,975

)

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense

 

5,945

 

15,950

 

41,092

 

17,560

 

22,784

 

3,517

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

6,691

 

16,876

 

22,735

 

52,048

 

112,061

 

17,299

 

Interest expense

 

 

421

 

2,166

 

 

138,626

 

21,400

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

2,771

 

(24,010

)

(51,669

)

(743,151

)

(1,818,697

)

(280,759

)

Operating loss

 

(41,746

)

(75,702

)

(153,480

)

(1,844,804

)

(6,723,220

)

(1,037,886

)

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share-based compensation expenses

 

28,454

 

27,206

 

63,707

 

266,370

 

4,782,573

 

738,302

 

Non-cash expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu

 

1,200

 

6,650

 

5,920

 

3,304

 

 

 

Expenses relating to Baidu Transaction

 

6,432

 

 

 

 

 

 

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

 

 

 

699,983

 

37,178

 

5,739

 

Contract termination loss provision

 

 

 

 

64,485

 

 

 

Adjusted operating loss

 

(5,660

)

(41,846

)

(83,853

)

(810,662

)

(1,903,469

)

(293,845

)

 

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In light of the foregoing limitations for each of the non-GAAP financial measures, when assessing our operating and financial performance, you should not consider adjusted net loss, adjusted EBITDA or adjusted operating loss in isolation or as a substitute for our net loss, operating loss or any other operating performance measure that is calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, because these non-GAAP measures may not be calculated in the same manner by all companies, they may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures used by other companies.

 

Exchange Rate Information

 

Our business is primarily conducted in China and almost all of our revenues are denominated in RMB. Solely for the convenience of the reader, unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB 6.4778 to US$1.00, the exchange rate as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board on December 31, 2015. We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of RMB into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On April 8, 2016, the exchange rate as set forth in the H.10 weekly statistical release by the Federal Reserve was RMB6.4628 to US$1.00.

 

The following table sets forth information concerning the exchange rates in RMB and U.S. dollars for the periods indicated.

 

 

 

RMB per U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate

 

 

 

Average (1)

 

High

 

Low

 

Period End

 

2011

 

6.4475

 

6.6364

 

6.2939

 

6.2939

 

2012

 

6.2990

 

6.3879

 

6.2221

 

6.2301

 

2013

 

6.1478

 

6.2438

 

6.0537

 

6.0537

 

2014

 

6.1620

 

6.2591

 

6.0402

 

6.2046

 

2015

 

6.2827

 

6.4896

 

6.1870

 

6.4778

 

October 2015

 

6.3505

 

6.3591

 

6.3180

 

6.3180

 

November 2015

 

6.3640

 

6.3945

 

6.3180

 

6.3883

 

December 2015

 

6.4491

 

6.4896

 

6.3883

 

6.4778

 

2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2016

 

6.5726

 

6.5932

 

6.5219

 

6.5752

 

February 2016

 

6.5501

 

6.5795

 

6.5154

 

6.5525

 

March 2016

 

6.5027

 

6.5500

 

6.4480

 

6.4480

 

April 2016 (through April 8, 2016)

 

6.4720

 

6.4780

 

6.4599

 

6.4628

 

 


Source: H.10 statistical release of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board

 

(1)          Annual averages were calculated using the average of the exchange rates on the last day of each month during the relevant period. Monthly averages were calculated using the average of the daily rates during the relevant month.

 

B.                 CAPITALIZATION AND INDEBTEDNESS

 

Not applicable.

 

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C.                  REASONS FOR THE OFFER AND USE OF PROCEEDS

 

Not applicable.

 

D.                  RISK FACTORS

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

We have operated at a loss and we may not be profitable in the near future.

 

We have not achieved profitability. We have incurred significant losses in 2015 and may continue to incur significant losses in the future. We may not be able to achieve profitability or avoid net losses in the future. Although our revenues have grown significantly in recent periods, such growth rates may not be sustainable and may decrease in the future. In addition, our ability to become profitable depends on various factors, including our ability to control our costs and expenses which we expect will increase as we expand our business and invest more in product development s, product sourcing and sales and marketing. For example, we have significantly increased our headcount in 2015 relating to our product sourcing and product development efforts and we may incur additional sales and marketing expenses in the future as our business continuously grows.

 

We may further encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown events. If our revenues fail to increase at the rate we anticipate, or if our costs and expenses increase at a more rapid rate than our revenues, we may not be able to achieve profitability and may incur greater losses.

 

If we fail to develop and implement new and updated features and services for our mobile applications to meet market requirements, or if the updated features and services for our mobile application do not gain market popularity, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

 

An increasing number of our users are using smartphones and other mobile devices to access our services. The emergence and improved functionality of mobile platforms has led to increased usage by consumers of standalone mobile applications to search and purchase travel products. If we are unable to offer innovative, user-friendly, feature-rich mobile applications for our travel services, along with effective marketing and advertising, or if our mobile applications are not used by consumers, we could lose market share to existing competitors or new entrants and our future growth and results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

The restraints in functionality, speed and memory of mobile devices may reduce user experience in the use of our services through such devices, and the versions of the mobile applications we develop for these devices may fail to prove attractive to users. Manufacturers or distributors of mobile devices may establish unique technical standards for their devices, and our mobile applications and services may not work or be viewable on these devices as a result. As new mobile devices and technologies continue to emerge, it is difficult to predict the challenges we may encounter in developing or adapting new versions of our mobile applications to these devices and technologies and we may need to devote significant resources to the creation, support and maintenance of such mobile applications. To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our mobile applications. We cannot assure you that we will be able to use new technologies effectively or adapt our mobile applications, website, proprietary technologies and systems to meet customer requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt in a cost-effective and timely manner in response to changing market conditions or customer requirements, whether for technical, legal, financial or other reasons, or if the updated features and services for our mobile application do not gain market popularity, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

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Implementation and execution risks associated with our transitioning into a one-stop mobile and online commerce travel platform may adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

Historically, we enjoyed one of the market leading positions in the travel industry in China with our unique business model as a search-based travel commerce platform.  We are currently transitioning to a mobile and online commerce travel platform which focuses on providing a one-stop solution for our users. Our efforts to execute such transition have required and will continue to require significant efforts and financial resources over an extended period of time. For example, our product development and product sourcing headcount has increased significantly from 2014 to 2015 as a result of our focus on the development of our mobile platform and hotel direct business. While we believe our expertise and investments in technology and our efforts to allocate dedicated personnel in product development and product sourcing provides us with a strong foundation to compete effectively, it is uncertain whether our transition can be successfully implemented or generate the level of revenue we expect. Any execution risks relating to our transition may slow down our growth and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition

 

Our growth may slow down and we may not be able to manage our future growth effectively.

 

We have experienced rapid revenue growth since the commencement of our operations. Our total annual revenues grew by 106.5%, from RMB850.9 million in 2013 to RMB1,756.8 million in 2014 and by 137.4%, to RMB4,171.2 million (US$643.9 million), in 2015. Our active web and mobile users increased from 58.1 million in 2013 to 71.9 million in 2014 to 90.2 million in 2015. While we expect our business to grow, we may not be able to maintain our historical growth rates in future periods. Revenue growth may slow or revenues may decline for any number of reasons, including our inability to attract and retain users, decreased customer spending, increased competition, slowing growth of the overall online travel market, the emergence of alternative business models, changes in government policies or general economic conditions. As the size of our user base continues to increase, we anticipate that the growth rate of our user base may decline over time. We may also lose users for other reasons, such as failure to deliver satisfactory search results or transaction experiences or high quality services. In addition, even if our user base continues to grow, there can be no assurance that our revenues will grow at the same rate or at all. If our growth rates decline, investors’ perceptions of our business and business prospects may be adversely affected.

 

We intend to increase our service offerings to achieve future growth. In doing so, we will need to work with a large number of new travel service providers and efficiently establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with our existing and new travel service providers. To support our growth, we will also need to implement a variety of new and upgraded managerial, operating, financial and human resource systems, procedures and controls. These efforts will place significant strain on our management and resources, and failures to effectively manage our growth will materially and adversely affect our financial condition and business prospects.

 

Competition could adversely affect us.

 

We operate in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving travel industry in China. Our unique business model as a travel commerce platform caused us to maintain a cooperative-competitive relationship with some of our competitors as they are also our travel service providers or even customers. In the online travel sector, we compete primarily with other service providers who also provide online flight and hotel booking services, such as Ctrip.com, or Ctrip, and e-commerce websites, such as the travel channel of Taobao.com. As we entered into the hotel direct business, we are also directly competing with OTAs. We also compete with other travel search providers and traditional travel agencies. Certain current and potential competitors, including OTAs, non-OTA travel service providers, travel channels of general portals, general search engines and e-commerce websites, have a longer history, larger user base, greater brand recognition and significantly greater financial, marketing, personnel, technical and other resources than we have. Intense competition may lead to various unfair competition practices or legal or administrative proceedings brought against us by our competitors. Furthermore, if our competitors merge or consolidate among themselves, we may face increased competition, which could materially and adversely impact our business.

 

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Our non-compete agreements with Baidu in connection with the Baidu Transaction and the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement have expired as a result of the Ctrip Transaction in October 2015.  As a result, should Baidu decide to enter into the same business as ours, our competitive landscape may change and we may face increased competition.

 

Meanwhile, our platforms display and provide links to information from some of our competitors. Certain travel service providers may block our access to their information or make claims against us alleging that we inappropriately used their information. The comprehensiveness of our search results could be impaired if we are denied access to travel product information from these certain travel service providers. In addition, certain travel service providers may leverage their established reputation or relationships to prevent other travel service providers from becoming our customers, which would limit our ability to generate more revenues.

 

Our industry is characterized by relatively low fixed costs. New competitors face low entry barriers. In addition, new and enhanced technologies may help new entrants to compete with us. Smaller companies or new competitors may be acquired by, receive investment from or enter into strategic alliances with well-established and well-financed companies or investors which would help enhance their competitive positions. Some of our competitors may devote greater resources to marketing and promotional campaigns and technological development than us. Furthermore, competition in the PRC online travel industry is intense and from time to time such competition may lead to industry consolidation. If we were to be acquired by or merged with our competitors or other industry players, we may not be able to carry out our strategies as we currently plan and may not be able to realize the value that our shareholders expect us to achieve.

 

We may also face competition from foreign travel services or travel information providers if they enter the China market by partnering with or acquiring our existing competitors. These foreign competitors may leverage their global brand recognition, broad geographical presence and sophisticated technologies to quickly attract Chinese users who seek travel-related information online. These competitors may also be able to devote greater resources than we can to establish and customize their online travel information platform to satisfy changing user demands and market needs.

 

Increased competition could result in reduced user traffic and loss of market share for us. If we do not compete successfully against existing and future competitors, we may lose our leadership position, and our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

 

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If we are unable to attract, train and retain qualified personnel, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our future success depends, to a significant extent, on our ability to attract, train and retain qualified personnel, particularly management, technical engineers and product development personnel, with expertise in the online travel or search industry. Since our industry is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talent, we may not be able to attract or retain qualified staff or other skilled employees that we will need to achieve our strategic objectives. As we are still a relatively young company, our ability to train and integrate new employees into our operations may not meet the growing demands of our business. If we are unable to attract, train and retain qualified personnel, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our business may be disrupted if we lose the service of our senior management team.

 

We announced the appointment of our new chief executive officer, Mr. Zhenyu Chen, our new chief operating officer, Mr. Qiang Zhang, and our new chief financial officer, Mr. Xiaolu Zhu, in January 2016 and the departure of our former chief executive officer and co-founder, Mr. Chenchao (CC) Zhuang, and our former chief financial officer, Ms. Yilu Zhao. While we have taken measures to stabilize our workforce and to continue to properly incentivize our employees, these management changes may result in a degree of disruption to our business.  Our success heavily depends upon the continued services of our senior management team and our business may be disrupted by any further management changes. If one or more of our current senior executive officers were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we might not be able to replace them easily or at all and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If any of our senior executive officers joins a competitor or forms a competing business, we may lose users, travel service providers, know-how and key professionals and staff members. Each of our senior executive officers has entered into an employment agreement with us. However, if any dispute arises between our senior executive officers and us, we may incur substantial costs and expenses enforcing such agreements in China or we may be unable to enforce them at all.

 

If we do not continue to innovate and provide attractive products and services to our users, we may not be able to attract and retain a large and active user base and our financial condition and operating results could suffer.

 

Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain users, which require our continuous innovation to provide features and functions that make our mobile applications and website attractive to users. Participants in the online travel industry are constantly developing new technologies and products and services. If we fail to innovate and improve our technology at a competitive pace, we may lose users to our competitors. Constantly changing user preferences have affected and will continue to affect the online travel industry. We must stay abreast of emerging user preferences and be able to anticipate trends that will appeal to existing and potential users. We have developed products and services, such as itinerary management tools and location-based services, that are relatively new to users and they may not be able to achieve popularity. If we fail to constantly tailor our products and services to accommodate our users’ changing needs and preferences, we may lose users. Decreases in our user traffic would significantly affect our business, resulting in fewer transactions, which would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

 

We may be unable to establish, maintain and deepen relationships with our suppliers and customers .

 

Our ability to attract users to use our mobile platform and website depends in large part on providing a comprehensive set of query results. To do so, we maintain relationships with customers to include their travel product data in our query results. The loss of existing relationships with customers, or an inability to continue to add new ones, may result in search results with incomplete pricing, availability and other information important to our users. This deficiency could reduce users’ confidence in the query results we provide, making us less popular among our users.

 

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With respect to our air ticket information, we currently have supplier relationships with most major domestic airlines in China and certain international airlines operating flights from and to China. However, these airlines may decide not to continue our relationship, or enter into similar arrangements or other relationship with our competitors, which may offer better terms than we do. For example, in January 2016, some domestic airlines suspended their cooperation with us and withdrew their branded sales portals from our website. If we lose any of our airline suppliers, we would be unable to continue to display travel data from such airlines, which would reduce the breadth of our query results. The number of users using our services could decline, making us unattractive to our users and resulting in a loss of revenues and a decline in our operating results.

 

In order to provide high quality search service and comprehensive information about air tickets, we retrieve ticket availability information from China’s sole global distribution systems, or GDS, pursuant to certain contractual arrangements. The GDS may decide to limit the information that they provide to us or even stop working with us due to commercial or other reasons. In addition, our cost to obtain data from the GDS may significantly increase. The loss or deterioration of the relationship with such GDS may affect the comprehensiveness and accuracy of flight information available on our platform or increase our operating costs, which would negatively impact users’ experience or adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Brand name hotels from major hotel chains comprise of a significant portion of the hotel choices offered on our platforms. A loss of any one of these hotel chains as a customer, or a loss of any one of these chains as a provider of travel information to OTAs, could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. As we entered into the hotel direct business by offering consumers hotel products that are sourced directly by us, we will need to maintain and strengthen relationships with over 200,000 independent hotels as our customers and also to attract additional independent hotels. If we fail to attract or maintain those independent hotels as our customers, our growth prospects may be adversely affected.

 

In addition, we will need to maintain and strengthen relationships with our OTAs that are our existing customers and establish new customer relationships with other OTAs and travel service providers to ensure that we have access to a steady supply of travel product information on favorable commercial terms. However, we may not be able to successfully maintain or strengthen the relationships with some of our existing OTA customers. We also cannot assure you that we will be able to identify appropriate OTAs and other travel service providers or enter into arrangements with them on favorable terms, if at all. Moreover, as part of our growth strategy, we plan to further expand our service offerings. If we fail to establish new customer relationships on favorable terms or our new service offerings fail to attract new customers due to any reason, the growth of our business may also be materially and adversely affected.

 

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We may not be able to adequately monitor or ensure the service quality of travel service providers , and increases in user dissatisfaction with travel service providers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Substantial demand has been, and will continue to be, placed on our operational, technological and other resources to ensure that our travel service providers provide high-quality travel products and services to our users on a consistent basis. Certain travel service providers may lack adequate quality control for their travel products and customer service. Although we do not have a legal obligation to ensure the quality of the travel products and services provided by our travel service providers, our reputation, brand and user experience are negatively affected if the travel service providers fail to provide high quality travel products to our users. We have established a user service center with a dedicated team to handle user complaints against travel service providers and to monitor the performance of travel service providers on a regular basis. We also screen our travel service providers by reviewing copies of their requisite licenses and permits prior to including them in our search results. However, we cannot ensure that our travel service providers will not fail to provide quality products and services to our users. Similarly, we cannot ensure that every travel service provider has obtained, and duly maintained, all of the licenses and permits required for them to provide travel products to consumers.

 

Our ability to control the service quality of travel service providers is limited, and the actions we take to monitor and ensure quality products and services from the travel service providers may be inadequate in timely discovering and remedying quality issues, many of which are beyond our control. There have been user complaints against us due to the failure of travel service providers to provide satisfactory travel products or services. If our users are dissatisfied with the travel products and services provided by our travel service providers, they may reduce their use of, or completely forgo, our mobile or website platform, and in certain rare cases, demand refunds from us for their payments to the travel service providers. Increases in user dissatisfaction with travel service providers could reduce our user traffic and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Merger, acquisitions, investments and strategic alliances could result in operating difficulties, dilution and other harmful consequences.

 

We from time to time evaluate and enter into discussions regarding a wide array of potential long-term investments, merger or acquisition transactions. Any transactions that we enter into could be material to our financial condition and results of operations. The process of integrating with another company or integrating an acquired company, business, asset or technology may create unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. The areas where we face risks include:

 

·                   significant costs of identifying and consummating acquisitions;

 

·                   diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to acquisition integration challenges;

 

·                   difficulties in integrating the management, technologies and employees of the acquired businesses;

 

·                   implementation or remediation of controls, procedures and policies at the acquired company;

 

·                   coordination of travel products and services, engineering and sales and marketing functions;

 

·                   retention of employees from the businesses we acquire;

 

·                   liability for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition;

 

·                   potential significant impairment losses related to goodwill and other intangible assets acquired or investments in other businesses;

 

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·                   litigation or other claims in connection with the acquired company;

 

·                   significant expenses in obtaining approvals for the transaction from shareholders and relevant government authorities in China;

 

·                   in the case of overseas acquisitions, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries; and

 

·                   failure to achieve the intended objectives, benefits or revenue-enhancing opportunities.

 

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our future acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or investments, incur unanticipated liabilities and expenses and harm our business generally. If we use our equity securities to pay for acquisitions, we may dilute the value of your ADSs and the underlying Class B ordinary shares. If we borrow funds to finance acquisitions, such debt instruments may contain restrictive covenants that could, among other things, restrict us from distributing dividends. Such acquisitions and investments may also lead to significant amortization expenses related to intangible assets, impairment charges or write-offs.

 

We may in the future enter into strategic alliances with various third parties to further our business purposes from time to time. Strategic alliances with third parties could subject us to a number of risks, including risks associated with sharing proprietary information, non-performance by the counter-party, reputation risk and an increase in expenses incurred in establishing new strategic alliances, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business. To the extent the third parties suffer negative publicity or harm to their reputations from events relating to their business, we may also suffer negative publicity or harm to our reputation by virtue of our association with such third parties.

 

Any rumors and negative publicity about us or our affiliates may adversely affect our brand, public image and reputation, which may seriously harm our ability to attract users, customers, business partners and other market participants, and result in material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and prospects.

 

Our business depends on maintaining the trust of users, customers, business partners and other market participants. Rumors or negative publicity about us, our products and developments, our financial results or our market position, spread through the media, communications among market participants, Internet postings or otherwise, even if factually inaccurate, could adversely damage our brand, public image and reputation, seriously harm our ability to attract users, customers, business partners and other market participants, and result in a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and prospects.

 

Difficulties in developing new service offerings may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to develop and offer new services to satisfy the evolving needs of our users and customers. In 2011 and 2012, we launched travel group-buying services and new hotel promotion services, such as “last-minute sale” promotion. In 2013, we launched New Destination services for mobile users. We also launched designated car services for pickup and drop off to and from airports, train stations and tourist attraction sites as well as other travel-related ground transportation services covering over 360 cities in China as of December 31, 2015.

 

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N ew services we offer and may offer in the future present operating, marketing and regulatory challenges that are different from those we currently encounter. Certain new service offerings, such as our car services business, may be subject to on-going PRC regulatory oversight. In addition, the market for some of these new services, such as the group buying services, is highly competitive due to a number of factors, such as the relatively low barriers to entry, the continued growth of e-commerce in China and the growing acceptance of online shopping by Chinese internet users. If we fail to successfully develop and operate these new services in an increasingly competitive market, we may not be able to capture the growth opportunities associated with these new services or recover the development and marketing costs, and our future results of operations and growth strategies could be materially and adversely affected.

 

We may suffer losses if we are unable to correctly predict the amount of inventory we will need to purchase during the peak holiday seasons.

 

Starting from the fourth quarter of 2014, we began to establish limited merchant business relationships with selected travel service suppliers, particularly for our travel products such as hotels and air tickets in popular destinations and during peak seasons, in order to secure adequate supplies for our users. In such merchant business relationships, we purchase travel products before selling them to our customers and thereby incur inventory risk for any such bookings that remain unsold. If we are unable to correctly predict demand for travel products that we are committed to purchase, we would be responsible for covering the cost of the travel products we are unable to sell, and our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

 

The proper functioning of our platform is essential to our business. Any failure to maintain the satisfactory performance and security of our platform will materially and adversely affect our business operations, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our mobile applications, website and SaaS system are critical to our ability to attract and retain users and provide quality service to our users. Any system interruptions caused by our servers, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, hacking or other attempts to harm our systems that result in the unavailability or slowdown of our mobile platform, website or SaaS system would reduce the number of users visiting our mobile platform and website. Some of the telecommunications carriers have system constraints which can affect our user experience. For example, if a large number of users use the same telecommunications carrier at the same time for services requiring a large amount of data transmission, the users could experience reduced speed or other technical issues due to the carrier’s capacity restraints. Our servers may also be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins, or other potential disruptions, which could lead to interruptions, delays, loss of data or the inability to accept and process user queries. We may also experience interruptions caused by reasons beyond our control such as power outages. Unexpected interruptions could damage our reputation and result in a material decrease in our revenues.

 

In addition, our internet systems, including our mobile applications, website and SaaS system, could contain undetected errors or “bugs” that could adversely affect their performance. We regularly update and enhance our mobile applications, website and other internet systems and introduce new versions of software products and applications. The occurrence of errors in any of these may cause us to lose market share, damage our reputation and brand name and materially and adversely affect our business.

 

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If we fail to adopt new technologies or adapt our platform to changing user requirements, increasing traffic or emerging industry standards, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

 

The online travel industry is subject to rapid technological changes. To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our mobile platform and website. The online travel industry is also characterized by rapid technological changes, changes in user requirements and preferences and the introduction of new travel products and services embodying new technologies that could render our existing technologies and systems obsolete. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to identify, develop, acquire or license leading technologies useful in our business, and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices in a cost-effective and timely way. The development of websites and other proprietary technology entails significant technical and business risks. In addition, the widespread adoption of new internet, networking or telecommunications technologies or other technological changes could require substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our travel products, services or infrastructure. We may not be able to use new technologies effectively or adapt our mobile platform, website, proprietary technologies, transaction-processing systems and management systems to user requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt in a cost-effective and timely manner to changing market conditions or user requirements, whether for technical, legal, financial or other reasons, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

We have a proprietary software system that supports nearly all aspects of our service. Our business may be harmed if we are unable to upgrade our system and infrastructure fast enough to accommodate increasing traffic levels or to avoid obsolescence, or successfully integrate any newly-developed or purchased technology with our existing system. Capacity constraints could cause unanticipated system disruptions, slower response times, poor user experience, impaired quality and speed of reservations and confirmations, and delays in reporting accurate financial and operating information. These factors could cause us to lose users and customers. Additionally, we will continue to upgrade and improve our technology infrastructure to support our business growth. However, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in executing these system upgrades and improvement strategies. In particular, our system may experience interruptions during upgrades, and the new technologies or infrastructures may not be fully integrated with the existing systems on a timely basis or at all. If our existing or future technology infrastructure does not function properly, it could cause system disruptions and slow response times that affect data transmission, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

If the fragmented travel market in China becomes consolidated, our business model may lose value.

 

China’s size and population, imbalanced economic development and differences in consumer behavior across the country have created a highly complex, fragmented and diverse travel market. According to the China National Tourism Administration, there were 26,054, 26,650 and 27,621 travel agencies in China in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. A majority of travel agencies tend to be unaffiliated and small, local office operations. Users must work with a large number of small, independent travel service providers either directly or through a network of OTAs, both of which can be difficult to manage. Such a fragmented travel market has caused difficulties for travelers to obtain comprehensive travel information while creating opportunities and value for our business model as a consolidator of travel information from those travel service providers. If, however, travel service providers start to form alliances, or merge or consolidate among themselves, there will be fewer but larger travel service providers, which would make comprehensive travel information more readily available to users. If that happens, our business model may lose its value, and our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

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We are dependent on the leisure travel industry for a significant portion of our revenues.

 

Historically, revenues from the leisure travel industry accounted for a significant portion of our total revenues. We expect that it will continue to represent a significant portion of our total revenues in the near future. Leisure travel, including leisure airline tickets, hotel room reservations, vacation packages and tours, attraction tickets, among others, is dependent on personal discretionary spending levels. Demand for leisure travel services tends to decline, during general economic downturns and recessions. Although the Chinese leisure travel industry has experienced rapid growth in the past decade. any severe or prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy could reduce expenditures for leisure travel, which in turn may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operation. Furthermore, our business may also be significantly affected by other factors that tend to reduce leisure travel, including increased prices in hotel, air-ticketing, fuel or other travel-related sectors, work stoppages or labor unrest at airlines, increased occurrence of travel-related accidents, outbreaks of contagious diseases, natural disasters and extreme unexpected bad weather. Reduction in our revenue from the leisure travel industry could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and business prospects.

 

We may be unable to maintain or increase our brand awareness and preference.

 

We have developed our user base primarily through word-of-mouth recommendations and have in the past incurred limited brand promotion expenses. We believe that the recognition and reputation of our “Qunar ( 去哪儿 )” brand among our target users and travel service providers have contributed significantly to the growth and success of our business. User awareness, perceived quality and attributes of the “Qunar” brand are important aspects of our efforts to attract users to our mobile platform and website. Maintaining and enhancing our brand are critical to our business and competitiveness. Many factors, some of which are beyond our control, are important to maintaining and enhancing our brand. These factors include our ability to:

 

·                   provide a compelling user experience of online travel searches;

 

·                   maintain the popularity, attractiveness, diversity and quality of the services we offer;

 

·                   increase brand awareness through various means of marketing and brand promotion activities; and

 

·                   preserve our reputation and goodwill in the event of any negative media publicity toward our services, internet security, or other issues affecting us or other online travel businesses in China.

 

Since some of our competitors may have more resources than we do, and can spend more in advertising their brands and services, we may be forced to spend considerable money and other resources to preserve and increase our brand awareness. Should the competition for top-of-mind awareness and brand preference increase among online travel search companies, we may not be able to successfully maintain or enhance the strength of our brand. Even if we are successful in our branding efforts, such efforts may not be cost effective. If we are unable to maintain or enhance user and customer awareness of our brand in a cost effective manner, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

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We are subject to payment-related risks.

 

We enable our users to make and our customers to accept payments through our SaaS system by working with banks as well as various third-party online payment service providers. Because we rely on external parties to provide payment processing services, including processing payments made with credit cards and debit cards, it could disrupt our business if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. We may be subject to human error, fraud and other illegal activities in connection with banks and third-party online payment services.

 

In addition, we allow users to keep small amounts of account balance with us and transfer money to third parties on our SaaS system. We are subject to risks related to user account abuse, human error, fraud and other illegal activities in connection with the user accounts. If our data security systems are breached or compromised, we may lose our ability to keep user account balances, accept credit and debit card payments from our users or process funds transfers, and we may be subject to claims for damages from our users and third parties, all of which could adversely and materially affect our reputation as well as our operating results.

 

Failure to protect confidential information of our users and network against security breaches could damage our reputation and substantially harm our business and results of operations.

 

We acquire personal or confidential information from users. The secure transmission of confidential information (such as users’ itineraries, hotel and other reservation information, credit card numbers and expiration dates, personal information and billing addresses) is essential to maintaining user confidence. Security breaches or cyber-attacks to our system, particularly the SaaS system, whether coming from internal or external sources, could significantly harm our reputation and business and expose us to monetary loss or litigation. In recent years, the risks that we face from cyber-attacks have increased significantly. Some of these attacks may originate from well-organized, highly skilled organizations. Any such attack or system or network disruption could result in a loss of our intellectual property, the release of commercially sensitive information or user, customer or employee personal data or the disruption of services we provide to our users and customers.

 

Although we continuously strengthen our security measures, we cannot assure you that external attacks will not occur in the future or that our existing security measures will prevent security breaches or attacks. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches. Any incident of security breach may affect the accessibility of our mobile platform and website, which could cause us to lose substantial user traffic and transaction volume. The risk of such security breaches is likely to increase as we grow and as the tools and techniques used in these types of attacks become more advanced. Meanwhile, we have limited control or influence over the security policies or measures adopted by third-party providers of online payment services through which our users make payment for transactions completed on our SaaS system. Although we do not believe that we will be held responsible for any illegal activities of third parties, any negative publicity about our platforms’ safety or privacy protection mechanism or policy could have a material and adverse effect on our public image and reputation. If we grant third parties greater access to our technology infrastructure in the future to provide more technology assistance to or other technical cooperation with travel service providers and others, it may be more challenging for us to ensure the security of our SaaS system. Any security breach of our system or compromise of the information security measures of our travel service providers and other third-party service providers could result in negative publicity, damage our reputation, expose us to risk of monetary loss or litigation and even subject us to regulatory penalties and sanctions, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

 

We principally rely on trade secrets to protect our technology and know-how. We have devoted substantial resources to the development of our technology and know-how. In order to protect our technology and know-how, we rely significantly on confidentiality agreements or provisions with our employees, licensees, independent contractors and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information and, in such cases, we would not be able to assert any trade secret rights against such parties. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive position.

 

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our brands and adversely affect our business.

 

We regard our intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark, trade name, copyright, patent, trade secret and anti-unfair competition law, as well as confidentiality and/or license agreements, to protect our proprietary rights. The protection of intellectual property rights in China may not be as effective as that in the United States or other countries. The steps we have taken may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our technology. Reverse engineering, unauthorized copying or other misappropriation of our technologies could enable third parties to benefit from our technologies without paying us. Moreover, unauthorized use of our technology could enable our competitors to offer services that are comparable to or better than ours, which could harm our business and competitive position. From time to time, we may have to enforce our intellectual property rights through litigation. Such litigation may result in substantial costs, diversion of resources and management attention. If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

We have registered domain names for websites that we use in our business, such as qunar.com. If we lose the ability to use the domain name of qunar.com, we would be forced to incur significant expenses to market our services under a new domain name, which could substantially harm our business. In addition, our competitors could attempt to capitalize on our brand recognition by using domain names similar to ours. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain names that infringe on, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of, our brand or our trademarks. Protecting and enforcing our rights in our domain names and determining the rights of others may require litigation, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention.

 

In 2009, Guangzhou Qu Na Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Guangzhou Qu Na, an unaffiliated third party, launched and operated “quna.com”, a “copycat” of our website “qunar.com”. In April 2011, we filed a lawsuit against Guangzhou Qu Na over its unfair competition with the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. In June 2013, Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court issued a judgment largely in our favor, ordering Guangzhou Qu Na to cease using “ ,” “ ,” “ ,” and “quna.com” as its service marks, and cease using and transfer to us the domain names of “quna.com,” “123quna.com,” and “mquna.com.” Guangzhou Qu Na and we each filed an appeal against each other with the Guangdong Higher People’s Court on this judgment. In April 2014, Guangdong Higher People’s Court issued a final judgment which partially overturned the original verdict by ruling that Guangzhou Qu Na may continue to hold and use the domain names of “quna.com”, “123quna.com” and “mquna.com” as long as it ceases using “ ,” “ ,” “ ,” and “quna.com” as its service marks. While we intend to vigorously pursue our legal rights in PRC courts, we may not be able to obtain or enforce favorable rulings in China in a satisfactory manner. “Copycat” mobile applications and websites may misappropriate, dilute, or damage our brand and the functionality of our mobile applications and website and misdirect user traffic from our mobile applications or website, which could adversely affect the growth of our user base. In addition, any measures that we may take to protect our right may require us to expend significant financial or other resources and may divert management attention. Any of these factors may have material adverse effect on our business.

 

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Claims by third parties that we infringe on their intellectual property rights or that our platforms or travel service providers’ web outlets hosted by us contain errors or false or misleading information could lead to government administrative actions and result in significant costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

We cannot be certain that our operations or certain aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We have been in the past, and may be from time to time in the future, subject to legal proceedings, claims or government administrative actions relating to the intellectual property rights of others, including alleged infringement by certain of our technology upon third parties’ patents. For example, our group buying channel may contain pictures that infringe upon the copyrights of third parties, and our platforms may contain other parties’ proprietary information such as hotel reviews. If we are found to have infringed on the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. In addition, we may incur significant expenses and may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merits. Successful infringement or licensing claims made against us may result in significant monetary liabilities and may materially disrupt our business and operations by restricting or prohibiting our use of the intellectual property in question. Moreover, regardless of whether we successfully defend against such claims, we could suffer negative publicity and our reputation could be severely damaged. Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

 

Meanwhile, our platforms and travel service providers’ web outlets hosted by us contain information about hotels, flights, popular vacation destinations and other travel-related topics. It is possible that if any contents accessible on our platforms infringe upon the intellectual property rights of any third parties or contain errors or false or misleading information, third parties or our users could take actions against us for such contents or their use of such contents. Any claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming to defend, result in litigation and divert management’s attention and resources.

 

In addition, user-generated content on our platforms may contain or provide links to information that infringes on the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of third parties or violates applicable rules or regulations in relation to censorship, or we may use the user-generated content in a way that infringes upon the rights of the users or third parties. Our copyright policies and user agreements prohibit users from illegally uploading copyright-protected content to our platforms. However, the above measures may not be sufficient to eliminate the risk of infringing or illegal material being posted or linked to on our plaforms. Claims by third parties or actions taken by the government over infringing or illegal materials hosted or linked to on our platforms could result in significant costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

 

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We may be the subject of unfair competition, harassment, or other detrimental conduct by third parties including complaints to regulatory agencies, negative blog postings and the public dissemination of malicious assessments of our business that could harm our reputation and cause us to lose market share, users and revenues.

 

We have been, and in the future may be, the target of unfair competition, harassment or other detrimental conduct by third parties. For example, in early 2013, we were subject to negative publicity claiming that certain brand-name hotel chains discontinued business relationships with us due to unauthorized discounts offered by our travel service providers, and such negative publicity could for a certain period of time adversely affect our users’ perception of the availability of certain brand-name hotel chains in our search results. Allegations, directly or indirectly against us, may be posted in internet chat-rooms or on blogs or any websites by anyone, whether or not related to us, on an anonymous basis. In addition, such conduct includes complaints, anonymous or otherwise, to regulatory agencies regarding our alleged unfair competition activities in the online travel service sector. We have been, and in the future may continue to be, subject to government or regulatory investigation as a result of such third-party conduct and may be required to expend significant time and incur substantial costs to address such third-party conduct, and we may not be able to conclusively refute each of the allegations within a reasonable period of time, or at all. Our reputation may be negatively affected as a result of the public dissemination of anonymous allegations or malicious statements about our business, which in turn may cause us to lose market share, users, advertisers and revenues.

 

Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements .

 

We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our employees. Such misconduct includes intentional failures to comply with laws, regulations and industry standards, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of conduct applicable to all of our employees, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions. Furthermore, even if no actions are instituted against us for the misconduct of our employees, we may be exposed to negative publicity that may have a material adverse effect as to our business, brand and reputation .

 

We may become the target of antitrust and unfair competition claims , which may result in our being subject to fines as well as constraints on our business

 

As one of the leading mobile and online commerce platforms for the travel industry in China, we may receive close scrutiny from government agencies under PRC antitrust laws, which also provide private rights of action for competitors or users to bring antitrust claims against us. If we do not prevail in any antitrust lawsuits or administrative proceedings initiated against us by private parties or government agencies, we may face confiscation of unlawful gains, heavy fines and various constraints on our business. These constraints may include forced termination of any agreements or arrangements that are determined as in violation of antitrust laws, compulsory disposal of relevant business and limitation on certain operation practices, which may limit our ability to continue to innovate, diminish the appeal of our services and increase our business operation costs. Such constraints may enable our competitors to develop websites, products and services that mimic the functionality of ours, which could result in decreased popularity of our platforms among users. Consequently, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

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As a result of the Ctrip Transaction, Ctrip, one of our competitors, is able to direct to a large extent the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matter submitted to our shareholders for approval.  Under the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, companies undertaking acquisitions or investments in a business must notify the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, in advance of any transaction where the parties’ revenues in the China and global markets exceed certain thresholds and the buyer would obtain control of, or decisive influence over, the target. There are numerous factors MOFCOM considers in determining “control” or “decisive influence,” and, depending on certain criteria, MOFCOM will conduct an anti-monopoly review of all transactions of which it is notified. In light of the uncertainties relating to the interpretation, implementation and enforcement of the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, there is no assurance that Ctrip Transaction would not require a filing for merger review under the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law. If the Ctrip Transaction is found to have violated the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law by not filing a notification of concentration and request for review, the Ctrip Transaction might be subject to constraints, include forced termination of any agreements or arrangements that are determined to be in violation of anti-monopoly laws, required divestitures and limitations on certain business practices.

 

Further, if any of our business cooperation arrangements with Ctrip are determined to have violated the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, we could be subject to sanctions including an order to cease the relevant activities, confiscation of illegal gains and fines of 1% to 10% of our sales revenue from the previous year.

 

Our corporate actions are substantially controlled by our principal shareholders, including Ctrip, who will be able to direct to a large extent the outcome of a large number of shareholder actions in our company.

 

Based on the Schedule 13D filed by Ctrip with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on November 5, 2015, Ctrip held 43.8% of our total outstanding ordinary shares as of March 31, 2016, representing approximately 42.3% of our total voting power. Accordingly, Ctrip is able to direct to a large extent the outcome of major corporate actions that are subject to shareholder approval, including mergers, consolidations, the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions.

 

Ctrip’s voting power may cause transactions to occur that might not be beneficial to you as a holder of ADSs, and may prevent transactions that would be beneficial to you, including transactions in which you as a holder of our ADSs might otherwise receive a premium for your securities over the then-current market price.

 

If our customers choose to reduce or eliminate the fees they pay us, or chose to terminate existing relationships with us, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

We derive revenues primarily from fees paid by our customers, most of whom are our hotel suppliers under the hotel direct programs, and Flight TSPs, including airlines, and to a lesser extent, from display advertisements. We rely on hotel suppliers to provide us with rooms at discounted prices for our hotel direct business. However, we cannot assure you that the hotels participating in our hotel direct business will renew our contracts in the future on favorable terms or terms similar to those we currently have agreed. The hotels participating in our hotel direct business may reduce the commission rates on bookings made through us. In addition, we do not have long-term contracts with most of our Flight TSPs, some of which are major airlines that allow us to book and sell tickets on their behalf and collect commissions on tickets booked and sold through us. In the past, airlines have from time to time reduced their base commission rates on tickets booked and sold through us, which negatively affected our revenues from flight tickets in the relevant periods. We cannot assure you that any of these airlines will continue to have supplier relationships with us or pay us commissions at the same or similar rates as what they paid us in the past. The loss of customer relationships or adverse changes in major business terms with our customers would materially impair our operating results and financial condition.

 

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In addition, our customers and advertisers may not continue to do business with us if their investment does not generate expected businesses and attract consumers, or if we do not deliver their travel product information in our search results in an appropriate and effective manner. Third parties may develop and use certain technologies to block the display of advertisements on our mobile applications or website, which may in turn cause us to lose advertisers. Failure to retain our existing customers and advertisers or to attract new customers and advertisers could seriously harm our business, operating results and growth prospects.

 

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

 

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

 

Allocation of business opportunities. Business opportunities may arise that both we and Ctrip find attractive, and which would complement or expand our respective businesses. Ctrip may decide to take the opportunities itself, which could prevent us from taking advantage of the opportunity ourselves.

 

Developing business relationships with Ctrip ’s competitors. So long as Ctrip remains as our largest shareholder, we may be limited in our ability to do business with its competitors, such as other consolidators of hotel accommodations and flight reservation services or traditional travel agencies in China. This may limit the effectiveness of our business and not be in the best interests of our company and our other shareholders.

 

Employee share exchange program.   Ctrip has agreed to issue approximately 5.1 million ordinary shares to certain special purpose vehicles for the benefit of Qunar employees who agree to exchange their Qunar securities for Ctrip shares.  The employee share exchange program became effective on December 14, 2015 and, as of March 31, 2016, Ctrip ADSs representing approximately 4.1 million Ctrip ordinary shares have been received by Qunar employees as part of this exchange program.  Our employees’ shareholdings in Ctrip may create a conflict of interest to the extent such shareholdings align our employees’ interests more closely with Ctrip instead of us.

 

Our business is sensitive to general economic conditions. A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or Chinese economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition.

 

The rate of economic growth in the PRC has been experiencing a significant slowdown. Although the PRC government has implemented a number of measures to address the slowdown, these measures may not be successful. Any continuing or worsening slowdown could significantly reduce domestic commerce in China, including through the Internet generally and within our ecosystem. Since we derive, and expect to continue to derive, our revenues almost entirely from China, and both the leisure travel market and the advertising industry tend to be cyclical and are particularly sensitive to overall economic conditions, our business and prospects may be affected by economic conditions in China.

 

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In addition, economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. The global financial markets experienced significant disruptions in 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies went into recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and 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.

 

We cannot assure you that reductions in leisure travel spending will not occur, or will not decrease from current levels. A decline in the economic prospects of travelers or advertisers or the economy in general could reduce leisure travels and the needs for our services, and may also alter current or prospective advertisers’ spending priorities. Therefore, any prolonged slowdown in the global or China’s economy may lead to a reduction in both leisure travel activities, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the weak economy could erode investors’ confidence, which constitutes the basis of the credit markets. Renewed financial turmoil affecting the financial markets, banking systems or currency exchange rates may significantly restrict our ability to obtain financing in the capital markets or from financial institutions on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, which could also materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

 

We have no insurance coverage, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.

 

As the insurance industry in China is still in an early stage of development, insurance providers in China currently offer limited business-related insurance products. We do not maintain business interruption insurance, key-man life insurance, or any insurance policies for our properties. Any business disruption, litigation or natural disaster may result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of our resources. Due to our lack of insurance coverage, if we encounter any accident or interruption to our business, key personnel or major properties for any reason, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

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

 

Our business could be materially and adversely affected by natural disasters, including hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, or the outbreak of avian influenza (including H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2 subtypes), severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, or another epidemics. In recent years , the Zika virus broke out in Brazil and other parts of the Americas, and the Ebola virus disease broke out in West Africa, with a number of people having died of or been diagnosed with the disease in other parts of the world such as the United States and Europe. Any of such occurrences could cause severe disruption to normal leisure travel patterns and levels and hence reduce users’ travel interest and their needs for our services. Our operations could also be severely disrupted if our travel service providers or advertisers were affected by such natural disasters or health epidemics. The leisure travel industry is also sensitive to other events beyond our control, such as worker shortages, work stoppages or labor unrest at any of the major airlines, political instability, regional hostilities, increases in fuel prices, imposition of taxes or surcharges by regulatory authorities, travel-related accidents and terrorist attacks, any of which could have an impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Our business could be negatively affected by changes in general search engine algorithms and dynamics or termination of traffic-generating arrangements.

 

Since the third quarter of 2009, we have made significant use of internet search engines, principally through participation in search engine optimization and the purchase of travel-related keywords, to generate traffic to our platforms. Approximately 41% of our web user traffic in 2015 resulted from searches initially entered on general search engine websites, primarily the search service of Baidu. Search engines, such as Baidu and Google, frequently update and change the logic that determines the placement and ordering of results of a user’s search, which may reduce the effectiveness of the keywords we have purchased. If a major search engine, such as Baidu and Google, changes its algorithms in a manner that negatively affects the search engine ranking of our platforms, or changes its pricing, operating or competitive dynamics to our disadvantage, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

We also enter into commercial traffic-generating arrangements with various service providers such as Baidu, Google and Tencent. Approximately 64% of our web user traffic in 2015 was from paid traffic-generating services. Any loss or impairment of one or more of our traffic-generating services or arrangements, especially the ones we have with Baidu, could significantly reduce our user traffic and have a material and adverse impact on our operating results.

 

Our use of “open source” software could adversely affect our ability to offer our services and subject us to possible litigation.

 

We use open source software in connection with our development of technology infrastructure. From time to time, companies that use open source software have faced claims challenging the use of open source software and/or compliance with open source license terms. We could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software, or claiming noncompliance with open source licensing terms. Some open source licenses require users who distribute software containing open source to make available all or part of such software, which in some circumstances could include valuable proprietary code. While we monitor the use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could inadvertently occur, in part because open source license terms are often ambiguous. Any requirement to disclose our proprietary source code or pay damages for breach of contract could be harmful to our business, results of operations or financial condition, and could help our competitors develop travel products and services that are similar to or better than ours.

 

We may need additional capital, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all, or we may lose a significant existing financing source.

 

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 marketing initiatives or investments we may decide to pursue. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to obtain a credit facility or sell additional equity or debt securities. The sale of additional equity securities could result in dilution of our existing 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. It is uncertain whether financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

 

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We issued c onvertible notes in the aggregate amount of US$500 million in June 2015 that bear interest at a rate of 2.0% per annum from the issuance date, payable semiannually on June 17 and December 17 of each year. The notes have a maturity date of June 17, 2021, unless repurchased, redeemed or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date. Each of the initial noteholders have irrevocably waived and relinquished its right to convert the convertible notes held by it and, in January 2016, all of the convertible notes were sold, free of conversion rights, to Ctrip. Ctrip, as the holder of the convertible notes, may require us to repurchase the notes held by it at 100% of the principal amount, plus any accrued and unpaid interest, upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, as defined in the indenture for the notes, include a change in control of our company. The convertible notes will become due and payable in full upon the occurrence of any event of default as defined in the indenture for the notes. If we are required to repurchase the convertible notes prior to their maturity date, we would lose a significant financing source and we may not be able to replace it promptly, or on similar terms, or at all, and our business and result of operations may be adversely affected.

 

The successful operation of our business depends upon the performance and reliability of the Internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China.

 

Our business depends on the performance and reliability of the Internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China. Almost all access to the Internet is maintained through state-owned telecommunications operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC, or the MIIT. In addition, the national networks in China are connected to the Internet through international gateways controlled by the PRC government. These international gateways are the only channels through which a domestic user can connect to the Internet. We rely on this infrastructure, primarily China Telecom and China Unicom, to provide data communications capacity. Although the PRC government has pledged to improve the Internet infrastructure in China as part of its stimulus package introduced in the first quarter of 2009, a more sophisticated internet infrastructure may not develop in China. We, or our users, may not have access to alternative networks in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s internet infrastructure. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with the increasing traffic on our platforms. However, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunications service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and internet services rise significantly, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our user traffic may decline and our business may be harmed. Moreover, if we are not able to renew service agreements with the telecommunications carriers when they expire and are not able to enter into agreements with alternative carriers on commercially reasonable terms or at all, the quality and stability of our services may be adversely affected.

 

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

 

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

 

The MOFCOM published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015, aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations.  The draft Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments. The MOFCOM solicited comments on this draft in 2015, but no new draft has been published since then. As such, substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its enactment timetable, final content, interpretation and implementation. The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects.

 

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Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but “controlled” by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs, whereas an entity set up in a foreign jurisdiction would nonetheless be, upon market entry clearance by the MOFCOM, treated as a PRC domestic investor provided that the entity is “controlled” by PRC entities and/or citizens.  In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding 50% or more of the voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision-making bodies, or having the voting power to exert material influence on the board, the shareholders’ meeting or other equivalent decision-making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. Once an entity is determined to be an FIE, it will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a “negative list,” separately issued by the State Council, if the FIE is engaged in the industry listed in the negative list. Unless the underlying business of the FIE falls within the negative list, which calls for market entry clearance by the MOFCOM, prior approval from the government authorities as mandated by the existing foreign investment legal regime would no longer be required for establishment of the FIE.

 

The VIE structure has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions— Contractual Arrangements With Our Consolidated Variable Interest Entity and Its Shareholders” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.” Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, VIEs that are controlled via contractual arrangement would also be deemed as FIEs if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. Therefore, for any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is on the “negative list,” the VIE structure may be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC companies or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, the VIEs will be treated as FIEs and any operation in the industry category on the “negative list” without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

 

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Based on the Schedule 13D filed by Ctrip with the SEC on November 5, 2015, Ctrip held 43.8% of our total outstanding ordinary shares as of March 31, 2016, representing approximately 42.3% of our total voting power. Therefore, whether we will be considered as ultimately controlled by Chinese parties will rely in large part on whether Ctrip will be considered as ultimately controlled by Chinese parties. However, the draft Foreign Investment Law has not taken a position on what actions shall be taken with respect to the existing companies with a VIE structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties, while it is soliciting comments from the public on this point. The provision of internet content services (except for e-commerce), is subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list” issued. If the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law mandate further actions, such as MOC market entry clearance, to be completed by companies with existing VIE structure like us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all.

 

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

 

If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in internet and other related businesses, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

 

Current PRC laws and regulations place certain restrictions on foreign ownership of companies that engage in internet and other related businesses, including the provision of internet content services. Specifically, foreign ownership in an internet content provider or other value-added telecommunications service provider may not exceed 50%. We are a Cayman Islands corporation and a foreign person under Chinese laws. Due to the foreign ownership restrictions on these businesses, we conduct part of our business through contractual arrangements with our VIE in which we do not own any equity interests. Our VIE and its subsidiaries hold the licenses, approvals and key assets such as our mobile platform and website that are essential for our business operations.

 

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, our current ownership structures, the ownership structure of our wholly-owned subsidiary and our VIE, the contractual arrangements among us, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited, i.e., our WFOE, our VIE and its shareholders are in compliance with all existing Chinese laws, rules and regulations. There are, however, substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future Chinese laws and regulations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that Chinese government authorities will not ultimately take a view contrary to the opinion of our Chinese legal counsel.

 

If we and our VIE and its subsidiaries are found to be in violation of any existing or future Chinese laws or regulations, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including, without limitation, levying fines, restricting our right to collect revenues, confiscating our income or the income of our VIE and its subsidiaries, revoking our business licenses or the business licenses of our VIE and its subsidiaries, requiring us and our affiliated Chinese entities to restructure our ownership structure or operations, and requiring us or our VIE and its subsidiaries to discontinue all or any portion of our internet content provision business. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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We rely on contractual arrangements with our VIE and its shareholders for our China operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership.

 

Since PRC law limits foreign equity ownership in internet and other related business in China, we operate our internet and other related businesses through our VIE and its subsidiaries. We have no equity ownership interest in our VIE or its subsidiaries and rely on contractual arrangements with our VIE to control and operate such businesses. Such contractual arrangements include (i) a restated exclusive technical consulting and services agreement which will continue to be in effect until terminated by the WFOE, (ii) a loan agreement which shall continue indefinitely until such time as (a) our VIE’s shareholders receive a repayment notice from the WFOE and fully repay the loans, or (b) an event of default (as defined therein) occurs unless the WFOE sends a notice indicating otherwise within 15 calendar days after it is aware of such event, (iii) an equity option agreement which will remain effective with respect to each of our VIE’s shareholders until all of his or her equity interest has been transferred or we terminate the agreement unilaterally with 30 days’ prior written notice, (iv) an equity interest pledge agreement which became effective upon registration and will expire when all obligations under the aforementioned loan agreement, equity option agreement and exclusive technical consulting and services agreement have been satisfied, or the pledgor completes a transfer of equity interest pursuant to the aforementioned equity option agreement so that he or she no longer holds any equity interest in our VIE, and (v) powers of attorney which will remain in full force and effect until either of our VIE’s shareholders, as the case may be, no longer holds any equity interest in our VIE. Most of the contractual arrangements are effective until we or the WFOE, in our sole discretion, terminate such contractual arrangement or exercises the rights granted thereunder. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements with Our Consolidated Variable Interest Entity and Its Shareholders” for more details about such contractual arrangements.

 

These contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing control over our VIE and its subsidiaries as direct ownership. For example, our VIE may fail to take actions required for our operations or fail to maintain our mobile platform or website despite its contractual obligation to do so. In addition, we cannot assure you our VIE’s shareholders would always act in our best interests.

 

Any failure by our VIE or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

 

If our VIE or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements of which they are a party, we may incur substantial costs and expend substantial 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 our VIE were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in such VIE to us or our designee when we exercise the equity option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we might have to take legal action to compel them to perform their respective contractual obligations.

 

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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. However, the legal system in the PRC, particularly as it relates to arbitration proceedings, is not as developed as in other jurisdictions, such as the United States. See “—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.” Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a VIE should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. These uncertainties under the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Additionally, 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 could cause additional expenses and delays. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements or we experience significant delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our affiliated entities, our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected and our business and operations could be severely disrupted, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and damage our reputation.

 

Shareholders of our VIE may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may affect the performance and renewal of our contractual arrangements with our VIE and materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

 

Two individuals are the shareholders of our VIE and hold 100% of our VIE’s equity interest. These individuals do not have any employment contract with us, nor do they owe any legal duty to us other than their contractual obligations under the agreements they have entered into in connection with our VIE. We cannot assure you that these individuals will act in our interest should a conflict of interest arise between us and our VIE or Ctrip or that such conflict of interest will be resolved in our favor. If we cannot resolve the conflicts of interest, we would have to resort to legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business.

 

In addition, the shareholders of our VIE may breach or cause our VIE to breach or refuse to renew the existing contractual arrangements that allow us to effectively control our affiliated PRC entities and receive economic benefits from them. There is currently no specific and clear guidance under PRC laws that address any conflict between PRC laws and Cayman Islands laws in respect of any conflict relating to corporate governance.

 

We may lose the ability to use and enjoy assets held by our VIE or its subsidiaries if our VIE or its subsidiaries declare bankruptcy or become subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

 

O ur VIE and its subsidiaries hold assets that are important to our business operations. Our contractual arrangements with our VIE contain terms that specifically obligate the shareholders of our VIE to ensure the valid existence of the VIE and that the VIE may not be voluntarily liquidated. However, in the event the shareholders breach this obligation and voluntarily liquidate the VIE or cause the VIE to liquidate any of its subsidiaries, or the VIE or any of its subsidiaries declares bankruptcy, 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 operations, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, if our VIE or any of its subsidiaries undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, its shareholders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Contractual arrangements we have entered into with our affiliated PRC entities 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.

 

Pursuant to applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We would be subject to adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities were to determine that the contractual arrangements between our WFOE and our VIE were not on an arm’s length basis and therefore constitute a favorable transfer pricing. As a result, the PRC tax authorities could require that our VIE adjust its taxable income upward for PRC tax purposes. Such a pricing adjustment could adversely affect us by: (i) increasing our VIE’ tax expenses without reducing the WFOE’s tax expenses, which could subject our VIE to late payment fees and other penalties for under-payment of taxes; and/or (ii) resulting in our WFOE’s loss of its preferential tax treatment. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on our affiliated PRC entities for underpaid taxes. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our affiliated PRC entities’ tax liabilities increase or if they are found to be subject to late payment fees or other penalties.

 

Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC

 

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

 

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China and substantially all of our revenues are sourced from China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are influenced by economic, political and legal developments in China. Economic reforms begun in the late 1970s have resulted in significant economic growth. However, any economic reform policies or measures in China may from time to time be modified or revised. China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past 20 years, growth has been uneven across different regions and among various economic sectors. The PRC government exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through strategically allocating resources, controlling the payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Since late 2003, the PRC government has implemented a number of measures, such as increasing the People’s Bank of China’s statutory deposit reserve ratio and imposing commercial bank lending guidelines, which have had the effect of slowing the growth of credit availability. In 2008 and 2009, however, in response to the global financial crisis, the PRC government has loosened such requirements. Although the Chinese economy has grown significantly in the past decade, that growth may not continue and any slow-down may have a negative effect on our business. Since 2012, the growth of the Chinese economy has slowed. The overall Chinese economy affects our profitability, since expenditures for travel may decrease in a slowing economy. Any adverse changes in economic conditions in China, in the policies of the Chinese government or in the laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China and investment in the travel industry. Such developments could adversely affect our businesses, lead to reduction in demand for our services and adversely affect our competitive position.

 

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

 

The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value.

 

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 three 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, 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, and which may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of any 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.

 

We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet and other related businesses.

 

We conduct our business primarily through our PRC subsidiary and consolidated affiliated entities in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Our PRC subsidiary is a foreign-invested enterprise and is subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China and, in particular, laws applicable to foreign-invested enterprises.

 

The PRC government extensively regulates the Internet and related industries, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the Internet and other related industries. Internet-related laws and regulations in China are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainty. 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 PRC government regulation of the Internet industry include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

·                   We do not own the mobile platform or websites, due to the restriction of foreign investment in businesses providing value-added telecommunication services in China, including internet content provision services. As a result, we only have contractual control over our mobile platform and websites. This may significantly disrupt our business, subject us to sanctions, compromise the enforceability of related contractual arrangements or have other harmful effects on us.

 

·                   There are uncertainties relating to the regulation of the Internet and other related industries in China, including evolving licensing practices. This means that permits, licenses or operations at some of our operating entities may be subject to challenge or we may have failed to obtain permits or licenses that applicable regulators may deem necessary for our operations or we may not be able to obtain or renew certain permits or licenses to maintain their validity. For example, we are providing mobile applications to mobile device users free of charge and therefore we do not believe that we need to obtain a separate operating license in addition to the valued-added telecommunications business operating licenses for internet content provision service, or the ICP license, which we have already obtained. Although we believe this is in line with the current market practice, there can be no assurance that we will not be required to apply for an operating license for our mobile applications in the future.

 

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·                   New laws and regulations may be promulgated that will regulate internet activities, including the online information and advertising of travel products. If these new laws and regulations are promulgated, additional licenses may be required for our operations. If our operations do not comply with these new regulations at the time they become effective, or if we fail to obtain any licenses required under these new laws and regulations, we could be subject to penalties.

 

On July 13, 2006, the MIIT, the predecessor of which is 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 services 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 telecommunications 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, our VIE and its significant operating subsidiary own the related domain names and trademarks and hold the ICP licenses necessary to conduct our operations and websites in China.

 

The interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies relating to the Internet and other related industries have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of, internet and other related businesses in China, including our business. We cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our business in China or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain any new licenses if required by any new laws or regulations. There are also risks that we may be found to violate the existing or future laws and regulations given the uncertainty and complexity of China’s regulation of the Internet and other related industries.

 

Under PRC law, insurance agency activities are categorized into “principal business” or “sideline business” and the operation of both is subject to obtaining approval from the relevant authorities. Insurance agencies engaged in internet insurance activities are required to fulfill certain criteria mainly relating to registered capital thresholds, the possession of a value-added telecommunications business related permit and a filing with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, or the CIRC. See “Item 4.B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—Regulations on Sideline Insurance Agency.” Although our VIE has obtained a Sideline Insurance Agency license, the applicability of the regulations relating to internet insurance with regard to sideline insurance agencies is unclear and, so far, no official interpretations have been issued with respect to this matter. We have yet to complete the filing with the CIRC in accordance with the CIRC rules. If any official interpretations as to their applicability to sideline insurance agencies are issued, we intend to complete such a filing with the CIRC as failure to do so could result in our being subject to penalties imposed by the CIRC, including the imposition of fines and the revocation of our VIE’s Sideline Insurance Agency license.

 

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Furthermore, under PRC law, a company that sets up a branch to conduct business in a location outside its registered address must register with the local administration for industry and commerce, or local AIC, while a liaison office, which is typically for liaison purpose without direct business operation, is generally not required to register, although local AICs may have different practices. Our WFOE currently has 187 offices outside its registered address, which are solely responsible for market promotion and not sales or operations. Only two of their offices have been registered. If the relevant local AIC deems that any of our liaison offices is actually a branch and thus subject to such registration requirements, we may be subject to penalties for failing to register such entity. These penalties may include fines and disgorgement of gains or revocation of business license of our WFOE, although we believe that, as a matter of practice, the authorities typically impose an extreme penalty only after repeated warnings are ignored or where a violation is blatant and continuous. Because of the discretionary nature of regulatory enforcements in the PRC, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to these penalties as a result of violations of the requirements, or that these penalties would not substantially inhibit our ability to operate our business.

 

If the PRC government were to classify pay-for-p erformance , or P4P services, as a form of online advertising or as part of internet content services, the P4P and other related services conducted by our WFOE may require an ICP license or other licenses, our effective tax rate may increase and we may be subject to sanctions, be required to pay delinquent taxes and become subject to additional obligations to examine the content of our platforms.

 

PRC laws and regulations and administrative authorities currently do not classify P4P services and other related services as a form of online advertising or as part of services requiring an ICP license or other licenses. We conduct our P4P and other related business through our WFOE in the PRC, which does not have the qualification to operate online advertising business or hold an ICP license. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not classify P4P and other related services as a form of online advertising or as part of services requiring an ICP license or other licenses in the future. If new regulations characterize P4P and other related services as a form of online advertising or as part of ICP services requiring an ICP license or other licenses, we may have to conduct our P4P business through our VIE or its subsidiaries, which are qualified to operate online advertising business and hold ICP or other licenses, and our tax liability may increase, given the advertising revenues are subject to a 3% government charge for culture-related business in addition to the 6% value-added tax, or VAT. If the change in classification of P4P and other related services were to be retroactively applied, we may be subject to sanctions, including payment of delinquent taxes and fines. In addition, under PRC advertising laws and regulations, an online advertising service provider is obligated to monitor the advertising content posted on its websites to ensure that such content is fair and accurate and in compliance with applicable law. Therefore, the classification of P4P and other related services as a form of online advertising could subject us to an obligation to examine the content of listings of our P4P customers on our platforms and the associated risks. Any change in the classification of P4P and other related service by the PRC government may significantly disrupt our operations and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

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

 

We are a holding company, and we rely principally on dividends and other distributions on equity from our WFOE in China for our cash requirements, including the funds necessary to service any debt we may incur. Current PRC regulations permit our WFOE in China to pay dividends to us only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our WFOE is required to set aside at least 10% of its respective after tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds until the aggregate amount of such reserve funds reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. At its discretion but in accordance with its articles of association, our WFOE may allocate a discretionary portion of its after-tax profits to staff welfare and bonus funds. Furthermore, if our WFOE incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. As a result, our ability to distribute dividends largely depends on earnings from our WFOE and its ability to pay dividends out of its earnings. We cannot assure you that our WFOE will generate sufficient earnings and cash flows in the near future to pay dividends or otherwise distribute sufficient funds to enable us to meet our obligations, pay interest and expenses or declare dividends.

 

In addition, under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law , or EIT Law, and its implementation rules, distributions of earnings generated by our WFOE after January 1, 2008 and paid to the WFOE’s immediate holding company incorporated in Hong Kong generally will be subject to a withholding tax (unless the PRC tax authorities determine that our Hong Kong subsidiary is a PRC resident enterprise). If certain conditions and requirements under the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income entered into between Hong Kong and the PRC and other related PRC laws and regulations are met, the withholding rate could be reduced from 10% to 5%. In August 2015, the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatments under Tax Treaties, or SAT Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. SAT Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax rate. Instead, non-resident enterprises and their withholding agents may, by self-assessment and upon their confirmation that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-filing examinations by the relevant tax authorities. The immediate holding company of our PRC subsidiary is Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Pursuant to the abovementioned laws and regulations, dividends paid by our WFOE to Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited may be subject to 5% withholding tax if certain conditions and requirements are satisfied.

 

In October 2009, the SAT issued a Circular on How to Interpret and Recognize the “Beneficial Owner” in Tax Treaties, or Circular 601, and certain other related rules. According to Circular 601, non-resident enterprises or individuals that cannot provide valid supporting documents as “beneficial owners” may not be approved to enjoy tax treaty benefits. “Beneficial owners” refer to individuals, enterprises or other organizations that are normally engaged in substantive operations. These rules also set forth certain restrictions on a person’s qualification as a “beneficial owner.” Specifically, the Circular expressly excludes a “conduit company,” or any company established for the purposes of avoiding or reducing tax obligations or transferring or accumulating profits and not engaged in actual operations such as manufacturing, sales or management, from the definition of a “beneficial owner.” As a result, although our WFOE is currently wholly owned by our Hong Kong subsidiary, we may not be able to enjoy the 5% withholding tax rate under the tax treaty with respect to dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiary to our Hong Kong subsidiary, because our Hong Kong subsidiary may not qualify as a beneficial owner of the dividends paid by our PRC subsidiary.

 

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We and/or our Hong Kong subsidiary may be classified as a “PRC resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, which could result in our global income being subject to 25% PRC enterprise income tax.

 

The EIT Law provides that an enterprise established outside China whose “de facto management body” is located in China is considered a “PRC resident enterprise” and will generally be subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate, or EIT rate, on its global income. Under the implementation rules of the EIT Law, “de facto management body” is defined as the organization body that effectively exercises management and control over such aspects as the business operations, personnel, accounting and properties of the enterprise.

 

On April 22, 2009, the SAT released the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Offshore Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or Circular 82, that sets out the standards and procedures for determining whether the “de facto management body” of an enterprise registered outside of the PRC and controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups is located within the PRC. Under Circular 82, a foreign enterprise controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups is considered a PRC resident enterprise if all of the following apply: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of daily operations are located mainly within the PRC; (ii) financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in the PRC; (iii) major assets, accounting books, company seals and minutes and files of board and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept within the PRC; and (iv) at least half of the enterprise’s directors with voting rights or senior management reside within the PRC. Although Circular 82 explicitly provides that the above standards apply to enterprises that are registered outside the PRC and controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, Circular 82 may reflect the SAT’s criteria for determining the tax residence of foreign enterprises in general. We currently do not believe that we are or our Hong Kong subsidiary is a PRC resident enterprise, because we do not believe that we or our Hong Kong subsidiary meet all of the conditions above. If the PRC tax authorities were to disagree with our position, we or our Hong Kong subsidiary may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations and to 25% PRC enterprise income tax on our global taxable income, except for our income from dividends received from our WFOE, which may be exempt from PRC tax. If we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise, the 25% PRC income tax on our global taxable income could affect our ability to satisfy any cash requirements we may have.

 

You may be subject to PRC income tax on dividends from us or on any gain realized on the transfer of our ADSs or Class B ordinary shares.

 

Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, subject to any applicable tax treaty or similar arrangement between the PRC and your jurisdiction of residence that provides for a different income tax arrangement, PRC withholding tax at the rate of 10% is normally applicable to dividends from PRC sources payable to investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, which do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC or which have such establishment or place of business if the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business. Any gain realized on the transfer of American depositary shares or shares by such non-PRC resident enterprise investors is also subject to 10% PRC income tax if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC unless a treaty or similar arrangement otherwise provides. Under the PRC Individual Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, dividends from sources within the PRC paid to foreign individual investors who are not PRC residents are generally subject to a PRC withholding tax at a rate of 20% and gains from PRC sources realized by such investors on the transfer of American depositary shares or shares are generally subject to 20% PRC income tax, in each case subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties and PRC laws. Although substantially all of our business operations are in China, it is unclear whether dividends we pay with respect to our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, or the gain realized from the transfer of our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, would be treated as income derived from sources within the PRC and as a result be subject to PRC income tax if we were considered a PRC resident enterprise, as described above. If PRC income tax were imposed on gains realized on the transfer of our ADSs or Class B ordinary shares or on dividends paid to our non-resident investors, the value of your investment in our ADSs or Class B ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders whose jurisdictions of residence have tax treaties or arrangements with China may not qualify for benefits under such tax treaties or arrangements.

 

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Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business and subject us to liability for information displayed on or linked to our platforms.

 

The PRC government has adopted regulations governing internet access and the distribution of information over the Internet. Under these regulations, internet content providers and internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the Internet content that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the revocation of licenses to provide internet content and other licenses and the closure of the concerned websites. In the past, failure to comply with such requirements has resulted in the closure of certain websites. The website operator may also be held liable for such censored information displayed on or linked to the website.

 

In addition, the MIIT has published regulations that subject website operators to potential liability for content displayed on their websites and the actions of users and others using their systems, including liability for violations of PRC laws prohibiting the dissemination of content deemed to be socially destabilizing. The Ministry of Public Security has the authority to order any local Internet service provider to block any internet website at its sole discretion. From time to time, the Ministry of Public Security has stopped the dissemination over the Internet of information which it believes to be socially destabilizing. The State Administration for the Protection of State Secrets is also authorized to block any website it deems to be leaking State secrets or failing to meet the relevant regulations relating to the protection of State secrets in the dissemination of online information.

 

Although we attempt to monitor the content in our query results and the user-generated reviews and comments on our platforms, we are not able to control or restrict the content of other internet content providers linked to or accessible through our platforms or content (including reviews, as well as pictures and travel experience sharing) generated or placed on our platforms by our users, experts and others. To the extent that PRC regulatory authorities find any content displayed on or linked to our platforms objectionable, they may require us to limit or eliminate the dissemination of such information on our platforms, which may reduce our user traffic and have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, we may be subject to penalties for violations of those regulations arising from information displayed on or linked to our platforms, including a suspension or shutdown of our online operations.

 

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There are substantial uncertainties with respect to the enactment, final content, interpretation and implementation of the Draft Cyber Security Law and how it may impact our business operations.

 

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 including 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.

 

On July 6, 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China released the Draft Cyber Security Law to solicit public comments.  Once adopted, this will be the first Chinese law that focuses exclusively on cyber security. The Draft Cyber Security Law sets high requirements for the operational security of facilities deemed to be part of PRC’s “key information infrastructure facilities,” and includes the integration of national security examinations under certain circumstances. “Key information infrastructure facilities” includes networks and systems owned or managed by network service providers with a significant number of users. The Draft Cyber Security Law provides that key information infrastructure facilities operators must set up specialized internal security management divisions and assign appropriate person(s) responsible for security management. Additionally, these operators must conduct background checks on the person(s) responsible for security management and on personnel in critical positions. It further provides that when operators of key information infrastructure facilities purchase network products or services that may affect or involve national security, the operator must pass a security examination jointly arranged by the national network and information authority and the relevant government departments and the national security examination process under the National Security Law will be triggered. The operators of key information infrastructure facilities must store important data collected and generated, including citizens’ personal information, exclusively within the territory of the People’s Republic of China. The Draft Cyber Security Law also sets increasingly more stringent requirements for network operators. The Draft Cyber Security Law establishes censorship duties for network operators, including digital information distribution service providers and application software download service providers. When these operators notice a prohibited publication, or the transmission of illicit information, they must promptly stop transmitting the information and take measures necessary to prevent the spread of that information. Operators must maintain a record of these incidents when they occur and report them to the competent authorities. The Draft Cyber Security Law empowers certain legal authorities to take measures to cut off any transmission(s) of prohibited information on communication networks. Upon finding prohibited information, those authorities will require that the network operators stop the transmission and take the necessary measures to remove any prohibited content. Where the above prohibited information comes from outside the territory of China, these authorities may request that all related institutions to take necessary measures to stop the flow of prohibited information.

 

There are substantial uncertainties with respect to the enactment timetable, final content, interpretation and implementation of the Draft Cyber Security Law. The Draft Cyber Security Law, if enacted as proposed, could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business.

 

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The heightened scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on our business operations, our acquisition or restructuring strategy or the value of your investment in us.

 

The SAT issued the  Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or SAT Circular 698, in 2009 with retroactive effect from January 1, 2008, whereby a non-resident enterprise that transfers the equity interests of a PRC resident enterprise indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, or the Indirect Transfer, which lacks reasonable business purpose  may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%  from gains derived from such Indirect Transfer. Although the SAT issued the Notice on Several Issues on the Administration of Enterprise Income Tax of Non-PRC Resident Enterprises on March 28, 2011, or SAT circular 24, to provide further clarifications on how Circular 698 and its relevant provisions should be implemented, there remain uncertainties as to how “reasonable commercial purposes” is defined or determined or whether transactions conducted as part of an internal restructuring may be immune to re-characterization. On February 3, 2015, the SAT Notice on the Collection of Corporate Income Tax by Indirect Transfer of Assets by Non-Resident Companies, or SAT Notice 7, was released, which provides clarity as to “reasonable commercial purpose”, and abolishes certain clauses of both Circular 698 and Circular 24. SAT Notice 7 also expands “Indirect Transfer” from equity interests to movable and immovable property in China and provides safe harbor rules for the public trading of shares in a listed company holding taxable China assets and for indirect transfers resulting from a corporate restructuring.

 

SAT Notice 7 also provides that, where an Indirect Transfer occurs, both parties to such Indirect Transfer shall submit the relevant documents to the competent tax authority for tax filling purposes, and enterprise income tax will be payable after the share transfer agreement comes into effect and the registration of the share transfers is completed. Indirect Transfers occurring before SAT Notice 7 but for which tax matters have not been resolved will be governed by SAT Notice 7.

 

SAT Notice 7 is relatively new and there are still uncertainties as to its interpretation and implementation. It brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee of the Indirect Transfer as they are required to make self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to PRC tax and to file or withhold the PRC tax accordingly. Further, the PRC tax authorities have discretion under SAT Circular 698 and SAT Notice 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the equity interests transferred and the cost of investment. We have conducted and may conduct acquisitions involving corporate structures and historically our shares were transferred by certain former shareholders to our current shareholders. We cannot assure you that the PRC tax authorities will not, at their discretion, adjust any capital gains and impose tax return filing obligations on us or require us to provide assistance for the investigation of PRC tax authorities with respect thereto. Any PRC tax imposed on a transfer of our shares or any adjustment of such gains would cause us to incur additional costs and may have a negative impact on the value of your investment in us.

 

Discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments or imposition of any additional taxes could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

China passed the EIT Law and its implementation rules, both of which became effective on January 1, 2008. The EIT Law significantly curtails tax incentives granted to foreign-invested enterprises under the previous laws and regulations. The EIT Law, however, (i) reduces the statutory rate of the enterprise income tax from 33% to 25%, (ii) permits companies established before March 16, 2007 to continue to enjoy their existing tax incentives, adjusted by certain transitional phase-out rules promulgated by the State Council on December 26, 2007, and (iii) introduces new tax incentives, subject to various qualification criteria. The EIT Law and its implementation rules permit certain “high and new technology enterprises strongly supported by the state” that hold independent ownership of core intellectual property to enjoy a preferential enterprise income tax rate of 15% subject to certain new qualification criteria. Our WFOE and VIE were recognized by the relevant authorities as “high and new technology enterprises,” or HNTEs, on December 14, 2009 and were reaffirmed as such pursuant to a three-year review on October 30, 2012 and July21, 2015, and therefore remain eligible for the reduced 15% corporate income tax rate upon their filing with the relevant tax authorities. The qualification as a “high and new technology enterprise” is subject to annual evaluation and a three-year review by the relevant authorities in China. In order to maintain this qualification and the preferential tax rate, our WFOE and VIE must submit a review application to the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission before July 21, 2018. If either our WFOE or our VIE fails to maintain its “high and new technology enterprise” qualifications or renew these qualifications when the relevant term expires, its applicable corporate income tax rate would increase to 25%, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our current effective tax rate in the future.

 

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The PRC government’s pilot plan to replace the business tax with a VAT may require us to pay more taxes.

 

Pursuant to the PRC Provisional Regulations on Business Tax, taxpayers providing taxable services falling under the category of service industry in China are required to pay a business tax at a normal tax rate of 5% of their revenues. In November 2011, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT promulgated the Pilot Plan for Imposition of Value-Added Tax to Replace Business Tax or the VAT pilot plan. Pursuant to this VAT pilot plan and relevant notices issued by the Beijing Municipal Office of SAT, from September 1, 2012, a VAT is imposed to replace the business tax in the transport and shipping industry and some of the modern service industries in Beijing. Under the VAT pilot plan, a VAT rate of 6% applies to certain modern service industries. Our WFOE and most of our affiliated PRC entities are located in Beijing and, since this pilot plan applies to our businesses, we are subject to a VAT rate of 6%, subject to certain offset by the VAT we pay in connection with the purchases from our suppliers. On March 23, 2016, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Notice on Comprehensive Implementation of the Pilot Program for Imposition of Value-Added Tax to Replace Business Tax, or the Notice. Pursuant to the Notice, the VAT reforms will be implemented comprehensively across the country and extended to the construction, real estate, financial and consumer services industries from May 1, 2016. The 6% VAT rate is higher than the business tax rate that previously applied to us and may have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

With respect to display advertising services, we regularly provide such services at a discount to our standard rates, a standard industry practice in the PRC. These discounts are in the form of free advertising elements, of which the duration and other terms of services are specified as part of the advertisement contract. The VAT pilot plan created uncertainties as to whether these free elements should constitute deemed taxable services and therefore should not be treated as discounts to the overall contract arrangements and should be subject to VAT based on the standard rates of services. We currently do not treat such free elements as giving rise to deemed taxable services for VAT purposes. The rules related to the VAT pilot plan are still evolving and the timing of the promulgation of the final tax rules or related interpretation is uncertain. The estimated amount for this contingency up to December 31, 2015 was RMB7.2 million (US$1.1 million).

 

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

 

We may transfer funds to our WFOE or finance our WFOE by means of shareholder loans or capital contributions. Any loans to our WFOE, which is a foreign-invested enterprise, cannot exceed statutory limits based on the difference between the registered capital and the investment amount of such subsidiary, and shall be registered with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, or its local counterparts. Furthermore, any capital contributions we make to our WFOE shall be approved by the MOFCOM or its local counterparts. We may not be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. If we fail to receive such registrations or approvals, our ability to provide loans or capital contributions to our WFOE in a timely manner may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Issues concerning Straightening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, or SAFE Circular 59, on November 9, 2010, which requires the local SAFE branch and banks to closely examine the authenticity of the settlement of net proceeds from offshore offerings and the net proceeds to be settled in the manner described in the offering documents. On March 30, 2015, the SAFE issued the Circular on Reform of the Administrative Rules of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Circular 19 adopts a concept of “discretionary conversion”, which is defined as the conversion of a foreign-invested enterprise’s foreign currency registered capital in accordance with the enterprise’s actual business needs. No review of the purpose of the funds is required at the time of conversion under Circular 19. However, use of any Renminbi funds converted from its registered capital shall be based on true transaction. In addition, equity investments using converted registered capital are no longer prohibited under Circular 19.  Nevertheless, foreign-invested enterprises like our PRC subsidiaries are still not allowed to extend intercompany loans to our VIE. In addition, as SAFE Circular 19 was promulgated recently, there remain substantial uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and implementation of this circular by relevant authorities. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations ¾ Regulations on Foreign Exchange.”

 

Restrictions on the remittance of RMB into and out of the PRC and governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to pay dividends and other obligations, and 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. We receive substantially all of our revenues in RMB and substantially all of our cash inflows and outflows are denominated in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our income is primarily derived from dividend payments from our subsidiaries in China after they receive payments from our VIE under various service and other contractual arrangements. We may convert a portion of our revenues into other currencies to meet our foreign currency obligations, such as payments of dividends declared in respect of our ordinary shares, if any. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our WFOE to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy its foreign currency denominated obligations.

 

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 routine procedural requirements. Therefore, our WFOE is able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior SAFE approval, provided that we comply with certain routine procedural requirements. However, approval from or registration with competent government authorities is required where the 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 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 currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs. Further, there is no assurance that new regulations will not be promulgated in the future that would have the effect of further restricting the remittance of RMB into or out of PRC. Further, there is no assurance that new regulations will not be promulgated in the future that would have the effect of further restricting the remittance of RMB into or out of PRC.

 

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We may be subject to penalties, including restriction on our ability to inject capital into our WFOE and our WFOE’s ability to distribute profits to us, if our PRC resident shareholders or beneficial owners fail to comply with relevant PRC foreign exchange rules.

 

On July 4, 2014, SAFE promulgated the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control of Domestic Residents’ Overseas Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular No. 37, which replaced the former 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 as SAFE Circular No. 75) promulgated by SAFE on October 21, 2005.

 

SAFE Circular No. 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity for the purpose of overseas investment and financing with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, which is referred to in SAFE Circular No. 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” SAFE Circular No. 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as an increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC residents’ share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material events. In the event that a PRC resident holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to complete the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiaries. Furthermore, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls.

 

Currently, all of our shareholders who are PRC residents have registered with the competent local branch of SAFE with respect to their investments in our company as required by SAFE Circular No. 75 and will update their registration filings with SAFE under SAFE Circular No. 37 when there are any changes that should be registered under SAFE Circular No. 37. However, we may not at all times be fully aware or informed of the identities of all of our shareholders or beneficial owners that are required to make such registrations, and if or when we have such shareholders or beneficial owners, we may not always be able to compel them to comply with SAFE Circular No. 37 requirements. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents will at all times comply with, or in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE Circular No. 37 or other related regulations. The failure or inability of such individuals to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrictions on our cross-border investment activities or our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to, or obtain foreign-exchange-dominated loans from, our company, or prevent us from making distributions or paying dividends. As a result, our business operations and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially and adversely affected.

 

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Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for stock ownership plan or stock option plan may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

 

Under SAFE regulations, PRC residents who participate in an employee stock ownership plan or stock option plan in an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with the SAFE or its local branch and complete certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of such overseas publicly-listed company, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of these participants. Such participants must also retain an overseas entrusted institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise or sale of stock options. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or the overseas entrusted institution or other material changes.

 

We and our PRC resident employees who participate in our share incentive plans, which we adopted in 2007 and 2015, have been subject to these regulations since our company became publicly listed in the United States in Nov ember 2013. If we or our PRC resident option grantees fail to comply with these regulations, we or our PRC resident option grantees may be subject to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations ¾ Regulations on Employee Stock Options Plans.”

 

Fluctuation in the value of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on the value of 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. Our revenues and costs are mostly denominated in RMB. We rely entirely on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely 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, an 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.

 

The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar. Under the new policy, the RMB is permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. This change in policy resulted in an over 20% appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. For almost two years after reaching a high against the U.S. dollar in July 2008, however, the RMB traded within a narrow band against the U.S. dollar, remaining within 1% of its July 2008 high. As a consequence, the RMB fluctuated sharply since July 2008 against other freely traded currencies, in tandem with the U.S. dollar. In April 2012, the PRC government announced that it would allow more RMB exchange rate fluctuation. However, it remains unclear how this announcement might be implemented. There remains significant international pressure on the PRC government to adopt a more flexible currency policy, which could result in greater fluctuation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar. From June 2010 to January 2014, the RMB has appreciated against the U.S. dollar from approximately RMB6.82 per U.S. dollar to RMB6.05 per U.S. dollar, reaching a new historical height, followed by the RMB depreciating against the U.S. dollar to RMB6.48 per U.S. dollar on December 31, 2015.

 

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Our revenues and costs are mostly denominated in RMB and a significant portion of our financial assets are also denominated in RMB. We are a holding company and we rely on dividends paid by our operating subsidiaries in China for our cash needs. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect any dividends payable on our ADSs in U.S. dollars. To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we received from our initial public offering into RMB for our operations, 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 our RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.

 

PRC laws and regulations establish more complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

 

PRC laws and regulations, such as the New M&A Rules, Anti-Monopoly Law of the PRC and the Rules of MOFCOM on Implementation of Security Review System of Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated by the MOFCOM in August 2011, or the MOFCOM Security Review Rules, established additional procedures and requirements that are expected to make merger and acquisition activities in China by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change of control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise, or that the approval from MOFCOM be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire affiliated domestic companies. PRC laws and regulations also require certain merger and acquisition transactions to be subject to merger control review or security review.

 

The MOFCOM Security Review Rules are formulated to implement the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Establishing the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated on February 3, 2011, or Circular No. 6. The MOFCOM Security Review Rules came into effect on September 1, 2011 and replaced the Interim Provisions of the MOFCOM on Matters Relating to the Implementation of the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated by MOFCOM in March 2011. According to these circulars and rules, a security review is required for mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors having “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions by which foreign investors may acquire the “de facto control” of domestic enterprises that have “national security” concerns. In addition, when deciding whether a specific merger or acquisition of a domestic enterprise by foreign investors is subject to the security review, the MOFCOM will look into the substance and actual impact of the transaction. The MOFCOM Security Review Rules further prohibit foreign investors from bypassing the security review requirement by structuring transactions through proxies, trusts, indirect investments, leases, loans, control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions.

 

There is no requirement for foreign investors in those mergers and acquisitions transactions already completed prior to the promulgation of Circular No. 6 to submit such transactions to MOFCOM for security review. As we have already obtained “de facto control” over our affiliated PRC entities prior to the effectiveness of these circulars and rules, we do not believe that we are required to submit our existing contractual arrangement to the MOFCOM for security review.

 

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However, as these circulars and rules are relatively new and there is a lack of clear statutory interpretation on the implementation of the same, there is no assurance that the MOFCOM will not apply these national security review-related circulars and rules to the acquisition of equity interest in our WFOE. If we are found to be in violation of the MOFCOM Security Review Rules and other PRC laws and regulations with respect to merger and acquisition activities in China, or fail to obtain any of the required approvals, the relevant regulatory authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including levying fines, confiscating our income, revoking our WFOE’s business or operating licenses and requiring us to restructure or unwind the relevant ownership structure or operations. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, if the business of any target company that we plan to acquire falls into the ambit of security review, we may not be able to successfully acquire such company either by equity or asset acquisition, capital contribution or through any contractual arrangement. We may grow our business in part by acquiring other companies operating in our industry. Complying with the requirements of the relevant regulations to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including approval from MOFCOM, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.

 

We face certain risks relating to the real properties that we lease.

 

We lease real properties from third parties primarily for our office use in the PRC, and we have certain title defects relating to these properties. The premises currently used by our headquarters in Beijing, China, are leased from a third party. The registered uses for such building and its underlying land do not include use by an industrial or commercial company like us. Therefore, the lease of such a property to us shall be subject to approval by the competent government authorities and may be subject to payment of premium fees to the government by the lessor. We cannot ensure that the lessor has completed all or any of the necessary formalities with the relevant governmental authorities.

 

We also lease from third parties certain other real properties, and the title certificates or building ownership certificates for some of those properties have not been provided to us. We cannot assure you that title to these properties we currently lease will not be challenged. In addition, we have not registered any of our lease agreements with relevant PRC governmental authorities as required by PRC law and, although failure to do so does not in itself invalidate the leases, we may not be able to defend these leases against bona fide third parties.

 

As of the date of this annual report, we are not aware of any actions, claims or investigations being contemplated by government authorities with respect to the defects in our leased real properties or any challenges by third parties to our use of these properties. However, if third parties who purport to be property owners or beneficiaries of the mortgaged properties challenge our right to lease these properties, we may not be able to protect our leasehold interest and may be ordered to vacate the affected premises, which could in turn materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

The enforcement of the PRC Labor Contract Law and other labor-related regulations in the PRC may adversely affect our business and our results of operations.

 

On June 29, 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China enacted the Labor Contract Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008 , as amended on December 28, 2012 and effective as of July 1, 2013. The PRC Labor Contract Law introduces specific provisions related to fixed-term employment contracts, part-time employment, probation, consultation with labor union and employee assemblies, employment without a written contract, dismissal of employees, severance, and collective bargaining, which together represent enhanced enforcement of labor laws and regulations. According to the PRC Labor Contract Law, an employer is obliged to sign an unlimited-term labor contract with any employee who has worked for the employer for ten consecutive years. Further, if an employee requests or agrees to renew a fixed-term labor contract that has already been entered into twice consecutively, the resulting contract must have an unlimited term, with certain exceptions. The employer must pay severance to an employee where a labor contract is terminated or expires, with certain exceptions. In addition, the government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the effectiveness of the PRC Labor Contract Law. For example, regulations require that annual leave ranging from five to 15 days be made available to employees and that employees be compensated for any untaken annual leave days at a rate of three times their daily salary, subject to certain exceptions. On October 28, 2010, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the PRC Social Insurance Law, which became effective on July 1, 2011. According to the PRC Social Insurance Law, employees must participate in pension insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance and the employers must, together with their employees or separately, pay the social insurance premiums for such employees.

 

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As a result of these regulations designed to enhance labor protection, we expect our labor costs to increase. In addition, as the interpretation and implementation of these new regulations are still evolving, our employment practice may not at all times be deemed in compliance with the new regulations. If we are subject to severe penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

Our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is not permitted to be subject to inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and as such, investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

 

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issued the audit reports included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and applicable professional standards. Because our auditor is located in China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities, our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is currently not inspected by the PCAOB.

 

Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, and such deficiencies may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of independent registered public accounting firms operating in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures, and to the extent that such inspections might have facilitated improvements in our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, investors may be deprived of such benefits.

 

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Additional remedial measures imposed on the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in our financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

 

In December 2012, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, alleging that these firms had violated U.S. securities laws and the SEC’s rules and regulations thereunder by failing to provide to the SEC the firms’ audit work papers with respect to certain PRC-based companies that are publicly traded in the United States. On January 22, 2014, the administrative law judge, or the ALJ, presiding over the matter rendered an initial decision that each of the firms had violated the SEC’s rules of practice by failing to produce audit workpapers to the SEC. The initial decision censured each of the firms and barred them from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. The Big Four PRC-based accounting firms appealed the ALJ’s initial decision to the SEC. The ALJ’s decision does not take effect unless and until it is endorsed by the SEC. On February 6, 2015, the four China-based accounting firms each agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute and avoid suspension of their ability to practice before the SEC and audit U.S.-listed companies. The settlement required the firms to follow detailed procedures and to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms’ audit documents via the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC. If future document productions fail to meet specified criteria, the SEC retains authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure.

 

We cannot predict if the SEC will further review the four China-based accounting firms’ compliance with specified criteria or if the results of such a review would result in the SEC imposing penalties such as suspensions or restarting the administrative proceedings. If the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were to be ultimately barred from practicing 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 to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to our delisting from NASDAQ or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

 

Risks Related to Our ADSs

 

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to you.

 

The daily closing trading prices of our ADSs ranged from US$27.10 to US$54.78 in 2015. The trading price of our ADSs is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation in market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of other Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings, including internet companies, may affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading price of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices, business practice, 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. Volatility in global capital markets, as was experienced during the recent global financial crisis and the ongoing European debt crisis, could also have an adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs. Furthermore, the securities market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our ADSs.

 

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In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our ADSs may be highly volatile due to specific factors, including the following:

 

·                   actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations;

 

·                   changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

 

·                   negative publicity, studies or reports;

 

·                   changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other companies operating in our industry;

 

·                   announcements by us or our competitors of material acquisitions, corporate transactions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

 

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

 

·                   intellectual property litigation;

 

·                   actual or threatened litigation arising from other reasons including contract disputes with our business partners;

 

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

 

·                   regulatory developments affecting us, our customers and our industry, and

 

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

 

An y of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs will trade.

 

Our quarterly results may fluctuate, making quarterly comparisons and financial forecasting difficult, and could fall below investor expectations or estimates by securities research analysts, which may cause the trading price of our ADSs to decline.

 

Our revenues and operating results have varied significantly from quarter to quarter because our business experiences seasonal fluctuations, which reflect seasonal trends for demand for the travel products searched and advertised on our platform. Traditional leisure travel bookings in China are generally more frequent in the first and third quarter of the year primarily, because during the first quarter, many people travel to reunite with their families for the Chinese New Year holiday, and, during the third quarter, summer break for students, favorable weather throughout China and advance travel booking for the National Day holiday all contribute to an increased amount of travel activities in China. We have seen and expect to continue to see that the most significant quarter-over-quarter growth of our revenues will be earned in the first and third quarters. However, the historical seasonality of our business has been relatively mild due to the rapid growth we have experienced. In addition, advertising spending has historically been cyclical in nature, reflecting overall economic conditions as well as individual travel patterns. As our business is rapidly changing and evolving, which has tended to mask the cyclicality and seasonality of our business, our historical operating results may not be useful to you in predicting our future operating results. As our growth rate slows, the seasonality and cyclicality of our business will become more pronounced and cause our operating results to fluctuate.

 

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A number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our results of operations for future periods to fall below the expectations of public market analysts and investors, causing the market price of our securities to decline. Factors that may affect our quarterly results include, but are not limited to:

 

·                   seasonal variations in operating results;

 

·                   the discretionary nature of our users’ demands and spending patterns;

 

·                   the cyclical nature of advertising spending;

 

·                   competition from our competitors;

 

·                   vulnerability of our business to a general economic downturn in the global economy; and

 

·                   changes in the laws that affect our operations.

 

As a result, investors should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of results of operations as an indication of future performance.

 

Substantial future sales or the perception of sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

 

Sales of substantial amounts of our ordinary shares or ADSs, including those issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the price of our ADSs and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional shares. Such sales may also make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate. As of March 31, 2016, we had an aggregate of 434,347,172 ordinary shares issued and outstanding. All our ordinary shares represented by ADSs were freely transferable by persons other than our directors, executive officers and other affiliates (as that term is defined in the Securities Act) without restriction or additional registration under the Securities Act. The remaining ordinary shares will be available for sale subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act.

 

In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of our ordinary shares issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of our ordinary shares. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to you.

 

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 organized under Cayman Islands law, conduct substantially all of our operations in China and all of our directors and officers reside outside the United States.

 

Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Law (2013 Revision) of the Cayman Islands 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 have a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the U.S. and provide significantly less protection to investors. Therefore, our public shareholders may have more difficulties in protecting their interests in the face of actions by our management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States. As a result, our ability to protect our interests if we are harmed in a manner that would otherwise enable us to sue in a United States federal court may be limited.

 

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We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and conduct substantially all of our operations in China through our WFOE and VIE in China. All 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. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these individuals or to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will generally recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits.

 

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

 

You may not have the same voting rights as the holders of our Class B ordinary shares and must act through the depositary to exercise your rights.

 

H olders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise voting rights attaching to the shares represented by our ADSs on an individual basis, unless he/she converts such ADSs into Class B ordinary shares registered directly in his/her own name. Holders of our ADSs will appoint the depositary or its nominee as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the shares represented by the ADSs. 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. Upon our written request, the depositary will mail to you a shareholder meeting notice which contains, among other things, a statement as to the manner in which your voting instructions may be given, including an express indication that such instructions may be given or deemed given to the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us if no instructions are received by the depositary from you on or before the response date established by the depositary. However, no voting instruction shall be deemed given and no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter as to which we inform the depositary that (i) we do not wish such proxy given, (ii) substantial opposition exists, or (iii) such matter materially and adversely affects the rights of shareholders. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and there may be nothing you can do if the shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

 

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You may be subject to limitations on the sale, deposit, cancellation and transfer of your ADSs.

 

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

 

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

 

If we offer holders of our Class B ordinary shares any rights to subscribe for additional shares or any other rights, the depositary may make these rights available to you. However, the depositary may allow rights that are not distributed or sold to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for them. In addition, U.S. securities laws may restrict the sale, deposit, cancellation and transfer of the ADSs issued after exercise of rights. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act, with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. We can give no assurance that we can establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings as a result.

 

You may lose some or all of the value of the distribution by the depositary if the depositary cannot convert RMB into U.S. dollars on a reasonable basis.

 

The depositary will convert any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the Class B ordinary shares into U.S. dollars, if it can do so on a reasonable basis and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States. If that is not possible or if any approval from any government is needed and cannot be obtained, the depositary is allowed to distribute RMB only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold RMB it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. However, it will not invest RMB and it will not be liable for interest. In addition, if the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert RMB, the ADS holders who have not been paid may lose some or all of the value of the distribution.

 

You may not receive distributions on our Class B ordinary shares or any value for them if such distribution is illegal or impractical or if any required government approval cannot be obtained in order to make such distribution available to you.

 

The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our Class B ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses, although we do not expect to pay dividends in the near future. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class B ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. We have no obligation under the U.S. securities laws to register the ADSs, Class B ordinary shares, rights or other securities distributed through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, Class B ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive the distribution we make on our Class B ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.

 

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Our dual-class share structure with different voting rights give holders of our Class A ordinary shares a disproportionate influence in corporate matters that are put to a shareholder vote, including any potential significant corporate transactions that holders of our Class B ordinary shares and the ADSs may view as beneficial.

 

Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. On all matters subject to shareholders’ vote and put to a vote on a poll, holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to three votes per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share. Our ADSs represent our Class B ordinary shares. In addition, all options granted prior to or to be granted after the completion of our initial public offering entitle option holders to the equivalent number of Class B ordinary shares once the options are vested and exercised. Upon any sale, pledge, transfer, assignment or disposition of a Class A ordinary share by its holder to a person who is not already a holder of Class A ordinary shares and is not an affiliate (as defined in our memorandum and articles of association) of such holder, such Class A ordinary share shall automatically convert into one Class B ordinary share without any actions on the part of the transferor or the transferee. If Class A ordinary shares are transferred by a shareholder to its affiliate, and within six months after such transfer there is a change of beneficial ownership (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of the Class A ordinary shares held by that affiliate, then such Class A ordinary shares will automatically and immediately convert into an equal number of Class B ordinary shares. Class A ordinary shares may be converted into an equal number of Class B ordinary shares at any time at the election of the holder of the Class A ordinary shares. In no event shall Class B ordinary shares be convertible into Class A ordinary shares.

 

As of March 31, 2016 our existing Class A ordinary shareholders collectively own approximately 4.9% of the total voting power represented by our outstanding ordinary shares.  The disparate voting powers attached to these two classes of ordinary shares give holders of our Class A ordinary shares a disproportionate influence in corporate matters that are put to a shareholder vote, including significant corporate transactions such as any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class B ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

 

We have granted, and may continue to grant, employee share options, restricted shares and other types of awards under our share incentive plans, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses.

 

We adopted our 2007 share incentive plan in November 2007, as most recently amended and restated in February 2015, and our 2015 share incentive plan in November 2015.  We are required to account for share-based compensation in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation , which requires a company to recognize, as an expense, the fair value of share options and other equity incentives to employees based on the fair value of equity awards on the date of the grant, with the compensation expense recognized over the period in which the recipient is required to provide service in exchange for the equity award. As of March 31, 2016, options to purchase a total of 17,793,165 Class B ordinary shares were outstanding under our share incentive plans. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, we recorded RMB63.7 million, RMB 266.4 million and RMB 4,782.6 million (US$738.3 million), respectively, in share-based compensation expenses. We believe the granting of share-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract, retain and motivate our management team and talented employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase significantly, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 included in this annual report for a more detailed presentation of accounting for our share-based compensation plan.

 

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W e rely on the foreign private issuer exemption from certain corporate governance requirements under the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules.

 

As a foreign private issuer whose ADSs are listed on the NASDAQ, we are permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices pursuant to exemptions under the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules. A foreign private issuer must disclose in its annual reports filed with the SEC each requirement under the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules with which it does not comply, followed by a description of its applicable home country practice. Our Cayman Islands home country practices may afford less protection to holders of our ADSs. We follow in certain cases our home country practices and rely on certain exemptions provided by the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules to foreign private issuers, including , among others, exemption from the requirement to hold an annual meeting of shareholders no later than one year after an issuer’s fiscal year end, exemptions from the requirement that a board of directors comprised of a majority of independent directors, exemptions from the requirements that an issuer’s nominating and corporate governance committee and compensation committee, each of which should comprised solely of independent directors, and exemptions from the requirement that share incentive plans be approved by shareholders. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—C. Board Practices” and “Item 16G. Corporate Governance” for more information on the significant differences between our corporate governance practices and those followed by U.S. companies under the NASDAQ Rules. As a result of our reliance on the corporate governance exemptions available to foreign private issuers, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of NASDAQ’s corporate governance requirements.

 

Furthermore, because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. public companies, including (i) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act, (ii) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time, and (iii) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. As a result, you may not be provided with the same benefits as a holder of shares of a U.S. issuer.

 

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There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company, or a PFIC, for any taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of our ADSs or Class B ordinary shares.

 

The rules governing passive foreign investment companies, or PFICs, can have adverse effects for U.S. investors for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The tests for determining PFIC status for a taxable year depend upon the relative values of certain categories of assets and the relative amounts of certain kinds of income. Specifically, a non-U.S. corporation will be a PFIC for any taxable year if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income” or (ii) at least 50% of the average quarterly value of its assets consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income (which includes cash).

 

As discussed in “Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations,” we do not believe we were a PFIC for our 2015 taxable year. However, the determination of whether we are a PFIC depends on particular facts and circumstances (such as the valuation of our assets, including goodwill and other intangible assets) and may also be affected by the application of the PFIC rules, which are subject to differing interpretations. The fair market value of our assets is expected to depend, in part, upon (1) the market price of the ADSs, which is likely to fluctuate and (2) the composition of our income and assets from time to time. In addition, it is not entirely clear how the contractual arrangements between us and our VIE will be treated for purposes of the PFIC rules. In light of the foregoing, no assurance can be provided that we are not currently a PFIC or that we will not become a PFIC in any future taxable year.

 

If we were a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. person held an ADS or a Class B ordinary share, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. person, such as ineligibility for reduced tax rates on capital gains or on actual or deemed dividends, interest charges on certain taxes treated as deferred, and additional reporting requirements under U.S. federal income tax laws and Treasury regulations. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

 

Item 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

 

A.                  HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPANY

 

Mr. Frederick Demopoulos, Mr. Chenchao (CC) Zhuang and Mr. Douglas Khoo launched www.qunar.com, which was then registered under Mr. Zhuang’s personal name, in May 2005 to provide online travel search ser vices. In March 2006, our VIE was established in the PRC and commenced operations of online travel search business. In July 2006, Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, or Qunar Cayman, was incorporated in the Cayman Islands.

 

In October 2006, Qunar Cayman established the WFOE, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Co., Ltd., as Qunar Cayman’s wholly foreign-owned enterprise in the PRC. In August 2010, Qunar Cayman set up Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited, or Qunar HK, as its wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong. Through a share transfer agreement between Qunar Cayman and Qunar HK in March 2011, the WFOE became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qunar HK and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Qunar Cayman.

 

PRC laws, regulations and rules currently restrict foreign-invested entities engaging in the operation of internet-related businesses in China. To comply with PRC laws, regulations and rules , we operate our Qunar.com website through our VIE. In October 2006, through the WFOE, we entered into certain contractual arrangements with our VIE and its shareholders through which we obtained effective control over the operations of our VIE.

 

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Since 2006, we have completed various rounds of equity financing. In October 2009, we effected a 10-for-1 share split for all of the shares in our authorized share capital at the time. As a result, the par value of the shares was changed to US$0.001 per share. Unless otherwise noted, all share information and per share data included in this annual report and accompanying financial statements have been adjusted to reflect this share split and change in par value.

 

From 2006 to 2007, we issued and sold a total of 26,513,257 Series A preferred shares to several investors for an aggregate consideration of US$2.5 million. From 2007 to 2009, we issued and sold a total of 24,828,360 Series B preferred shares to a number of investors for an aggregate consideration of US$8.4 million. From 2009 to 2010, we issued and sold a total of 11,750,990 Series C preferred shares for an aggregate consideration of US$14.0 million.

 

In July 2011, we entered into an agreement with Baidu Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary and the investment vehicle of Baidu, Inc., a Cayman Islands company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Pursuant to the agreement, Baidu paid US$306 million to acquire 181,402,116 of our ordinary shares and became our majority shareholder. We continued to operate independently after the transaction. In connection with the Baidu Transaction, we and Baidu also entered into a series of agreements regarding the share conversion and restructuring of arrangement s for our VIE, our business cooperation with Baidu, as well as Baidu’s rights as our shareholder.

 

In March 2013, we issued and sold a total of 21,662,296 ordinary shares to several investors, including Baidu Holdings Limited, for US$57.0 million pursuant to a share purchase agreement. The shares are subject to the investors’ rights agreement (as amended), the voting agreement (as amended) and the transfer of shares agreement (as amended) that we entered into in connection with our transactions with Baidu.

 

In November 2013, we completed an initial public offering of 12,777,650 ADSs (including the ADSs sold in connection with the over-allotment offering), representing 38,332,950 Class B ordinary shares. On November 1, 2013, our ADSs were listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “QUNR.” In conjunction with, and subject to, the completion of the offering, we issued and sold 1,000,000 Class B ordinary shares to Jaguarundi Partners, LLC, or Jaguarundi, a company incorporated in the State of Delaware, in November 2013.

 

In June 2015, we offered 6,842,106 ADSs through a public offering, representing 20,526,318 Class B ordinary shares. We also issued 2.0% senior unsecured convertible notes in the aggregate amount of US$500 million with a conversion price of $55 per ADS in June 2015.

 

In October 2015, Baidu sold 178,702,519 of our Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 of our Class B ordinary shares to Ctrip in exchange for 11,488,381 ordinary shares of Ctrip.

 

In January 2016, the initial holders of our convertible notes irrevocably waived and relinquished their rights to convert the convertible notes held by them and transferred all of the convertible notes held by them, free of conversion rights, to Ctrip.

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 17th Floor, Viva Plaza, Building 18, Yard 29, Suzhou Street, Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 10 5760 3000. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY 1-1104 Cayman Islands.

 

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B.             BUSINESS OVERVIEW

 

Overview

 

We are evolving the way people travel in a world increasingly enabled by technolog y. Qunar means “where to go” in Mandarin Chinese. As one of the leading mobile and online commerce platform for travel in China, we are committed to building a travel ecosystem serving the entire travel industry value chain.

 

The travel industry in China is undergoing rapid growth as the volume of leisure travel increases and demand for travel products grows dramatically. At the same time, the penetration of online travel remains relatively low in China and the industry remains fragmented, which made the distribution of travel products and services inefficient. Consumers want effective means to find the most relevant and best valued travel products among the growing range of potential choices. In addition, they also increasingly seek secure and convenient means to complete travel transactions and receive services online, particularly on mobile devices. On the other hand, many travel service providers lack the resources to efficiently market to travelers and to sell their products online.

 

We address these specific needs of Chinese travelers and travel service providers by efficiently matching industry supply and demand through our proprietary technologies. Our unique value propositions to our users and our customers enable us to create a strong network effect whereby an increasing number of users attract more and better commercial arrangements with travel service providers which, in turn, attracts even more users to our platform. We offer a range of travel products including flights, hotels, vacations packages, attraction tickets and other travel related offerings. The breadth of product selection on our platform provides a one-stop solution for users to purchase travel products across different verticals.

 

Our robust mobile platform enables us to offer an uniquely positive user experience in the travel industry. We have been at the forefront of the mobile shift in the industry and we have observed that mobile users stay active with us for a long period of time. The longer they stay with us, the more frequently they complete transactions on our platform. The behaviors of our mobile users, especially in the mobile era where users prefer to have all transactions completed through one single mobile application, has enabled us to cross-sell many different categories of our travel products. This engaged and loyal mobile user base, combined with our ability to continuously expand our product offerings has enabled us to attract even more active users, increase user engagement and further enhance a virtuous network effect. In 2015, mobile contributed 71% of our total revenue, 51% of our flights tickets sold and 83% of our hotel room nights stayed. These percentage metrics have also been consistently increasing quarter over quarter in 2015.

 

We are a technology-driven company. We have leveraged our technology capabilities to create a number of innovative applications including:

 

·                   Mobile .  We have developed Qunar Travel, our powerful proprietary mobile application to make travel convenient and accessible for China’s fast growing mobile population. Qunar Travel enables our users to search for and purchase travel products with ease, and enables us to deliver timely user and customer services and build a vibrant online travel community.

 

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·                   SaaS .  Launched in 2010, our SaaS system provides an online presence for over 360,000 travel service providers. Our SaaS system provides us direct access to large volumes of travel product data and enables transaction processing within our platform.  The early implementation of our SaaS system has allowed us to transition into the mobile age smoothly by providing the data infrastructure to complete transactions entirely within our own platform and avoiding the technical difficulties of redirecting our users out of our mobile applications to third-party applications or mobile websites.

 

·                   Search . Our search engine provides real-time, comprehensive and accurate travel products information directly sourced from travel service providers and through our SaaS platform.

 

Our proprietary technologies enable us to provide more efficient services and accelerate our network effect. Building upon our technology strength, we strive to provide a comprehensive transaction platform for every Chinese traveler and travel service provider.  Going forward, technology will continue to support the scalable growth of our business through automation while maintaining controlled personnel growth.

 

For our customers, we provide the infrastructure for them to offer travel products and services to Chinese travelers either directly on our platform or through our search results. Our customers include Flight TSPs, airlines, independent hotels, OTAs, insurance service providers and others. With our SaaS system, we help to improve the operating efficiency of the travel industry in China.  The access to travel product data on our SaaS system enhances the quality of our search results and attracts more users to our platform, thereby benefiting our customers.

 

For our users, we offer them an open platform for flight tickets and other travel products, which is integrated with third-party travel service providers along the distribution chain. We also operate a direct hotel network, which was one of the largest in China as of December 31, 2015, focused on all segments of the hotel industry.  Our direct hotel network covered over 350,000 hotels at the end of 2015. We also offer a large selection of over 1,000,000 vacation packages from more than 7,000 suppliers, as of the end of 2015.  By integrating this vast array of travel products into our platform, we are able to offer a comprehensive selection of relevant travel products and a convenient means to complete desired transactions to enhance user experience. Our ability to offer a wide array of products for each of our business lines and within each product category has helped us build a large and active user base and in turn successfully created a vibrant online travel community.

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, our total revenue grew 137.4% year over year. Our revenues were RMB850.9 million, RMB1,756.8 million and RMB4,171.2 million (US$643.9 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. We recorded net losses attributable to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders of RMB187.3 million, RMB1,846.9 million and RMB7,342.7 million (US$1,133.5 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. Excluding certain items such as contract termination loss provision resulted from a one-off event, and non-cash charges, including share-based compensation expenses, non-cash expenses relating to free user traffic contributed by Baidu and online marketing expenses incurred in connection with the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation whose impact we do not consider indicative of the performance of our business, our adjusted net losses were RMB117.7 million, RMB812.8 million and RMB2,092.2 million (US$323.0 million) and adjusted operating losses were RMB83.9 million, RMB810.7 million and RMB1,903.5 million (US$293.8 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

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Our Business Lines

 

Our main lines of business include flight tickets, hotels, vacation packages and attraction tickets. We also offer display advertising, train tickets, car services, tour guides and other services.

 

Our ability to offer travel products across multiple verticals and to satisfy users’ strong preference to complete multiple transactions within a single mobile application is essential to our success and had enabled us to achieve user loyalty and stickiness, which in turn attracts more customers. The competitive take rates w e charge our customers across these multiple verticals enable us to offer our users travel products with attractive prices.

 

Flight tickets

 

Leveraging our proprietary technologies and an open platform, we present our users who shop for flight tickets with comprehensive, accurate, and real-time schedule, pricing and availability information from a great number of Flight TSPs on one centralized, highly interactive user interface on our mobile application and website. Our proprietary flight platform makes the flight ticket information we display to the user more transparent, accurate and up-to-date. Once a user enters an itinerary, our search technology quickly displays price and availability information of matching flights based on information retrieved from GDS providers, various airlines and OTAs. Users can then click a particular result and either complete the flight ticket purchase transaction directly on our platform or be redirected to a Flight TSP’s website for further actions.

 

Our system provides instant confirmation of booking, rescheduling and cancellation for a majority of our flight ticket transactions. We also offer unified payment processing, itinerary printing and other ancillary services to improve our user experience.

 

International flight tickets sales volume through our platform also grew significantly in 2015, with a year-over-year increase of around 100% in transaction volume. For the year of 2015, our total flight ticket volume (including both international and domestic flights) grew 45% compared to 2014.

 

Our total transportation ticket volume, which includes flight tickets , train and bus tickets and other ground transportation, increased by around 76% year-over-year in 2015.

 

Hotels

 

China’s hotel industry is highly fragmented with over 400,000 hotels across China. Other than a few high-end hotel groups and budget hotel chains, the majority of China’s mass market hotels as well as 4- and 5- star hotels are independently operated and managed. Many hotels had very limited or no online presence previously. The overall online penetration of China’s hotel industry is still very low and overall hotel occupancy level is also low. To efficiently match the demand of Chinese travelers with the supply of hotels presents great challenges and great opportunities for us.

 

Hotel direct became the majority of our hotel business in terms of transaction volume and revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014. In our hotel direct program, we have direct commercial relationships with hotels and offer consumers hotel products as an online agent. We developed the infrastructure for our hotel direct business from scratch in 2014. With it, our hotel business has quickly evolved from a meta-search model into primarily a direct model in 2015. Given that most of China’s hundreds of thousands of hotels are independent hotels previously not accessible online, we believe that the hotel direct model is the best way to bridge the needs between hotels and Chinese travelers. With our hotel direct program, many hotels that are previously offline were offered an opportunity to display and distribute their rooms through our mobile and web platform using a centralized and highly interactive user interface. Our mobile platform and SaaS system also enables hotel owners and managers to manage their hotel operation such as confirmation of availability and rescheduling anywhere and anytime via multiple verticals, such as over the phone and through websites, interactive voice response services, short messages or instant messaging services. With a highly efficient product sourcing team assisted by our proprietary CRM system, our direct hotel network now covers over 350,000 hotels as of the end of 2015, and the number continues to increase. Our hotel direct business covers a wide range of hotels from four- and five- star upscale hotels to mass-market hotels to family run and small boutique hotels. We have also entered into alliance agreements with about 40 global hotel chains as of the end of 2015 to further expand our services to cover high-end luxury hotels and the international market. Since the fourth quarter of 2014 and throughout the full year of 2015, we have also started to take limited inventory risk for hotel rooms to ensure supply for our users for certain popular destinations and during peak holiday seasons.

 

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Our hotel platform also covers online hotel room distributors, wholesalers and global hotel OTAs. Our extensive hotel network allows users to review and compare price, availability and other information of hotels from such hotel service providers.

 

We offer different hotel products to consumers, including pay-upon-arrival, prepay, group-buying, last-minute sale, etc. Such diverse choices of hotel products offer our users the opportunity to find the best combination of service and price to satisfy their different travel needs and offer hotels better ways to manage the yields of their room night inventory. We also work with hotels to get guaranteed allotment to ensure the availability and timely confirmation of rooms to our users. Our ability to offer diverse hotel products helps us navigate hotel supply-demand seasonality and capture market share throughout the year. The number of hotel room nights stayed under guaranteed allotments increased from nil in 2013 to accounting for the majority of our total hotel room nights stayed as of the end of 2015 as a result of the expansion of our direct hotel network and our better monitor and management of the supply chain.

 

We publish reviews written by our users and contracted hotel expert reviewers to help consumers making transaction decisions and to foster an online travel community to further promote our services. With an average of over 4,000,000 reviews uploaded in each quarter of 2015, we believe we have one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date user reviews in the industry. With the vast majority of the reviews written by users who finished their stays recently and directly uploaded through their mobile devices, the high quality and timeliness of the reviews on our platform creates transparency and drives hotel-booking volume. As of December 31, 2015, our platform featured over 90,000 hotel expert reviews and over 24 million user generated reviews.

 

Going forward, we will continue to focus on adding more hotels to our network and more products for each hotel, continue to drive more transactions by delivering the best values to our users in the most efficient way. With savings generated from efficiency improvement and integration along the supply chain, and better customer services through our advanced technology, we intend to further drive the rapid expansion of our hotel business.

 

We also offered proprietary hotel property management system, or PMS, services to our hotel partners. Hotel operators can utilize our PMS to automate their business operations, including handling reservations, checking guests in and out, assigning rooms, managing room inventories, accommodating the needs of in-house guests, and handling accounting and billing. The total number of hotel room nights stayed that were reserved through our PMS services reached 15 million in 2015.

 

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For the full year of 2015, our total hotel room nights stayed, excluding property management system volume, grew 102% compared to 2014.

 

Vacation packages and tourist attraction tickets

 

Our vacation package business enables users to find vacation packages offered by local tour agencies and OTAs. Users can search for vacation packages by destination or vacation theme. Once a destination or vacation theme is selected, users can easily refine their vacation package search results by various factors such as date, price range, vacation length, tour guide option, and special features. As part of our efforts to enhance user experience, we provide informative destination guides and travel tips along with the vacation package search results. As of December 31, 2015, our platform featured over one million vacation package products. Our outbound vacation business is also growing rapidly and around 43% of the vacation packages in terms of GMV completed on our platform in 2015 was for outbound trips.

 

We maintained our position as one of the leading players in the vacation package business in 2015, our second full year in this business line. Our total GMV in vacation packages and attraction tickets increased quickly and reached RMB 4.3 billion in 2015. The large number of natural user traffic generated from our more mature flights and hotels business lines presented significant cross-selling opportunities that enabled us to achieve such rapid growth.

 

We announced an equity investment in Travelling Bestone, one of the largest offline B2B vacation packages distribution channels in China, in the first quarter of 2015. Travelling Bestone has over 3,000 franchise stores and points of sales across China. We believe our investment and business cooperation with Travelling Bestone will continue to offer us unique opportunities to further penetrate the offline package tour market in China.

 

For our tourist attraction ticket business, w e launched a designated channel on our mobile and website platform in March 2013 to enable our users to make a variety of purchases for tourist attractions, including entrance tickets and tickets for recreational programs. Through this channel, we strive to provide a convenient, secure and inexpensive means for our users to access travel products at a large number of tourist attractions nationwide and globally.

 

Display advertising services

 

Our display advertising services consist of providing banner and other display advertisements on our platforms. Our display advertising customers include travel service providers as well as domestic and international non-travel-related brands hoping to reach the demographics reflected in our large user base. We exercise discretion in accepting display advertisers so that the displayed contents are compatible with the themes and functions of our platform. We implement advanced data mining of user demographics, search parameters and search history, so as to enable intelligent and efficient deployment of display advertisements.

 

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Other business lines

 

We also offer our users certain other travel products, primarily train tickets, car services and tour guides. We source those travel products through joint efforts of our and our travel service providers’ workforces.

 

Train tickets. We began offering train ticket search service in December 2011. Our users can locate and compare information for purchasing train tickets in a manner similar to searching for flight tickets. We provide added value to users searching for train tickets by presenting information that may be helpful to them, including flight tickets with the same departure and destination locations that are within the same price range as the train ticket, budget hotels near train stations, certain group-buying travel products available at both locations, as well as our proprietary route planning tool if there is no direct route between the starting and the destination stations.

 

Car services. We provide designated car services for pickup and drop off to and from airports, train stations and tourist attraction sites as well as other travel-related ground transportation services. As of December 31, 2015, our car service covered more than 360 cities in China.

 

Tour guides . We provide tour guides and guidebooks for our users, which help our users better plan their itineraries, make advanced preparations, enjoy their trips and share their travel experiences with others. Our tour guides also enable our users to browse on their mobile devices other users’ itineraries as well as popular routes and attraction sites worldwide.

 

Our User Services

 

We provide our users with a comprehensive range of travel products and travel related information in order to deliver the best possible user experience. Our proprietary technologies help our users to search for and purchase travel products easily.  We endeavor to provide reliable service at every stage of the transaction process.

 

When users search for travel products on our platform s, we provide a broad selection of relevant choices to match the individual’s travel criteria and itinerary. To achieve this, each of our business lines is supported by real-time data from our large portfolio of travel service providers. The wide variety of our travel product offering also allows for cross-selling of different products to conveniently satisfy the individual needs of our users.

 

We strive to achieve pricing leadership in our industry and provide greater value to our users. By leveraging our technology we are able to automate our business and enhance efficiency. In addition, our recognized brand in the China travel industry and our large and growing volume of users has enabled us to source products from travel service providers at increasingly competitive prices. As we pass these savings on to our users, we are able to in turn attract even more users to our platform.

 

To ensure that our users are satisfied with the travel products they purchase from us and to improve our users’ experience, we have implemented a number of initiatives to ensure quality and to provide reliable customer service.  We have a rigorous screening process for selecting our travel service providers to ensure quality and reliability prior to offering their products to our users. We also conduct ongoing monitoring and review of all travel service providers through our user service center, which consists of a team of employees dedicated to addressing user complaints and questions on a 24/7 basis. Furthermore, our mobile platform enables our users to book, cancel or reschedule their travel itinerary anywhere and anytime, thereby providing users with greater control over their own transaction process.

 

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“Users Comes First” is our guiding principle. We believe that all the measures we have adopted to enhance our users’ experience has resulted in increasing user loyalty. This is demonstrated by our cohort analysis of our mobile users. Over time, we have observed that mobile users stay active on our platform for a long period of time and they have increasing rates of transactions the longer they stay on our platform. The following table shows the growth of our web users, active web users, mobile users, and active mobile users for the periods indicated.

 

 

 

For the 12-Month Period Ended

 

 

 

December 31,
2013

 

December 31,
2014

 

December 31,
2015

 

 

 

(in millions)

 

Web users

 

234.2

 

282.4

 

171.8

 

Active web users

 

32.9

 

29.7

 

20.6

 

Mobile users

 

53.8

 

99.4

 

131.6

 

Active mobile users

 

25.2

 

42.2

 

69.6

 

 

The following table shows the retention ratio and transaction frequency for our mobile users based on annual cohort, which is the year in which such users first started to use our mobile platform.  Retention ratio is the percentage of users that returned to transact on our mobile platform in subsequent periods after the initial acquisition of such user. Transaction frequency is the average annual number of transactions conducted by our mobile users in subsequent periods after the initial acquisition of such user.

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Retention
Ratio

 

Transaction
Frequency

 

Retention
Ratio

 

Transaction
Frequency

 

Retention
Ratio

 

Transaction
Frequency

 

2012 cohort

 

49

%

6.1

 

46

%

10.9

 

45

%

13.2

 

2013 cohort

 

 

 

51

%

7.4

 

46

%

9.5

 

2014 cohort

 

 

 

 

 

45

%

7.4

 

 

Our Technologies

 

We are a technology-driven company. Our open platform and proprietary technologies and system provide real-time, comprehensive and accurate travel products information directly sourced from travel service providers, connect our users to travel resources in China in an efficient way, and enable us to readily scale our business while at the same time keep our cost and expense structure relatively fixed.

 

Our technologies facilitate user transactions and improve user experience. Our mobile platform enables our users to initiate and complete their travel purchase transactions anywhere and anytime. Our SaaS system hosts hundreds of thousands of independent hotels and other small travel service providers as well as established travel service providers which are willing to, despite having their own online presence, host their products and service offerings on our SaaS system. Our information aggregation, search and extraction capabilities are at the core of our technological competence. Our software engineers, product managers and industry experts collaborate closely to drive our technology and product developments. We strive to provide a one-stop transaction and service platform for every Chinese traveler and to provide the technology backbone for the entire travel industry in China.

 

Our Mobile Platform

 

Our robust mobile platform enables us to drive transactions volume, service our users and our customers and build an online travel community, while effectively managing our own product sourcing efforts with our proprietary mobile CRM system. We offer a wide variety of travel products encompassing flight tickets, hotels, vacation packages and attraction tickets as our main business lines, and within each product category, a broad range of selections. The comprehensive portfolio of travel product choices and significant amount information on our centralized mobile platform allow for effective cross-selling. In addition, the unique identifying characteristics of mobile devices and mobile applications, assisted by our proprietary technologies, allow for personalization of services on our mobile platform.

 

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Mobile has become increasingly important for our business and the numbers of our mobile users and transactions performed on our mobile platform have been rapidly increasing. We started to monetize our mobile platform in June 2012 and attracted 131.6 million mobile users in 2015. Our active mobile users have also grown rapidly from 42.2 million in 2014 to 69.6 million in 2015. Qunar Travel, our proprietary mobile application for smartphones and tablets with iOS, Android and Windows Phone operating systems, powers services across all our business lines.

 

We continue to improve the location-based and personalized product and services offerings on Qunar Travel, such as personalized product ranking based on user’s search and transaction history, push of personalized coupons and promotions, and have optimized many other features to make our mobile user experiences better within the bandwidth constraints and hardware limitations of mobile devices. For example, we believe that price is the preferred sorting criterion for most of our users, and by setting price as the default ranking criterion for search results on Qunar Travel, we save data usage for most of our users. We also reduce picture sizes, compress other data and cache data for more effective transmission to mobile devices.

 

Mobile has become a critical factor driving our sustained and rapid growth. In the full year of 2015, our mobile platform accounted for 71% of our total revenue, an increase of 316% on a year-on-year basis. We are one of the few companies in the China Internet space that have been able to monetize the mobile platform well. In terms of transaction volume, our mobile platform accounted for 54% of total flight tickets and 88% of total hotel room nights stayed for the fourth quarter of 2015.

 

SaaS

 

Airlines, OTAs and major hotel brands usually have their own online presence, from which we directly retrieve information. Most of our other travel service providers, such as independent hotels, local travel agencies and tourist attractions, tend to have limited or no online presence of their own. Our SaaS system enables these travel service providers to set up a functional mobile and online reservation system and improve their services based on our standards. By doing so, we strive to provide a centralized, standardized and popular mobile and online commerce platform for our travel service providers to connect with our large user base through a unified user interface. We also provide a series of illustrative online training programs and centralized technical support to travel service providers who use our SaaS system. We provide our SaaS system and related services only to travel service providers who use our services and we do not charge for our SaaS system and the related services. As of December 31, 2015, we had over 360,000 travel service providers on our SaaS system, among which approximately 350,000 were direct-signed hotels.

 

We decided to develop our SaaS system in 2010 in anticipation of the industry shift from web to mobile. From an user experience standpoint, it is burdensome for a mobile application user to be redirected out of the mobile application to a travel service provider’s separate mobile application or mobile site in order to complete a transaction. With the SaaS system that helps users to complete the entire transaction on our platform, we were able to significantly improve user experience as well as transaction efficiency. Our SaaS system made possible our successful transition from web to mobile.

 

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Our proprietary and highly scalable SaaS system uses distributed software and high-performance parallel computing technologies to support our operations and future expansion. For the thousands of travel service providers on our SaaS system, we optimize their usage of bandwidth and computing capacities, thereby enabling them to deliver consistent, quality services to users. We apply various data compression, storage and retrieval technologies in order to optimize the performance of our SaaS system. We use the most modern technology available to constantly monitor and improve the performance of our SaaS system.

 

Our current SaaS system covers all products and services offered on our mobile platform and has become increasingly dominant in the provision of services to our users. As a result, the vast majority of transactions are completed on our own SaaS platform, rather than by directing the users to our customers’ websites. SaaS system allows us to monitor the entire transaction process and enable better integration of various information from the travel industry supply chain, thus making the entire China travel value chain more efficient. By using our SaaS system, we are able to set our cost-per-click and cost-per-sale pricing based on the information collected from transactions completed on our SaaS system so as to enable our customers to evaluate effectiveness of marketing channels. In the meantime, more accurate data collection and transaction estimation are made possible through our SaaS system.

 

Search technologies

 

Real-Time, Massive Data Search . Our search capabilities are the core of our competitive advantage. We strive to ensure the accuracy, relevance and comprehensiveness of our search results as well as the speedy delivery of information to users. Our technology fulfills the challenging task of searching, retrieving, filtering and prioritizing massive amounts of real-time information stored on tens of thousands of databases and websites, and instantly presenting it to our users in one simple, clean and intuitive interface. In 2015, we processed approximately 5.92 billion web and mobile search queries for flight tickets and hotels. Our real-time, massive data search implements the following advanced technologies:

 

·                   Data caching and indexing . We extract targeted data from other websites through either data feeds or direct scraping of web contents. Our search capabilities include complex data caching and machine-learning technologies. We maintain a data pool of billions of price data points on flight tickets, hotels and other travel products. Each datum in the data pool bears a time stamp. When a user sends a search query, our search engine compares the query with information in the data pool to locate the relevant pricing and availability data. Once matching data are located, our system checks the time stamp to see whether each datum is up-to-date. All of these confirmations happen simultaneously. We apply an intelligent and dynamic “shelf life” analytic algorithm for different data based on various factors such as data source, flight or hotel specifics and booking lead time. This intelligent and dynamic “shelf life” analytic algorithm is based on our constant optimization of data accuracy and search efficiency resulting from billions of search queries. If we decide a datum is not up-to-date, our data extracting software re-extracts the datum from the source immediately to refresh it.

 

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·                   Dynamic data display . Our result-ranking engine, subject to our default ranking policy which prioritizes service quality and price competitiveness, presents the most up-to-date data to the user first, followed by the refreshed data.

 

·                   Data accuracy check . When a user clicks on a desired search result, we direct the user’s click to the web page that supplies the travel product information shown in our search result. In the meantime, our accuracy monitoring software extracts fresh data from that web page again, and compares it against our data pool to check whether the earlier data are still accurate after the lapse of time between the result display and the user’s actual visit to the source website of the data. This double-verification function also enables our accuracy software to evaluate whether our data’s “shelf life” is set up appropriately. This type of automatic monitoring constantly optimizes our data accuracy.

 

Product development s

 

We have an experienced team of over 2,700 engineers and product managers in our product development department as of December 31, 2015, among which a significant portion were dedicated to the development of our mobile technologies and our hotel direct program. Our product development team is centralized in our corporate headquarters in Beijing.

 

Product sourcing

 

We have a dedicated product sourcing team of around 3,000 employees in our destinations business unit as of December 31, 2015, among which a vast majority are dedicated to hotel sourcing for our hotel direct business. Our product sourcing team personnel is located across China.

 

Sales and m arketing

 

We engage in online and offline marketing. We host online and offline marketing campaigns to increase our user traffics. We participate in auction-based online P4P services offered by major search engines to acquire user traffic. We also have dedicated resources in mobile marketing campaigns to increase downloads and activation of our mobile applications including participation in a mobile app store, pre-installation agreements with mobile manufacturers and other promotions through our own mobile applications. We also believe that our user base has grown through “word-of-mouth” recommendations by users who have enjoyed our quality products and services. We continuously improve our user experience as we believe that recommendations by satisfied users make the most effective and cost-efficient marketing.

 

As mobile continues to play a more important role in our business, we have been increasing our marketing expenditure on mobile platforms and started reducing traditional PC search engine marketing (SEM) expenditure. We plan to continue to invest more in mobile channels as mobile becomes our main growth driver. In addition, our technological capability allows us to closely monitor our return on investment, for each of the marketing channels as we continue to add new users and scale our business, especially for our mobile platform.

 

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We launched an offline campaign starting from the second quarter of 2015 to further expand our mobile user base through offline channels. We marketed and promoted Qunar’s mobile services in major travel destinations where we can find large number of offline travel service users, including hotel lobbies, attraction sites and ground transportation portals. We hired temporary employees and interns in 2015 to carry out the campaign. We have also applied a return-on-investment analysis to measure the effectiveness and to control the size of our offline program.

 

Through this campaign, we have attracted millions of previously offline users who have not used our mobile service before. The large number of new mobile users that we added in 2015 was a result of both our online and offline efforts.

 

We also book under sales and marketing expenses the headcount related expenses of our operational staff, including employees for our call center , photographers and editors. As of December 31, 2015, total headcount for these staff, which are located in different offices nationwide, was approximately 2,400.

 

Competition

 

The online travel industry in China is new, rapidly evolving and highly competitive. We compete to attract users to our mobile applications and websites. We also compete to attract travel service providers to participate in our services and enter into other online marketing agreements with us. Due to our unique business model as a travel commerce platform, we maintain a cooperative-competitive relationship with some of our competitors, as they are also our travel service providers or even customers. As we entered into the hotel direct business, local tours, hotel group-buying, attraction tickets, car and other transportation services, we also compete with hotel OTAs nationwide as well as other local service providers. Please see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Competition could adversely affect us” for more details.

 

Competition for Users

 

We compete for user traffic with hotels, airlines, OTAs, general search engines and other travel information websites. Our major competitors include major travel OTAs in China and e-commerce platforms. In addition, we also compete for user traffic with airlines, hotels, OTAs, local service providers and other travel service providers as they are increasingly focusing on attracting users directly to their own platforms.

 

Competition with and for OTAs

 

A s we entered into the hotel direct and other businesses, we began directly competing with OTAs in developing commercial relationships with hotels, and in offering consumers hotel products directly. On the other hand, OTAs are our customers, we also compete for them to become our customers.

 

Competition for Mobile Marketing and Promotional Channels

 

On mobile, we compete with all major players in different travel industry verticals and other e-commerce platforms for application store placement, pre-installation and application downloads.

 

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Intellectual Property

 

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection laws in the PRC and other jurisdictions, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions with our employees and other parties, to protect our intellectual property and our brand. As of March 31, 2016, we have 145 registered trademarks in the PRC and overseas, including “Qunar,” “ 去哪儿 ” “Qunar.com and camel image,” and “Qunar.com 去哪儿 and camel image.” We have 64 software copyright registrations, three logo copyright registrations in the PRC, and 82 domain names including qunar.com as of March 31, 2016. We have also applied for 117 patents and have been granted 18.

 

Government Regulations

 

Regulations on Value-Added Telecommunications Services

 

On September 25, 2000, the State Council promulgated the Telecommunications Regulations, or the Telecom Regulations, which draw a distinction between “basic telecommunication services” and “value-added telecommunication services.” The Telecommunications Regulations were subsequently revised on July 29, 2014. Pursuant to the Telecom Regulations, commercial operators of value-added telecommunications services must first obtain an operating license from MIIT or its provincial-level counterparts. On December 25, 2015, MIIT published the Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services, or the 2015 Catalogue. Under the 2015 Catalogue, which became effective on March 1, 2016, “value-added telecommunication services” is further classified into two sub-categories and ten items. Internet content provision services, or ICP services, is under the second subcategory of value-added telecommunications services, and therefore must satisfy the requirement of obtaining an operating license from MIIT or its provincial-level counterparts.

 

On September 25, 2000, the State Council issued the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, or the Internet Measures, which, in particular, regulate ICP services. According to the Internet Measures, commercial ICP service operators must obtain an ICP license from the relevant government authorities before engaging in any commercial ICP operations within the PRC. In November 2000, the MIIT promulgated the Administrative Measures on Internet Electronic Messaging Services, or the BBS Measures, which require the operator to obtain a special BBS Permit from the local bureau of MIIT prior to engaging in BBS services. BBS services include electronic bulletin boards, electronic forums, message boards and chat rooms. On September 23, 2014, the BBS Measures were repealed by a decision of MIIT, and therefore the operator is currently not required to obtain such special BBS permit for operating BBS services.

 

On December 26, 2001, the MIIT promulgated the Administrative Measures on Telecommunications Business Operating Licenses, or the Telecom License Measures. On March 5, 2009, the MIIT issued an amendment of the Telecom License Measures, which took effect on April 10, 2009. The Telecom License Measures set forth the types of licenses required to operate value-added telecommunications services and the qualifications and procedures for obtaining such licenses. For example, an information services operator providing value-added services in multiple provinces is required to obtain an inter-regional license, whereas an information services operator providing the same services in one province is required to obtain a local license.

 

To comply with these PRC laws and regulations, our VIE holds ICP licenses issued by the Beijing Telecommunications Administration. Moreover, our VIE also possesses an inter-regional Value-Added Telecommunications Services Operating License for provision of value-added telecommunication services nationwide.

 

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Restrictions on Foreign Ownership in Value-Added Telecommunications Services

 

According to the Provisions on Administration of Foreign Invested Telecommunications Enterprises promulgated by the State Council on December 11, 2001 and amended on September 10, 2008, the total foreign equity ownership in a value-added telecommunications service provider must not exceed 50%. Moreover, for a foreign investor to acquire any equity interest in a value-added telecommunications business in China, it must demonstrate a good track record and experience in operating value-added telecommunications services. Foreign investors that meet these requirements must obtain approvals from the MIIT and the MOFCOM or their authorized local branches, and the relevant approval application process usually takes six to nine months. Due to the limitation of foreign investment in value-added telecommunications services companies that provide internet information services, we would be prohibited from acquiring any equity interest in our VIE without diverting management attention and resources. In addition, we believe that our contractual arrangements with our VIE and its individual shareholders provide us with sufficient and effective control over our VIE. Accordingly, we currently do not plan to acquire any equity interest in our VIE.

 

On July 13, 2006, the MIIT issued the Notice of the MIIT on Intensifying the Administration of Foreign Investment in Value-added Telecommunications Services, or the MIIT Notice. The MIIT Notice prohibits domestic telecommunications 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 the MIIT Notice, either the holder of a value-added telecommunications business operating license or its shareholders must legally own the domain names and trademarks used by such license holders in their provision of value-added telecommunications services. The MIIT Notice further 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. In addition, all value-added telecommunications service providers are required to maintain network and Internet security in accordance with the standards set forth in the relevant PRC regulations. If a license holder fails to comply with the requirements in the MIIT Notice and cure such non-compliance, the MIIT or its local counterparts have the discretion to take measures against such license holders, including revoking their value-added telecommunications business operating licenses.

 

To comply with these PRC regulations, we operate our mobile application and websites through our VIE. Our VIE is currently 100% owned by two individuals, both of whom are PRC citizens. Our VIE holds an ICP license, a BBS Permit and an inter-regional Value-Added Telecommunications Services Operating License for provision of value-added telecommunication services nationwide. Our VIE owns the domain name and trademarks related to its operations and the website (qunar.com).

 

If, despite these precautions, the PRC government determines that we do not comply with applicable laws and regulations, it can revoke our business and operating licenses; require us to discontinue or restrict our operations, restrict our right to collect revenues; block our websites; require us to restructure our operations, including possibly the establishment or restructuring of a foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise, re-application for the necessary licenses, or relocation of our businesses, staff and assets; impose additional conditions or requirements with which we may not be able to comply; or take other regulatory or enforcement actions against us. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in internet and other related businesses, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.”

 

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Regulations on Internet Content Services

 

National security considerations are an important factor in the regulation of Internet content in China. The National People’s Congress, the PRC’s national legislature, has enacted laws with respect to maintaining the security of Internet operations and internet content. According to these laws, as well as the Internet Measures, violators may be subject to penalties, including criminal sanctions, for Internet content that:

 

·                   opposes the fundamental principles stated in the PRC Constitution;

 

·                   compromises national security, divulges state secrets, subverts state power or damages national unity;

 

·                   harms the dignity or interests of the state;

 

·                   incites ethnic hatred or racial discrimination or damages inter-ethnic unity;

 

·                   undermines the PRC’s religious policy or propagates heretical teachings or feudal superstitions;

 

·                   disseminates rumors, disturbs social order or disrupts social stability;

 

·                   disseminates obscenity or pornography, encourages gambling, violence, murder or fear or incites the commission of a crime;

 

·                   insults or slanders a third party or infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of a third party; or

 

·                   is otherwise prohibited by law or administrative regulations.

 

ICP service operators are required to monitor their websites. They may not post or disseminate any content that falls within these prohibited categories and must remove any such content from their websites. The PRC government may shut down the websites of ICP license holders that violate any of the above-mentioned content restrictions, order them to suspend their operations, or revoke their ICP licenses.

 

On February 4, 2015, the State Internet Information Office, a governmental agency authorized by the State Council to administer the content of internet information, promulgated the Administrative Provisions on Account Names of Internet Users, or the Account Names Provisions, which became effective as of March 1, 2015. The Account Name Provisions require internet service providers to authenticate registered users’ identity information and to commit to complying with the “seven basic requirements,” including observing the laws and regulations, upholding the socialist regime, protecting state interests and so on, as well as ensuring the authenticity of any information they provide. Relevant internet information service providers are responsible for the protection of users’ privacy, the consistency between user information such as account names and avatars and the requirements contemplated in the Account Names Provisions, making reports to the competent authorities regarding any violation of the Account Names Provisions and taking appropriate measures to stop any such violations, such as notifying the user to make corrections within a specified time and suspending or closing accounts in the event of continue non-compliance.

 

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To comply with these PRC laws and regulations, we have adopted internal procedures to monitor content displayed on our platforms, including a team of employees dedicated to screening and monitoring content uploaded on our platforms and removing inappropriate or infringing content.

 

To the extent that PRC regulatory authorities find any content displayed on or through our platforms objectionable, they may require us to limit or eliminate the dissemination or availability of such content on our platforms s or impose penalties, including the revocation of our operating licenses or the suspension or shutdown of our online operations. In addition, the costs of compliance with these regulations may increase as the volume of content and number of users on our platforms increases. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business and subject us to liability for information displayed on or linked to our platforms.”

 

Regulations on Information Security

 

Internet content in China is also regulated and restricted from a State security point of view. On December 28, 2000, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress enacted a Decision Regarding the Safeguarding of Internet Security, as amended on August 27, 2009, that makes it unlawful to: (i) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive information; (iii) leak state secrets; (iv) spread false commercial information; or (v) infringe intellectual property rights.

 

On December 16, 1997, the Ministry of Public Security promulgated the Administrative Measures for the Security Protection of International Connections to Computer Information Network, prohibiting the use of the Internet in ways that, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or the distribution of socially destabilizing content. Socially destabilizing content includes any content that incites defiance or violations of PRC laws or regulations or subversion of the PRC government or its political system, spreads socially-disruptive rumors or involves cult activities, superstition, obscenities, pornography, gambling or violence. State secrets are defined broadly to include information concerning PRC’s national defense affairs, state affairs and other matters as determined by the PRC authorities.

 

On December 13, 2005, the Ministry of Public Security promulgated Provisions on Technological Measures for Internet Security Protection, or the Internet Protection Measures. The Internet Protection Measures require all ICP operators to keep records of certain information about their users (including user registration information, log-in and log-out times, IP addresses, content and time of posts by users) for at least 60 days and to submit the above information as required by laws and regulations. The ICP operators must regularly update information security systems for their websites with local public security authorities, and must also report any instances of public dissemination of prohibited content. If an ICP operator violates these measures, the PRC government may revoke its ICP license and shut down its websites.

 

In addition, the State Secrecy Bureau has issued provisions authorizing the blocking of access to any website it deems to be leaking state secrets or failing to comply with the relevant legislation regarding the protection of state secrets.

 

Because our VIE is an ICP operator, it is subject to laws and regulations relating to information security. To comply with these laws and regulations, our VIE has completed the mandatory security filing procedures with local public security authorities. We regularly update our information security and content-filtering systems based on any newly-issued content restrictions and maintain records of user information as required by relevant laws and regulations. We have also taken measures to delete or remove links to content that, to our knowledge, contains information that violates PRC laws and regulations.

 

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If, despite the precautions, we fail to identify and prevent illegal or inappropriate content from being displayed on or through our platforms, we may be subject to liability. In addition, these laws and regulations are subject to interpretation by the relevant authorities and it may not be possible to determine in all cases what content could result in liability. To the extent that PRC regulatory authorities find any content displayed on or through our platforms objectionable, they may require us to limit or eliminate the dissemination or availability of such content or impose penalties, including the revocation of our operating licenses or the suspension or shutdown of our online operations. In addition, the costs of compliance with these regulations may increase as the volume of content and users on our platforms increase. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business and subject us to liability for information displayed on or linked to our platforms.”

 

Regulations on Internet Privacy

 

The PRC Constitution states that PRC law protects the freedom and privacy of communications of citizens and prohibits infringement of such rights. In recent years, PRC government authorities have enacted legislation on internet use to protect personal information from any unauthorized disclosure. The PRC law does not prohibit ICP operators from collecting and analyzing personal information from their users. However, the Internet Measures prohibit an ICP operator from insulting or slandering a third party or infringing the lawful rights and interests of a third party. On December 29, 2011, the MIIT promulgated the Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services, effective as of March 15, 2012. With regard to users’ personal data, it stipulates that ICP operators must not, without user consent, collect user information that can be used alone or in combination with other information to identify the user, or User Personal Information, and may not provide any such information to third parties without prior user consent. ICP operators may only collect User Personal Information necessary to provide their services and must expressly inform the users of the method, content and purpose of the collection and processing of such User Personal Information. In addition, an ICP operator may only use such User Personal Information for the stated purposes under the ICP operator’s scope of service. ICP operators are also required to ensure the proper security of User Personal Information and to take immediate remedial measures if User Personal Information is suspected to have been disclosed. If the consequences of any such disclosure are expected to be serious, ICP operators must immediately report the incident to the telecommunications regulatory authority and cooperate with the authorities in their investigations.

 

On December 28, 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the PRC issued the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Online Information, or the Decision. Most requirements under the Decision that are relevant to ICP operators are consistent with the requirements already established under the MIIT Provisions, as discussed above, though often more strict and broad. Under the Decision, if an ICP operator wishes to collect or use personal electronic information, it must do so in a legal and appropriate manner and may do so only if it is necessary for the services it provides. It must disclose the purpose, method and scope of any such collection or use and must seek consent from the relevant individuals. ICP operators are also required to publish their policies relating to information collection and use, to keep such information strictly confidential and to take technological and other measures to ensure the safety of such information. ICP operators are further prohibited from divulging, distorting or destroying any such personal electronic information or selling or providing such information to other parties. The Decision also requires that ICP operators providing information publishing services must collect from users their personal identification information, for registration. In very broad terms, the Decision provides that violators may face warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, license revocations, filing cancellations and website closures.

 

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On July 16, 2013, MIIT issued the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information, or the Order. Most requirements under the Order that are relevant to ICP operators are consistent with the requirements already established under the MIIT provisions as discussed above. Under the Order, these requirements are often more strict and have a wider scope. If an ICP operator wishes to collect or use personal information, it may do so only if such collection is necessary for the services it provides. Further, it must disclose to its users the purpose, method and scope of any such collection or use and must obtain consent from its users whose information is being collected or used. ICP operators are also required to establish and publish their rules relating to personal information collection or use, keep any collected information strictly confidential and take technological and other measures to maintain the security of such information. ICP operators are required to cease any collection or use of the user’s personal information and de-register the relevant user account when a given user stops using the relevant internet service. ICP operators are further prohibited from divulging, distorting or destroying any such personal information, or selling or providing such information unlawfully to other parties. In addition, if an ICP operator appoints an agent to undertake any marketing and technical services that involve the collection or use of personal information, the ICP operator is still required to supervise and manage the protection of the information. As to penalties, in very broad terms, the Order states that violators may face warnings, fines, disclosure to the public and, in the most severe cases, criminal liability.

 

To comply with these laws and regulations, we require our users to accept terms of services under which they agree to provide certain personal information to us, to have established information security systems protect user privacy and to have such information filed with the MIIT or its local branch as required. If our ICP operators violate PRC laws in this regard, the MIIT or its local bureaus may impose penalties and the ICP operators may be liable for damages caused to their users. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Failure to protect confidential information of our users and network against security breaches could damage our reputation and substantially harm our business and results of operations.”

 

Regulations on Air-ticketing

 

The air-ticketing business is subject to the supervision of the China Aviation Transportation Association, or CATA, and its regional branches. Currently the principal regulations governing air-ticketing agencies in China are the Rules on Certification of Qualification for Civil Aviation Transport Sales Agencies (2006), issued by the CATA, which became effective on March 31, 2006 and revised on April 15, 2015. Under these rules, any company acting as an air-ticketing sale agency must obtain approval from the CATA. In addition, CATA issued the Supplementary Rules Regarding Sales via the Internet in 2008. These Supplementary Rules provide that, effective as of June 1, 2008, if an air-ticketing sales agency would like to engage in sales via the Internet, it must obtain an ICP license from the local counterpart of the MIIT and must complete a commercial website registration with the AIC. On April 15, 2015, the CATA issued Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Civil Aviation Transport Sales Agency Enterprises (for Trial Implementation), effective as of April 15, 2015. These measures set forth principles and rules, supervision mechanisms and applicable punitive measures for civil aviation transport sales agency enterprises. On April 15, 2015, the CATA issued the Administrative Rules on Air Ticket Online Sales (for Trial Implementation), or the Online Sales Rules, effective as of April 15, 2015. The Online Sales Rules require an air-ticketing online sales agency to conduct filings with the CATA; agencies already engaged in the online sales businesses shall conduct filings with the CATA within one month from the Online Sales Rules taking effect.

 

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W e rely on Flight TSPs to provide travel products and services to our users. Although we request that Flight TSPs provide their licenses or permits to us before entering into agreements with them, we cannot ensure that every Flight TSP that is engaged in the air ticketing sales agency service obtained, and maintained, all necessary permits, or that it has conducted filings with the CATA as required. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to adequately monitor or ensure the service quality of our travel service providers and increases in user dissatisfaction with our travel service providers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.”

 

Regulations on Hotel Operation

 

In November 1987, the Ministry of Public Security issued the Measures for the Control of Security in the Hotel Industry, and in June 2004, the State Council promulgated the Decision of the State Council on Establishing Administrative License for the Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary to Be Retained. Under these two regulations, anyone who applies to operate a hotel is subject to examination and approval by the local public security authority and must obtain a special industry license. The Measures for the Control of Security in the Hotel Industry impose certain security control obligations on the operators. For example, the hotel must examine the identification card of any guest to whom accommodation is provided and make an accurate registration. The hotel must also report to the local public security authority if it discovers anyone violating the law or behaving suspiciously, or an offender wanted by the public security authority.

 

In April 1987, the State Council promulgated the Public Area Hygiene Administration Regulation, which requires hotels to obtain a public area hygiene license before opening for business. In March 2011, the Ministry of Health promulgated the Implementation Rules of the Public Area Hygiene Administration Regulation which, starting from May 1, 2011, require hotel operators to establish a hygiene administration system and keep records of hygiene administration. In February 2009, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, or the SCNPC, enacted the PRC Law on Food Safety, which requires any hotel that provides food to obtain a food service license; any food hygiene license which had been obtained prior to June 1, 2009 will be replaced by the food service license once the food hygiene license expires.

 

The Fire Prevention Law, as amended by the SCNPC in October 2008, and the Provisions on Supervision and Inspection on Fire Prevention and Control, promulgated by the Ministry of Public Security and effective as of May 1, 2009, as amended on July 7, 17 2012 and effective on November 1, 2012, require that public gathering places such as hotels submit a fire prevention design plan in order to apply for completion acceptance of fire prevention facilities for their construction projects and to pass a fire prevention safety inspection by the local public security fire department, which is a prerequisite for opening business.

 

In January 2006, the State Council promulgated the Regulations for Administration of Entertainment Places. In March 2006, the Ministry of Culture issued the Circular on Carrying Out the Regulations for Administration of Entertainment Places. Under these regulations, hotels that provide entertainment facilities, such as discos or ballrooms, are required to obtain a license for entertainment business operations.

 

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We request each hotel to provide its relevant permits and licenses before providing our service. However, we cannot ensure that all hotels available on our platforms have obtained, and maintained, all necessary permits and licenses. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to adequately monitor or ensure the service quality of our travel service providers and increases in user dissatisfaction with our travel service providers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.”

 

Regulations on Sideline Insurance Agency

 

Under PRC law, insurance agency activities are categorized as either a “major business” or a “sideline business,” both of which are subject to the supervision of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, or CIRC. According to the Provisional Measures on the Administration of Sideline Insurance Agencies, issued by the CIRC on August 4, 2000, an entity acting as a sideline insurance agency must apply for a Sideline Insurance Agency License with the CIRC. As revised by a decision issued by the State Council in 2004, an entity acting as a sideline insurance agency must apply for a Sideline Insurance Agency License with the competent local counterparts of the CIRC. To comply with these measures, our VIE has obtained such a license.

 

On September 20, 2011, the CIRC promulgated the Provisional Measures for the Supervision and Management of Insurance Agency Business via the Internet, which requires an insurance agency that conducts business via the Internet to meet certain criteria related mainly to registered capital thresholds and the possession of a value-added telecommunications business related permit, and to complete the filing with the CIRC.

 

On May 16, 2012, the CIRC promulgated an Announcement on Risk Alert for the Internet Insurance Business, which states that no entities or individuals other than insurance providers, insurance agency companies and insurance brokerage companies are allowed to carry out internet insurance businesses without approval, including comparing and recommending insurance products on internet websites or providing other intermediary services for conclusion of insurance contracts. The CIRC has disclosed information relating to the operation of internet insurance business by insurance agencies and insurance brokerage companies on its official website.

 

According to the announcement, insurance regulatory departments will investigate and punish entities or individuals who carry out internet insurance businesses illegally in a severe and timely fashion.

 

Our VIE has obtained the Sideline Insurance Agency License. We have not filed with the CIRC in accordance with the CIRC rules. If any official interpretation as to the applicability of the CIRC rules to a sideline insurance agency like us is issued, we will attend to such filing with the CIRC. Failure to do so could subject us to penalties imposed by the CIRC, including fines and revocation of our VIE’s Sideline Insurance Agency License. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC — We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet and other related businesses.”

 

Regulations on Insurance Brokers

 

The PRC Insurance Law, which provided the initial framework for regulating the PRC insurance industry, including the licensing of insurance brokers, was enacted in 1995 and amended on October 28, 2002, February 28, 2009, April 31, 2014 and April 24, 2015. The Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Insurance Brokers, promulgated by the CIRC on September 25, 2009 amended on April 27, 2013 and October 19, 2015, provide detailed requirements for the licensing and operation of insurance brokers, including that an insurance broker must satisfy several requirements and obtain approval from the CIRC in order to be established. Among these requirements, insurance brokers must take the form of a limited liability company or limited stockholding company. The minimum registered capital of an insurance broker is RMB50 million. Further, there are specific requirements for the chairman of the board, executive directors and senior management personnel of insurance brokers, including that they are qualified to take the position and have no track record of certain listed violations. An insurance brokerage operation license remains valid for three years after issuance and a renewal application must be submitted to the CIRC at least 30 days prior to the expiry date. The operation of an insurance brokerage company must follow the requirements of the Insurance Law and the Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Insurance Brokers, including that the license itself be displayed prominently that the broker operate within its licensed insurance business scope, and it keep complete and standard business records and separate account books for the insurance brokerage, among others.

 

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Our VIE ’s wholly owned subsidiary, Shenzhen ZhongChengTai Insurance Brokerage Co., Ltd. was approved by the CIRC as an insurance brokerage company and obtained an insurance brokerage operation license on August 29, 2013.

 

Regulations on Travel Agency

 

The travel agency industry is subject to the supervision of the China National Tourism Administration, or CNTA, and local tourism administrations. The principal regulations governing travel agencies in China include: (i) the Regulation on Travel Agencies, or the Travel Agency Regulations, issued by the State Council in February 2009 and amended in January 2016, replacing the Administration of Travel Agencies Regulations (1996), and (ii) the Implementing Rules for the Regulation on Travel Agencies (the “Travel Agency Implementing Rules”), promulgated by the CNTA in April 2009, which became effective as of May 3, 2009. Under these regulations, a travel agency must obtain a license from the CNTA to conduct cross-border travel business and a license from the provincial-level tourism administration to conduct domestic travel agency business.

 

The Travel Agency Regulations permit foreign investors to establish wholly foreign-owned travel agencies as well as joint ventures and cooperative travel agencies. Foreign-owned travel agencies are allowed to open branches nationwide, but are restricted from engaging in outbound tourism business in China unless otherwise determined by the State Council or provided under a bilateral free trade agreement between the country and China or under the closer economic partnership agreements among China, Hong Kong and Macau. The Travel Agency Implementing Rules define certain terms used in the Travel Agency Regulations (e.g., “domestic tourism business,” “inbound tourism business” and “outbound tourism business”), and set out detailed application requirements to establish a travel agency. The Travel Agency Implementing Rules also clarify certain aspects of legal liability for travel agencies as prescribed in the Travel Agency Regulations.

 

In 2010, CNTA released the Measures for Dealing with Tourism Complaints, which took effect as of July 1, 2010. Under these Measures, authorities that are responsible for dealing with tourist complaints shall render a decision on the complaints within 60 days after the date of receipt thereof.

 

On April 25, 2013, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the PRC issued the Tourism Law of the PRC, or the Tourism Law, which took effect on October 1, 2013. The Tourism Law sets forth specific requirements for the operation of travel agencies, among which: travel agencies are prohibited from leasing, lending or illegally transferring travel agency operation licenses; the information published by travel agencies to attract and organize customers must be true and accurate and travel agencies must not conduct any false publicity to mislead customers; travel agencies are not allowed to arrange visits to or participation in any project or activity in violation of the laws and regulations of the PRC or social morality; travel agencies are prohibited from organizing tourism activities at unreasonably low prices to induce or cheat tourists, and obtaining unlawful profits such as kickbacks by shopping arrangements or tour items paid separately; travel agencies are prohibited from specifying shopping venues or arranging tour items paid separately when organizing and receiving tourists, except for those negotiated by the parties or demanded by the customers, which in any event should not affect the itineraries of other customers; travel agencies shall conclude contracts with customers for tourism activities; and, before the start of the itinerary, customers may transfer their personal rights and obligations in the package tour contract to any third person, which the travel agency shall not refuse without justifiable reasons, and any increased fees shall be borne by the customer and relevant third persons.

 

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Travel agencies may be subject to civil liabilities for failing to fulfill the obligations discussed above. These liabilities include rectification, issuance of a warning, confiscation of any illegal income, imposition of a fine, an order to cease business operation or revocation of its travel agency permit. In addition, if a travel agency arranges shopping venues in violation of the Tourism Law, customers have the right, within 30 days after the end of the itinerary, to demand that the travel agencies handle the return of any purchased goods and make advance payment for the returned goods, or return the fees for any tour items paid separately.

 

Certain subsidiaries of our VIE have been approved by the CNTA as travel agencies, and have obtained travel agency operation licenses.

 

For certain of our business lines, w e rely on travel service providers to provide travel products and services to our users. Although we take measures, such as requesting travel service providers to provide their relevant permits and/or licenses and establishing a user service center to deal with users’ complaints, we cannot make sure that all the travel service providers that are reachable through our platforms obtained and maintained all necessary permits. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to adequately monitor or ensure the service quality of our travel service providers and increases in user dissatisfaction with the travel service providers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.”

 

Regulations on Car Services

 

Pursuant to the Road Traffic Safety Law promulgated by the Nation People’s Congress Standing Committee in October 2003 and amended in 2007 and 2011, or the Road Traffic Safety Law, all automotive vehicles must be registered with relevant local administration authorities. Vehicle registration certificates, vehicle license plates and vehicle licenses must be obtained from the same authorities, and compulsory traffic accident insurance must be purchased for each vehicle.

 

The Ministry of Transport, and the National Planning Committee, the predecessor of the NDRC, promulgated the Interim Rules on the Administration of the Car Rental Industry in 1998, which were abolished in 2007.  Since then, there have been no national laws or regulations in place to specifically regulate the car rental industry in China.  The Ministry of Transport promulgated the Circular on Promoting the Healthy Development of the Car Rental Industry in April 2011, or the Car Rental Circular, which sets forth guidelines for the car rental industry. The Car Rental Circular requires local government authorities, among other things, to 1) promulgate local rules and regulations to improve and develop the regulatory environment for car rentals, 2) to enhance the administration and management of the car rental industry, including requirements to obtain and carry a valid permit or license for each rental car, and rules against car rental companies engaging in road passenger transportation services without the requisite business licenses.

 

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A large number of provinces and cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shijiazhuang, Kunming, Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Harbin, Xiamen, Nanchang, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Shaanxi Province, Shanxi Province, Shandong Province, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Jilin Province, Hubei Province and Hunan Province, have promulgated local road transportation regulations, which generally provide that the business scope of car rental services shall not include chauffeur services.  Moreover, certain provinces and cities explicitly restrict a car rental company from directly providing chauffeur services concurrently with car rental services.

 

We cooperate with third party car rental companies to provide car services for pickup and drop off to and from airports, train stations and tourist attraction sites as well as other travel-related ground transportation services.

 

Regulations on Internet Mapping Services

 

According to the amended Administrative Rules of Surveying Qualification Certificates and the amended Standard for Internet Map Services issued by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, or NASMG, in July 2014 and May 2010 respectively, the provision of internet mapping services by any non-surveying and mapping enterprise is subject to the approval of the NASMG and requires a surveying and mapping qualification certificate. According to these rules, certain conditions and requirements, such as the number of technical personnel and map security verification personnel, security facilities and approval from the relevant provincial or national government on the service provider’s security system, qualification management and filings management, are necessary for an enterprise applying for a Surveying and Mapping Qualification Certificate. Pursuant to the Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Internet Map Services Qualification issued by the NASMG in December 2011, any entity that has not yet applied for a surveying qualification certificate for internet mapping services is prohibited from providing any internet mapping services. We have provided a map on our platforms to increase convenience for our users so that they can locate hotels near their desired location. Our VIE holds a Surveying and Mapping Qualification Certificate for internet mapping.

 

On November 26, 2015, the State Council enacted the Administrative Regulations on Maps, or the Maps Regulations, effective as of January 1, 2016. The Maps Regulations requires entities engaging in internet mapping services, such as geographic positioning, providing geographic information or markings online, and the development of a public map database, to obtain a relevant qualification certificate for surveying and mapping. The Maps Regulations further require that entities engaging in online mapping services (i) use mapping data approved by the relevant governmental authorities, (ii) host servers storing map data within the PRC, and (iii) establish a management system as well as protection measures for the data security of the online maps. The mapping data must not contain any content prohibited by the Maps Regulations, and no entities or individuals are allowed to upload or mark such prohibited content online. Furthermore, entities engaging in internet mapping services are required by the Maps Regulations to keep confidential any information involving state secrets and trade secrets acquired during their work.

 

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Regulations on Advertisements

 

The PRC government regulates advertising, including online advertising, principally through the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or SAIC. At the national level, online advertising is generally regulated by the same laws as those applicable to print and broadcast advertising. Prior to November 30, 2004, in order to conduct any advertising business, an enterprise was required to hold an operating license for advertising in addition to a relevant business license. On November 30, 2004, the SAIC issued the Administrative Rules for Advertising Operation Licenses, effective as of January 1, 2005, granting a general exemption to this requirement for most enterprises (other than radio stations, television stations, newspapers and magazines, non-corporate entities and entities specified in other regulations).

 

On October 27, 1994, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress issued the PRC Advertising Law, or the Advertising Law, which was amended on April 24, 2015. The Advertising Law applies to all advertising activities, including those conducted via the internet. With respect to online advertising, the Advertising Law requires that users be able to close online pop-up ads with one click and that internet service providers refrain from publishing any advertisements that they know or should have known to be illegal. The legality of such advertisement is assessed based on both its form and content. Violation of these regulations may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising income, termination of advertising operations and even suspension of the provider’s business license. Regarding endorsements, the Advertising Law stipulates that celebrity endorsers are jointly liable with the advertiser for any consumer injury caused by the product.

 

Generally, all advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors are required by PRC advertising laws and regulations to ensure that the content of the advertisements they produce or distribute are true and fully compliant with applicable laws and regulations. As part of a new focus on false and misleading advertisements, the Advertising Law clarifies what constitutes “false advertising.” This new definition specifically includes making claims that do not match actual conditions of products, which has a material impact on the consumers’ decision to purchase, as well as any outright misstatement of a product’s effectiveness as “false advertising”. Violation of these regulations can result in a penalty of three to five times the advertising fee, or RMB 200,000 to 1,000,000.

 

In addition, where a special government review is required for certain categories of advertisements before publishing, the advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors are obligated to confirm that such review has been duly performed and that the relevant approval has been obtained. Violations of these regulations may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising income, orders to cease dissemination of the advertisements and orders to publish an advertisement correcting the misleading information. For serious violations, the SAIC or its local branches may order the violator to terminate its advertising operations or even revoke its business license. Furthermore, advertisers, advertising operators or advertising distributors may be subject to civil liabilities if they infringe on the legal rights and interests of third parties. To comply with these laws and regulations, we include clauses in all of our advertising contracts requiring that all advertising content provided by advertisers or advertising agencies must comply with the relevant laws and regulations.

 

Regulation on Group Buying

 

On March 12, 2012, the SAIC issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Administration of Online Group Buying Operations, or the Group Buying Operation Opinions. The Group Buying Operation Opinions stipulate the qualification requirements for operators of group buying websites and certain other obligations, such as an examination of the licenses/authorizations of the providers of the relevant products/services offered on the group buying website, the group buying website operator’s contracts with such suppliers and customers, data protection for consumers and after sale services, among other items.

 

Qualification Requirements

 

Pursuant to the Group Buying Operation Opinions, operators of group buying websites must complete all relevant registrations, obtain a relevant business license and disclose or link to the business license information in a prominent place on the homepage of the website. Group buying websites without business licenses are prohibited. Group buying websites with business licenses but engaged in business operations in violation of the relevant PRC laws and regulations will be punished or may have their business licenses revoked.

 

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Requirements and Obligations

 

The Group Buying Operation Opinions require operators of group buying websites to offer for sale only services and products from entities and individuals with a relevant business license and the necessary regulatory authorizations and require that such operators must examine such licenses/authorizations, maintain records of all of their suppliers and update such records in a timely fashion. In addition, the descriptions of any goods and services must be accurate and complete.

 

The Group Buying Operation Opinions also stipulate certain requirements for the contracts that the operators of group buying websites may enter into with suppliers and customers. Supplier contracts must be detailed and specify adequate quality assurances and consumer protection. Contracts with customers must comply with relevant laws and regulations and may not exempt the operator from any material obligations. The key provisions must also be highlighted for customers.

 

The Group Buying Operation Opinions require the group buying website operators to establish data protection systems and not to knowingly disclose any confidential information relating to their suppliers or customers.

 

Under the Group Buying Operation Opinions, operators of group buying websites must (i) establish a comprehensive after-sales service system, consumer dispute settlement system and professional customer service team, (ii) ensure that their complaint and customer support channels are smooth, and (iii) provide customers with troubleshooting assistance and feedback in a timely manner.

 

In addition, under the Group Buying Operation Opinions, operators of group buying websites must observe the refund requirements of the Consumer Protection Law. Specifically, group buying website operators may not impose no-refund restrictions or restrict refunds to website credit.

 

Group buying website operators must also preserve all relevant data for a period of two years following their cessation of operations. In undertaking promotions, operators of group buying websites must obey the Anti-unfair Competition Law and the Certain Regulations on Prohibiting Unfair Competition in Prize-attached Sales.

 

The Group Buying Operation Opinions are relatively new and there have thus far been no relevant implementation rules or interpretations. Our current group buying business is conducted by our VIE and the WFOE. Subject to any clarifications or interpretations that may be issued in future as to the Group buying Operation Opinions, we might need to adjust our operational or contracting practices.

 

Regulation on E-Commerce

 

China’s e-commerce industry is at an early stage of development and there are few PRC laws or regulations specifically regulating the e-commerce industry. In January 2014, the SAIC issued the Administrative Measures on Online Trading, or the Administrative Measures. The Administrative Measures regulate online trading, including selling items and providing services through the Internet. In addition to basic requirements that online sellers and service provider, or Operator, should abide by the requirements of the PRC Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law and similar rules, The Administrative Measures emphasize that an Operator is responsible for personal data protection. In this respect, Operators are obliged to (i) seek consumers’ prior consent for collecting and using their personal data, (ii) keep the collected data confidential and secured, and (iii) take effective measures to remedy any leakage or loss of personal data. In addition, the Administrative Measures set specific requirements for operators of third party platforms that provide a web space for parties to transact business. These requirements include authenticating the Operator’s identification, signing a contract with the Operator for the use of the platform, setting rules for online trading, security and dispute resolution, cooperating with the local administrations of industry and commerce, taking measures to protect trademark rights and corporate name rights, distinguishing the Operator’s own products or services from those of other Operators, and keeping online trading records for at least two years.

 

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The Administrative Measures take effect on March 15, 2014. As such, the Administrative Measures are new and there are thus far no relevant implementation rules or interpretations.

 

On December 24, 2014, the MOFCOM issued the Provisions on the Procedures for Formulating Transaction Rules of Third-party Platforms for Internet Retail (for Trial Implementation), or the Procedures Provisions, effective as of April 1, 2015. The Procedures Provisions were promulgated to promote the healthy development of network retail, protect the legitimate rights and interests of various parties involved in network retail activities based on third-party platforms, safeguard the public interest, and strengthen public information services. They specify the duties of operators of third-party platforms for network retail, including making relevant transactions rules public and recorded, soliciting public opinions when the operators formulate or revise their transaction rules, adapting reasonable transitional measures if the transaction rules that are formulated, revised or enforced by them have a material impact on network retail operators and consumers, and similar measures. In addition, the Procedure Provisions also give the power to the local competent commerce authorities to impose penalties on operators where there is a violation.

 

Foreign ownership of e-commerce and related businesses, including online retail businesses, was subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations, other than for foreign investors in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.  Foreign investors outside of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (subject to certain conditions) were not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interests in a value-added telecommunications service provider, and any such foreign investor must have experience in providing value-added telecommunications services overseas and must maintain a good track record. In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission and the MOFCOM issued the updated Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries, or the Catalogue, effective as of April 10, 2015, which further relaxes market access restrictions. Among these changes, foreign investors now are allowed to own up to 100% of the equity interests in an e-commerce business.

 

The Administrative Measures, the Procedures Provisions and the Catalogue are new and there are still uncertainties as to their interpretation and implementation. Our platform is currently operated by our VIE. In the event of any clarifications or interpretations that may be issued in the future regarding the Administrative Measures and/or the Procedures Provisions and/or the Catalogue, we might need to adjust our operational or contracting practices accordingly.

 

Regulations on Consumer Rights Protection

 

According to the PRC Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, effective as of January 1, 1994, amended on October 25, 2013, the rights and interests of consumers that purchase or use commodities or that receive services for consumption purposes in daily life shall be protected, which includes the right to personal safety and the safety of property, the right to be informed about goods and services offered for sale, the right to free choice when selecting goods or services and the right to enjoy fair dealings, respect for their personal dignity and ethnic customs, and compensation for damages suffered.

 

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Correspondingly, a business operator providing a commodity or service to a consumer is subject to a number of requirements, which include to ensure that commodities and services meet with certain safety requirements, to disclose serious defects of a commodity or service and to adopt preventive measures against damage occurring, to provide consumers with accurate information and to refrain from conducting false advertising, and not to set unreasonable or unfair terms for consumers nor to alleviate or release itself from civil liability for harming the legal rights and interests of consumers by means of standard contracts, circulars, announcements, shop notices or other means. A business operator may be subject to civil liabilities for failing to fulfill the obligations discussed above. These liabilities include restoring the consumer’s reputation, eliminating the adverse effects suffered by the consumer and offering an apology and compensation for any losses incurred. The following penalties may also be imposed upon business operators for any infraction: issuance of a warning, confiscation of any illegal income, imposition of a fine, an order to cease business operation, revocation of its business license or imposition of criminal liabilities under circumstances that are specified in laws and statutory regulations. The amendment to the PRC Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law took effect on March 15, 2014. Key features of the amendment include that business operators must: obtain explicit consent from customers before collecting and using their personal data; inform customers of the purposes, method and scope of any personal data use; keep confidential all customer personal data; not sell, or illegally provide or disclose customer personal data to third parties; take technical and other measures necessary to ensure information security and to prevent disclosure of customer personal data; take immediate measures to mitigate damages if personal information is disclosed or lost; and not send commercial information to customers without their explicit consent. The amendment also establishes that e-commerce customers have a statutory right to freely return goods within seven days of receiving them, excluding goods such as tailor-made products, fresh and perishable goods, digital goods and newspapers and periodicals. The amendment also increases the fines for breach of the PRC Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law to up to 10 times the illegal gains, or up to RMB500,000.

 

In December 2003, the Supreme People’s Court in China enacted the Interpretation of Some Issues Concerning the Application of Law for the Trial of Cases on Compensation for Personal Injury, which further increases the liabilities of business operators engaged in the operation of hotels, restaurants or entertainment facilities and subjects such operators to compensatory liabilities for failing to fulfill their statutory obligations to a reasonable extent or to guarantee the personal safety of others.

 

In October 2010, the Supreme People’s Court of China issued the Provisions on Issues Concerning the Application of Law for the Trial of Cases on Tourism-related Disputes, which establish liabilities for tour operators and tourism support service providers in the event of contract disputes, personal injury and property damage involving tourists.

 

On January 5, 2015, the SAIC issued the Measures for Punishments against Infringements of Consumer Rights and Interests, or the Punishments Measures, effective as of March 15, 2015. The Punishments Measures were promulgated based on the PRC Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, to further protect the rights and interests of consumers by listing the responsibilities and duties of business operators as well as penalties related to the violation of the Punishment Measures. In particular, the Punishment Measures add protection for consumer information and set forth detailed rules for advance payments and refunds for online shopping.

 

For certain of our business lines, w e rely on travel service providers to provide and services to our users. Although we take certain measures to handle user complaints, such as maintaining a user service center, we cannot ensure that all travel service providers accessible via our platforms take sufficient measures to protect consumer rights or provide compensation in a timely fashion in the event of any consumer dispute. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to adequately monitor or ensure the service quality of our travel service providers and increases in user dissatisfaction with the travel service providers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.”

 

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Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights

 

China has adopted legislation governing intellectual property rights, including trademarks, patents and copyrights. China is a signatory to the major international conventions on intellectual property rights and became a member of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights upon its accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001.

 

Patent. The National People’s Congress adopted the Patent Law in 1984 and amended it in 1992, 2000 and 2008. The purpose of the Patent Law is to protect lawful interests of patent holders, encourage invention, foster applications of invention, enhance innovative capabilities and promote the development of science and technology. To be patentable, invention or utility models must meet three conditions: novelty, inventiveness and practical applicability. Patents cannot be granted for scientific discoveries, rules and methods for intellectual activities, methods used to diagnose or treat diseases, animal and plant breeds, substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation or a design that has major marking effect on the patterns or colors of graphic print products or a combination of both patterns and colors. The Patent Office under the State Intellectual Property Office is responsible for receiving, examining and approving patent applications. A patent is valid for a term of twenty years in the case of an invention and a term of ten years in the case of utility models and designs. A third-party user must obtain consent or a proper license from the patent owner to use the patent. Otherwise, the use constitutes an infringement of patent rights.

 

As of March 31, 2016, we have applied for 117 patents with the State Intellectual Property Office and have been granted 18.

 

Copyright . The National People’s Congress adopted the Copyright Law in 1990 and amended it in 2001 and 2010, respectively. The amended Copyright Law extends copyright protection to internet activities, products disseminated over the Internet and software products. In addition, there is a voluntary registration system administered by the China Copyright Protection Center. The amended Copyright Law also requires registration of a copyright pledge.

 

According to the Copyright Law, an infringer will be subject to various civil liabilities, which include stopping the infringement, eliminating the damages, apologizing to the copyright owners and compensating the losses of copyright owners. The Copyright Law further provides that the infringer must compensate the actual loss suffered by the copyright owner. If the actual loss of the copyright owner is difficult to calculate, the illegal income received by the infringer as a result of the infringement will be deemed as the actual loss or if such illegal income is also difficult to calculate, the court can decide the amount of the actual loss up to RMB500,000.

 

To address the problem of copyright infringement related to the content posted or transmitted over the Internet, the National Copyright Administration and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Measures for Administrative Protection of Copyright Related to internet on April 29, 2005. This measure became effective on May 30, 2005.

 

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On May 18, 2006, the State Council promulgated the Protection of the Right of Communication through Information Networks, which became effective on July 1, 2006 and was revised on January 30, 2013. Under this regulation, with respect to any information storage space, search or link services provided by an internet service provider, if the legitimate right owner believes that the works, performance or audio or video recordings pertaining to that service infringe his or her rights of communication, the right owner may give the Internet service provider a written notice containing the relevant information along with preliminary materials proving that an infringement has occurred, and requesting that the Internet service provider delete, or disconnect the links to, such works or recordings. The right owner will be responsible for the truthfulness of the content of the notice. Upon receipt of the notice, the Internet service provider must delete or disconnect the links to the infringing content immediately and forward the notice to the user that provided the infringing works or recordings. If the written notice cannot be sent to the user due to the unknown IP address, the contents of the notice shall be publicized via information networks. If the user believes that the subject works or recordings have not infringed others’ rights, the user may submit to the Internet service provider a written explanation with preliminary materials proving non-infringement, and a request for the restoration of the deleted works or recordings. The Internet service provider should then immediately restore the deleted or disconnected content and forward the user’s written statement to the right owner.

 

On December 26, 2009, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Torts Liability Law, which became effective on July 1, 2010. Under this new law, both internet users and internet service providers may be liable for the wrongful acts of users who infringe the lawful rights of other parties. If an internet user utilizes internet services to commit a tortious act, the party whose rights are infringed may request the Internet service provider to take measures, such as removing or blocking the content, or disabling the links thereto, to prevent or stop the infringement. If the Internet service provider does not take necessary measures after receiving such notice, it shall be jointly liable for any further damages suffered by the rights holder. Furthermore, if an internet service provider fails to take necessary measures when it knows that an internet user utilizes its internet services to infringe the lawful rights and interests of other parties, it shall be jointly liable with the Internet user for damages resulting from the infringement.

 

To address issues related to the hearing of civil disputes concerning the infringement of the right of communication through information networks, the PRC Supreme People’s Court issued the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Hearings of Civil Dispute Cases on the Infringement of Information Networking Transmission Rights, or the Supreme Court Provisions, which took effect as of January 1, 2013. The Supreme Court Provisions provide more detailed guidance as to the circumstances in which the provision by network users or network service providers of another’s works, performances, and audio or video products without permission from the rights owner constitutes infringement of information network transmission rights. The Supreme Court Provisions provide that internet service providers will be jointly liable if they assist in infringing activities or fail to remove infringing content from their websites once they know of the infringement or receive notice from the rights holder. The Supreme Court Provisions also provide that, where a network service provider obtains economic advantage directly from the works, performances and sound or visual recordings provided by the network service provider, it must pay close attention to infringement of network information transmission rights by network users.

 

On October 27, 2000, the MIIT issued the Administrative Measures on Software Products, or the Software Measures, to strengthen the regulation of software products and to encourage the development of the PRC software industry. On March 1, 2009, the MIIT issued amended Software Measures, which became effective on April 10, 2009. The Software Measures provide a registration and filing system with respect to software products made in or imported into China. These software products may be registered with the competent local authorities in charge of software industry administration. Registered software products may enjoy preferential treatment status granted by relevant software industry regulations. Software products can be registered for five years, and the registration is renewable upon expiration.

 

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In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations promulgated by the State Council on December 20, 2001, the National Copyright Administration of the PRC issued Computer Software Copyright Registration Procedures on February 20, 2002, which apply to software copyright registration, license contract registration and transfer contract registration.

 

In compliance with, and in order to take advantage of, the above rules, we have registered 64 software copyrights as of March 31, 2016.

 

Trademark. The PRC Trademark Law, adopted in 1982 and revised in 1993, 2001 and 2013, protects registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. Where a trademark for which a registration application has been made is identical or similar to another trademark that has already been registered or has been subject to a preliminary examination and approval for use on the same kind of or similar commodities or services, the application for registration of such trademark may be rejected. Any person applying for the registration of a trademark must not prejudice the existing right of others obtained by priority, nor may any person register in advance a trademark that has already been used by another person and has already gained a “sufficient degree of reputation” through that person’s use. After receiving an application, the PRC Trademark Office, which is under the SAIC and handles trademark registration affairs in China, will make a public announcement if the relevant trademark passes the preliminary examination. Within three months after such public announcement, any person may file an objection against a trademark that has passed a preliminary examination. The PRC Trademark Office’s decisions on rejection, objection or cancellation of an application may be appealed to the PRC Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, whose decision may be further appealed through judicial proceedings. If no objection is filed within three months after the public announcement period or if the objection has been overruled, the PRC Trademark Office will approve the registration and issue a registration certificate, at which point the trademark is deemed to be registered and will be effective for a renewable ten-year period, unless otherwise declared invalid or revoked. The licensor shall file the trademark licensing with the Trademark Office for record. The licensing of a trademark that has not been filed for record may not be used against a bona fide third party. As of March 31, 2016, we have 145 registered trademarks in the PRC and overseas, including “Qunar,” “ GRAPHIC ,” “qunar.com and camel logo,” and “qunar.com GRAPHIC  and camel logo”.

 

Domain Names . In September 2002, the CNNIC issued the Implementing Rules for Domain Name Registration setting forth detailed rules for registration of domain names, or the Domain Name Registration Rules, as amended in June 2009 and May 2012. According to the Domain Name Registration Rules, any natural person or organization that can bear independently its own civil responsibilities has the right to apply for the domain registration under the top level domain names, such as “.cn” and “. GRAPHIC ”. On November 5, 2004, the MIIT promulgated the Measures for Administration of Domain Names for the Chinese Internet, or the Domain Name Measures. The Domain Name Measures regulate the registration of domain names, such as the first tier domain name “.cn.” In 2002, the CNNIC issued the Measures on Domain Name Dispute Resolution, as amended in February 2006 and May 2012 and its implementing rules, pursuant to which the CNNIC can authorize a domain name dispute resolution institution to decide disputes. We have registered 82 domain names including qunar.com.

 

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Anti-unfair competition. Under the PRC Anti-Unfair competition Law, effective as of December 1, 1993, a business operator is prohibited from any of the following unfair means:

 

·                   counterfeiting a registered trademark of another person.;

 

·                   using, without authorization, the name, packaging or decoration unique to a famous product, or any similar name, packaging or decoration, in a way that could cause purchasers to mistake the offered product for the famous product; and

 

·                   using, without authorization, the name of another enterprise or person, thereby leading people to mistake their commodities for those of the said enterprise or person.

 

In addition, the Supreme People’s Court has promulgated an interpretation on select issues relating to the application of the law in civil trials for unfair competition cases (the Interpretation), effective as of February 1, 2007. This Interpretation provides guidance on how to conduct trials involving unfair competition, protect the legal rights and interests of business operators and maintain orderly market competition. On February 25, 2016, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council released a revised draft Anti-Unfair competition Law to solicit public comments.

 

See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our brands and adversely affect our business” and “—Claims by third parties that we infringe on their intellectual property rights or that our platforms or travel services providers’ web outlets hosted by us contain errors or false or misleading information could lead to government administrative actions and result in significant costs and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.”

 

Regulations on Tax

 

PRC Enterprise Income Tax

 

The PRC enterprise income tax, or EIT, is calculated based on the taxable income determined under the applicable EIT Law and its implementation rules, which became effective on January 1, 2008. The EIT Law imposes a uniform enterprise income tax rate of 25% on all resident enterprises in China, including foreign-invested domestic enterprises.

 

The EIT Law and its implementation rules permit certain “HNTEs strongly supported by the state” that hold independent ownership of core intellectual property and simultaneously meet a list of other criteria, financial or non-financial, as stipulated in the implementation rules and other regulations, to enjoy a reduced 15% enterprise income tax rate subject to certain new qualification criteria. The SAT, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the Administrative Rules for the Certification of High and New Technology Enterprises on April 14, 2008, and the Guidelines for the Administration of Certification of High and New Technology Enterprises on July 8, 2008, delineating the specific criteria and procedures for the HNTEs certification. Both the WFOE and our VIE obtained the certificates of HNTEs issued by the Beijing Science and Technology Commission, the Beijing Finance Bureau, the Beijing State Tax Bureaus and the Beijing Local Tax Bureaus on December 14, 2009, and this status is valid for three years. These certificates were renewed in October 2012 and were further renewed in July 2015 for an additional three years. Both the WFOE and our VIE have registered with the relevant tax bureau for the preferential EIT rate treatment as HNTEs. However, we cannot assure you that the WFOE and our VIE can continue to be recognized as HNTEs or renew this qualification when the term expires and thus continue to be entitled to the preferential enterprise income tax rate of 15% or any other preferential enterprise income tax treatment.

 

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Uncertainties exist with respect to how the EIT Law applies to our tax residence status. Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with a “de facto management body” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” which means that it is treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. Though the implementation rules of the EIT Law define “de facto management body” as “establishments that carry out substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, accounting, properties, etc. of an enterprise,” the only official guidance for this definition currently available is set forth in the SAT Circular 82 issued by the SAT, which provides guidance on the determination of the tax residence status of Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated enterprises, defined as an enterprise that is incorporated under the laws of a foreign country or territory and that has a PRC enterprise or enterprise group as its primary controlling shareholder. Although we do not have a PRC enterprise or enterprise group as our primary controlling shareholder and are therefore not a Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated enterprise within the meaning of the SAT Circular 82, in the absence of guidance specifically applicable to us we have applied the guidance set forth in the SAT Circular 82 to evaluate the tax residence status of us and our subsidiaries organized outside the PRC.

 

According to the SAT Circular 82, a Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated enterprise will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having a “de facto management body” in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its worldwide income only if all of the following conditions set forth in the SAT Circular 82 are met:

 

·                   the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC;

 

·                   decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC;

 

·                   the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions are located or maintained in the PRC; and

 

·                   50% or more of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.

 

We do not believe that either Qunar Cayman Islands Limited or its Hong Kong subsidiary, Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited, meet all of the conditions above. Each of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited and Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited is a company incorporated outside the PRC. As holding companies, these three entities’ key assets and records, including records of the resolutions of their respective board of directors and the resolutions of their respective shareholders, are located and maintained outside the PRC. In addition, we are not aware of any offshore holding companies with a similar corporate structure as ours ever having been deemed a PRC “resident enterprise” by the PRC tax authorities. Therefore, we believe that neither Qunar Cayman Islands Limited nor Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited should be treated as a “resident enterprise” for PRC tax purposes if the criteria for a “de facto management body” as set forth in the SAT Circular 82 were applicable to companies such as us. However, the tax residence status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body” as applicable to us and our offshore subsidiary.

 

In the event that we or our Hong Kong subsidiary is considered to be a PRC resident enterprise: (1) we or our Hong Kong subsidiary, as the case may be, may be subject to the PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on worldwide taxable income; (2) dividend income that we or our Hong Kong subsidiary, as the case may be, receive from our PRC subsidiary may be exempt from the PRC withholding tax; and (3) dividends that we pay to our overseas shareholders or ADS holders who are non-PRC resident enterprises as well as gains realized by such shareholders or ADS holders from the transfer of our shares or ADSs may be regarded as PRC-sourced income and, as a result, subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%, and similarly, dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders or ADS holders who are non-PRC resident individuals, as well as gains realized by such shareholders or ADS holders from the transfer of our shares or ADSs, may be regarded as PRC-sourced income and, as a result, subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of 20%, subject to the provision of any applicable agreement for the avoidance of double taxation.

 

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The SAT issued the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or SAT Circular 698, in 2009 with retroactive effect from January 1, 2008, whereby a non-resident enterprise that transfers the equity interests of a PRC resident enterprise indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, or the Indirect Transfer, but that lacks reasonable business purpose, may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10% from gains derived from such Indirect Transfer. Although the SAT issued the Notice on Several Issues on the Administration of Enterprise Income Tax of Non-PRC Resident Enterprises on March 28, 2011, or SAT Circular 24, to provide further clarifications on how SAT Circular 698 and its relevant provisions should be implemented, there remain uncertainties as to how “reasonable commercial purposes” is defined or determined or whether transactions conducted as part of an internal restructuring may be immune to re-characterization. On February 3, 2015, the SAT Notice on Several Issues Concerning Enterprise Income Tax for Indirect Transfer of Assets by Non-Resident Companies, or SAT Circular 7, was released, which provides clarity as to “reasonable commercial purpose” and abolishes certain clauses of both SAT Circular 698 and SAT Circular 24. SAT Circular 7 also expands Indirect Transfer from equity interests to movable and immovable property in the PRC and provides safe harbor rules for the public trading of shares in a listed company holding taxable PRC assets and for indirect transfers resulting from a corporate restructuring.

 

Further, SAT Circular 7 replaces the compulsory reporting requirement in SAT Circular 698 with a voluntary reporting regime. SAT Circular 7 provides that, however, where an indirect transfer occurs and the relevant tax authority so requires, both parties to the indirect transfer must submit the relevant documents to the competent tax authority. SAT Circular also provides that, where EIT is payable in respect of an indirect transfer, the party who is obligated under applicable laws or contracts to make payment directly to the transferor shall be responsible for withholding such EIT.  Failure to pay or withhold the EIT that is due according to SAT Circular 7 will result in penalty interests calculated on a daily basis. Indirect transfers occurring before SAT Circular 7 but for which tax matters have not been resolved will be governed by SAT Circular 7.

 

Although SAT Circular 7 provides clarity in many important areas, such as reasonable commercial purpose and reporting requirements, there are still uncertainties as to its interpretation and implementation. It brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee of the Indirect Transfer as they are required to make self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to PRC tax and to file or withhold the PRC tax accordingly. Further, the PRC tax authorities have discretion under SAT Circular 698 and SAT Circular 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the equity interests transferred and the cost of investment.

 

There is uncertainty as to the application of SAT Circular 698 and SAT Circular 7. If SAT Circular 698 and SAT Circular 7 are determined by the tax authorities to be applicable to us and our non-resident enterprise investors, we and our non-resident enterprise investors may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with this circular or to establish that we or our non-resident enterprise investors should not be taxed under SAT Circular 698 and SAT Circular 7, which may adversely affect us or our non-resident enterprise investors. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—The heightened scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on our business operations, our acquisition or restructuring strategy or the value of your investment in us.”

 

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The SAT promulgated a Circular on Issues Regarding Enterprise Income Tax Matters in Relation to Enterprise Payment of Fees to Overseas Affiliated Parties, or Circular 16, on 18 March 2015. Under Circular 16, the taxation authorities can adjust the calculation of tax payable if a payment by a Chinese enterprise to an overseas affiliate is not made on an arm’s length equivalent basis. Scenarios under which payments might not be deemed to have been made on an arm’s length equivalent basis would include all payments made to an overseas affiliate that do not provide economic benefits, do not result from the enterprise’s substantial business activities or any payments for royalties in respect of IPO financing.

 

Under PRC laws, payers of the PRC-sourced income to non-PRC residents are generally obligated to withhold PRC income taxes from the payment. In the event of failure to withhold, the non-PRC residents are required to pay such taxes on their own. Failure to comply with the tax payment obligations by the non-PRC residents will result in penalties, including full payment of taxes owed, fines and default interest on those taxes.

 

PRC Business Tax

 

Pursuant to applicable PRC tax regulations, any entity or individual conducting business in the service industry is generally required to pay a business tax at the rate of 5% on the revenues generated from providing such services. However, if the services provided are related to technology development and transfer, such business tax may be exempted subject to approval by the relevant tax authorities.

 

In November 2011, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT promulgated the Pilot Plan for Imposition of Value-Added Tax to Replace Business Tax, or the VAT pilot plan. Pursuant to this plan and relevant notices, from January 1, 2012, a VAT has been imposed to replace the business tax in the transport and shipping industry and some of the modern service industries in certain pilot regions. Under the VAT pilot plan, a VAT rate of 6% applies to some modern service industries. Both Beijing and Shanghai have implemented pilot plans to replace business tax with VAT. See “Item 3 Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC ¾ The PRC government’s pilot plan to replace the business tax with a VAT may require us to pay more taxes.”

 

Cultural Development Fee

 

According to applicable PRC tax regulations or rules, advertising service providers are generally required to pay a cultural development fee at a rate of 3% on revenues (i) that are generated from providing advertising services and (ii) that are also subject to the business tax.

 

Local Surcharges

 

The city construction tax and education surcharge are local surcharges imposed as a certain percentage of PRC turnover taxes (i.e., business tax, value-added tax and consumption tax). The city construction tax is charged at rates of 1%, 5% or 7% (the applicable city construction tax rate depends on the location of the PRC enterprise) of the turnover tax while the education surcharge rate is currently at 3% of the turnover tax. Although in the past foreign-invested enterprises, foreign enterprises and foreign individuals were exempted from such surcharges, these entities were required to make such payments from December 1, 2010 according to a notice issued by PRC State Council in October 2010.

 

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In addition to the city construction tax and the education surcharge, the China Ministry of Finance issued Circular Caizong (2010) No. 98, or Circular 98, which requires all entities and individuals (including FIFs, foreign enterprises and foreign individuals) to pay a local education surcharge, or LES, at 2% on turnover tax. Local governments are required to report their implementation measures on LES to the Ministry of Finance. LES became applicable to all entities and individuals in Beijing on January 1, 2012.

 

Dividends Withholding Tax

 

We are a Cayman Islands holding company and substantially all of our income may come from dividends we receive from our subsidiaries located in the PRC and Hong Kong. Pursuant to the EIT Law and its implementation rules, dividends generated after January 1, 2008 and distributed to our Hong Kong subsidiary by the WFOE would generally be subject to a withholding tax rate of 5%, provided that   our Hong Kong subsidiary is the beneficial owner of the PRC-sourced income. The WFOE has not obtained the approval for a withholding tax rate of 5% from the local tax authority and does not plan to obtain such approval in the near future as we have not achieved profitability. However, the SAT promulgated the Notice on How to Understand and Determine the Beneficial Owners in Tax Agreement on October 27, 2009, or Circular 601, which provides guidance for determining whether a resident of a contracting state is the “beneficial owner” of an item of income under China’s tax treaties and tax arrangements. According to Circular 601, a beneficial owner generally must be engaged in substantive business activities. An agent or conduit company will not be regarded as a beneficial owner and, therefore, will not qualify for treaty benefits. For this purpose, a conduit company is a company that is set up for the purpose of avoiding or reducing taxes or transferring or accumulating profits.

 

Regulations on Foreign Exchange

 

Foreign exchange activities in China are primarily governed by the following regulations:

 

·                   Foreign Currency Administration Rules (2008), or the Exchange Rules; and

 

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

 

Under the Exchange Rules, if documents certifying the purposes of the conversion of RMB into foreign currency are submitted to the relevant foreign exchange conversion bank, the RMB will be convertible for current account items, including the distribution of dividends, interest and royalty payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions. Conversion of RMB for capital account items, such as direct investment, loans, securities investment and repatriation of investment, however, is subject to the approval of SAFE or its local counterpart.

 

Under the Administration Rules, foreign-invested enterprises may buy, sell and/or remit foreign currencies at banks authorized to conduct foreign exchange business only after providing valid commercial documents and, in the case of capital account item transactions, obtaining approval from SAFE or its local counterpart. Capital investments by PRC entities outside of China, after obtaining the required approvals of the relevant approval authorities, such as the MOFCOM and the National Development and Reform Commission, or NDRC, or their local counterparts, are also required to register with SAFE or its local counterpart.

 

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In utilizing the proceeds we expect to receive from our initial public offering and subsequent offerings or financings as an offshore holding company with a PRC subsidiary, we may (i) make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, (ii) establish new PRC subsidiaries and make capital contributions to these new PRC subsidiaries, (iii) make loans to our PRC subsidiaries, or (iv) acquire offshore entities with business operations in China in offshore transactions. However, most of these uses are subject to PRC regulations and approvals. For example:

 

·                   capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, whether existing or newly established, must be approved by the MOFCOM or its local counterparts;

 

·                   loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries, which are foreign-invested enterprises, to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with SAFE or its local branches; and

 

On November 9, 2010, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Issues Concerning Straightening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses or SAFE Circular 59, which requires the local SAFE branch and banks to closely examine the authenticity of the settlement of net proceeds from offshore offerings and the net proceeds to be settled in the manner described in the offering documents. On March 30, 2015, SAFE issued the Circular on Reform of the Administrative Rules of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Circular 19 adopts a concept of “discretionary conversion,” which is defined as the conversion of a foreign-invested enterprise’s registered capital in foreign currency in accordance with the enterprise’s actual business needs. No review of the purpose of the funds is required at the time of conversion under Circular 19. However, use of any Renminbi funds converted from its registered capital shall be based on true transaction. In addition, equity investments using converted registered capital are no longer prohibited under Circular 19. Nevertheless, foreign-invested enterprises like our PRC subsidiaries are still not allowed to extend intercompany loans to our VIE. In addition, as SAFE Circular 19 was promulgated recently, there remain substantial uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and implementation of this circular by relevant authorities. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—PRC regulations of loans to PRC entities and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies may delay or prevent us from making loans or additional capital contributions to our WFOE.”

 

Regulations on Dividend Distributions

 

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

 

·                   the Company Law (2013);

 

·                   the Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law (1986), as amended in 2000; and

 

·                   the Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law Implementing Rules (1990), as amended in 2001.

 

Under these regulations, wholly foreign-owned enterprises in the PRC may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, these wholly foreign-owned enterprises are required to set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits, if any,  each year to fund certain reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such set-aside reaches 50% of the foreign-owned enterprise’s registered capital. The board of directors of a wholly foreign-owned enterprise has the discretion to allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends. The WFOE has not paid any dividend to Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited.

 

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Regulations on Offshore Investment by PRC Residents

 

On July 4, 2014, SAFE promulgated the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control of Domestic Residents’ Overseas Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular No. 37, which replaced the former 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 as SAFE Circular No. 75) promulgated by SAFE on October 21, 2005.

 

SAFE Circular No. 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing with such PRC residents’ legally-owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, which is referred to in SAFE Circular No. 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” SAFE Circular No. 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as an increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC residents, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material events. In the event that a PRC resident holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to complete the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiaries. Furthermore, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls.

 

See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We may be subject to penalties, including restriction on our ability to inject capital into our WFOE and our WFOE’s ability to distribute profits to us, if our PRC resident shareholders or beneficial owners fail to comply with relevant PRC foreign exchange rules.”

 

Regulations on Employee Stock Options Plans

 

In December 2006, the People’s Bank of China promulgated the Administrative Measures of Foreign Exchange Matters for Individuals, setting forth the respective requirements for foreign exchange transactions by individuals (both PRC and non-PRC citizens) under either the current account or the capital account. In January 2007, SAFE issued implementing rules for the Administrative Measures of Foreign Exchange Matters for Individuals, which, among other things, specified approval requirements for certain capital account transactions, such as a PRC citizen’s participation in employee stock ownership plans or share option plans of an overseas publicly listed company. On March 28, 2007, SAFE promulgated the Application Procedures of Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Ownership Plans or Stock Option Plans of Overseas Listed Companies, or the Former Stock Option Rules. In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notice on the Administration of Foreign Exchange Matters for Domestic Individuals Participating in the Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Listed Companies, or the New Stock Option Notice, to replace the Former Stock Option Rules. The Stock Option Notice simplifies the requirements and procedures for the registration of stock incentive plan participants, especially with respect to the required application documents and the absence of strict requirements on offshore and onshore custodian banks, as were stipulated in the Former Stock Option Rules. The purpose of both the Former Stock Option Rules and the New Stock Option Notice is to regulate the foreign exchange administration of PRC resident individuals who participate in employee stock holding plans and share option plans of overseas listed companies.

 

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Under these rules, for PRC resident individuals who participate in stock incentive plans of overseas publicly-listed companies, which includes employee stock ownership plans, stock option plans and other incentive plans permitted by relevant laws and regulations, a PRC domestic qualified agent or the PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company must, among other things, file on behalf of such resident an application with SAFE or its local counterpart to obtain approval for an annual allowance with respect to the purchase of foreign exchange in connection with the stock holding or exercise of share options, as PRC residents may not directly use overseas funds to purchase shares or exercise share options. In addition, within three months after any substantial changes to any such stock incentive plan, including for example, any changes due to a merger or acquisition or changes to the domestic or overseas custodian agent, the domestic agent must update the registration with SAFE.

 

Under the Foreign Currency Administration Rules, as amended in 2008, the foreign exchange proceeds of domestic entities and individuals can be remitted into China or deposited abroad, subject to the terms and conditions to be issued by SAFE. However, the implementing rules with respect to depositing foreign exchange proceeds abroad have not been issued by SAFE. The foreign exchange proceeds from the sales of shares can be converted into RMB or transferred to such individuals’ foreign exchange savings account after the proceeds have been remitted back to the special foreign exchange account opened at the PRC domestic bank. If share options are exercised in a cashless exercise, the PRC domestic individuals are required to remit the proceeds to special foreign exchange accounts.

 

Many issues with respect to the New Stock Option Notice require further interpretation. We and our PRC employees who have participated in an employee stock ownership plan or share option plan are subject to the New Stock Option Notice. If we or our PRC employees fail to comply with the New Stock Option Notice, we and our PRC employees may face sanctions imposed by the PRC foreign exchange authority or any other PRC government authorities, including restrictions on foreign currency conversions and additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary.

 

In addition, SAT has issued circulars concerning employee share options. Under these circulars, our employees working in China who exercise share options will be subject to PRC individual income taxes. Our PRC subsidiary has obligations to file documents related to employee share options with the relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of employees who exercise their share options. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors ¾ Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for stock ownership plan or stock option plan may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.”

 

Labor Laws and Social Insurance

 

Pursuant to the PRC Labor Law and the PRC Labor Contract Law, employers must execute written labor contracts with full-time employees. All employers must compensate their employees with wages equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. All employers are required to establish a system for labor safety and sanitation, strictly abide by state rules and standards and provide employees with workplace safety training. Violations of the PRC Labor Contract Law and the PRC Labor Law may result in the imposition of fines and other administrative liabilities. Criminal liability may arise for serious violations.

 

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In addition, employers in China are obliged to provide employees with welfare schemes covering pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance and housing funds.

 

To comply with these laws and regulations, we have caused all of our full-time employees to enter into labor contracts and provide our employees with the proper welfare and employment benefits. If we are made subject to severe penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

Regulations on Concentration in Merger and Acquisition Transactions

 

In August 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, as amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rule established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. The M&A Rule require, among other things, that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor will take control of a PRC domestic enterprise or a foreign company with substantial PRC operations, if certain thresholds under the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings issued by the State Council on August 3, 2008 are triggered.

 

Complying with these requirements could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—PRC laws and regulations establish more complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.”

 

Regulations on Anti-Monopoly Law

 

On August 30, 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the PRC adopted the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, or Anti-Monopoly Law, which took effect on August 1, 2008. Pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Law, monopolistic conduct, including entering into monopoly agreements, abuse of dominant market position and concentration of undertakings that have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, is prohibited. To further implement the Anti-Monopoly Law and to clarify certain issues, the State Council, MOFCOM, NDRC and SAIC issued several regulations and rules, including, but not limited to, the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings issued by the State Council on August 3, 2008, the Regulation on the Prohibition of Acts Involving Monopolistic Agreements issued by the SAIC on December 31, 2010, the Regulation on the Prohibition of Conduct Constituting an Abuse of a Dominant Market Position issued by the SAIC on December 31, 2010, the Regulation on the Prevention of Conduct Constituting an Abuse of Administrative Powers to Eliminate or Restrict Competition by the SAIC on December 31, 2010, the Anti-Price Monopoly Regulation issued by the NDRC on December 29, 2010, the Declaration Rules for Concentrations of Undertakings issued by the MOFCOM on November 21, 2009, the Assessment Rules for Concentration of Undertakings issued by the MOFCOM on November 24, 2009 and the Provisional Measures on the Investigation and Handling of Concentrations between Business Operators Which Were Not Notified in Accordance with the Law issued by the MOFCOM on December 30, 2011.

 

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Taken together, these various laws and regulations provide for the following:

 

Monopoly Agreement: Competing business operators shall not enter into monopoly agreements that eliminate or restrict competition, such as by boycotting transactions, fixing or changing the price of commodities, limiting the output of commodities and fixing the price of commodities for resale to third parties, among others, unless such agreement will satisfy the exemptions under the Anti-Monopoly Law, such as improving technologies or increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of small and medium-sized undertakings. Sanctions for violations include an order to cease the relevant activities, confiscation of illegal gains and fines of from 1% to 10% of sales revenue from the previous year or of RMB500,000 if the intended monopoly agreement has not been performed.

 

Abuse of Dominant Market Position: a business operator with a dominant market position shall not abuse its dominant market position to conduct acts such as selling commodities at unfairly high prices or buying commodities at unfairly low prices, selling products at prices below cost without any justifiable cause and refusing to trade with a trading party without any justifiable cause, among others. Dominant market position refers to a market position held by a business operator having the capacity to control the price, quantity or other trading conditions of commodities in the relevant market, or to hinder or affect any other business operator to enter the relevant market, which will be determined based on the market share of the relevant business operator, the capacity of a business operator to control the sales market, the degree of dependence of other business operators upon the business operator in question in transactions and the degree of difficulty for other business operators to enter into the relevant market. Sanctions for violation of the prohibition on the abuse of dominant market position include an order to cease the relevant activities, confiscation of the illegal gains and fines of from 1% to 10% of sales revenue from the previous year.

 

Concentration of Undertakings: Pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Law, where a concentration of undertakings reaches the declaration threshold stipulated by the State Council, a declaration must be lodged in advance with the antitrust authority under the State Council. Otherwise, the concentration cannot be implemented. Concentration refers to (1) a merger of undertakings; (2) acquiring control over other undertakings by an undertaking through acquiring equities or assets; or (3) acquisition of control over, or the possibility of exercising decisive influence on, an undertaking by contract or by any other means. According to the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, the thresholds for prior notification of concentration of undertakings are set as the following:

 

·                   the combined worldwide turnover of all the undertakings concerned in the preceding financial year is more than RMB10 billion, and the nationwide turnover within China of each of at least two of the undertakings concerned in the preceding financial year is more than RMB400 million; or

 

·                   the combined nationwide turnover within China of all the undertakings concerned in the preceding financial year is more than RMB2 billion, and the nationwide turnover within China of each of at least two of the undertakings concerned in the preceding financial year is more than RMB400 million.

 

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If business operators fail to comply with these mandatory declaration provisions, the antitrust authority is empowered to terminate and/or unwind the transaction, dispose of relevant assets, shares or businesses within a certain periods and impose fines up to RMB500,000.

 

See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may become the target of antitrust legal claims.”

 

Regulations on Leases

 

Pursuant to the Law of the PRC on the Administration of Urban Real Estate, or Urban Real Estate Law, promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on July 5, 1994 and amended on August 30, 2007 and on August 27, 2009, and the Measures for the Administration of Leases of Commodity Properties promulgated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on December 1, 2010 and effective as of February 1, 2011, the parties to a lease of a building are required to enter into a lease contract in writing. When a lease contract is signed, amended or terminated, the parties must register the details of the lease with the local real estate administration authority. Although the failure to register the lease agreement will not affect its effectiveness, such lease agreement may be challenged by, and held unenforceable against, a third party who leases the same property from the landlord and who has duly registered the lease with the competent real estate administration authority. Furthermore, the landlord and the tenant may be subject to administrative fines for such failure to register the lease.

 

We have not registered any of our lease agreements with relevant PRC governmental authorities as required by PRC law and, although failure to do so does not in itself invalidate the leases, we may not be able to defend these leases against bona fide third parties. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—We face certain risks relating to the real properties that we lease.”

 

C                ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

 

As of the date of this annual report, we operated our businesses through the following significant direct and indirect subsidiaries:

 

 

 

Place of Incorporation

Subsidiaries

 

 

Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited

 

Hong Kong

Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited

 

People’s Republic of China

Shanghai Qianlima Network Technology Co., Ltd.

 

People’s Republic of China

 

 

 

Variable Interest Entity

 

 

Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited

 

People’s Republic of China

 

 

 

Subsidiaries of Variable Interest Entity

 

 

Beijing Jiaxin Haoyuan Information Technology Company Ltd.

 

People’s Republic of China

Qingdao Yi Lu Tong Xing International Travel Co., Ltd.

 

People’s Republic of China

Beijing Jin Du Yuan You Information Technology Company Ltd.

 

People’s Republic of China

Shenzhen ZhongChengTai Insurance Brokerage Co., Ltd.

 

People’s Republic of China

Qunar.com (Tianjin) International Travel Agency Co., Ltd.

 

People’s Republic of China

 

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Since we are a Cayman Islands company and therefore a foreign or foreign-invested enterprise under PRC law, neither we nor the WFOE is eligible to hold a license to operate a commercial website in China. Thus, in order to comply with PRC laws and regulations, we operate our mobile platform and website in China through our VIE by exercising effective control over its operations and receiving economic benefits generated from our VIE through a series of contractual arrangements. For detailed discussion about the relevant PRC laws and regulations, please see “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—Restrictions on Foreign Ownership in Value-Added Telecommunications Services.”

 

We believe that our ownership structure and the contractual arrangements between our PRC subsidiaries, on the one hand, and our VIE and its shareholders, on the other hand, comply in all material aspects with current PRC laws and regulations. There are, however, substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. Accordingly, PRC government agencies may ultimately take a view that is inconsistent with our own opinion. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.”

 

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, the places of formation and the ownership interests of our significant subsidiaries, our VIE and its significant subsidiaries as of the date of this annual report.

 

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D.             PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

 

Our headquarters is located in Beijing, China, where we leased approximately 57,000 square meters of office space as of December 31, 2015. We have also leased a number of other offices across China and in Hong Kong for our sales force, with an aggregate office space of approximately 40,000 square meters. The terms of our leases range from four months to five years. Each of the lessors for our leased premises either has a valid title to the property or has proper authorization from the title holder to sublease the property. Our servers are hosted at internet data centers owned by, and located along the major transmission backbones of, leading domestic telecommunications carriers in China. Our hosting services agreements typically have a term of one year, with an automatic renewal clause and subject to early termination. We believe that we will be able to obtain adequate facilities and servers to accommodate our future expansion.

 

Item 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

None.

 

Item 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

 

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” or in other parts of this annual report on Form 20-F.

 

A.             OPERATING RESULTS

 

Revenues

 

We generated revenues primary from our flight and flight related services and accommodation reservation services as well as from display advertising services and other services. The following table sets forth the revenues generated from each source, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated.

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

%

 

RMB

 

%

 

RMB

 

US$

 

%

 

 

 

(in thousands, except percentages)

 

Revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight and flight related services

 

551,122

 

64.8

 

1,171,229

 

66.7

 

2,206,948

 

340,694

 

52.9

 

Accommodation reservation services

 

194,030

 

22.8

 

347,281

 

19.8

 

1,472,925

 

227,380

 

35.3

 

Display advertising services

 

63,503

 

7.5

 

87,894

 

5.0

 

117,945

 

18,208

 

2.8

 

Other services

 

42,267

 

4.9

 

150,351

 

8.5

 

373,394

 

57,642

 

9.0

 

Total revenues

 

850,922

 

100.0

 

1,756,755

 

100.0

 

4,171,212

 

643,924

 

100.0

 

 

Before 2015, we did not take ownership of the products and services being sold and acted as an agent only in substantially all of our transactions.  Accordingly, we recognized revenues primarily based on commissions earned rather than sales prices. Under our merchant model program, w e started to pre-purchase air tickets and hotel rooms from airlines and hotels for sale to end users in 2015. In such transactions, we act as a principal and recognize revenues on a gross basis. Revenues recognized on a gross basis represent the sales prices of the air tickets and hotel rooms sold to end users. The costs of the air tickets and hotel rooms paid by us to airlines and hotels are recorded as cost of revenue in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

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Flight and flight related services . Revenues from our flight and flight related services business have been our primary source of revenues since our inception. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, revenues from our flight and flight related business accounted for RMB551.1 million, RMB1,171.2 million and RMB2,206.9 million (US$340.7 million), respectively, or 64.8%, 66.7% and 52.9%, respectively, of our total revenues.

 

Accommodation reservation services .       Revenues from our accommodation reservation services business have grown rapidly since early 2015. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, revenues from our accommodation reservation business accounted for RMB194.0 million, RMB347.3 million and RMB1,472.9 million (US$227.4 million), respectively, or 22.8%, 19.8% and 35.3%, respectively, of our total revenues. We launched our merchant model program in 2015 in order to secure unique products and strategic inventories. Excluding revenues generated from the merchant model program, where revenues are booked on a gross basis, accommodation reservation revenues were RMB956.9 million (US$147.7 million), an increase of 175.5% year-on-year.

 

Display advertising services . Revenues from our display advertising services are primarily derived from graphical advertisements placed on our platforms. Since 2012, we have been charging for our display advertising services on a cost-per-time basis to be in line with the market practice for online advertising in China. We price our display advertising service based on various factors, including channel, size and page position of advertisement and frequency and duration of display.

 

Other services . We also generated a small portion of revenues from other services, which primarily consists of commissions received for sales of packaged-tour, tickets, train and bus tickets.

 

Cost of Revenues

 

Cost of revenues primarily consists of (i) online payment processing fees , (ii) data acquisition costs incurred when we retrieve air ticket information from Flight TSPs, (iii) bandwidth and server hosting costs, (iv) depreciation expenses, (v) other miscellaneous costs and (vi) sales tax and related surcharges imposed by the government,(vii) cost of products. The following table sets forth the components of our cost of revenues by amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the periods presented:

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

% of
Revenues

 

RMB

 

% of
Revenues

 

RMB

 

US$

 

% of
Revenues

 

 

 

(in thousands, except percentages)

 

Cost of products

 

 

 

 

 

715,300

 

110,423

 

17.1

 

Online payment processing fees

 

 

 

125,240

 

7.1

 

194,229

 

29,984

 

4.7

 

Data acquisition costs

 

39,740

 

4.7

 

61,787

 

3.5

 

84,583

 

13,057

 

2.0

 

Bandwidth and server hosting costs

 

11,610

 

1.4

 

28,097

 

1.6

 

44,222

 

6,827

 

1.1

 

Depreciation

 

9,302

 

1.1

 

17,821

 

1.0

 

44,742

 

6,907

 

1.1

 

Others

 

29,102

 

3.4

 

57,063

 

3.3

 

93,915

 

14,497

 

2.3

 

Sales tax and related surcharges

 

83,641

 

9.8

 

164,894

 

9.4

 

256,246

 

39,558

 

6.1

 

Total cost of revenues

 

173,395

 

20.4

 

454,902

 

25.9

 

1,433,237

 

221,253

 

34.4

 

 

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Cost of products. Starting in 2015, we started to pre-purchase air tickets and hotel rooms from airlines and hotels for sale to end users. For such transactions, we recognize revenues on a gross basis for the sales prices of the air tickets and hotel rooms sold to end users, and we record the costs of the air tickets and hotel rooms paid by us to the airlines and hotels as cost of revenue.

 

Online payment processing fees. Online payment processing fees are the charges we pay to banks or third payment platforms for collecting payments from end users on our behalf. We have integrated online payment facilitating service as part of our services platform starting from early 2014. Online payment processing fees are recorded as cost of revenue as incurred. In 2015, our online payment processing fees increased as result of the increase in trading transaction volume compared with 2014. We expect that our online payment processing fees will continue to increase in absolute amounts as our trading volume continues to grow. However, the increase in online payment processing fees is correspondingly lower and thus such costs do not increase at the same rate at which revenues increase.

 

Data acquisition costs . We incur data acquisition costs when we retrieve information from Flight TSPs to confirm the availability and authenticity of air tickets searched on our platform. Our data acquisition costs increased significantly from 2013 to 2015, as a result of the increase in the search queries for air tickets. We expect that our data acquisition costs will increase in absolute amounts as our air ticket search volume continues to grow. However, the increase in data acquisition costs is correspondingly lower and thus such costs do not increase at the same rate as revenues increase.

 

Bandwidth and server hosting costs . Bandwidth and server hosting costs are the fees we pay to service providers for telecommunications services and for hosting our servers at their internet data centers. We expect our annual bandwidth and server hosting costs to increase in absolute amounts primarily due to an increased need for bandwidth and server hosting services to support the growth of our user traffic on our platform. However, the increase in bandwidth and server hosting costs is correspondingly lower and thus such costs do not increase at the same rate as revenues increase.

 

Depreciation . We include depreciation expense for servers and other equipment that is directly related to our business operations and technical support in our cost of revenues. Our depreciation expense increased significantly from 2013 to 2015 as we acquired more servers and other equipment to accommodate increased user activities. We expect our depreciation and amortization expense to increase in absolute amounts as we continue to invest in additional servers and other equipment to accommodate the growth of our user base. However, the increase in depreciation costs is correspondingly lower and thus such costs do not increase at the same rate as revenues increase.

 

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Others . Our other cost of revenue consists of primarily service fees paid to third-party service providers.

 

Sales tax and related surcharges . We were subject to a 5.0% business tax prior to September 2012 and a 6.0% value-added tax thereafter, plus certain related surcharges on revenues from flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services in China. With respect to revenues from display advertising services in China, we are subject to an additional 3% culture-related tax and other related surcharges. Sales tax and related surcharges are recognized when revenue is earned.

 

Operating Expenses

 

Our operating expenses primarily consist of (i) product development expenses, (ii) product sourcing expenses, (iii) sales and marketing expenses and (iv) general and administrative expenses. The following table sets forth the components of our operating expenses in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated.

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

% of
Revenues

 

RMB

 

% of
Revenues

 

RMB

 

US$

 

% of
Revenues

 

 

 

(in thousands, except percentage)

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product developments

 

319,021

 

37.5

 

774,511

 

44.1

 

2,578,528

 

398,056

 

61.8

 

Product sourcing

 

67,271

 

7.9

 

316,903

 

18.0

 

785,385

 

121,243

 

18.8

 

Sales and marketing

 

315,506

 

37.1

 

890,861

 

50.7

 

2,671,637

 

412,430

 

64.0

 

General and administrative

 

129,209

 

15.2

 

399,914

 

22.8

 

3,388,467

 

523,089

 

81.3

 

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

 

 

699,983

 

39.8

 

37,178

 

5,739

 

0.9

 

Contract termination loss provision

 

 

 

64,485

 

3.7

 

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

831,007

 

97.7

 

3,146,657

 

179.1

 

9,461,195

 

1,460,557

 

226.8

 

 

Product developments expenses . Product developments expenses are primarily related to personnel cost, including: (i) salaries, welfares and bonuses, share-based compensation and other costs associated with the development and improvement of our technologies; and (ii) office rental and related expenses for our product development team. We expect our product development expenses to increase in absolute amounts as our business continuously grows.

 

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Product s ourcing expenses. Product sourcing expenses are mainly comprised of salaries, benefits and bonuses, share-based compensation and other headcount-related expenses of personnel who develop our travel suppliers’ network. We expect our product sourcing expenses to increase in absolute amounts as our business continuously grows.

 

Sales and marketing expenses. Sales and marketing expenses are comprised of: (i) online marketing expenses incurred by us, primarily in connection with the purchase of travel-related keywords and paid links from general search engines and other online marketing channels and expenses for cooperation with app stores and mobile browsers to drive mobile downloads; (ii) salaries, benefits and bonuses, share-based compensation and other headcount-related expenses for personnel including employees for our call center, photographers and editors, (iii) offline campaign expenses incurred by us, primarily in connection with consumer incentives and expenses associated with deploying temporary staff on the ground, and (iv) other advertising expenses to promote our business. We expense advertising expenses as incurred. We expect our sales and marketing expenses to increase in absolute amounts as our business continuously grows.

 

General and administrative expenses . General and administrative expenses consist of: (i) salaries, benefits and bonuses, share-based compensation and other headcount-related expenses associated with the administration of our business, (ii) costs of third-party professional services and (iii) office expenses. We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute amounts as our business continuously grows.

 

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation. Online marketing expenses from the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement were non-cash expenses and recognized ratably over the period of service required to earn each tranche of warrants based upon the estimated exercisable number of the Baidu warrants and without any downward adjustments if we utilize the Zhixin traffic in full, and the fair value of the warrants at each reporting date. On June 1, 2015, we and Baidu agreed to terminate the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement. Baidu paid us a cash consideration of RMB207.0 million (US$32.0 million) in connection with the termination. The consideration received from Baidu as our vendor was presumed to be a reduction of the price of the services provided by Baidu. The online marketing expense for the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation was RMB700.0 million and RMB37.2 million (US$5.7 million) for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively, of which nil and RMB143.6 million (US$22.2 million) were recognized as deductions to online marketing expense, respectively, as a result of the consideration received.

 

Our operating expenses include share-based compensation expenses. The following table sets forth the allocation of our share-based compensation expenses among different operating expense components.

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Product developments

 

20,784

 

59,884

 

1,299,625

 

200,628

 

Product sourcing

 

2,117

 

2,958

 

151,864

 

23,444

 

Sales and marketing

 

5,417

 

12,565

 

310,604

 

47,949

 

General and administrative

 

35,389

 

190,963

 

3,020,480

 

466,281

 

Total share-based compensation expenses

 

63,707

 

266,370

 

4,782,573

 

738,302

 

 

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Taxation

 

Cayman Islands. Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to tax on income or capital gains. In addition, upon payment of dividends to our shareholders, no Cayman Islands withholding tax will be imposed.

 

Hong Kong. Our subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong is subject to Hong Kong profit tax at a rate of 16.5%.

 

PRC. Under the EIT Law, domestic enterprises and foreign investment enterprises, or FIEs, such as our WFOE and affiliated PRC entities, are subject to a unified 25% enterprise income tax rate, except for certain entities that enjoyed the tax holidays.

 

Both the WFOE and our VIE were recognized as qualified HNTEs in December 2009 and hence were eligible for a 15% preferential tax rate for 2010 and 2011. The HNTE qualifications for both entities were renewed first in October 2012 and then in July 2015, and hence the WFOE and our VIE are eligible for a 15% preferential tax rate effective from 2012 to 2017. If the WFOE and our VIE continue to meet the HNTE requirements as recognized by the government, the preferential tax status may be further renewed in the future.

 

Our VIE ’s subsidiaries were subject to EIT at a rate of 25% for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

 

Under the EIT Law, dividends paid by FIEs out of profits earned after January 1, 2008 to non-PRC tax resident enterprises are subject to a PRC withholding tax of 10%. Pursuant to the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income entered into between Hong Kong and the PRC and other related PRC laws and regulations, such rate is lowered to 5% if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns over 25% of the equity interest of a PRC resident enterprise during the 12 consecutive months preceding the receipt of the dividends. Our PRC subsidiary is currently wholly owned by our Hong Kong subsidiary. However, there is no assurance the PRC tax authorities will agree with our self-assessment that our Hong Kong subsidiary as the beneficial owner of the dividends paid by our PRC subsidiary and thus grant approvals for the 5% withholding tax rate on dividends received by our Hong Kong subsidiary from our PRC subsidiary.

 

The EIT Law also provides that enterprises established under the laws of foreign countries or regions and whose “de facto management body” is located within the PRC are considered PRC tax resident enterprises and subject to PRC income tax at the rate of 25% on worldwide income. The term “de facto management body” means an establishment that exercises, in substance, overall management and control over the production and business, personnel, accounting, properties and other aspects of an enterprise. We do not believe we are currently a PRC tax resident. However, it remains unclear how PRC tax authorities will determine the tax residency status of companies like us. If we are deemed as a PRC tax resident, we would be subject to 25% PRC enterprise income tax on our global income under the EIT Law.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect, among other things: (i) the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, (ii) disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the end of each reporting period and (iii) the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during each reporting period. We continually evaluate these estimates and assumptions based on historical experience, knowledge and assessment of current business and other conditions, and expectations regarding the future based on available information and reasonable assumptions, which together form a basis for making judgments about matters not readily apparent from other sources. Since our financial reporting process inherently relies on the use of estimates and judgments, actual results could differ from what we expected. Some of our accounting policies require higher degrees of estimation and judgment than others in their application. When reviewing our financial statements, you should consider (i) our selection of critical accounting policies, (ii) the judgment and other uncertainties affecting the application of such policies and (iii) the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions. We consider the policies discussed below to be critical to an understanding of our financial statements as their application places significant demands on the judgment of our management.

 

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Revenue recognition

 

Our revenue is primarily derived from flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services. Revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, service has been performed, the price is fixed or determinable and the collectability of the related fee is reasonably assured in accordance with ASC 605, Revenue Recognition , or ASC 605. Typically, we enter into contracts with relevant parties to establish significant terms such as the price and specific services to be provided. We assess the creditworthiness of our customers prior to signing the contracts to ensure collectability is reasonably assured. Non-refundable payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue recognition are satisfied are recorded as customer advances and deposits.

 

When flight and flight related services, display advertising services and other services arrangements with a customer involve “multiple elements” as defined in ASC 605, the total arrangement consideration is allocated to the separate deliverables on the basis of their relative selling price. Relative selling price is based on vendor-specific objective evidence, or VSOE, if available, third-party evidence, or TPE, if VSOE is not available or the management’s best estimate of selling price, or BESP, if neither VSOE nor TPE are available. In determining the BESP for each deliverable, we consider the relevant overall pricing model and objectives, as well as market conditions that may impact the price at which we would transact if the deliverables are sold regularly on a standalone basis. In addition, the consideration allocated to the delivered element is limited to the amount that is not contingent upon the delivery of additional deliverables or meeting other specified performance conditions. We monitor the conditions that affect our determination of selling price for each deliverable and reassess such estimates periodically.

 

Flight and flight related services

 

Revenues from flight and flight related services mainly represent commissions from reservations of air tickets and related services. We receive fees from OTAs and airlines for reservations and sales of flight related services, including the sales of insurance policies on our website and mobile platform. Fees from flight and flight related services are recognized as revenue, net of estimated cancellations, upon the issuance of flight tickets by OTAs or airlines. Estimated cancellations were insignificant for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015. We consider the above arrangements in accordance with ASC 605 and have concluded that because we act as an agent, we do not assume inventory risks. Therefore, we present revenues from such transactions on a net basis in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

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For the year ended December 31, 2015 , we pre-purchased air tickets from airlines to sell on our website and mobile platform. In such transactions, we act as the principal and present our revenues on a gross basis. Such revenue recognized on a gross basis represents the price of the air tickets sold to our customers and the cost of the air tickets paid to the airlines is recorded as cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Accommodation reservation services

 

We receive commissions from hotels and OTAs for hotel room reservations through our website and mobile platform. Fees from hotel reservation services are recognized when the reservation of rooms are made or after the hotel confirms that the end user has completed his or her stay, depending on the terms and conditions of the underlying contract. When our contracts with the hotels state that we earn the fees regardless of whether the end users complete their stay at the hotels, fees are recognized upon the reservation of the hotel room. We present revenues from such transactions on a net basis where we act as an agent and do not assume inventory risks for such revenues recorded.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2015 , we pre-purchased rooms from hotels to sell on our website and mobile platform. In such transactions, we act as the principal and present revenues on a gross basis. Such revenue recognized on a gross basis represents the price of the hotel rooms sold to our customers and the cost of the rooms paid to the hotels is recorded as cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Display advertising services

 

The majority of display advertising service arrangements involves multiple deliverables such as banner advertisements, logos and other media insertions that are delivered over the same perio d or different periods of time. We regularly provide display advertising services at a discount to our standard rates, which is consistent with the industry practice in the PRC. These discounts are in the form of free advertising, of which the duration and other terms of services are specified as part of the revenue contract. The banner advertisements, logos, other media insertions and free elements are each considered to be a separate deliverable in the multiple element arrangements.

 

Revenue is recognized ratably when the deliverables are published over the relevant display period.

 

Rebates provided to customers of display advertising services

 

We provide cash incentives in the form of rebates to certain advertising agencies based on the cumulative advertising volume during each fiscal year. Such rebates are recorded as a reduction of revenue in the period such revenue is recognized. Rebates to advertising agencies amounted to RMB7.9 million, RMB11.9 million and RMB19.2 million (US$3.0 million) for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

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Other services

 

The other services primarily represent commissions received from OTAs and local tour agencies for reservation of vacation packages on our website, reservation of railway tickets and car tickets and third-party online payment platforms for payments originating from user online bookings through our website or mobile platform. The commission is based on a contracted percentage of the total payments processed. Revenue is recognized on a net basis, when the four revenue recognition criteria in accordance with ASC 605 as shown above have been met. When we act as the principal in selling pre-purchased services such as vacation packages assuming inventory risk, we present revenues on a gross basis as other services in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Revenues from flight and flight related, accommodation reservation and other services booked on a gross basis amounted to RMB604.5 million (US$93.3 million) for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Coupon programs

 

During 2015, we launched various coupon programs through which we offer incentives to end users primarily under various arrangements where we act as an agent to our customers, including OTA, airlines and hotels:

 

a.               Red pocket coupons

 

We issue “red pocket coupons” to end users when they complete certain acts that are unrelated to purchases of customer products on our mobile platform, or, from time to time, without any actions required from the end users. The red pocket coupons can be used primarily in future purchases of eligible customer products offered on our mobile platform. The red pocket coupons expire at the end of the quarter during which they are issued.

 

b.               Consumption points program

 

We issue “consumption points” that the end users accumulate from purchases of customer products offered on our website and mobile platform. Consumption points are convertible into red pocket coupons that can be used to reduce the purchase price of eligible customer products offered on our mobile platform in future purchases. The consumption points can be converted into red pocket coupons, which expire at the end of the quarter during which such conversion is made.

 

c.                Product-specific coupons

 

Product-specific coupons for car service or movie tickets, issued with or without the end users completing purchases on our platforms, can be used against future purchases of the same products to reduce purchase price. The product-specific coupons generally expire within 3 months from issuance.

 

As the end users are required to make future purchases of customer products on our website or mobile platform to redeem the coupons, we recognize the amount of coupons redeemed by the end users as marketing expense when purchases are made, whereas we present coupons issued to end users in connection with current sales to customers as a reduction of revenue.  When coupons are redeemed in sales under arrangements where we act as principal, the amount of coupons redeemed by customers is presented as a reduction of revenue.

 

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Product developments

 

Product developments expenses primarily consist of salaries and related compensation for product developments personnel who are responsible for developing, improving and maintaining our mobile and website platforms. Product development expenses are recognized as incurred. We recognize website and software development costs in accordance with ASC 350,  Intangibles-Goodwill and Other . We expense all costs that are incurred in connection with the planning and implementation phases of development and costs that are associated with repair or maintenance of the existing websites and website contents or the development of software for internal use. We capitalize software development costs that fulfill the capitalization criteria. As of December 31, 2015, there were no costs relating to website and software development that were subject to capitalization.

 

Income taxes

 

We follow the liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates that will be in effect in the period in which the differences are expected to reverse. We record a valuation allowance to offset deferred tax assets if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rate is recognized in tax expense in the period that includes the enactment date of the change in tax rate.

 

In accordance with the provisions of ASC 740,  Income taxes , we recognize in our financial statements the benefit of a tax position if the tax position is more likely than not to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the “more likely than not” recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. We estimate our liability for unrecognized tax benefits, which may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities, changes and/or developments with respect to tax audits and expiration of the statute of limitations. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in some cases, appeal or litigation process. The actual benefits ultimately realized may differ from our estimates. As each tax audit is concluded, adjustments, if any, are recorded in our financial statements. Additionally, in future periods, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require us to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Changes in recognition and measurement estimates are recognized in the period in which the changes occur. We have elected to classify interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as income tax expense.

 

Share-based compensation

 

Options granted to employees

 

We apply ASC 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation, or ASC 718, to account for our employee share-based compensation.

 

In accordance with ASC 718, we determine whether an award should be classified and accounted for as a liability award or equity award. All grants of share-based awards to employees classified as equity awards are recognized in the financial statements based on their grant date fair values. Specifically, the grant date fair value of share options are calculated using an option pricing model. We have elected to recognize compensation expense using the straight-line method for all employee equity awards granted with graded vesting based on service conditions, provided that the amount of compensation cost recognized at any date is at least equal to the portion of the grant-date value of the options that are vested at that date.

 

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For certain share options granted to corporate headquarter employees, there is a performance target that affects the exercisability of the award, which can be achieved after the requisite service period. That is, the employee would be eligible to vest in the award regardless of whether the employee is rendering service on the date the performance target is achieved. We account for the performance target as a performance condition. As such, the performance target shall not be reflected in estimating the fair value of the award at the grant date. Compensation cost shall be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period for which the requisite service already has been rendered. If the performance target becomes probable of being achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost should be recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period.

 

The service inception date is the date at which the requisite service period begins. If it is determined that the service inception date precedes the grant date, recognition of compensation cost for the period between the service inception date and the grant date is based on the fair value of the award at the reporting dates that occur before the grant date. The service inception date precedes the grant date if an award is authorized, the recipient begins to provide services and (a) either the award’s terms do not include a substantive future requisite service condition that exists at the grant date or (b) the award contains a market or performance condition that, if not satisfied during the service period preceding the grant date and following the inception of the arrangement, results in forfeiture of the award. An award is authorized when all approval requirements are completed, including action by the Board of Directors approving the award and the number of options or other equity instruments to be issued to individual employees.

 

To the extent the required vesting conditions are not met, resulting in the forfeiture of the share-based awards, previously recognized compensation expenses relating to those awards are reversed. ASC 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in the subsequent period if actual forfeitures differ from initial estimates.

 

Forfeiture rates are estimated based on historical and future expectations of employee turnover rates and are adjusted to reflect future changes in circumstances and facts, if any. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures such that expense is recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to vest. To the extent we revise these estimates in the future, the share-based compensation expenses could be materially impacted in the period of revision and in following periods.

 

The Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model was applied in determining the estimated fair value of the options granted to employees.

 

According to ASC 718, a change in any of the terms or conditions of stock options shall be accounted for as a modification of the plan. Therefore, we calculate incremental compensation cost of a modification as the excess of the fair value of the modified option over the fair value of the original option immediately before its terms are modified, measured based on the share price and other pertinent factors at the modification date. For vested options, we would recognize incremental compensation cost in the period the modification occurs and for unvested options, we would recognize, over the remaining requisite service period, the sum of the incremental compensation cost and the remaining unrecognized compensation cost for the original award on the modification date.

 

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Warrants issued to non-employees

 

We accounted for the warrants issued to non-employees following the measurement guidance in ASC505-50, Equity, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees and classified the warrants issued as a liability pursuant to the classification guidance in ASC 505-50-25-10 and ASC 718-10-25-11.

 

For the warrants issued to non-employees that is classified as a liability, it is measured at fair value at each reporting date until the final measurement date, which is the date of completion of services required to earn the warrants. The cost associated with the warrants issued is recognized ratably over the period of service required to earn each tranche of warrants. Upon vesting, the warrants should continue to be accounted for as a liability in accordance with ASC 480-10-25-8 and measured in accordance with ASC 480-10-30 and ASC 480-10-35 at every reporting period until the warrants are settled. Changes in the fair value of the vested warrants will be recognized in earnings in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Contingencies

 

When a loss contingency is at least reasonably possible, we disclose an estimate of the loss or range of loss if such estimate can be made and is material; or we state that such estimate is immaterial if it can be estimated but is immaterial; or we disclose that an estimate cannot be made. The assessment of whether a loss is probable or reasonably possible, and whether the loss or a range of loss is estimable, often involve complex judgments about future events. Management is often unable to estimate the loss or a range of loss, particularly where (i) the amounts including damages sought are indeterminate, (ii) the proceedings are in the early stages, or (iii) there is a lack of clear or consistent interpretation of laws specific to the matter among different jurisdictions. In such cases, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing or ultimate resolution of such matters, including eventual loss, fine, penalty or business impact, if any.

 

Convertible debt instruments

 

ASC topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging , or ASC 815, requires all contracts which meet the definition of a derivative to be recognized on the balance sheet as either assets or liabilities and be recorded at fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments are recognized periodically in earnings if they do not qualify for hedge accounting. We consider the Cash Conversion subsection under ASC subtopic 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options , or ASC 470-20, applicable for our long-term debt that may be settled in cash or other assets upon conversion, including partial cash settlement, unless the embedded conversion option is required to be separately accounted for as a derivative instrument under ASC 815. ASC470-20 requires a convertible debt instrument to be separated into its liability and equity components by allocating the issuance proceeds to each of these components. The debt component is initially measured at its fair value considering all relevant terms except the conversion option. The equity component is classified as stockholders’ equity (deficit) and measured at its residual amount. The resulting excess of the principal amount of the liability component over its carrying amount is amortized to interest cost using interest method. The equity component is not re-measured as long as it continues to meet the equity classification.

 

If a convertible debt instrument within the scope of the Cash Conversion Subsection contains embedded features other than the embedded conversion option, we apply ASC 815 to determine if any of those features must be separately accounted for as a derivative instrument. Transaction costs incurred with third parties other than investors and are directly related to the issuance of convertible debt instruments within the scope of the Cash Conversion Subsection are allocated to the liability and equity components in proportion to the allocation of proceeds and accounted for as debt and equity issuance costs, respectively.

 

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If an instrument within the scope of the ASC 470-20 is derecognized, we allocate the consideration transferred and transaction costs incurred to the extinguishment of the liability component and the reacquisition of the equity component.

 

To account for the extinguishment of an instrument, an amount equal to the fair value of the liability component immediately prior to extinguishment is deducted from the fair value of the total settlement consideration transferred and allocated to the liability component. Any difference between the amount allocated to the liability and the net carrying amount of the liability component, including any unamortized debt issue costs, is recognized in earnings as a gain or loss on debt extinguishment. Any remaining consideration is allocated to the reacquisition of the equity component and recognized as a reduction of shareholders’ equity.

 

Intangible assets

 

Intangible assets with finite lives are carried at cost less accumulated amortization and are amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated economic lives. As of December 31, 2015, the finite intangible asset consisted of our software platform with the estimated economic life of 8 years, which was acquired in 2015.

 

As of December 31, 2015, our i ntangible assets with indefinite lives mainly consisted of an acquired domain name which is measured on initial recognition at cost. The domain name may be used indefinitely without significant costs of renewal. The expected cash flows generated from the domain name is for an indefinite period. As a result, the domain name has been determined to have an indefinite useful life. The domain name is not amortized, but instead tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if certain circumstances indicate a possible impairment may exist in accordance with ASC subtopic 350-30, Intangibles-Goodwill and other: General Intangibles Other than Goodwill , or ASC 350-30. We perform our annual impairment assessment for acquired indefinite intangible assets in December of each year.

 

Long-term investments

 

Our long-term investments consist of cost method investments and equity method investments.

 

In accordance with ASC subtopic 325-20,  Investments-Other: Cost Method Investments , or ASC 325-20, with respect to investment made in an investee over which we do not have significant influence and which do not have readily determinable fair value, we carry the investment at cost and only adjust for other-than-temporary declines in fair value and distributions of earnings that exceed our share of earnings since our investment. We regularly evaluate the impairment of the investment based on performance and financial position of the investee as well as other evidence of market value. Such evaluation includes, but is not limited to, reviewing the investee’s cash position, recent financing, projected and historical financial performance, cash flow forecasts and financing needs. An impairment loss recognized in earnings is equal to the excess of the investment’s cost over its fair value at the balance sheet date of the reporting period for which the assessment is made. The fair value would then become the new cost basis of investment.

 

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Cost method accounting is also applied to investments that are not considered as “in-substance” common stock investments, and do not have readily determinable fair values.

 

Investments in entities in which we can exercise significant influence but do not own a majority equity interest or control in are accounted for using the equity method of accounting in accordance with ASC topic 323,  Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures , or ASC 323. Under the equity method, we record such investment at its cost and the difference between scuh cost and the fair value of the underlying equity in the net assets of the equity investee is recognized as equity method goodwill, which is included in the equity method investment on the consolidated balance sheets. We subsequently adjust the carrying amount of the investment to recognize our proportionate share of each equity investee’s net income or loss into earnings after the date of investment. We will discontinue applying the equity method if an investment (and additional financial supports to the investee, if any) has been reduced to zero. An impairment loss on the equity method investments is recognized in earnings when the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this annual report. The results of operations in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues (*) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight and flight related services

 

551,122

 

1,171,229

 

2,206,948

 

340,694

 

Accommodation reservation services

 

194,030

 

347,281

 

1,472,925

 

227,380

 

Display advertising services

 

63,503

 

87,894

 

117,945

 

18,208

 

Other services

 

42,267

 

150,351

 

373,394

 

57,642

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenues

 

850,922

 

1,756,755

 

4,171,212

 

643,924

 

Cost of revenues

 

(173,395

)

(454,902

)

(1,433,237

)

(221,253

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

 

677,527

 

1,301,853

 

2,737,975

 

422,671

 

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product developments (1)

 

(319,021

)

(774,511

)

(2,578,528

)

(398,056

)

Product sourcing (1)

 

(67,271

)

(316,903

)

(785,385

)

(121,243

)

Sales and marketing (1)

 

(315,506

)

(890,861

)

(2,671,637

)

(412,430

)

General and administrative (1)

 

(129,209

)

(399,914

)

(3,388,467

)

(523,089

)

Online marketing expenses for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

 

(699,983

)

(37,178

)

(5,739

)

Contract termination loss provision

 

 

(64,485

)

 

 

Operating loss

 

(153,480

)

(1,844,804

)

(6,723,220

)

(1,037,886

)

Interest income (expenses), net

 

4,757

 

31,329

 

(110,233

)

(17,017

)

Foreign exchange gain (loss), net

 

1,469

 

(20,739

)

(64,106

)

(9,896

)

Other income (loss), net

 

1,057

 

4,873

 

(25,161

)

(3,884

)

Fair value change in warrant liability

 

 

 

(397,987

)

(61,439

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss before income tax

 

(146,197

)

(1,829,341

)

(7,320,707

)

(1,130,122

)

Income tax expense

 

(41,092

)

(17,560

)

(22,784

)

(3,517

)

Equity in loss of affiliated companies, net of tax

 

 

 

(5,840

)

(902

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,349,331

)

(1,134,541

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

(6,622

)

(1,022

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders

 

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,342,709

)

(1,133,519

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-GAAP Financial Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted net loss (2)

 

(117,662

)

(812,759

)

(2,092,168

)

(322,975

)

Adjusted EBITDA (2)

 

(51,669

)

(743,151

)

(1,818,697

)

(280,759

)

Adjusted operating loss (2)

 

(83,853

)

(810,662

)

(1,903,469

)

(293,845

)

 

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*                  Starting from January 2015, we present our revenues by the primary business lines of flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services. Comparative amounts for the prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

 

(1) Share-based compensation expenses were allocated in the operating expenses as follows:

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Product developments

 

20,784

 

59,884

 

1,299,625

 

200,628

 

Product sourcing

 

2,117

 

2,958

 

151,864

 

23,444

 

Sales and marketing

 

5,417

 

12,565

 

310,604

 

47,949

 

General and administrative

 

35,389

 

190,963

 

3,020,480

 

466,281

 

Total share-based compensation expenses

 

63,707

 

266,370

 

4,782,573

 

738,302

 

 

(2) For discussions and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures, see “Item 3. Key Information—A. Selected Financial Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

Year Ended December 31, 2015 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2014

 

Total Revenues . Our total revenues increased by 137.4 % from RMB1,756.8 million in 2014 to RMB4,171.2 million (US$643.9 million) in 2015. This increase was primarily due to increases in flight and flight related services revenue and accommodation reservation services revenue.

 

Flight and flight related revenues . Our flight and flight related revenue increased by 88.4%, from RMB1,171.2 million in 2014 to RMB2,206.9 million (US$340.7 million) in 2015. Year-on-year flight and flight related revenue growth was primarily due to increases in revenue per ticket and in TEFT.

 

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Accommodation reservation revenue s. Our accommodation reservation revenue increased from RMB347.3 million in 2014 to RMB1,472.9 million (US$227.4 million) in 2015, an increase of 324.1% year-on-year. Excluding revenues generated from our merchant model program, where revenues were booked on a gross basis, accommodation reservation revenues were RMB956.9 million (US$147.7 million) in 2015, an increase of 175.5% year-on-year. The growth in our year-on-year accommodation reservation revenue was primarily due to an increase in TEHR.

 

Display advertising revenues. Our display advertising revenues increased by 34.2%, from RMB87.9 million in 2014 to RMB117.9 million (US$18.2 million) in 2015, primarily due to increases in the average spending per customer from RMB482,934 in 2014 to RMB675,227 (US$104,237) in 2015.

 

Other revenues. Our other revenues increased by 148.3% from RMB150.4 million in 2014 to RMB373.4 million (US$57.6 million) in 2015, primarily due to increases in packaged tour services revenue and tickets revenue.

 

Cost of revenues . Our cost of revenues increased by 215.1%, from RMB454.9 million in 2014 to RMB1,433.2 million (US$221.3 million) in 2015, primarily due to the cost of products incurred by our merchant model program starting in 2015, and increases in online payment processing fees and sales tax and related surcharges.

 

Cost of products. Our cost of products represents the costs of the air tickets and hotel rooms paid by us to the airlines and hotels, which we began to incur in 2015 when we started our merchant model program.

 

Online payment processing fees. Our online payment processing fees, which we began to incur since the first quarter of 2014, increased by 55.1%, from RMB125.2 million in 2014 to RMB194.2 million (US$30.0 million) in 2015, as a result of an increase in trading transaction volume.

 

Data acquisition costs. Our data acquisition costs increased by 36.9 %, from RMB61.8 million in 2014 to RMB84.6 million (US$13.1 million) in 2015, as a result of an increase in our total number of flight search queries.

 

Bandwidth and server hosting costs. Our bandwidth and server hosting costs increased by 57.4 %, from RMB28.1 million in 2014 to RMB44.2 million (US$6.8 million) in 2015, as a result of the addition of server hosting and bandwidth to support the growth of our user traffic and our services.

 

Depreciation. Our depreciation costs increased by 151.1%, from RMB17.8 million in 2014 to RMB44.7 million (US$6.9 million) in 2015, primarily due to the depreciation of additional servers we have acquired to support our business expansion.

 

Others. Other cost of revenues increased by 64.6%, from RMB57.1 million in 2014 to RMB93.9 million (US$14.5 million) in 2015, primarily due to an increase in short-message service fees that resulted from increased transaction volume.

 

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Sales tax and related surcharges. Our sales tax and related surcharges increased by 55.4%, from RMB164.9 million in 2014 to RMB256.2 million (US$39.6 million) in 2015, which was due to the increase in our total revenues.

 

Operating Expenses . Our total operating expenses increased by 200.7%, from RMB3,146.7 million in 2014 to RMB9,461.2 million (US$1,460.6 million) in 2015, primarily due to increases in general and administrative expenses, product developments expenses and product sourcing expenses, which were partly offset by the decrease in online marketing expense for the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation.

 

Product developments expenses. Our product developments expenses increased by 232.9%, from RMB774.5 million in 2014 to RMB2,578.5 million (US$398.1 million) in 2015, primarily due to a significant increase in share-based compensation expenses resulting from issuances under our new 2015 share incentive plan and the employee share exchange program, and an increase in salary, welfare and other expenses associated with headcount increases.

 

Product sourcing expenses. Our product sourcing increased by 147.8%, from RMB316.9 million in 2014 to RMB785.4 million (US$121.2 million) in 2015, primarily due to a significant increase in share-based compensation expenses resulting from issuances under our new 2015 share incentive plan and employee share exchange program, and an increase in product sourcing headcount

 

Sales and marketing expenses. Our sales and marketing expenses increased by 199.9%, from RMB890.9 million in 2014 to RMB2,671.6 million (US$412.4 million) in 2015, primarily due to a significant increase in share-based compensation expenses resulting from issuances under our new 2015 share incentive plan and employee share exchange program, stepped up discretionary expenditures to acquire new mobile users through offline channels, and to a lesser degree due to an increase in online marketing expenses as well as salary and welfare expenses as a result of increased headcount. The headcount expenses under sales and marketing were primarily expenses related to personnel with operational functions, including our customer service staff, photographers, editors, and staff responsible for data analysis.

 

General and administrative expenses. Our general and administrative expenses increased by 747.3%, from RMB399.9 million in 2014 to RMB3,388.5 million (US$523.1 million) in 2015, primarily as a result of a significant increase in share-based compensation expenses resulting from issuances under our new 2015 share incentive plan and employee share exchange program, and an increase in salary and welfare expenses associated with headcount increases.

 

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation. Online marketing expenses for the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation decreased by 94.7%, from RMB700.0 million 2014 to RMB37.2 million (US$5.7 million) in 2015. The decrease was primarily due to the termination of the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation in the second quarter of 2015.

 

Contract termination loss provision . A loss provision of RMB64.5 million was recorded in 2014 as a result of the legal proceedings between eLong and us. In 2015, the litigation was settled and no such provision was incurred.

 

Income Tax Expense . Our income tax expense was RMB22.8 million (US$3.5 million) in 2015, as compared with RMB17.6 million in 2014. The increase in income tax expense was primarily due to an increase in valuation allowance against certain deferred tax assets.

 

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Net Loss . As a result of the foregoing, our net loss increased to RMB7,349.3 million (US$1,134.5 million) in 2015 from RMB1,846.9 million in 2014.

 

Adjusted Net Loss. Our adjusted net loss increased to RMB2,092.2 million (US$323.0 million) in 2015 from RMB812.8 million in 2014. See “Item 3. Key Information—A. Selected Financial Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for discussions and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures.

 

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

 

Total Revenues . Our total revenues increased by 106.5% from RMB850.9 million in 2013 to RMB1,756.8 million in 2014.  This increase was primarily due to increases in flight and flight related services revenue and accommodation reservation services revenue.

 

Flight and flight related revenues . Our flight and flight related revenue increased by 112.5%, from RMB551.1 million in 2013 to RMB1,171.2 million in 2014. Year-on-year flight and flight related revenue growth was primarily due to increases in revenue per ticket and TEFT.

 

Accommodation reservation revenue s. Our accommodation reservation revenue increased by 79.0% from RMB194.0 million in 2013 to RMB347.3 million in 2014. Year-on-year accommodation reservation revenue growth was primarily due to increase in TEHR.

 

Display advertising revenues. Our display advertising revenues increased by 38.4%, from RMB63.5 million in 2013 to RMB87.9 million in 2014, primarily due to increases in the average spending per customer from RMB387,214 in 2013 to RMB482,934 in 2014.

 

Other revenues.   Our other revenues increased by 255.7% from RMB42.3 million in 2013 to RMB150.4 million in 2014, primarily due to increases in packaged tour services and tickets revenue.

 

Cost of revenues. Our cost of revenues increased by 162.4%, from RMB173.4 million in 2013 to RMB454.9 million in 2014, primarily due to online payment processing fee recorded in cost of revenues and increases in data acquisition cost and sales tax and surcharges.

 

Online payment processing fees. Our online payment processing fees, which we began to incur since the first quarter of 2014, amounted to RMB125.2 million in 2014.

 

Data acquisition costs. Our data acquisition costs increased by 55.5%, from RMB39.7 million in 2013 to RMB61.8 million in 2014, as a result of an increase in our total number of flight search queries.

 

Bandwidth and server hosting costs. Our bandwidth and server hosting costs increased by 142.0%, from RMB11.6 million in 2013 to RMB28.1 million in 2014, as a result of the addition of server hosting and bandwidth to support the growth of our user traffic and our services.

 

Depreciation. Our depreciation costs increased by 91.6%, from RMB9.3 million in 2013 to RMB17.8 million in 2014, primarily due to the depreciation of additional servers we have acquired to support our business expansion.

 

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Others. Other cost of revenues increased by 96.1%, from RMB29.1 million in 2013 to RMB57.1 million in 2014, primarily due to an increase in service fees.

 

Sales tax and related surcharges. Our sales tax and related surcharges increased by 97.1%, from RMB83.6 million in 2013 to RMB164.9 million in 2014, which was due to the increase in our total revenues.

 

Operating Expenses . Our total operating expenses increased by 278.7%, from RMB831.0 million in 2013 to RMB3,146.7 million in 2014, primarily due to online marketing expense in connection with the launch of our hotel direct business, contract termination loss provision in 2014 in connection with the legal proceedings between eLong and us and increases in our sales and marketing expenses, product development expenses, product sourcing expenses and general and administrative expenses.

 

Product developments expenses. Our product developments expenses increased by 142.8%, from RMB319.0 million in 2013 to RMB774.5 million in 2014, primarily due to an increase in salary, benefits and other headcount-related expenses associated with the growth of the product developments team.

 

Product sourcing expenses. Our product sourcing increased by 371.1%, from RMB67.3 million in 2013 to RMB316.9 million in 2014, primarily due to increases in salary and benefits in 2014 as a result of the increased headcount in our product sourcing force in 2014.

 

Sales and marketing expenses. Our sales and marketing expenses increased by 182.4%, from RMB315.5 million in 2013 to RMB890.9 million in 2014, primarily due to increased spending for the acquisition of user traffic to our mobile and website platform and an increase in salary and benefits in 2014 as a result of the increased headcount booked under the sales and marketing line in 2014.

 

General and administrative expenses. Our general and administrative expenses increased by 209.5%, from RMB129.2 million in 2013 to RMB399.9 million in 2014, primarily as a result of a substantial increase in share-based compensation expenses and an increase in salary and benefits resulting from increases in headcount and average salaries.

 

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation. Online marketing expenses for the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation for fiscal year 2014 were RMB700.0 million compared to nil for 2013, as it was launched on January 2014. Online marketing expenses from the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement were non-cash expenses and recognized ratably over the period of service required to earn each tranche of warrants based upon the estimated exercisable number of the Baidu warrants and the fair value of the warrants at each reporting date.

 

Contract termination loss provision . A loss provision was recorded in the amount of RMB64.5 million in 2014 as a result of the legal proceedings between eLong and us compared to nil in 2013.

 

Income Tax Expense . Our income tax expense was RMB17.6 million in 2014, as compared with RMB41.1 million in 2013. The decrease in income tax expense was primarily due to our decrease in taxable income as a result of increased loss before tax and partially offset by increased deemed profit arising from our travel-related services.

 

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Net Loss . As a result of the foregoing, our net loss increased to RMB1,846.9 million in 2014 from RMB187.3 million in 2013.

 

Adjusted Net Loss. Our adjusted net loss increased to RMB812.8 million in 2014 from RMB117.7 million in 2013. See “Item 3. Key Information—A. Selected Financial Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for discussions and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures.

 

Inflation

 

Inflation in China has not materially impacted our results of operations. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the annual average percent changes in the consumer price index in China for 2013, 2014 and 2015 were increases of 2.6%, 2.0% and 1.4%, respectively. Although we have not in the past been materially affected by inflation since our inception, we can provide no assurance that we will not be affected in the future by higher rates of inflation in China.

 

B.             LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

Cash Flows and Working Capital

 

Our principal sources of liquidity have been our sale of shares, cash generated from operating activities as well as the proceeds from our initial public offering in November 2013 and our offering of additional shares and convertible notes in June 2015. Our cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand and demand bank deposits and our short-term investment consists of low-risk investments with maturities between three months and one year when acquired. As of December 31, 2015, we had RMB6,929.8 million (US$1,069.8 million) in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, funds receivable and short-term investment.

 

We entered into a revolving credit facility agreement with Baidu with a principal amount of US$300.0 million on February 27, 2014. The agreement has a term of three years with an interest rate of 90% of the benchmark lending rate published by the People ’s Bank of China. We drew down an amount of RMB507.0 million (US$78.3 million) and RMB627.0 million (US$96.8 million) from this facility on March 12 and May 4, 2015, respectively. As of December 31, 2015, US$175.1 million were outstanding under this credit facility. We repaid our loans under this facility in full in March 2016.

 

We did not have any short-term or long-term bank borrowings outstanding as of December 31, 2013 and 2014. On September 14, 2015, we obtained a RMB denominated loan in the principal amount of RMB643.5 million (US$99.3 million) from Xiamen International Bank at an annual interest rate of 1.62%. This short-term bank loan matures in one year and is guaranteed by a deposit of RMB650.0 million by an overseas subsidiary.

 

On June 17, 2015, w e issued convertible notes in the aggregate amount of US$500 million to Gaoling Fund, L.P., YHG Investment, L.P. and SL Camel Holdco Limited. The convertible notes are our senior unsecured obligations and bear interest at a rate of 2.0% per annum from the issuance date, payable semiannually on June 17 and December 17 of each year. The notes have a maturity date of June 17, 2021, unless repurchased, redeemed or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date. The convertible notes are convertible at any time, at the holder’s option, into our ADSs at an initial conversion price of US$55 per ADS, subject to adjustment under the terms of the indenture dated June 17, 2015, as amended on August 17, 2015 and November 24, 2015. The holders of the convertible notes may require us to repurchase the notes held by them at 100% of their principal amount, plus any accrued and unpaid interest, upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, as defined in the indenture for the notes, include a change in control of our company. We have also entered into a registration rights agreement with the purchasers of the convertible notes, providing for customary demand registration rights and piggyback registration rights with respect to the resale of the convertible notes and the Class B ordinary shares and ADSs issuable upon conversion of the convertible notes. Each of Gaoling Fund, L.P., YHG Investment, L.P. and SL Camel Holdco Limited has irrevocably waived and relinquished its right to convert the respective convertible notes held by it. In January 2016, SL Camel Holdco Limited, Gaoling Fund, L.P. and YHG Investment, L.P. transferred all of the convertible notes held by them, free of conversion rights, to Ctrip.

 

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In March 2016, we obtained a RMB denominated loan with a principal amount of RMB1,773.8 million (US$273.8 million) from Ctrip.  This loan is interest-free and has a term of three years.  Ctrip may require us to repay this loan upon 60 days’ prior written notice or upon the occurrence of certain event specified therein.

 

We have been able to meet our working capital needs and we believe that we will be able to meet our working capital needs in the next 12 months with our cash balance and operating cash flow. We may, however, need additional capital in the future to fund our continued business growth.

 

We have also started to make strategic investments starting in 2014, and intend to continue to make such strategic investments in the future that will complement our business.  Our long-term investments totaled RMB 713.0 million (US$110.1 million) as of December 31, 2015.

 

The following table shows our cash flows with respect to operating activities, investing activities and financing activities in the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015:

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Net cash used for operating activities

 

(59,919

)

(435,724

)

(2,044,824

)

(315,666

)

Net cash (used for) provided by investing activities

 

(524,738

)

230,840

 

(1,197,594

)

(184,876

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

1,432,081

 

15,001

 

6,314,159

 

974,737

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

(15,806

)

22,726

 

230,937

 

35,651

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

 

831,618

 

(167,157

)

3,302,678

 

509,846

 

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

 

148,511

 

980,129

 

812,972

 

125,501

 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

 

980,129

 

812,972

 

4,115,650

 

635,347

 

 

Operating Activities

 

Net cash used for operating activities in 2015 was approximately RMB2,044.8 million (US$315.7 million), which was primarily attributable to (i) our net loss of RMB7,349.3 million (US$1,134.5 million) in 2015; (ii) an increase in prepayments and other current assets of RMB1,059.6 million (US$163.6 million) and (iii) an increase in restricted cash of RMB860.7 million (US$132.9 million), which were partly offset by (i) non-cash charges from operating activities of RMB5,428.2 million (US$838.0 million), which primarily included share-based compensation expenses of RMB4,781.3 million (US$738.1 million) and fair value change in warrant liability of RMB398.0 million (US$61.4 million), and (ii) an increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB1,93 5.7 million (US$298.8 million).

 

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Net cash used for operating activities in 2014 was approximately RMB435.7 million, which was primarily attributable to (i) our net loss of RMB1,846.9 million in 2014; (ii) an increase in accounts receivable of RMB67.7 million, primarily due to the increased volume in our flight and flight related and accommodation reservation services and displaying advertising services; (iii) an increase in prepayments and other current assets of RMB193.6 million and (iv) an increase in funds receivables of RMB172.0 million, offset by (i) the increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB717.1 million; (ii) the adjustment of online-marketing expenses for the Baidu Zhixin Cooperation of approximately RMB700.0 million and other non-cash charges from operating activities of RMB320.5 million, which primarily included share-based compensation expenses of RMB265.9 million and depreciation expenses of RMB52.0 million and (iii) an increase in customer advances and deposits of RMB94.3 million, primarily due to the increased volume of flight and flight related and accommodation reservation services that require our customers to pay in advance.

 

Net cash used for operating activities in 2013 was approximately RMB59.9 million, which was primarily attributable to (i) our net loss of RMB187.3 million in 2013; (ii) the adjustment of non-cash charges from operating activities of RMB85.9 million, which primarily included the share-based compensation expenses of RMB58.2 million and depreciation expenses of RMB22.7 million; (iii) an increase in fund receivables of RMB210.3 million and an increase in restricted cash of RMB114.5 million, offset by the increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB289.9 million; (iv) an increase in accounts receivable of RMB61.3 million, primarily due to the increased volume of displaying advertising services and (v) an increase in customer advances and deposits of RMB95.6 million, primarily due to the increased volume of flight and flight related services that require our customers to pay in advance.

 

Investing Activities

 

Net cash used for investing activities was RMB1,197.6 million (US$184.9 million) in 2015, primarily due to (i) payments to purchase long-term investments of RMB646.0 million (US$99.7 million), (ii) payments to purchase short-term investments of approximately RMB599.4 million (US$92.5 million), and (iii) payments for the acquisition of property and equipment of RMB199.7 million (US$30.8 million), which were partly offset by the net proceeds we received from the maturity of short-term investments of RMB260.0 million (US$40.1 million).

 

Net cash provided by investing activities was RMB230.8 million in 2014, primarily due to the net proceeds we received from the maturity of short-term investments of RMB497.7 million, which was primarily offset by acquisition of property and equipment of RMB160.8 million and long-term investments of RMB103.2 million.

 

Net cash used for investing activities was RMB524.8 million in 2013, primarily due to the net amounts used for the purchase of the short-term investments.

 

Financing Activities

 

Net cash provided by financing activities totaled approximately RMB6,314.2 million (US$974.7 million) in 2015, primarily due to (i) the net proceeds received from issuance of long-term debt (net of issuance costs) of RMB3,050.7 million (US$471.0 million), (ii) the net proceeds received from the issuance of our Class B ordinary shares (net of offering costs) of RMB1,932.1 million (US$298.3 million), (iii) the loans obtained from related parties of RMB1,773.8 million (US$273.8 million), and (iv) the proceeds received from short-term loan of RMB643.5 million (US$99.3 million), which were partly offset by (i) the restricted cash pledged on short-term loan of RMB650.0 million (US$100.3 million), and (ii) the loan to related parties of RMB649.9 million (US$100.3 million).

 

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Net cash provided by financing activities totaled approximately RMB15.0 million in 2014, primarily due to proceeds of RMB15.0 million from exercise of share options.

 

Net cash provided by financing activities totaled approximately RMB1,432.1 million in 2013, primarily attributable to the proceeds of RMB354.6 million from issuance of ordinary shares in March 2013 and RMB1,083.3 million from our initial public offering and concurrent private placement in November 2013.

 

Capital Expenditures

 

Our capital expenditures were incurred primarily in connection with leasehold improvements, investments in servers, computers, other office equipment , domain name and trademark. We had capital expenditures of RMB39.3 million, RMB163.6 million and RMB200.6 million (US$31.0 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. We expect to incur in 2016 a similar amount in capital expenditures as in 2015, primarily on servers, computers and other office equipment and leasehold improvements in the ordinary course of our business. We intend to fund such capital expenditures with our cash on hand. Actual future capital expenditures may differ from the amounts indicated above. We will continue to make capital expenditures to meet the expected growth of our operations and we expect that cash generated from our operating activities and financing activities will meet our capital expenditure needs in the foreseeable future.

 

C.             PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

 

We have an experienced team of software engineers and product managers in our product development department, among whom a significant number of engineers and product managers were dedicated to the development of our mobile platform and hotel direct business. Our product developments team is centralized in our corporate headquarters in Beijing. We recruit most of our software engineers across China, from among graduates with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in computer science and related fields. Our product development efforts focus on developing and improving our user experience and customer service.

 

In 2013, 2014 and 2015, our product developments expenses, including share-based compensation expenses for research and development staff, were RMB319.0 million, RMB774.5 million and RMB2,578.5 million (US$398.1 million), respectively, representing 37.5%, 44.1 % and 61.8 % of our total revenues for 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs.

 

D.             TREND INFORMATION

 

Other than as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we are not aware of any trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events since the beginning of our fiscal year 2015 that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our revenues, income, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that caused the disclosed financial information to be not necessarily indicative of future operating results or financial conditions.

 

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E.             OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

 

We have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholder’s equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets, transferred to an unconsolidated entity, that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or product development services with us.

 

F.              CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND COMMERCIAL COMMITMENTS

 

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payments Due by Period

 

 

 

Total

 

Within

 

 

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Less than 1
year

 

1-3 years

 

3-5 years

 

More than
5 years

 

 

 

(RMB in thousands, unless otherwise specified)

 

Contractual Obligations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short-term loan (1)

 

643,500

 

99,339

 

643,500

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt (2)

 

3,249,400

 

501,621

 

 

 

 

3,249,400

 

Operating lease commitments (3)

 

290,072

 

44,779

 

224,957

 

62,508

 

2,607

 

 

Total

 

4,182,972

 

645,739

 

868,457

 

62,508

 

2,607

 

3,249,400

 

 


(1) On September 14, 2015, we obtained a RMB denominated loan with a principal amount of RMB643.5 million (US$99.3 million) from Xiamen International Bank at an annual interest rate of 1.62%. The short-term bank loan matures in one year and is guaranteed by a deposit of RMB650.0 million (US$100.3 million) by an overseas subsidiary.

 

(2) On June 17, 2015, we issued US$500.0 million in senior unsecured convertible notes. The notes bear interest at a rate of 2.0% per annum with a maturity date of June 17, 2021, and are payable semiannually on June 17 and December 17 of each year.

 

(3) Total expenses for all operating leases were approximately RMB51.3 million, RMB163.1 million and RMB248.1 million (US$38.3 million) for 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

Capital Commitments

 

Our capital commitments relate primarily to commitments in connection with the expansion and improvement of our network infrastructure and renovation of our offices. Total capital commitments contracted but not yet reflected in the consolidated financial statements amounted to RMB29.8 million and RMB11.3 million (US$1.7 million) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively. All of the commitments relating to improvement of network infrastructure and renovation of our offices are to be fulfilled within the next year.

 

In addition, as of December 31, 2015, we have contractual commitments to make additional investments contingent on the achievement of certain conditions by three existing investees with a total maximum amount of RMB20.0 million (US$3.1million).

 

Loss contingencies

 

With respect to display advertising services, we regularly provide such services at a discount to our standard rates, which is consistent with industry practice in the PRC. These discounts are in the form of free advertising elements, of which the duration and other terms of services are specified as part of the revenue contract. The VAT pilot program replaced the business tax rules for advertising services in Beijing effective from September 1, 2012. There are uncertainties under the current VAT rules as to whether these free elements should constitute deemed services in addition to the chargeable elements rather than discounts to the overall revenue arrangements for tax purposes and thus be subject to VAT at the standard rates of services. We currently are of the opinion that such free elements do not amount to deemed services for VAT purposes and the VAT for a revenue contract is calculated based on the total consideration for the overall arrangements. The rules related to the VAT pilot program are still evolving and the timing of the promulgation of the final tax rules or related interpretation is uncertain. The maximum estimated amount for this reasonably possible contingency as of December 31, 2015 was RMB7.2million (US$1.1 million).

 

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Legal contingency

 

On September 6, 2013, we terminated a distribution agreement early with one of our travel service providers, eLong, due to eLong’s failure to make its international hotel inventories available on our platform within the agreed time period. Subsequently, eLong filed a complaint with an intermediary court in Beijing for a civil suit against us, alleging breach of contract by us and sought (i) a declaration that the notice to terminate the aforementioned agreement was null and void and (ii) damages in the amount of approximately RMB140.7 million to compensate for alleged losses suffered by the travel service provider in connection with our early termination of the aforementioned agreement.

 

On July 1, 2015, we received the final judgment from the Beijing High People’s Court with respect to the contract dispute with eLong over the distribution agreement. In the final judgment, the court held that we should prospectively credit to eLong’s advertisement account with us an amount of RMB137.4 million (US$21.2 million) corresponding to the period up to June 30, 2016, and both parties should continue to perform its respective obligations under the distribution agreement. Such credits will not be redeemable for cash but may be used by eLong for prospective advertising services provided by us.

 

G.            SAFE HARBOR

 

See “Forward-looking Statements” on page 3 of this annual report.

 

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Item 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES

 

A.             DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT

 

The following table sets forth certain information relating to our directors and executive officers as of the date of this annual report. The business address of each of our directors and executive officers is c/o Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, 17th Floor, Viva Plaza, Building 18, Yard 29, Suzhou Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100080, The People’s Republic of China.

 

Name

 

Age

 

Position/Title

James Jianzhang Liang

 

46

 

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Zhenyu Chen

 

39

 

Director and Chief Executive Officer

Xiaolu Zhu

 

32

 

Chief Financial Officer

Qiang Zhang

 

33

 

Chief Operating Officer

Jimmy Lai

 

59

 

Independent Director

Jianmin Zhu

 

47

 

Independent Director

Ying Shi

 

40

 

Independent Director

 

Mr. James Jianzhang Liang has served as our director since October 26, 2015 and as the chairman of our board of directors since January 4, 2016. Mr. Liang also currently serves on the boards of Ctrip (where he has served as chairman of the board since August 2003), Home Inns Group, Tuniu Corporation, and eHi Car Services Limited. Mr. Liang is one of the co-founders of Ctrip, and has served as its chief executive officer from 2000 to January 2006 and resumed the role of chief executive officer from March 2013. Prior to founding Ctrip, Mr. Liang held a number of technical and managerial positions with Oracle Corporation from 1991 to 1999 in the United States and China, including the head of the ERP consulting division of Oracle China from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Liang received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology. He also attended an undergraduate program at Fudan University.

 

Mr. Zhenyu Chen is our chief executive officer and has been a member of our board of directors since January 4, 2016. Mr. Chen joined us in March 2010 as vice president for products and mobile development. He became our executive vice president and head of our mobile business group in November 2014. Mr. Chen was responsible for the development of Qunar’s mobile application and the growth of the mobile business. Prior to joining us, Mr. Chen was chief technology officer and co-founder of Zhuaxia.com from December 2005 to June 2009. Mr. Chen worked at Baidu, Inc. from January 2001 to November 2005, first as an engineer, and was later promoted to senior manager of the search department. Mr. Chen received his bachelor’s degree in computer software from Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electrical Engineering in 1999.

 

Mr. Xiaolu Zhu has been our chief financial officer since January 4, 2016. Mr. Zhu joined us in November 2014 and served as our senior director of strategy and investor relations. His responsibilities covered strategy and business analysis, investor relations, capital markets activities and international investment. Prior to joining us, Mr. Zhu was vice president of finance at Lashou Group Inc. and was in charge of all financial, investor relations and legal related matters. Before that, Mr. Zhu worked at Goldman Sachs where he worked on multiple IPOs and M&A transactions of Chinese Internet and technology companies. Mr. Zhu received his L.L.B. from Peking University and J.D. from Duke University.

 

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Mr. Qiang Zhang has been our chief operating officer since January 4, 2016. Mr. Zhang joined us in January 2014 as vice president and the head of the then newly founded destination services business unit. He became our executive vice president and head of the destination services business group in September 2015. Mr. Zhang also helped to develop our mobile business. Mr. Zhang previously worked at Alibaba Group and Meituan.com, and as general manager of the southern region at Meituan prior to joining us. Mr. Zhang received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Air Force Engineering University.

 

Mr. Jimmy Lai has served as our director and chairman of the audit committee since January 4, 2016. Mr. Lai has served as the chief financial officer of China Online Education Group since June 2015 and is also an independent director of Sky-mobi Limited, a Nasdaq-listed company. Prior to joining China Online Education Group, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Chukong Technologies Corp., a leading mobile entertainment platform company in China. Prior to that, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Gamewave Corporation, a leading webgame company in China from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Daqo New Energy Corp., an NYSE-listed company and a leading polysilicon manufacturer based in China from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Lai received his MBA in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas and his bachelor’s degree in statistics from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Mr. Lai is a certified public accountant licensed in the State of Texas.

 

Mr. Jianmin Zhu has served as our director since January 4, 2016. Mr. Zhu currently serves as chief executive officer of FanXiang Investment Management, which he founded in 2014. He is also one of the co-founders of Infecon Information Technology and worked as its advisor from 2012 to 2013. Prior to starting his own business in 2012, Mr. Zhu worked at Ctrip as a vice president for 12 years. Prior to that, Mr. Zhu worked with Compaq as senior adviser and with RPTI International as chief technology officer. Mr. Zhu holds a bachelor’s degree from Shanghai JiaoTong University.

 

Ms. Ying Shi has served as our director since January 4, 2016. She has been the founder and director of instructors of Shiva Yoga Media since 2008. Prior to that, Ms. Shi worked extensively in the travel industry in China. Ms. Shi holds a bachelor’s degree from Shandong University.

 

B.                                     COMPENSATION

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, the aggregate cash compensation and benefits that we paid to our directors and executive officers was approximately RMB9.1million (US$1.4 million). No pension, retirement or similar benefits have been set aside or accrued for our executive officers or directors. We have no service contracts with any of our directors providing for benefits upon termination of employment.

 

Employment Agreements

 

We have entered into an employment agreement with each of our named executive officers. We may terminate a named executive officer’s employment with or without cause by providing the officer a one month prior written notice. A named executive officer may terminate his or her employment at any time by a one month prior written notice to our company.

 

Each named executive officer has agreed not to disclose, use, transfer or sell, except in the course of employment with our company and for the purpose of carrying out his or her duties as an officer of our company, any of our confidential information or proprietary data so long as such information or proprietary data remains confidential and has not been disclosed or is not otherwise in the public domain.

 

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Equity Compensation Plans

 

2007 Share Plan

 

On November 8, 2007, our board of directors and our shareholders approved our 2007 Share Plan to attract and retain talent, provide additional incentives to our employees, directors and consultants, and promote the success of our business. The 2007 Share Plan was amended on July 30, 2010, June 22, 2011, December 29, 2011, August 10, 2012, September 24, 2013 and February 12, 2015. The maximum number of Shares that may be issued under the amended and restated 2007 Share Plan was 36,352,134 as of September 24, 2013, and shall increase (i) on January 1, 2014 by 1.5% of our then total outstanding shares, (ii) on January 1 of each of 2015, 2016 and 2017 by 2.65% of the then outstanding shares, and (iii) on January 1 of each year starting with 2018, for the remainder of the term of the plan, by 1.5% of the then outstanding Shares.

 

Plan Administration . The 2007 Share plan is administered by our board of directors or one or more committees consisting of members of the board of directors as appointed by the board of directors.

 

Types of Awards . The 2007 Share Plan permits direct award of shares, grants of stock options and other equity-based awards.

 

Award Agreements. Each award of shares or grant of options and other awards under the 2007 Share Plan shall be evidenced by a share purchase agreement or an option agreement between the award recipient and the company.

 

Eligibility . Only our employees, non-employee directors and consultants are eligible to receive awards or grants under the 2007 Share Plan.

 

Term of Awards and Options . Awards of shares under the 2007 Share Plan shall expire within 30 days from the date on which the award was communicated to the recipient by the company. The term of options granted under the 2007 Share Plan shall not exceed ten years.

 

Vesting Schedule and Other Restrictions . The administrators of our 2007 Share Plan have sole discretion in determining the individual vesting schedules and other restrictions applicable to shares awarded and options granted under the 2007 Share Plan.

 

Termination of the 2007 Share Plan . Our 2007 Share Plan shall terminate automatically 10 years after the later of (i) the date when our board of directors adopted the plan or (ii) the date when our board of directors approved the most recent increase in the number of shares reserved for the plan that was also approved by our shareholders. Our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate the plan at any time and for any reason; provided, however, that any amendment of the plan shall be subject to the approval of our shareholders if it (i) increases the number of shares available for issuance under the plan (except for adjustment of shares); (ii) materially changes the class of persons who are eligible for the grant of the employee incentive stock option; or (iii) is required by applicable law or our articles.

 

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Business Unit Incentive Plan. In order to stimulate business performance and growth in the long term, we established the “Business Unit Incentive Plan” as part of our 2007 Share Plan in January 2013. Under the “Business Unit Incentive Plan,” we set up long-term performance targets for each business unit. The Board of Directors may grant options to its employees of the business units to purchase an aggregate of no more than 10.8 million Class B ordinary shares with the exercise price of US$0.01 if the business units meet the long-term performance targets. On November 25, 2014, our Board of directors approved an extension of the Business Unit Incentive Plan to cover employees of additional business units. The total number of our Class B ordinary shares to be issued under the Business Unit Incentive Plan was increased to 18.0 million. These options shall be vested within two quarters after the grant date. The Board of Directors has to approve individual option grants before the options are granted. The Business Unit Incentive Plan was terminated in November 2015. Prior to its termination, approximately 15.3 million options have been granted to our employees under our Business Unit Incentive Plan. We do not plan to grant additional options under the Business Unit Incentive Plan in the future.

 

2015 Share Plan

 

On November 18, 2015, our board of directors approved our 2015 share incentive plan, or the 2015 Share Plan, to promote the success and enhance the value of our company, and provide additional incentives to our employees, directors and consultants. The maximum number of ordinary shares that may be issued under the 2015 Share Plan was 28,476,795 as of December 31, 2015.

 

Plan Administration . The 2015 Share plan is administered by our board of directors or a committee consisting of one or more members of our board of directors as appointed by the board of directors.

 

Types of Awards . The 2015 Share Plan permits grants of stock option, restricted share and restricted share unit awards.

 

Award Agreements.  Each grant of options and other awards under the 2015 Share Plan shall be evidenced by an award agreement between the award recipient and our company.

 

Eligibility . Only our employees, non-employee directors and consultants are eligible to receive award grants under the 2015 Share Plan.

 

Term of Awards . The term of options granted under the 2015 Share Plan shall not exceed ten years. Options and other awards under the 2015 Share Plan are generally subject to forfeiture following the termination of an award recipient’s employment or service to our company, subject to certain exceptions and to the terms of the relevant award agreement between the award recipient and our company.

 

Vesting Schedule and Other Restrictions . The administrators of our 2015 Share Plan have sole discretion in determining the individual vesting schedules and other restrictions applicable to options and other awards granted under the 2015 Share Plan.

 

Termination of the 2015 Share Plan . Our 2015 Share Plan shall terminate automatically 10 years after the date of its adoption by our board of directors. Our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate the plan at any time and for any reason.

 

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Employee Share Exchange Program

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Framework Agreement for Treatment of Qunar Employee Shares and Equity Awards dated December 9, 2015 between our company and Ctrip, or the Framework Agreement, we agreed to an employee share exchange program with Ctrip pursuant to which (i) outstanding Qunar ordinary shares and ADSs beneficially owned by Qunar employees as of December 9, 2015, (ii) outstanding equity-based awards, including awards we had committed in writing to grant under our 2007 Share Plan as of December 9, 2015, when vested and exercised, and (iii) all equity-based awards to be granted pursuant to the Framework Agreement under our 2015 Share Plan, when vested and exercised, were exchangeable for Ctrip ADSs at the ratio of one Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADSs, as adjusted for any stock split, stock dividend, change in the ratio of ordinary shares to ADSs or similar event. Ctrip effected an ADS ratio change in December 2015, whereby eight Ctrip ADSs, instead of four Ctrip ADSs, came to represent one Ctrip ordinary share. Accordingly, the exchange ratio for Ctrip ADSs in the employee share exchange program was adjusted to one Qunar ADS to 1.45 Ctrip ADSs. The employee share exchange program became effective starting on December 14, 2015.  As of March 31, 2016, approximately 67.2 million of our ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) have been exchanged for Ctrip ADSs representing approximately 4.1 million Ctrip ordinary shares.

 

The following table summarizes, as of March 31, 2016, the outstanding options that we granted to our directors and executive officers and to other individuals as a group under our 2007 Share Plan and our 2015 Share Plan.

 

 

 

Ordinary Shares

 

Exercise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underlying

 

Price

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

Options Awarded

 

(US$/Share)

 

Date of Grant

 

Date of Expiration

 

Chenyu Chen

 

*

 

0.01

 

November 18, 2015

 

November 17, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Xiaolu Zhu

 

*

 

0.01

 

November 18, 2015

 

November 17, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qiang Zhang

 

*

 

0.01

 

November 18, 2015

 

November 17, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other individuals as a group

 

16,627,662

 

0.01-1.4076

 

November 28, 2007 — January 1, 2016

 

November 27, 2017 — December 31, 2025

 

Total

 

17,793,165

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


*                       The aggregate number of ordinary shares underlying the outstanding options held by this individual is less than 1% of our total outstanding shares.

 

C.                                     BOARD PRACTICES

 

Board of Directors

 

Our board of directors currently consists of five directors, three of whom are independent directors within the meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ Rules. We intend to follow home country practice that permits our independent directors not to hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(b)(2).

 

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Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our board of directors is required to consist of at least two directors. Our directors may be elected by an ordinary resolution of the holders of our ordinary shares or by a resolution of our directors. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association permit our directors to be elected by cumulative voting of our shareholders at any general meeting at which the election of our directors will be voted upon, whereby our board may nominate and propose more nominees for election as directors than the number of seats available to be filled. Any one or more of our shareholders holding at least 10% of our issued and outstanding shares may also propose nominees for election. At the general meeting of shareholders at which the election of directors is voted upon, each shareholder will have a number of cumulative votes (which is calculated by reference to (i) the number of votes carried by such shareholder’s shares, as a percentage of the total aggregate votes carried by all shares represented and voted at the meeting, multiplied by (ii) the number of available seats to be filled), and may cast such cumulative votes in favor of any one or more of the proposed nominees. The nominees who receive the most cumulative votes, up to the number of nominees required to fill the number of available seats, will be duly and validly elected as directors. There is no shareholding requirement for qualification to serve as a member of our board of directors.

 

Our board of directors may exercise all the powers of our company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital, and to issue debentures, debenture stock and other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of our company or of any third-party.

 

Any of our directors who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with our company is required to declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of our directors.  A director may not vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement that he is interested in and, if he does so, his vote shall not be counted.

 

Term of Directors and Executive Officers

 

Each of our directors shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term and his or her successor shall have been duly elected or appointed, or until his or her office is otherwise vacated. A director may be removed from office by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders at any time before the expiration of his or her term.  In addition, the office of a director shall be vacated if (a) he or she dies, becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors, (b) he or she is found to be or becomes of unsound mind, (c) he or she resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company, (d) a majority of our directors resolve that he or she be removed and his office be vacated. All of our executive officers are appointed by and serve at the discretion of our board of directors.

 

Duties of Directors

 

Under Cayman Islands law, our directors owe to us fiduciary duties, including a duty to act honestly, and a duty to act in what they consider in good faith to be in our best interests. Our directors also owe to our company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time. Our company has the right to seek damages against any director if a duty owed by that director is breached.

 

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Board Committees

 

We established three committees under the board of directors in 2010 and 2013, namely the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee, and have adopted a charter for each of the committees. Each committee’s members and functions are described below.

 

Audit Committee

 

Our audit committee consists of three directors, namely Mr. Jimmy Lai, Mr. Jianmin Zhu and Ms. Ying Shi, and is chaired by Mr. Jimmy Lai. Each of Mr. Jimmy Lai, Mr. Jianmin Zhu and Ms. Ying Shi satisfies the “independence” requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules and the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC regulations. In addition, our board of directors has determined that Mr. Jimmy Lai is qualified as an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of SEC regulations. The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

 

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

 

·                   setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors;

 

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

 

·                   reviewing and approving all related-party transactions;

 

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

 

·                   discussing with management and the independent auditors major issues regarding accounting principles and financial statement presentations;

 

·                   reviewing reports prepared by management or the independent auditors relating to significant financial reporting issues and judgments;

 

·                   reviewing with management and the independent auditors related-party transactions and off-balance sheet transactions and structures;

 

·                   reviewing with management and the independent auditors the effect of regulatory and accounting initiatives;

 

·                   reviewing policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management;

 

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·                   reviewing our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting;

 

·                   reviewing reports from the independent auditors regarding all critical accounting policies and practices to be used by our company;

 

·                   establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints we receive regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and the confidential, anonymous submissions by our employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters;

 

·                   periodically reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our audit committee charter;

 

·                   such other matters that are specifically delegated to our audit committee by our board of directors from time to time; and

 

·                   meeting separately, periodically, with management, the internal auditors and the independent auditors.

 

Compensation Committee

 

Our compensation committee consists of three directors, namely Mr. James Jianzhang Liang, Mr. Jimmy Lai and Ms. Ying Shi, and is chaired by Mr. James Jianzhang Liang. Each of Mr. Jimmy Lai and Ms. Ying Shi satisfies the “independence” requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules and the SEC regulations. We intend to follow home country practice that permits a compensation committee to contain directors who do not meet the definition of “independence” within the meaning of Rules 5605(a)(2) and 5605(d)(2)(A) of the NASDAQ Rules. We intend to follow home country practice in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(d)(2)(A) of the NASDAQ Rules, which requires the compensation committees of U.S. companies to be comprised solely of independent directors. Our compensation committee assists the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure of our executive officers, including all forms of compensation to be provided to our executive officers. The compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:

 

·                   reviewing and approving the compensation for our senior executives;

 

·                   reviewing and evaluating our executive compensation and benefits policies generally;

 

·                   reporting to our board of directors periodically;

 

·                   evaluating its own performance and reporting to our board of directors on such evaluation;

 

·                   periodically reviewing and assessing the adequacy of the compensation committee charter and recommending any proposed changes to our board of directors; and

 

·                   such other matters that are specifically delegated to the compensation committee by our board of directors from time to time.

 

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Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

 

Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of three directors, namely Mr. James Jianzhang Liang, Mr. Zhenyu Chen and Mr. Jianmin Zhu, and is chaired by Mr. James Jianzhang Liang. Mr. Jianmin Zhu satisfies the “independence” requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules and the SEC regulations. We intend to follow home country practice that permits a nominations committee to contain directors who do not meet the definition of “independence” within the meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ Rules. We intend to follow home country practice in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(e)(1)(B) of the NASDAQ Rules, which requires that nominations committees of U.S. companies be comprised solely of independent directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee assists the board in identifying individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for, among other things:

 

·                   identifying and recommending to the board of directors qualified individuals for membership on the board of directors and its committees;

 

·                   evaluating, at least annually, its own performance and reporting to the board of directors on such evaluation;

 

·                   overseeing compliance with the corporate governance guidelines and code of business conduct and ethics and reporting on such compliance to the board of directors; and

 

·                   reviewing and assessing periodically the adequacy of its charter and recommending any proposed changes to the board of directors for approval.

 

D.                                     EMPLOYEES

 

As of December 31, 2015, we had approximately 8,600 full-time employees, including over 2,700 in product developments, approximately 3,000 in product sourcing, approximately 2,400 in the teams responsible for data analysis, call center, editors and photographers and other functions that are booked under the sales and marketing line, and approximately 500 in general administration and others.

 

The majority of our employees are located in our headquarters in Beijing while certain of our product sourcing employees are located in various cities in China. We directly recruit, train and manage all of our employees. We believe that we maintain a good working relationship with our employees and we have not experienced any significant labor disputes. Our employees have not entered into any collective bargaining agreements.

 

E.                                     SHARE OWNERSHIP

 

The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership, within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act, of our ordinary shares, as of March 31, 2016:

 

·                   each person known to us to beneficially own 5% or more of our ordinary shares; and

 

·                   each of our directors and executive officers.

 

Beneficial ownership includes voting or investment power with respect to the securities. The calculations in the table below are based on a total of 434,347,172 ordinary shares outstanding as of March 31, 2016, comprising 7,345,925 Class A ordinary shares and 427,001,247 Class B ordinary shares, including Class B ordinary shares represented by our ADSs.

 

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Shares Beneficially Owned

 

Name 

 

Number

 

Percentage (1)

 

Directors and Executive Officers:

 

 

 

 

 

James Jianzhang Liang

 

 

 

Zhenyu Chen

 

*

 

*

 

Xiaolu Zhu

 

*

 

*

 

Qiang Zhang

 

*

 

*

 

Jimmy Lai

 

 

 

Jianmin Zhu

 

 

 

Ying Shi

 

 

 

All directors and executive officers as a group

 

*

 

*

%

Principal Shareholders:

 

 

 

 

 

Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (2)

 

190,152,519

 

43.8

%

M Strat Holdings GP, Ltd. (3)

 

85,748,724

 

19.7

%

Viking Global Investors LP (4)

 

25,568,241

 

5.9

%

Momentum Strategic Holdings GP, Ltd. (5)

 

24,621,642

 

5.7

%

 


*                  Upon exercise of all options currently exercisable or vesting within 60 days of March 31, 2016, would beneficially own less than 1% of our total outstanding shares.

 

(1)              For each person and group included in this table, percentage ownership is calculated by dividing the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by such person or group, including ordinary shares that such person or group has the right to acquire within 60 days of March 31, 2016, by the sum of (1) 434,347,172, which is the total number of our ordinary shares outstanding as of March 31, 2016, and (2) the number of ordinary shares that such person or group has the right to acquire within 60 days after March 31, 2016.

 

(2)              According to the Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on November 5, 2015, Ctrip beneficially owned 190,152,519 of our Class B ordinary shares that were directly held by Ctrip.com International Ltd, a company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.  According to the Schedule 13D, Ctrip acquired our Class B ordinary shares pursuant to the Ctrip Transaction in October 2015, where Baidu sold 178,702,519 of our Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 of our Class B ordinary shares that were beneficially owned by Baidu to Ctrip in exchange for ordinary shares of Ctrip.  The Class A ordinary shares automatically converted into Class B ordinary shares upon the closing of the Ctrip Transaction.  The address of Ctrip is 99 Fu Quan Road, Shanghai 200335, The People’s Republic of China. We do not have further information with respect to any changes in Ctrip’s beneficial ownership of our shares subsequent to November 5, 2015.

 

(3)              According to the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on April 1, 2016, M Strat Holdings GP, Ltd. was deemed to beneficially own 85,748,724 of our Class B ordinary shares, including (i) 38,696,652 of our Class B ordinary shares directly held by M Strat Holdings GP, Ltd. and (ii) 47,052,072 of our Class B ordinary shares in the form of American depositary shares held by M Strat Holdings, L.P. According to the Schedule 13G, M Strat Holdings GP, Ltd. is the sole general partner of M Strat Holdings, L.P. The address of M Strat Holdings GP, Ltd. is the offices of Walkers Corporate Limited, Cayman Corporate Centre, 27 Hospital Road, George Town, Grand Cayman KY19008, Cayman Islands. We do not have further information with respect to any changes in M Strat Holdings GP, Ltd.’s beneficial ownership of our shares subsequent to April 1, 2016.

 

(4)              According to the amendment to the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2016, Viking Global Investors LP was deemed to beneficially own 25,568,241 of our Class B ordinary shares in the form of American depositary shares. The address of Viking Global Investors LP is 55 Railroad Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830, United States. We do not have further information with respect to any changes in Viking Global Investors LP’s beneficial ownership of our shares subsequent to February 16, 2016.

 

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(5)              According to the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on April 7, 2016, Momentum Strategic Holdings GP, Ltd. was deemed to beneficially own 24,621,642 of our Class B ordinary shares, which were held directly in the form of American depositary shares by Momentum Strategic Holdings, L.P. According to the Schedule 13G, Momentum Strategic Holdings GP, Ltd. is the sole general partner of Momentum Strategic Holdings, L.P. The address of Momentum Strategic Holdings GP, Ltd. is the offices of Walkers Corporate Limited, Cayman Corporate Centre, 27 Hospital Road, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9008, Cayman Islands. We do not have further information with respect to any changes in Momentum Strategic Holdings GP, Ltd.’s beneficial ownership of our shares subsequent to April 7, 2016.

 

Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. On all matters subject to shareholders’ vote and put to a vote on a poll, holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to three votes per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share.

 

We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company. To our knowledge, as of March 31, 2016, approximately 39.3% of our ordinary shares were held of record by one holder in the United States, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, in the form of ADSs. We have no further information as to ADSs held, or beneficially owned, by U.S. persons.

 

Item 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

A.             MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS

 

See Item 6.E.

 

B.             RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

The below sets forth a summary of our material transactions with our related parties. Please also see Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report for further information.

 

Contractual Arrangements with Our Consolidated Variable Interest Entity and Its Shareholders

 

PRC laws and regulations currently limit foreign ownership of companies that provide value-added telecommunications services. To comply with these restrictions, we operate our business through contractual arrangements between Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited, our WFOE in China, and Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, our VIE in China.

 

We originally obtained control over our VIE in October 2006 through a series of contractual arrangements, including an exclusive services agreement and other related agreements. Such contractual arrangements were amended and restated in October 2012 and further supplemented in April 2013. In December 2015, after the Ctrip Transaction, Qunar Cayman, our WFOE, our VIE, Chenchao (CC) Zhuang and the Baidu nominee entered into a share transfer agreement with two individuals, Ms. Hui Cao and Mr. Hui Wang, who are employees of Ctrip. Pursuant to this agreement, Chenchao (CC) Zhuang and the Baidu nominee transferred their shares in our VIE, together with their rights and obligations under certain relevant contractual arrangements, to Ms. Cao and Mr. Wang. In March 2016, after the completion of this share transfer, Ms. Cao and Mr. Wang held 60.0% and 40.0% of the equity interest in our VIE, respectively. Subsequently, we entered into a similar contractual arrangement with Ms. Cao and Mr. Wang, as described below.

 

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Exclusive Technical Consulting and Services Agreement . Pursuant to the restated exclusive technical consulting and services agreement between our VIE and the WFOE, which was restated on March 23, 2016, the WFOE provides technical, marketing and management consulting services to our VIE on an exclusive basis. In consideration for these services, our VIE pays the WFOE based on a set formula defined in this agreement. During the term of this agreement, the WFOE has the right to adjust the service fee at its sole discretion without the consent of our VIE. Based on the formula provided in this agreement, the service fee payable by our VIE to the WFOE has been nil to date. The WFOE will exclusively own any intellectual property arising from its performance of this agreement. This restated exclusive technical consulting and services agreement remains in effect until terminated unilaterally by the WFOE or by mutual consent.

 

Loan Agreement . Pursuant to the loan agreement entered into among the WFOE and the shareholders of our VIE dated March 23, 2016, the WFOE granted interest-free loans of RMB6.6 million and RMB4.4 million to Ms. Cao and Mr. Wang, respectively. The WFOE may request repayment of these loans at its sole discretion with prior notice. The loans are only repayable by each such shareholder through a transfer of his or her equity interest in our VIE to the WFOE or its designated party, in proportion to the amount of the loan to be repaid. Furthermore, each shareholder of our VIE agrees that the total consideration from the transfer or sale of any equity interest or assets of our VIE shall first be applied to the outstanding balance under this loan agreement and the restated exclusive technical consulting and services agreement. This loan agreement will continues in effect indefinitely until such time when (i) the VIE shareholders receive a repayment notice from the WFOE and fully repay the loans, or (ii) an event of default (as defined therein) occurs unless the WFOE sends a notice indicating otherwise within 15 calendar days after it is aware of such event.

 

Equity Option Agreement . Pursuant to the equity option agreement entered into among us, the WFOE, our VIE and each shareholder of our VIE on March 23, 2016, each shareholder of our VIE granted the WFOE and us or our designated persons the exclusive and irrevocable rights to purchase part or all of their equity interests in our VIE. We may decide, in our sole discretion, whether the rights granted under the agreement will be exercised by us or by the WFOE. We may determine the form of payment in consideration for the equity interest purchased pursuant to this agreement. In the event of liquidation or dissolution of our VIE, all assets of our VIE shall be sold to the WFOE and us at the lowest selling price permitted by applicable PRC laws and any proceeds from the sale, together with any residual interest in our VIE, shall be remitted to the WFOE and us immediately. Each of our VIE’s shareholders may not transfer any part of his or her equity interest to any party other than us or our designated party, and may not pledge or create or permit any security interest or similar encumbrance to be created on all or any part of his or her equity interest. We and the WFOE, together, are obligated, to the extent permitted by law, to provide financing support to our VIE to ensure the cash flow requirements of its ordinary operations and to offset any loss from such operations. We and the WFOE, together, will not request repayment if the shareholders of our VIE are unable to repay. The equity option agreement will remain effective with respect to each of our VIE’s shareholders until all of his or her equity interest has been transferred or we terminate the agreement unilaterally with 30 days’ prior written notice.

 

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement . Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement among the WFOE and each of our VIE’s shareholders dated March 23, 2016, each of our VIE’s shareholders agreed to pledge all of his or her equity interests in our VIE, along with all rights, titles and interests in connection with and arising from such equity interest, to the WFOE as collateral to ensure the performance of his or her obligations under the aforementioned loan agreement, equity option agreement and exclusive technical consulting and services agreement. The WFOE may enforce this pledge upon the occurrence of a settlement event or as required by PRC laws as specified therein, such as the termination or expiration of the aforementioned exclusive technical consulting and services agreement or equity option agreement, the insolvency or potential insolvency of our VIE or its shareholders, or an event of default specified therein. The pledge, along with this agreement, must be registered with the SAIC and will become effective upon such registration. This agreement expires when all obligations under the aforementioned loan agreement, equity option agreement and exclusive technical consulting and services agreement have been satisfied or when each of the VIE shareholders completes a transfer of his or her equity interest pursuant to the aforementioned equity option agreement so that he or she no longer holds any equity interest in our VIE. In enforcing the pledge, the WFOE is entitled to dispose of the pledge and have priority in receiving payment from proceeds from the auction or sale of all or part of the pledge until the obligations are settled. We are in the process of registering the equity interest pledge with SAIC.

 

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Power of Attorney. Each of the shareholders of our VIE has executed a power of attorney dated March 23, 2016, irrevocably authorizing an appointee of the WFOE, who shall be approved by us, to exercise, in a manner approved by us, on the shareholder’s behalf his full rights as a shareholder of our VIE as granted by applicable laws and the our VIE’s articles of association, including but not limited to full voting rights and the right to sell or transfer any or all of the shareholder’s equity interest in our VIE. Each such power of attorney is effective until such time as the relevant shareholder of our VIE no longer holds any equity interest in our VIE.

 

Transactions with Certain Directors, Shareholders and Affiliates and Key Management Personnel

 

We entered into an Internet Advertising Framework Contract with Baidu in February 2012 to purchase online marketing services from Baidu for a term of one year and renewed annually. Our total advertising expenses under the renewed Internet Advertising Framework Contract shall be no less than RMB66.0 million for 2015. Our total online marketing payment under the Internet Advertising Framework Contract was RMB 81.2 million, RMB165.1 million and RMB84.2 million (US$13.0 million), respectively, in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

 

We entered into the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement with Baidu in October 2013. Under the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, Baidu agreed to grant us the exclusive right to operate the “Zhixin” platform and other products, or the Cooperation Platform, which allows users to conduct additional searches or make purchases. Baidu also agreed to guarantee the minimum page views generated from users of the Cooperation Platform, which will be no less than 2,190 million, 2,190 million and 2,196 million page views for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. Under the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, we agreed to use our best business efforts to operate the Cooperation Platform and to achieve benchmark revenue of RMB1,910 million during the initial term of the agreement, and Baidu will be entitled to 76% of the revenues in excess of such benchmark revenue. If we fail to meet the applicable benchmark revenue, and Baidu fails to fulfill 90% of the applicable minimum traffic guarantee, the number of underlying Class B ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the relevant batch of warrants with respect to that year would be adjusted downward in proportion to the deficit of the benchmark minimum traffic guarantee.  The Cooperation Platform was officially launched on January 1, 2014 and the services pursuant to the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement commenced on the same day. On June 1, 2015, Baidu and we agreed to terminate the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement with immediate effect. We agreed that Baidu would pay us a cash consideration of RMB207.0 million (US$32.0 million) in connection with such termination. The consideration received from Baidu as our vendor was presumed to be a reduction of the price of the services provided by Baidu. We incurred online marketing expenses under the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement of RMB700.0 million and RMB37.2 million (US$5.7 million) in 2014 and 2015, respectively, of which nil and RMB143.6 million (US$22.2 million) were recognized as deductions to online marketing expense in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Concurrently with the termination of Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, Baidu fully exercised the first independent tranche of the Baidu warrants for services provided to us in 2014 into 11,450,000 of our Class B ordinary shares for no additional consideration. As of December 31, 2015, there are no additional warrants outstanding held by Baidu.

 

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In 2014, one of our consolidated entities entered into a deed of declaration of trust with a related party of our company to jointly establish a new business entity in connection with the launch of our smart lodging business. The deed of declaration of trust was terminated in March 2016.

 

On February 27, 2014, we entered into a US$300.0 million revolving credit facility agreement with Baidu. The agreement has a term of three years and any drawdown bears an annual interest rate of 90% of the benchmark lending rate published by the People’s Bank of China and shall be repaid within three years from the drawdown date. We drew down RMB507.0 million (US$78.3 million) and RMB627.0 million (US$96.8 million) on March 12, 2015 and May 4, 2015 respectively, pursuant to the revolving credit facility agreement described above. We repaid these amounts in full in March 2016.

 

On June 1, 2015, we entered into a business cooperation agreement with Baidu, under which Baidu agrees to grant us an exclusive right to integrate our hotel information and products into the personal computer and mobile versions of Baidu Maps. We may also display location-based hotel data through the Baidu Maps interface. Users can click on the displayed hotels to view hotels and to complete bookings. In return, we agreed to pay Baidu a cash amount calculated as a certain percentage of the gross revenue generated pursuant to this agreement. This agreement will expire in May 2016, subject to renewal negotiation between both parties.

 

On October 26, 2015, we received a RMB denominated loan of RMB639.8 million (US$98.8 million) from Baidu. The loan bore interest at a rate of 4.14% per annum with a repayment term of 12 months. We repaid this loan in full in March 2016. On October 27, 2015, Baidu obtained a US dollar denominated loan of US$100.0 million from us. The loan bore interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum with a repayment term of 12 months. We received the full repayment for this loan in March 2016.

 

In October 2015, we granted a loan amounting to RMB31.2 million (US$4.8 million) to an equity investee to supplement its working capital needs. Such investee repaid RMB6.2 million (US$1.0 million) to us in December 2015.

 

In December 2015, we agreed to an employee share exchange program with Ctrip.  Under this program, Ctrip agreed to issue approximately 5.1 million Ctrip ordinary shares to certain special purpose vehicles for the benefit of Qunar employees who agree to exchange their Qunar securities for Ctrip shares.  As of March 31, 2016, approximately 67.2 million of our ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) have been exchanged for Ctrip ADSs representing approximately 4.1 million Ctrip ordinary shares.

 

As of March 31, 2016, Ctrip holds our 2.0% convertible notes in the principal amount of US$500 million, which Ctrip purchased, free of conversion rights, from independent third parties in January 2016.  The initial holders of our convertible notes irrevocably waived and relinquished their rights to convert the convertible notes held by them prior to the sale of the convertible notes to Ctrip.  Ctrip, as the holder of the convertible notes, may require us to repurchase the notes held by it at 100% of the principal amount, plus any accrued and unpaid interest, upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, as defined in the indenture for the notes, include a change in control of our company. For more information on the convertible notes, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects— B. Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

 

On March 10, 2016, we obtained a RMB denominated loan with a principal amount of RMB1,773.8 million (US$273.8 million) from Ctrip.  On the same date, Ctrip obtained a US dollar denominated loan from us with a principal amount of US$285.0 million.  Both loans are interest-free and have a term of three years.  Each party may require the other party to repay the loan upon 60 days’ prior written notice or upon the occurrence of certain event specified in the loan agreements.

 

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In early 2016, we entered into certain cooperation agreements with Ctrip and its affiliated entities in order to permit Qunar and Ctrip to display and sell travel products, such as air tickets, hotels and car service products, sourced by the other party.

 

Employment Agreements

 

See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Employee Agreements” for a description of the employment agreements we have entered into with our senior executive officers.

 

Share Incentives

 

See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Equity Compensation Plans” for a description of share options we have granted to our directors, officers and other individuals as a group.

 

C.      INTERESTS OF EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

A.      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Consolidated Financial Statements

 

See Item 18. “Financial Statements” for our audited consolidated financial statements filed as a part of this annual report.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

In the ordinary course of our business, we are subject to periodic legal or administrative proceedings and claims often involving petty contract disputes, labor disputes, alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, unfair competition practice and other claims.

 

On November 5, 2013, we received a summons from the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court for a civil suit against us filed by eLong on October 17, 2013 in connection with the Inventory Distribution Agreement. In its complaint, eLong alleged breach of contract by us and sought (i) a declaration that our termination notice of the Inventory Distribution Agreement was null and void and (ii) damages in the amount of approximately RMB140.7 million to compensate for alleged losses suffered by eLong in connection with our early termination of the Inventory Distribution Agreement. On December 9, 2013, we filed a counterclaim against eLong for approximately RMB 8.1 million of commission fees due to us for services we provided to eLong under the Inventory Distribution Agreement before its termination. On January 10, 2014, eLong additionally sought damages in the amount of RMB11.2 million. On January 1, 2015, we received the judgment of the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court, which we and eLong both appealed to the Beijing High People’s Court. On July 1, 2015, we received the final judgment from the Beijing High People’s Court. In the final judgment, the court upheld the prior judgment of the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court that (i) we shall prospectively credit to eLong’s advertisement account opened with us in the amount of approximately RMB137.4 million (US$21.2 million) corresponding to the period up to June 30, 2016, (ii) eLong shall pay us a commission of approximately RMB8.1 million (US$1.3 million) due under the Inventory Distribution Agreement, and (iii) the Inventory Distribution Agreement shall continue to be performed by both parties. The court also ordered us to pay eLong approximately RMB0.2 million (US$37,000) in legal fees and apportioned court fees between the parties.

 

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Other than disclosed above, we are not currently party to any legal proceeding or investigation which we believe will have a material and adverse effect on our business or results of operations and, to our knowledge, there are no such material legal proceedings currently threatened against us. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects— F. Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments” for more information.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. We do not have any plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future.

 

Our board of directors has complete discretion in deciding whether to distribute dividends, subject to the laws of the Cayman Islands. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare dividends, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors.  Under Cayman Islands law, our company may pay dividends only out of either profit or share premium, provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors.

 

If we pay any dividends, our depositary will pay such dividends to our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our Class B ordinary shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See “Item 12. Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities—D. American Depositary Shares.” Cash dividends on our Class B ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

 

B.      SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

 

Except as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we have not experienced any significant changes since the date of our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

 

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Item 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING

 

A.      OFFER AND LISTING DETAILS

 

Price Range of American Depositary Shares

 

Our ADSs are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “ QUNR.” Trading in our ADSs commenced on November 1, 2013.

 

The following table provides the high and low daily closing prices for our ADSs on the NASDAQ Global Market for the periods indicated. On April 13, 2015, the last reported closing price for our ADSs was US$44.04 per ADS.

 

 

 

NASDAQ Global Market

 

 

 

Closing Price per ADS

 

Average Daily

 

 

 

High

 

Low

 

Trading Volume

 

 

 

(US$)

 

(US$)

 

(in thousands of
ADSs)

 

2013

 

29.57

 

24.70

 

859

 

2014

 

33.89

 

21.22

 

805

 

First Quarter

 

33.89

 

23.70

 

1,014

 

Second Quarter

 

32.28

 

21.22

 

709

 

Third Quarter

 

30.94

 

26.96

 

781

 

Fourth Quarter

 

29.02

 

24.22

 

713

 

2015

 

54.78

 

27.10

 

1,525

 

First Quarter

 

41.78

 

27.10

 

808

 

Second Quarter

 

52.89

 

41.56

 

1,474

 

Third Quarter

 

44.41

 

27.97

 

1,224

 

Fourth Quarter

 

54.78

 

30.01

 

2,559

 

October 

 

48.54

 

30.01

 

3,554

 

November 

 

45.03

 

35.08

 

2,813

 

December 

 

54.78

 

44.45

 

1,333

 

2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 

 

44.89

 

37.30

 

1,864

 

February 

 

40.24

 

34.28

 

538

 

March 

 

39.70

 

35.01

 

349

 

April (through April 13, 2016)

 

44.04

 

40.23

 

396

 

 

B.      PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

 

Not applicable.

 

C.      MARKETS

 

Our ADSs, each representing three of our ordinary shares, have been listed on The NASDAQ Global Market since November 1, 2013 under the symbol “QUNR.”

 

D.      SELLING SHAREHOLDER

 

Not applicable.

 

E.      DILUTION

 

Not applicable.

 

F.       EXPENSES OF THE ISSUE

 

Not applicable.

 

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Item 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

A.                 SHARE CAPITAL

 

Not applicable.

 

B.                 MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

 

We incorporate by reference into this annual report the description of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contained in our registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-191459) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 20 13.

 

C.                 MATERIAL CONTRACTS

 

We have not entered into any material contracts other than in the ordinary course of business or other than those described in “Item 4. Information on the Company” and elsewhere in this annual report.

 

D.                 EXCHANGE CONTROLS

 

See “ Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—We may be subject to penalties, including restriction on our ability to inject capital into our WFOE and our WFOE’s ability to distribute profits to us, if our PRC resident shareholders or beneficial owners fail to comply with relevant PRC foreign exchange rules” and “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—Regulations on Foreign Exchange.”

 

E.                                     TAXATION

 

The following sets forth material Cayman Islands, PRC and U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to holders of our Class  B ordinary shares or ADSs. The discussion is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal or tax advice to any current or prospective holder of our Class  B ordinary shares or ADSs. The discussion is based on laws and relevant interpretations thereof as of the date hereof, all of which are subject to change or different interpretations, possibly with retroactive effect. The discussion does not address U.S. state or local tax laws, or tax laws of jurisdictions other than the Cayman Islands, the People’s Republic of China and the United States.

 

Cayman Islands Taxation

 

The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us or our shareholders or ADS holders levied by the Government of the Cayman Islands except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, brought to or produced before a court of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties that are applicable to any payments made to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.

 

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People’s Republic of China Taxation

 

PRC taxation with respect to us

 

The EIT Law and its implementation rules, both of which became effective on January 1, 2008, provide that any income received by a non-resident enterprise is subject to 10% withholding tax to the extent such income is sourced within the PRC and (i) such non-resident enterprise has no establishment or place of business in the PRC, or (ii) it has an establishment or place of business in the PRC but its income sourced within the PRC has no real connection with such establishment or place of business, unless otherwise exempted or reduced by tax treaties. Under the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and other related PRC laws and regulations, the tax rate on dividends paid by a PRC resident enterprise to its immediate holding company incorporated in Hong Kong may be reduced to 5% if such Hong Kong resident enterprise owns over 25% of the equity interest of the PRC company distributing the dividends during the 12 consecutive months preceding the receipt of the dividends. As our Hong Kong subsidiary owns 100% of the WFOE, under the aforesaid arrangement, any dividends that the WFOE pays our Hong Kong subsidiary may be subject to a withholding tax at the rate of 5%, subject to examinations by competent PRC tax authorities. However, if our Hong Kong subsidiary is not considered to be the beneficial owner of such dividends under Circular 601, such dividends would be subject to the withholding tax rate of 10%.

 

Under the EIT Law, enterprises organized under the laws of jurisdictions outside China with “de facto management bodies” located within China may be considered PRC tax resident enterprises and therefore subject to PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on their worldwide taxable income. The EIT Law Implementation Regulations define the term “de facto management body” as a management body that exercises full or substantial control and management authority over the production, operation, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—We and/or our Hong Kong subsidiary may be classified as a ‘PRC resident enterprise’ for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, which could result in our global income being subject to 25% PRC enterprise income tax.”

 

PRC taxation of our overseas shareholders

 

Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, subject to any applicable tax treaty or similar arrangement between the PRC and your jurisdiction of residence that provides for a different income tax arrangement, PRC withholding tax at the rate of 10% is normally applicable to dividends from PRC sources payable to investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, which do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC, or which have an establishment or place of business in the PRC but the relevant income is not effectively connected with such establishment or place of business. Any gain realized on the transfer of American depositary shares or shares by such investors is subject to 10% PRC income tax if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC unless a treaty or similar arrangement provides otherwise. Under the PRC Individual Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, dividends from sources within the PRC paid to foreign individual investors who are not PRC residents are generally subject to a PRC withholding tax at a rate of 20% and gains from PRC sources realized by such investors on the transfer of American depositary shares or shares are generally subject to 20% PRC income tax, in each case, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties and PRC laws. Although substantially all of our business operations are in China, it is unclear whether dividends we pay with respect to our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, or the gain realized from the transfer of our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, would be treated as income derived from sources within the PRC and as a result be subject to PRC income tax if we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. If PRC income tax is imposed on gains realized on the transfer of our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs or on dividends paid to our non-resident investors, the value of your investment in our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders whose jurisdictions of residence have tax treaties or arrangements with China may not qualify for benefits under such tax treaties or arrangements.

 

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According to Circular 601, non-resident enterprises or individuals that cannot provide valid supporting documents as “beneficial owners” may not be approved to enjoy tax treaty benefits. In the event that we are treated as a PRC tax resident, dividends to be distributed by us to our shareholders and ADSs holders who are non-PRC tax residents and whose jurisdictions of incorporation or home countries have tax treaties with China providing for preferential withholding arrangements will not be entitled to the benefits under such withholding arrangements unless such holder is considered a “beneficial owner” under Circular 601.

 

U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations

 

The following is a description of material U.S. federal income tax consequences to a U.S. Holder (as described herein) of owning and disposing of Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, but it does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular person’s decision to own Class B ordinary shares or ADSs. The discussion applies only to a U.S. Holder that holds Class B ordinary shares or ADSs as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, it does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to a U.S. Holder in light of the U.S. Holder’s particular circumstances, including alternative minimum tax consequences and tax consequences applicable to U.S. Holders subject to special rules, such as:

 

·                   certain financial institutions;

 

·                   dealers or traders in securities;

 

·                   persons holding our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs as part of a straddle, wash sale, conversion transaction or integrated transaction, or persons entering into a constructive sale with respect to the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs;

 

·                   persons whose functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar;

 

·                   partnerships or other entities classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

 

·                   tax-exempt entities, including “individual retirement accounts” and “Roth IRAs”;

 

·                   persons that own, or are deemed to own, Class B ordinary shares or ADSs representing ten percent or more of our voting stock; or

 

·                   persons holding our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs in connection with a trade or business conducted outside of the United States.

 

If an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes owns Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships owning Class B ordinary shares or ADSs and partners therein should consult their tax advisers regarding the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs.

 

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This discussion does not address any tax consequences associated with the “Medicare contribution tax” on “net investment income” or the effects of any U.S. state or local, or non-U.S. tax laws.

 

This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions, final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations and the income tax treaty between the United States and the PRC (the “Treaty”), all as of the date hereof, any of which is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. This discussion is also based, in part, on representations by the depositary and assumes that each obligation under the deposit agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with its terms.

 

U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of owning and disposing of Class B ordinary shares or ADSs in their particular circumstances.

 

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

 

·                   a citizen or individual resident of the United States;

 

·                   a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state therein or the District of Columbia; or

 

·                   an estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source.

 

In general, a U.S. Holder who owns ADSs will be treated as the owner of the underlying Class B ordinary shares represented by those ADSs for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, no gain or loss will be recognized if a U.S. Holder exchanges ADSs for the underlying Class B ordinary shares represented by those ADSs.

 

The U.S. Treasury has expressed concern that parties to whom American depositary shares are released before the underlying shares are delivered to the depositary (“pre-release”) or intermediaries in the chain of ownership between holders of American depositary shares and the issuer of the security underlying the American depositary shares, may be taking actions that are inconsistent with the claiming of foreign tax credits by holders of American depositary shares. These actions may also be inconsistent with the claiming of the favorable tax rates that may be applicable to certain dividends received by certain non-corporate holders, as described below. Accordingly, the creditability of any foreign taxes, and the availability of the favorable tax rates for any dividends received by certain non-corporate U.S. Holders, each described below, could be affected by actions taken by such parties or intermediaries.

 

Taxation of Distributions. Subject to the passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, rules described below, distributions (if any) paid on Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, other than certain pro rata distributions of Class B ordinary shares, will generally be treated as dividends to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs (as applicable) and thereafter as capital gain. However, because we do not calculate our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, it is expected that distributions generally will be reported to U.S. Holders as dividends. Dividends will be included in a U.S. Holder’s income on the date of the U.S. Holder’s receipt, or in the case of ADSs, the depositary’s receipt, of the dividend.

 

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Dividends will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to U.S. corporations under the Code. Subject to applicable limitations and the discussion above regarding concerns expressed by the U.S. Treasury and the passive foreign investment company rules discussed below, dividends (if any) paid to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders may be subject to reduced rates of U.S. federal income taxation if certain holding period and other requirements are met.  U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding the availability of the reduced tax rates on dividends in light of their particular circumstances.

 

Dividends will be treated as foreign-source income and will generally constitute passive category income for purposes of the foreign tax credit rules. As described in “Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation,” if we were deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law, dividends paid by us might be subject to PRC withholding tax. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the dividend income will include amounts withheld by us in respect of the PRC withholding tax. Subject to applicable limitations that vary depending upon the U.S. Holder’s circumstances, and in the case of ADSs subject to the discussion above regarding concerns expressed by the U.S. Treasury, PRC income taxes withheld from dividend payments (at a rate not exceeding the applicable rate provided in the Treaty, as defined above, in the case of a U.S. Holder that is eligible for the benefits of the Treaty) generally would be creditable against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. PRC taxes withheld in excess of the rate applicable under the Treaty generally will not be eligible for credit against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.  An eligible U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for PRC tax withheld may instead be eligible to claim a deduction, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in respect of such withholding but only for the year in which such U.S. Holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The U.S. foreign tax credit rules are complex. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the foreign tax credit rules in light of their particular circumstances.

 

Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Class B Ordinary Shares or ADSs. Subject to the PFIC rules described below, gain or loss realized on the sale or other taxable disposition of Class B ordinary shares or ADSs will be capital gain or loss, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder held the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs for more than one year. The amount of the gain or loss will equal the difference between the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs disposed of and the amount realized on the disposition. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.

 

As described in “ Taxation— People’s Republic of China Taxation,” if we were deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT law, gain on the sale of Class B ordinary shares or ADSs might be subject to PRC taxes. A U.S. Holder will generally be entitled to use foreign tax credits to offset only the portion of its U.S. federal income tax liability that is attributable to foreign-source income. Because under the Code capital gains of U.S. persons generally are treated as U.S.-source income, this limitation may preclude a U.S. Holder from claiming a credit for all or a portion of any PRC taxes imposed on any such gains. However, because under the Treaty such capital gains may be treated as PRC source, U.S. Holders that are eligible for the benefits of the Treaty may be able to elect to treat the gains as PRC-source income for purposes of crediting such PRC taxes against the U.S. Holders’ U.S. federal income tax liability with respect to such gains. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in the event PRC tax were to be imposed on a distribution of Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, including the availability of the U.S. foreign tax credit and the ability and whether to treat any gain as PRC source gain for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes in consideration of their particular circumstances.

 

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Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules. In general, a non-U.S. corporation will be a PFIC for any taxable year in which (i) 75% or more of its gross income consists of certain types of passive income or (ii) the average value (determined on a quarterly basis) of its assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income is 50% or more of the value of all its assets.

 

Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than certain rents and royalties derived in the active conduct of a trade or business), annuities and gains from assets that produce passive income.  If a non-U.S. corporation owns at least 25% (by value) of the stock of another corporation, the non-U.S. corporation is treated for purposes of the PFIC tests as owning its proportionate share of the assets of the other corporation and as receiving directly its proportionate share of the other corporation’s income.

 

Based upon the composition of our income and assets and estimates of the value of our assets, including goodwill, which estimates are based , in part, on the price of our ADSs, we do not believe we were a PFIC for our 2015 taxable year. However, the determination of whether we are a PFIC is made annually and depends on particular facts and circumstances (such as the valuation of our assets, including goodwill and other intangible assets) and also may be affected by the application of the PFIC rules, which are subject to differing interpretations. The fair market value of our assets is expected to depend, in part, upon (i) the market price of our ADSs, which is likely to fluctuate, and (ii) the composition of our income and assets from time to time.  In addition, it is not entirely clear how the contractual arrangements between us and our VIE will be treated for purposes of the PFIC rules. If it were determined that we are not the owner of the stock of our VIE for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we could be treated as a PFIC. In light of the foregoing, no assurance can be provided that we are not currently a PFIC or that we will not become a PFIC in any other taxable year.

 

If we were a PFIC for any taxable year and any of our subsidiaries or other entities (including our VIE) in which we own or are treated as ow ning equity interests were also a PFIC (any such entity, a “Lower-tier PFIC”), U.S. Holders would be deemed to own their proportionate shares of each Lower-tier PFIC and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax according to the rules described in the paragraph below on (i) certain distributions by a Lower-tier PFIC and (ii) dispositions of shares of Lower-tier PFICs, in each case as if the U.S. Holders held the Lower-tier PFIC’s shares directly, even though the U.S. Holders had not received the proceeds of those distributions or dispositions.

 

If we were a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder held our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, the U.S. Holder , absent certain elections (including the mark-to-market and qualified electing fund elections described below), generally will be subject to adverse tax consequences (regardless of whether we continue to be classified as a PFIC). Generally, gain recognized by a U.S. Holder on a sale or other disposition (including certain pledges) of the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs would be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs. The amounts allocated to the taxable year of the sale or other disposition and to any year before we became a PFIC would be taxed as ordinary income. The amount allocated to each other taxable year would be subject to tax at the highest rate in effect for individuals or corporations, as appropriate, for that taxable year, and an interest charge would be imposed on the resulting tax liability. Further, to the extent that any distribution received by a U.S. Holder on Class B ordinary shares or ADSs exceeds 125% of the average of the annual distributions on the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs received during the preceding three years or the U.S. Holder’s holding period, whichever is shorter, that distribution would be subject to taxation in the same manner.

 

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In certain circumstances, a U.S. Holder can avoid certain of the adverse rules described above by making a mark to market election with respect to its stock, provided that such stock is “marketable.” ADSs will be marketable if they are “regularly traded” for purposes of the mark-to-market election on a “qualified exchange” or other market within the meaning of applicable U.S. Treasury regulations. ADSs will be treated as “regularly traded” in any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of the ADSs are traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (for which no assurance can be given). NASDAQ, where our ADSs are listed, is a qualified exchange for this purpose.  It should be noted that our Class B ordinary shares are not listed on NASDAQ and therefore a U.S. Holder of Class B ordinary shares that are not represented by ADSs generally will not be eligible to make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares if we were to be become a PFIC.  A mark-to-market election is not permitted for the shares of any of our subsidiaries that are also classified as PFICs.

 

A U.S. Holder that makes an effective mark-to-market election must include in gross income, as ordinary income, for each taxable year that we are a PFIC an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the U.S. Holder’s ADSs at the close of the taxable year over the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ADSs. An electing U.S. Holder may also claim an ordinary loss deduction for the excess, if any, of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ADSs over the fair market value of its ADSs at the close of the taxable year, but this deduction is allowable only to the extent of any net mark to market gains previously included in income. The adjusted tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s ADSs will be adjusted to reflect amounts included in gross income or allowed as a deduction because of such mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes an effective mark-to-market election, gains from an actual sale or other disposition of ADSs in a year in which we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income, and any losses incurred on a sale or other disposition of ADSs will be treated as ordinary losses to the extent of any net mark to market gains previously included in income.

 

A mark-to-market election is effective for the taxable year for which the election is made and all subsequent taxable years unless the ADSs are no longer regularly traded on a qualified exchange or if the Internal Revenue Service consents to the revocation of the election.  Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of, and the procedure for making, a mark-to-market election and whether making the election would be advisable, including in light of their particular circumstances.

 

In some cases, a shareholder of a PFIC can avoid the interest charge and the other adverse PFIC consequences described above by obtaining certain information from the PFIC and by making a qualified electing fund, or QEF, election to be taxed currently on its share of the PFIC’s undistributed income.  We do not, however, intend to provide U.S. Holders with the information necessary to make a QEF election, which if available could materially affect the tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs if we were a PFIC.

 

If we were a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder held our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, we would generally continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to that U.S. Holder for all succeeding years during which the U.S. Holder held the Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, even if we ceased to meet the threshold requirements for PFIC status. In addition, non-corporate U.S. Holders will not be eligible for the reduced rates of taxation on any dividends received from us if we are a PFIC in the taxable year in which such dividends are paid or in the preceding taxable year.

 

If a U.S. Holder owns Class B ordinary shares or ADSs during any year in which we are a PFIC, such U.S. Holder will be required to file an annual information return on Internal Revenue Service Form 8621 regarding distributions received on, and any gain realized on the disposition of, our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, and certain U.S. Holders will be required to file an annual information return (also on Internal Revenue Service Form 8621) relating to their ownership our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs.

 

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U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding the operation of the PFIC rules and the U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs if we were a PFIC for any taxable year, including the advisability of making any election that may be available.

 

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

 

Certain U.S. Holders of specified foreign financial assets with an aggregate value in excess of the applicable dollar threshold are required to report information relating to their holding of Class B ordinary shares or ADSs, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for Class B ordinary shares or ADSs held in accounts maintained by certain financial institutions) with their tax return for each year in which they hold Class B ordinary shares or ADSs. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the information reporting obligations that may arise from their acquisition, ownership or disposition of our Class B ordinary shares or ADSs.

 

F.                  DIVIDENDS AND PAYING AGENTS

 

Not applicable.

 

G.                STATEMENTS BY EXPERTS

 

Not applicable.

 

H.                DOCUMENTS ON DISPLAY

 

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-1, a registration statement on Form F-6, a registration statement on Form S-8, a registration statement on Form 8-A and a registration statement on Form F-3, including relevant exhibits and schedules under the Securities Act, covering the Class B ordinary shares represented by the ADSs, as well as the ADSs. You should refer to our registration statements and their exhibits and schedules if you would like to find out more about us and about the ADSs and the Class B ordinary shares represented by the ADSs. This annual report summarizes material provisions of contracts and other documents to which we refer you. Since the annual report may not contain all the information that you may find important, you should review a full text of these documents.

 

The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is http://www.sec.gov. The information on that website is not a part of this annual report.

 

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We will furnish to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as depositary of our ADSs, copies of our annual report. When the depositary receives these reports, it will upon our request promptly provide them to all holders of record of ADSs. We will also furnish the depositary with all notices of shareholders’ meetings and other reports and communications in English that we make available to our shareholders. The depositary will make these notices, reports and communications available to holders of ADSs and will upon our request mail to all holders of record of ADSs the information contained in any notice of a shareholders’ meeting it receives.

 

We are subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules of the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements to shareholders. The registration statements, reports and other information so filed can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at Room 1580, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing to the SEC. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference rooms.

 

I.                     SUBSIDIARY INFORMATION

 

For a list of our significant subsidiaries, see “Item 4. Information on the Company — C. Organizational Structure.”

 

Item 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse change in financial market prices and rates. In the course of our normal operations, we are exposed to market risks, including fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates.

 

Interest Rate Risk

 

Our exposure to interest rate risk primarily relates to the interest income generated by excess cash, which is mostly held in interest-bearing demand deposits. Interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. We have not been exposed to material risks due to changes in interest rates. We have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest risk exposure.

 

Foreign Exchange Risk

 

Our financial statements are expressed in Renminbi, and the majority of our revenues and most of our expenses are denominated in Renminbi. Currently, our exposure to foreign exchange risk primarily relates to our cash and cash equivalents denominated in currencies other than Renminbi. We do not believe that we currently have any significant direct foreign exchange risk and have not hedged exposure to foreign currencies or any other derivative financial instruments. However, the value of your investment in our ADSs will be affected by the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollars and Renminbi, because the primary value of our business is effectively denominated in Renminbi, while the ADSs will be traded in U.S. dollars. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Fluctuation in the value of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on the value of your investment.”

 

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Item 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES

 

A.                 DEBT SECURITIES

 

Not applicable.

 

B.                 WARRANTS AND RIGHTS

 

Not applicable.

 

C.                 OTHER SECURITIES

 

Not applicable.

 

D.                 AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

 

Fees and C harges O ur ADS H olders May Have to Pay

 

H olders of our ADSs will be required to pay the following service fees to the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of our ADSs):

 

Service

 

Fees

Issuance of ADSs, including issuances resulting from a distribution of shares or rights or other property

 

Up to US$0.05 per ADS issued

Cancellation of ADSs, including the case of termination of the deposit agreement

 

Up to US$0.05 per ADS cancelled

Distribution of cash dividends or other cash distributions

 

Up to US$0.05 per ADS held

Distribution of ADSs pursuant to share dividends, free share distributions or exercise of rights.

 

Up to US$0.05 per ADS issued

Distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs

 

A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities distributed to you had been ordinary shares and the ordinary shares had been deposited for issuance of ADSs

Depositary, operation, and maintenance services

 

Up to US$0.05 per ADS held on the applicable record date(s) established by the depositary bank

 

As an ADS holder, you will also be responsible to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs) such as:

 

·                   Fees for the transfer and registration of ordinary shares charged by the registrar and transfer agent for the ordinary shares in the Cayman Islands (i.e., upon deposit and withdrawal of ordinary shares).

 

·                   Expenses incurred for converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars.

 

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·                   Expenses for cable, telex and fax transmissions and for delivery of securities.

 

·                   Taxes and duties upon the transfer of securities, including any applicable stamp duties, any stock transfer charges or withholding taxes (i.e., when ordinary shares are deposited or withdrawn from deposit).

 

·                   Fees and expenses incurred in connection with the delivery or servicing of ordinary shares on deposit.

 

·                   Fees and expenses incurred in connection with complying with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to ordinary shares, deposited securities, ADSs and ADRs.

 

·                   Any applicable fees and penalties thereon.

 

The depositary fees payable upon the issuance and cancellation of ADSs are typically paid to the depositary bank by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) receiving the newly-issued ADSs from the depositary bank and by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) delivering the ADSs to the depositary bank for cancellation. The brokers in turn charge these fees to their clients. Depositary fees payable in connection with distributions of cash or securities to ADS holders and the depositary services fee are charged by the depositary bank to the holders of record of ADSs as of the applicable ADS record date.

 

The depositary fees payable for cash distributions are generally deducted from the cash being distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. In the case of distributions other than cash (i.e., share dividends, rights), the depositary bank charges the applicable fee to the ADS record date holders concurrent with the distribution. In the case of ADSs registered in the name of the investor (whether certificated or uncertificated in direct registration), the depositary bank sends invoices to the applicable record date ADS holders. In the case of ADSs held in brokerage and custodian accounts (via DTC), the depositary bank generally collects its fees through the systems provided by DTC (whose nominee is the registered holder of the ADSs held in DTC) from the brokers and custodians holding ADSs in their DTC accounts. The brokers and custodians who hold their clients’ ADSs in DTC accounts in turn charge their clients’ accounts the amount of the fees paid to the depositary banks.

 

In the event of refusal to pay the depositary fees, the depositary bank may, under the terms of the deposit agreement, refuse the requested service until payment is received or may set off the amount of the depositary fees from any distribution to be made to the ADS holder.

 

Fees and Other Payments Made by the Depositary to Us

 

The depositary has agreed to reimburse us for a portion of certain expenses we incur that are related to establishment and maintenance of the ADR program, including investor relations expenses. There are limits on the amount of expenses for which the depositary will reimburse us, but the amount of reimbursement available to us is not related to the amounts of fees the depositary collects from investors. Further, the depositary has agreed to reimburse us certain fees payable to the depositary by holders of ADSs. Neither the depositary nor we can determine the exact amount to be made available to us because (i) the number of ADSs that will be issued and outstanding, (ii) the level of service fees to be charged to holders of ADSs and (iii) our reimbursable expenses related to the program are not known at this time.

 

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PART II

 

Item 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES

 

None.

 

Item 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS

 

A. — D. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS

 

See “Item 10. Additional Information” for a description of the rights of securities holders, which remain unchanged.

 

E.                                     USE OF PROCEEDS

 

The following “Use of Proceeds” information relates to:

 

·                   the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File Number 333-191459) for our initial public offering of 12,777,650 ADSs (including the additional ADSs sold to the underwriters in connection with the over-allotment option), representing 38,332,950 Class B ordinary shares, which registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on October 31, 2013.

 

·                   the registration statement on Form F-3ASR, as amended (File Number 333-204626) for our 2015 follow-on offering of 6,842,106 ADSs (including the additional ADSs sold to the underwriters in connection with the over-allotment option), representing 20,526,318 Class B ordinary shares, which registration statement automatically became effective upon the filing of the Form F-3ASR on June 1, 2015.

 

We received net proceeds of approximately US$172.8 million from our initial public offering in 2013 and net proceeds of approximately US$310.9 million from our follow-on offering in 2015, respectively.  We incurred expenses and paid to others US$13.2 million for underwriting discounts and commissions and US$3.1 million for other expenses in connection with our initial public offering from the effective date of the registration statement for the initial public offering to December 31, 2013. We incurred expenses and paid to others US$12.0 million for underwriting discounts and commissions and US$2.1 million for other expenses in connection with our 2015 follow-on offering from the effective date of the registration statement to December 31, 2015.

 

For the period from October 30, 2013, the date that the F-1 registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective by the SEC, through June 1, 2015, the date that our F-3ASR registration statement for our follow-on offering became effective, to December 31, 2015, the net proceeds received from these public offerings were primarily used as follows:

 

·                   approximately US$324.9 million for general corporate purposes, including working capital, acquisition of products, services or technologies, and acquisition of new users;

 

·                   approximately US$112.3 million for the acquisition of complementary businesses; and

 

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·                   approximately US$46.5 million for investments in technology, infrastructure and product development efforts.

 

As of December 31, 2015, we have used all of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and our 2015 follow-on offering.

 

Item 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

As required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act, our management, including our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as that term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act, as of the end of the period covered by this annual report. Based on that evaluation, our management, including our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2015.

 

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework).

 

Based on this assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2015, our internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.

 

Our independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP, independently assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP has issued an attestation report, which is included below.

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited

 

We have audited Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the “COSO criteria”). Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

 

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We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

In our opinion, Qunar Cayman Islands Limited maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on the COSO criteria.

 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, cash flows and shareholders’ equity (deficit) for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015 of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited and our report dated April 14, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

 

/s/ Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP

Shanghai , the People’s Republic of China

April 14, 2016

 

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Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There were no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the year ended December 31, 2015 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 16 [RE SERVED]

 

Item 16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT

 

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Jimmy Lai qualifies as an audit committee financial expert as such term is defined in Item 16A(b) of Form 20-F.

 

Our board of directors has determined that all of the members of our audit committee are independent as such term is defined by Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.

 

Item 16B. CODE OF ETHICS

 

Our board of directors has adopted a code of ethics, which is applicable to our senior executive and financial officers. In addition, our board of directors has adopted a code of conduct, which is applicable to all of our directors, officers and employees. We have filed our code of business conduct and ethics as an exhibit to our registration statement on Form F-1 (No. 333-191459) in connection with our initial public offering in October 2013. We have made our code of ethics and our code of conduct publicly available on our website at www.qunar.com.

 

Item 16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

 

The following table sets forth the aggregate fees by categories specified below in connection with certain professional services rendered by our principal external auditors for the periods indicated.

 

 

 

For the year ended December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Audit fees (1)

 

7,325

 

11,277

 

1,741

 

Audit-related fees (2)

 

 

2,701

 

417

 

Tax fee (3)

 

429

 

360

 

56

 

Other fee (4)

 

13

 

13

 

2

 

 


(1)          “Audit fees” include the aggregate fees billed in each of the fiscal years listed for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements.

 

(2)          “Audit-related fees” represents aggregate fees billed in each of the fiscal years listed for assurance and related services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm, which mainly included SAS 100 reviews of our interim financial statements.

 

(3)          “Tax fees” represents the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.

 

(4)          “Other fees” represents the fees billed for our subscription of our independent registered public accounting firm’s accounting database.

 

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All auditing and non-auditing services provided by our independent auditors must be pre-approved by our audit committee. Our audit committee has approved all services as described above.

 

Item 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES

 

None.

 

Item 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS

 

None.

 

Item 16F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 16G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

W e are incorporated in the Cayman Islands and qualify as a “foreign private issuer” under the Securities Act, which, pursuant to the NASDAQ Listing Rules, allows us to follow home country practice in lieu of the NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, subject to certain important exceptions. We are relying on certain exemptions available to foreign private issuers under the NASDAQ Listing Rules and are not obligated to comply with certain NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, including the requirements:

 

·                   that we hold an annual meeting of shareholders no later than one year after the end of our fiscal year-end;

 

·                   that we have a corporate governance and nominating committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities;

 

·                   that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities;

 

·                   for an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and governance committee and the compensation committee;

 

·                   that our board of directors hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present; and

 

·                   that our share incentive plans be approved by shareholders.

 

We follow home country practice with respect to annual meetings and did not hold an annual shareholder meeting in fiscal year 2014. We held an annual meeting of shareholders on February 12, 2015 and we may hold annual shareholder meetings in the future if there are significant issues that require shareholders’ approvals.

 

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We are not required to and will not voluntarily meet the above requirements. As a result of our use of “foreign private issuer” exemption, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of NASDAQ’s corporate governance requirements.

 

Item 16H. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART III

 

Item 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

We have elected to provide financial statements pursuant to Item 18.

 

Item 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Our consolidated financial statements are included at the end of this annual report.

 

Item 19. EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit Number

 

Description of Document

 

 

 

1.1

 

Fifth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

2.1

 

Registrant’s Specimen American Depositary Receipt (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

2.2

 

Registrant’s Specimen Certificate for Ordinary Shares (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

2.3

 

Form of Deposit Agreement, among the Registrant, the Depositary and holders of the American Depositary Receipts (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

2.4

 

Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement among the Registrant and other parties thereto dated July 20, 2011, as amended on March 4, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

2.5*

 

Note Purchase Agreement among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, SL Camel Holdco Limited, Gaoling Fund, L.P., and YHG Investment, L.P., dated June 1, 2015

 

 

 

2.6*

 

Registration Rights Agreement among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, SL Camel Holdco Limited, Gaoling Fund, L.P., and YHG Investment L.P., dated June 17, 2015

 

 

 

2.7*

 

Indenture among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, U.S. Bank National Association as trustee and the Holders as defined therein, dated June 17, 2015

 

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2.8*

 

Supplemental Indenture among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, U.S. Bank National Association as trustee and the Holders as defined therein, dated August 17, 2015, to the Indenture by the same parties dated June 17,2015

 

 

 

2.9*

 

Second Supplemental Indenture among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, U.S. Bank National Association as trustee and the Holders as defined therein, dated November 24, 2015, to the Indenture by the same parties dated June 17,2015, as supplemented

 

 

 

2.10*

 

Waiver Letter by Gaoling Fund, L.P. and YHG Investment, L.P. addressed to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited and U.S. Bank National Association, dated December 4, 2015

 

 

 

2.11*

 

Waiver Letter by SL Camel Holdco Limited addressed to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited and U.S. Bank National Association, dated January 4, 2016

 

 

 

4.1*

 

Amended and Restated 2007 Share Plan adopted on November 8, 2007, as amended on July 30, 2010, June 22, 2011, December 29, 2011, August 10, 2012, September 24, 2013 and February 12, 2015

 

 

 

4.2

 

Form of Indemnification Agreement entered into among the Registrant and its directors and officers (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.3

 

Form of Employment Agreement entered into between the Registrant and an Executive Officer of the Registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.4

 

Restated Exclusive Technical Consulting and Services Agreement between Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited and Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited dated October 10, 2012 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.5

 

Restated Loan Agreement among Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited and shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited dated October 10, 2012 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.6

 

Restated Equity Option Agreement among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited, Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited and shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited dated October 10, 2012 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

160



Table of Contents

 

4.7

 

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement between Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited and shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited dated October 10, 2012 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.8

 

Power of Attorney by shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited dated April 12, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.9

 

Supplementary Agreement among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited, Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited dated April 2, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.10

 

Subscription Agreement by and between the Registrant and Jaguarundi Partners, LLC dated September 26, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.11

 

Business Cooperation Agreement between the Registrant and Baidu, Inc. dated July 20, 2011 and amended on June 27, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

4.12

 

Business Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Registrant and Baidu, Inc. dated October 1, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 3, 2013)

 

 

 

4.13

 

Credit Facility Contract between the Registrant and Baidu, Inc. dated February 27, 2014 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.13 to the Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 29, 2014 )

 

 

 

4.14*

 

2015 Share Incentive Plan adopted on November 18, 2015

 

 

 

4.15*

 

Framework Agreement for Treatment of Qunar Employee Shares and Equity Awards between Ctrip.com International Ltd. and Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, dated December 9, 2015

 

 

 

4.16*

 

Loan Agreement between Qunar Cayman Islands Limited and C-Travel International Limited, dated March 10, 2016

 

161



Table of Contents

 

4.17*

 

Loan Agreement between Ctrip Travel Network Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Beijing Qunar Software Technology Co., Ltd., dated March 10, 2016

 

 

 

4.18*

 

Restated Exclusive Technical Consulting and Services Agreement between Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited and Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited, dated March 23, 2016

 

 

 

4.19*

 

Loan Agreement among Beijing Qunar Software Technology Co., Ltd. and the shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, dated March 23, 2016

 

 

 

4.20*

 

Equity Option Agreement among Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, Beijing Qunar Software Technology Co., Ltd., Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited and the shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, dated March 23, 2016

 

 

 

4.21*

 

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement among Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited and the shareholders of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, dated March 23, 2016

 

 

 

4.22*

 

Power of Attorney by Wang Hui as shareholder of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, dated March 23, 2016

 

 

 

4.23*

 

Power of Attorney by Cao Hui as shareholder of Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited, dated March 23, 2016

 

 

 

8.1*

 

List of Significant Subsidiaries of the Registrant

 

 

 

11.1

 

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of the Registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-191459), initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2013)

 

 

 

12.1*

 

Certification by Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

 

 

12.2*

 

Certification by Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

 

 

13.1**

 

Certification by Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

 

 

13.2**

 

Certification by Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

 

 

15.1*

 

Consent of Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm

 

 

 

15.2*

 

Consent of TransAsia Lawyers

 

162



Table of Contents

 

101.INS*

 

XBRL Instance Document

 

 

 

101.SCH*

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

 

 

 

101.CAL*

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

101.DEF*

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

 

 

 

101.LAB*

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document

 

 

 

101.PRE*

 

RL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 


*                                          Filed with this annual report on Form 20-F

**                                   Furnished with this annual report on Form 20-F

 

163



Table of Contents

 

SIGNATURE

 

The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing its annual report on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report on its behalf.

 

 

 

 

Qunar Cayman Islands Limited

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Zhenyu Chen

 

Name:

Zhenyu Chen

 

Title:

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

Date: April 14, 2016

 

 

 

164




 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, cash flows and shareholders’ equity (deficit) for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited at December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated April 14, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

 

/s/ Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP

Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China

April 14, 2016

 

F- 2



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”),

except for number of shares and per share data)

 

 

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Notes

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

 

 

812,972

 

4,115,650

 

635,347

 

Restricted cash

 

 

 

236,929

 

1,747,603

 

269,783

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

4

 

165,404

 

278,382

 

42,975

 

Funds receivable

 

 

 

413,084

 

715,365

 

110,433

 

Short-term investments

 

 

 

 

351,189

 

54,214

 

Due from related parties

 

13

 

39,951

 

813,123

 

125,525

 

Prepayments and other current assets

 

5

 

259,734

 

1,320,492

 

203,849

 

Deferred tax assets, current

 

12

 

22,859

 

80,513

 

12,429

 

Total current assets

 

 

 

1,950,933

 

9,422,317

 

1,454,555

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

 

6

 

149,307

 

232,085

 

35,828

 

Intangible assets, net

 

8

 

2,849

 

12,689

 

1,959

 

Goodwill

 

8

 

 

10,755

 

1,660

 

Long-term investments, net

 

7

 

103,175

 

712,967

 

110,063

 

Deferred tax assets, non-current

 

12

 

 

111

 

17

 

Other non-current assets

 

20

 

61,453

 

114,621

 

17,694

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total non-current assets

 

 

 

316,784

 

1,083,228

 

167,221

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

 

 

2,267,717

 

10,505,545

 

1,621,776

 

 

F- 3



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (CONTINUED)

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”),

except for number of shares and per share data)

 

 

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Notes

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities (including current liabilities of the Affiliated PRC Entities without recourse to the Company amounting to RMB893,558 and RMB2,754,149 (US$425,168) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer advances and deposits

 

 

 

258,992

 

280,962

 

43,373

 

Due to related parties

 

13

 

6,305

 

1,961,500

 

302,803

 

Accounts payable

 

 

 

19,813

 

31,720

 

4,898

 

Salaries and welfare payable

 

 

 

201,433

 

418,431

 

64,595

 

Income tax payable

 

 

 

22,821

 

79,736

 

12,309

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

10

 

1,155,547

 

3,134,951

 

483,953

 

Warrant liability

 

13

 

701,776

 

 

 

Short-term loan

 

9

 

 

643,500

 

99,339

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

 

2,366,687

 

6,550,800

 

1,011,270

 

Non-current liabilities (including non-current liabilities of the Affiliated PRC Entities without recourse to the Company amounting to RMB3,429 and RMB15,793 (US$2,438) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liability, non-current

 

 

 

 

1,318

 

203

 

Long-term debt

 

11

 

 

2,658,357

 

410,380

 

Non-current liabilities

 

 

 

71,616

 

91,702

 

14,156

 

Total non-current liabilities

 

 

 

71,616

 

2,751,377

 

424,739

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

 

 

2,438,303

 

9,302,177

 

1,436,009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholders’ (deficit) equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares (par value of US$0.001 per share; 303,344,804 shares authorized as at December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively; 224,299,179 and 13,517,672 shares issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively)

 

16

 

1,426

 

87

 

13

 

Class B ordinary shares (par value of US$0.001 per share; 496,655,196 shares authorized as at December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively; 134,376,522 and 419,204,400 shares issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively)

 

16

 

831

 

2,638

 

407

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

 

 

2,069,313

 

10,647,579

 

1,643,703

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income

 

15

 

4,163

 

136,810

 

21,120

 

Statutory reserves

 

 

 

 

3,011

 

465

 

Accumulated deficit

 

 

 

(2,246,319

)

(9,592,039

)

(1,480,756

)

Total Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders’ (deficit) equity

 

 

 

(170,586

)

1,198,086

 

184,952

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

5,282

 

815

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ (deficit) equity

 

 

 

(170,586

)

1,203,368

 

185,767

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and shareholders’ (deficit) equity

 

 

 

2,267,717

 

10,505,545

 

1,621,776

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements

 

F- 4



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”),

except for number of shares and per share (or ADS) data)

 

 

 

 

 

Years end December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Notes

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight and flight related services

 

 

 

551,122

 

1,171,229

 

2,206,948

 

340,694

 

Accommodation reservation services

 

 

 

194,030

 

347,281

 

1,472,925

 

227,380

 

Display advertising services

 

 

 

63,503

 

87,894

 

117,945

 

18,208

 

Other services

 

 

 

42,267

 

150,351

 

373,394

 

57,642

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenues

 

 

 

850,922

 

1,756,755

 

4,171,212

 

643,924

 

Cost of revenues

 

 

 

(173,395

)

(454,902

)

(1,433,237

)

(221,253

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

 

 

 

677,527

 

1,301,853

 

2,737,975

 

422,671

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product developments

 

 

 

(319,021

)

(774,511

)

(2,578,528

)

(398,056

)

Product sourcing

 

 

 

(67,271

)

(316,903

)

(785,385

)

(121,243

)

Sales and marketing

 

 

 

(315,506

)

(890,861

)

(2,671,637

)

(412,430

)

General and administrative

 

 

 

(129,209

)

(399,914

)

(3,388,467

)

(523,089

)

Online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

13

 

 

(699,983

)

(37,178

)

(5,739

)

Contract termination loss provision

 

22

 

 

(64,485

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating loss

 

 

 

(153,480

)

(1,844,804

)

(6,723,220

)

(1,037,886

)

Interest income (expenses), net

 

 

 

4,757

 

31,329

 

(110,233

)

(17,017

)

Foreign exchange gain (loss), net

 

 

 

1,469

 

(20,739

)

(64,106

)

(9,896

)

Other income (loss), net

 

 

 

1,057

 

4,873

 

(25,161

)

(3,884

)

Fair value change in warrant liability

 

13

 

 

 

(397,987

)

(61,439

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

 

 

 

(146,197

)

(1,829,341

)

(7,320,707

)

(1,130,122

)

Income tax expense

 

12

 

(41,092

)

(17,560

)

(22,784

)

(3,517

)

Equity in loss of affiliated companies, net of tax

 

7

 

 

 

(5,840

)

(902

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

 

 

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,349,331

)

(1,134,541

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

(6,622

)

(1,022

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders

 

 

 

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,342,709

)

(1,133,519

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss per share for ordinary shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

17

 

(0.61

)

(5.26

)

(19.14

)

(2.95

)

Loss per ADS (each ADS represents three Class B ordinary shares)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

17

 

(1.83

)

(15.78

)

(57.42

)

(8.85

)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

17

 

299,524,536

 

266,696,495

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

Diluted

 

17

 

299,524,536

 

266,696,495

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

Class B ordinary shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

17

 

6,403,973

 

84,713,813

 

201,373,547

 

201,373,547

 

Diluted

 

17

 

305,928,509

 

351,410,308

 

383,692,654

 

383,692,654

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of nil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

15

 

(16,873

)

32,639

 

132,647

 

20,477

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

 

 

 

(204,162

)

(1,814,262

)

(7,216,684

)

(1,114,064

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

(6,622

)

(1,022

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to Qunar Cayman Islands Limited’s shareholders

 

 

 

(204,162

)

(1,814,262

)

(7,210,062

)

(1,113,042

)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements

 

F- 5



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”))

 

 

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Notes

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

 

 

(187,289

)

(1,846,901

)

(7,349,331

)

(1,134,541

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation expenses

 

6

 

22,735

 

52,048

 

110,915

 

17,122

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

8

 

 

 

1,146

 

177

 

Allowance for doubtful accounts

 

4

 

7,038

 

2,199

 

5,849

 

903

 

Impairment of long-term investments

 

7

 

 

 

39,425

 

6,086

 

Share-based compensation

 

 

 

58,170

 

265,924

 

4,781, 334

 

738,111

 

Online marketing expenses for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

13

 

 

699,983

 

37,178

 

5,739

 

Marketing services contributed by a related party

 

13

 

5,920

 

3,304

 

 

 

Imputed interest on loan due to a related party

 

13

 

2,050

 

 

 

 

Fair value change in warrant liability

 

13

 

 

 

397,987

 

61,439

 

Interest expense on long-term debt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

49,127

 

7,584

 

Payment of Employee Consenting Equity Right Holder (“CERH”) Fees

 

 

 

(9,982

)

(2,980

)

(583

)

(90

)

Equity in loss of affiliated companies

 

 

 

 

 

5,840

 

902

 

Changes in assets and liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restricted cash

 

 

 

(114,459

)

(73,423

)

(860,674

)

(132,865

)

Accounts receivable

 

 

 

(61,299

)

(67,711

)

(117,046

)

(18,069

)

Funds receivable

 

 

 

(210,284

)

(171,962

)

(301,665

)

(46,569

)

Due from related parties

 

13

 

(2,400

)

(29,951

)

(123,292

)

(19,033

)

Prepayments and other current assets

 

5

 

(21,233

)

(193,630

)

(1,059,551

)

(163,567

)

Deferred tax assets

 

12

 

(8,436

)

(14,423

)

(57,765

)

(8,917

)

Other non-current assets

 

 

 

(20,310

)

(28,972

)

(43,711

)

(6,748

)

Customer advances and deposits

 

 

 

95,598

 

94,313

 

21,970

 

3,392

 

Accounts payable

 

 

 

2,925

 

11,318

 

7,645

 

1,180

 

Due to related parties

 

13

 

4,292

 

1,813

 

181,395

 

28,003

 

Salaries and welfare payable

 

 

 

42,308

 

115,456

 

395,055

 

60,986

 

Income tax payable

 

 

 

4,598

 

17,057

 

(121,697

)

(18,787

)

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

10

 

289,870

 

717,061

 

1,935,658

 

298,814

 

Non-current deferred tax liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

1,318

 

203

 

Non-current liabilities

 

 

 

40,269

 

13,753

 

18,649

 

2,879

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash used for operating activities

 

 

 

(59,919

)

(435,724

)

(2,044,824

)

(315,666

)

 

F- 6



 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisitions of property and equipment

 

 

 

(39,314

)

(160,786

)

(199,707

)

(30,829

)

Acquisition of intangible assets

 

 

 

 

(2,849

)

(849

)

(131

)

Payments to purchase short-term investments

 

 

 

(671,165

)

(242,901

)

(599,441

)

(92,538

)

Proceeds from maturity of short-term investments

 

 

 

185,741

 

740,551

 

259,952

 

40,130

 

Payments for long-term investments

 

 

 

 

(103,175

)

(646,039

)

(99,731

)

Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired

 

 

 

 

 

(11,510

)

(1,777

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash (used for) provided by investing activities

 

 

 

(524,738

)

230,840

 

(1,197,594

)

(184,876

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares

 

16

 

354,586

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of Class B ordinary shares

 

 

 

1,102,232

 

 

1,943, 104

 

299,963

 

Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares previously subject to escrow

 

 

 

17,298

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from exercise of share options

 

 

 

1,474

 

15,001

 

210,872

 

32,553

 

Loans from related parties

 

13

 

150,000

 

 

 

1,773,800

 

273,828

 

Repayment of loans due to related parties

 

13

 

(200,000

)

 

 

 

Loans to related parties

 

13

 

(68,886

)

 

(649,880

)

(100,324

)

Proceeds from repayment of loans due from related parties

 

13

 

98,975

 

 

 

 

Distribution

 

16

 

(4,638

)

 

 

 

Proceeds from noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

3,000

 

463

 

Proceeds from short-term loan

 

9

 

 

 

643,500

 

99,339

 

Restricted cash pledged for short-term loan

 

9

 

 

 

(650,000

)

(100,343

)

Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt

 

11

 

 

 

3,103,303

 

479,067

 

Payment for ordinary share issuance cost

 

 

 

(18,960

)

 

 

(10,974

)

(1,694

)

Payment for debt issuance cost

 

11

 

 

 

(52,566

)

(8,115

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

 

 

1,432,081

 

15,001

 

6,314,159

 

974,737

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

 

 

(15,806

)

22,726

 

230,937

 

35,651

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

 

 

 

831,618

 

(167,157

)

3,302,678

 

509,846

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year

 

 

 

148,511

 

980,129

 

812,972

 

125,501

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year

 

 

 

980,129

 

812,972

 

4,115,650

 

635,347

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental cash flow disclosures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income taxes paid

 

 

 

8,852

 

4,319

 

4,010

 

619

 

Acquisitions of equipment included in accounts payable

 

 

 

122

 

3,408

 

1,407

 

217

 

Interests paid

 

 

 

 

 

35,013

 

5,405

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements

 

F- 7



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”), except for number of shares)

 

 

 

Ordinary shares

 

Class A Ordinary shares

 

Class B Ordinary shares

 

Additional paid-
in capital

 

Accumulated other
comprehensive(loss)
income (note13)

 

Statutory
reserves

 

Accumulated
deficit

 

Total Qunar
Cayman Islands
Limited’s
shareholders’
(deficit) equity

 

Noncontrolling
interests

 

Total
shareholders’
(deficit)
equity

 

 

 

Number of
shares

 

RMB

 

Number of
shares

 

RMB

 

Number of
shares

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2012

 

181,402,116

 

1,172

 

 

 

 

 

(716,364

)

(11,603

)

 

(212,129

)

(938,924

)

 

(938,924

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(187,289

)

(187,289

)

 

(187,289

)

Other comprehensive loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(16,873

)

 

 

(16,873

)

 

(16,873

)

Issuance of ordinary shares (Note 14)

 

21,662,296

 

135

 

 

 

 

 

354,451

 

 

 

 

354,586

 

 

354,586

 

Re-designation of ordinary shares to Class A ordinary shares (Note 14)

 

(203,064,412

)

(1,307

)

203,064,412

 

1,307

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conversion of Class A ordinary shares to Class B ordinary shares by a shareholder (Note 14)

 

 

 

(494,550

)

(3

)

494,550

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issuance of Class B ordinary shares (Note 14)

 

 

 

 

 

38,838,400

 

237

 

1,182,878

 

 

 

 

1,183,115

 

 

1,183,115

 

Initial public offering costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(101,146

)

 

 

 

(101,146

)

 

(101,146

)

Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares previously subject to escrow (Note 1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17,298

 

 

 

 

17,298

 

 

17,298

 

Distribution and payment of CERH Fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(14,620

)

 

 

 

(14,620

)

 

(14,620

)

Reclassification of the redeemable ordinary shares from mezzanine equity to Class A ordinary shares in permanent equity (Note 14)

 

 

 

100,280,392

 

610

 

 

 

998,056

 

 

 

 

998,666

 

 

998,666

 

Online marketing services contributed by a related party (Note 11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,920

 

 

 

 

5,920

 

 

5,920

 

Imputed interest on loan due to related party (Note 11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,050

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,050

 

 

2,050

 

Exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,474

 

 

 

 

1,474

 

 

1,474

 

Share-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

58,170

 

 

 

 

58,170

 

 

58,170

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2013

 

 

 

302,850,254

 

1,914

 

39,332,950

 

240

 

1,788,167

 

(28,476

)

 

(399,418

)

1,362,427

 

 

1,362,427

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,846,901

)

(1,846,901

)

 

(1,846,901

)

Other comprehensive income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

32,639

 

 

 

 

32,639

 

 

32,639

 

Distribution and payment of CERH Fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,980

)

 

 

 

(2,980

)

 

(2,980

)

Online marketing services contributed by a related party (Note 11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,304

 

 

 

 

3,304

 

 

3,304

 

Exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

16,492,497

 

103

 

14,898

 

 

 

 

15,001

 

 

15,001

 

Share-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

265,924

 

 

 

 

265,924

 

 

265,924

 

Transfer of Class A ordinary shares to Class B ordinary shares

 

 

 

(78,551,075

)

(488

)

78,551,075

 

488

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2014

 

 

 

224,299,179

 

1,426

 

134,376,522

 

831

 

2,069,313

 

4,163

 

 

(2,246,319

)

(170,586

)

 

(170,586

)

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,011

 

(7,345,720)

 

(7,342,709)

 

(6,622)

 

(7,349,331

)

Other comprehensive income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

132,647

 

 

 

132,647

 

 

132,647

 

Distribution and payment of CERH Fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(583)

 

 

 

 

(583)

 

 

(583

)

Exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

42,070,053

 

270

 

210,602

 

 

 

 

210,872

 

 

210,872

 

Share-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,781,334

 

 

 

 

4,781,334

 

 

4,781,334

 

Acquisition of subsidiaries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3,848

)

 

 

 

(3,848

)

11,904

 

8,056

 

Exercise of Zhixin warrants

 

 

 

 

 

11,450,000

 

71

 

1,099,183

 

 

 

 

1,099,254

 

 

1,099,254

 

Issuance of Class B ordinary shares(Note 16)

 

 

 

 

 

20,526,318

 

127

 

1,932,003

 

 

 

 

1,932,130

 

 

1,932,130

 

Issuance of long-term debt (Note11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

559,575

 

 

 

 

559,575

 

 

559,575

 

Transfer of Class A ordinary shares to Class B ordinary shares (Note 16)

 

 

 

(210,781,507

)

(1,339

)

210,781,507

 

1,339

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2015

 

 

 

13,517,672

 

87

 

419,204,400

 

2,638

 

10,647,579

 

136,810

 

3,011

 

(9,592,039

)

1,198,086

 

5,282

 

1,203,368

 

Balance at December 31, 2015, in US$

 

 

 

 

 

 

13

 

 

 

407

 

1,643,703

 

21,120

 

465

 

(1,480,756)

 

184,952

 

815

 

185,767

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F- 8



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

 

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

1.              ORGANIZATION

 

Qunar Cayman Islands Limited (the “Company” or “Qunar”) is a limited company incorporated on July 31, 2006 and domiciled in the Cayman Islands. The Company is principally engaged in the operation of an online travel commerce platform with the provision of flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”).

 

The Company’s principal subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities as of December 31, 2015 are as follows:

 

Company

 

Date of
incorporation

 

Place of
incorporation

 

Percentage of
direct ownership
by the Company

Principal subsidiaries of the Company:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queen’s Road Travel Information Limited (“Queen’s Road”)

 

August 6, 2010

 

Hong Kong

 

100%

Beijing Qunar Software Technology Company Limited (“WFOE”)

 

October 10, 2006

 

PRC

 

100%

Shanghai Qianlima Network Technology Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the WFOE

 

November 16, 2012

 

PRC

 

100%

Principal Affiliated PRC Entities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qunar.com Beijing Information Technology Company Limited (“Qunar.com”, “VIE”)

 

March 17, 2006

 

PRC

 

Nil

Beijing JiaXin HaoYuan Information Technology Company Ltd. (“Jiaxinhaoyuan”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the VIE

 

August 26, 2010

 

PRC

 

Nil

Beijing JinDuYuanYou Information Technology Company Ltd. (“Jinduyuanyou”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the VIE

 

December 12, 2011

 

PRC

 

Nil

Qingdao Yi Lu Tong Xing International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. (“Qingdao”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the VIE

 

April 12, 2012

 

PRC

 

Nil

Shenzhen Zhongchengtai Insurance Brokerage Co. Ltd. (“Zhongchengtai”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the VIE

 

September 9, 2013

 

PRC

 

Nil

Qunar.com (Tianjin) International travel Agency Co., Ltd. (“Tianjin Travel Agency”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the VIE

 

September 24, 2014

 

PRC

 

Nil

 

The VIE and its wholly-owned subsidiaries above are collectively known as the “principal Affiliated PRC Entities.”

 

On July 20, 2011, Baidu Holdings Limited subscribed to 181,402,116 of the Company’s ordinary shares, representing 62.01% of the equity interest of the Company (60% of the equity interest of the Company on a fully diluted basis) for a total consideration of US$ 306,000 (RMB1,976,515) (the “Baidu Transaction”). 85% of the total consideration or US$260,100 (RMB1,680,039) was remitted upon closing of the Baidu Transaction. The rest of the consideration amounting to US$45,900 was remitted to an escrow account which was released in full at the end of the escrow period in January 2013 as all the conditions related to the escrow were fulfilled.

 

F- 9



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

 

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

On November 1, 2013, the Company completed its initial public offering (“IPO”) and a private placement concurrently with the IPO on the NASDAQ Global Market raising total gross proceeds of US$194,192, representing 12,612,800 American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) at the price of US$15.00 per ADS and 1,000,000 Class B ordinary shares at the price of US$5.00 per share. Each ADS represents three Class B ordinary shares. Upon the closing of the IPO, the total number of ordinary shares outstanding was 342,183,204, comprised of 302,850,254 Class A ordinary shares and 39,332,950 Class B ordinary shares; and Baidu remains the Company’s controlling shareholder, holding 54.1% of the equity interest. Baidu, Inc., the parent company of Baidu, is the Company’s ultimate holding company.

 

On October 26, 2015, the Company’s largest shareholder, Baidu, Inc., exchanged 178,702,519 Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 Class B ordinary shares of its ownership interest in the Company for 11,488,381 ordinary shares of Ctrip.com International, Ltd.  (“Ctrip”). The exchange ratio was 1 Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADSs.  Upon the completion of the transaction on October 26, 2015, Ctrip became the largest shareholder of the Company holding 190,152,519 Class B ordinary shares of Qunar. In December 2015, Ctrip issued approximately 4.0 million ordinary shares to certain special purpose vehicles for the benefit of Qunar employees in exchange for approximately 65.9 million of Qunar’s Class B ordinary shares as part of an employee share exchange program.  As a result of these transactions, under U.S. GAAP, Ctrip is deemed to be the beneficial owner of the ordinary shares of Qunar representing majority voting interest.

 

In order to comply with the PRC law and regulations which prohibit foreign control of companies involved in Internet content, the Company operates its website and conducts a portion of its display advertising businesses in the PRC through the principal Affiliated PRC Entities. The paid-in capital of the VIE was funded by the WFOE through loans extended to the VIE’s shareholders (the “Nominee Shareholders”). The effective control of the VIE is held by the Company, through a series of contractual agreements (the “Contractual Agreements”) entered into in October 2006, as amended. As a result of the Contractual Agreements, the Company maintains the ability to control the VIE, is entitled to substantially all of the economic benefits from the VIE, and is obligated to absorb all of the VIE’s expected losses.

 

Despite the lack of technical majority ownership, there exists a parent-subsidiary relationship between the Company and the VIE through the irrevocable power of attorney agreement, whereby the Nominee Shareholders effectively assigned all of their voting rights underlying their equity interests in the VIE to the Company. In addition, through the Contractual Agreements, the Company demonstrates its ability and intention to continue to absorb substantially all of the expected losses and profits of the VIE.

 

With respect to the VIE, the Board of Directors of the Company approves the annual budget, financial statements and material contracts of the VIE after the review by senior management of the Company. Senior management of the Company is also generally responsible for the review and approval of sales contracts, credit approval policies, pricing policies, the display of advertisements as well as the appointments and terminations of personnel. In addition, the WFOE is mainly responsible for acquiring significant bandwidth and traffic, marketing and product developments for the VIE. Therefore, the Company directs the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact their economic performance.

 

As a result of the above, the Company consolidates the VIE in accordance with SEC Regulation SX-3A-02 and Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810, Consolidation .

 

The following is a summary of the Contractual Agreements:

 

(1)  Power of Attorney Agreement: Pursuant to the power of attorney agreement signed between the Nominee Shareholders and the WFOE, the Nominee Shareholders gave the WFOE an irrevocable proxy to exercise all of their voting rights as shareholders of the VIE and sign and/or stamp on behalf of the Nominee Shareholders, all related legal documents pertinent to the exercise of their rights in their capacity as the shareholders of the VIE. The WFOE is also entitled to transfer or assign its voting rights to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to the Nominee Shareholders or obtaining their consent. The Nominee Shareholders have also irrevocably and permanently waived their rights to terminate this proxy. The proxy will only end when the equity interests of the VIE have been transferred to the Company, the WFOE or their designee or upon the dissolution of the VIE, whichever is earlier.

 

(2)  Loan Agreement: Pursuant to the loan agreement between the Nominee Shareholders and the WFOE, the WFOE granted interest free loans amounting to RMB 1,000 for the Nominee Shareholders’ contributions to the VIE. The manner and timing of the repayment is at the sole discretion of the WFOE and at the Nominee Shareholders’ option may be in the form of transferring the VIE’s equity interest to the WFOE or its designees.

 

F- 10



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

(3)  Equity Option Agreement: Pursuant to the equity option agreement entered into between the Nominee Shareholders, the Company and the WFOE, the Nominee Shareholders granted to the Company/ WFOE or their designees an exclusive and irrevocable option to purchase all their equity interests in the VIE. The exercise consideration should be based on the loan amount as described above or the minimum consideration permitted by the PRC laws, whichever is higher. The Company/ WFOE or their designees may exercise such option at any time until it has acquired all equity interests of the VIE. This agreement terminates when all the equity interests have been transferred or when the obligations by the Nominee Shareholders have been fully performed, whichever is later.

 

(4)  Exclusive Technical Consulting and Services Agreement: Pursuant to the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement entered into by the WFOE and the VIE, the VIE engaged the WFOE as their exclusive provider of technical, marketing and management consulting services for an initial term of 30 years, which will be automatically extended for another 10 years upon expiration. The VIE is required to pay to the WFOE service fees determined mutually by the parties. The WFOE will exclusively own any intellectual property arising from the performance of this agreement. The agreement can be terminated mutually by the parties.

 

(5)  Equity Interest Pledge Agreement: Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement entered into between the Nominee Shareholders and the WFOE, the Nominee Shareholders pledged all of their equity interests in the VIE to the WFOE as collateral to secure their obligations under the above agreements. The Nominee Shareholders may not transfer or dispose of their equity interests in the VIE until all the obligations under the agreements above have been performed and the equity interests in the VIE have been transferred to the WFOE, the Company and/or their designees. The Nominee Shareholders also cannot create any pledge or encumbrance on the equity interests in the VIE without the WFOE’s prior written consent. The WFOE is entitled to transfer or assign in full or in part the equity interests pledged. In the event of default, the WFOE as the pledgee will be entitled to dispose of the pledged equity interests at any time through transfer or assignment. The WFOE also has the right to collect dividends from the equity interests. The equity interest pledge agreement will terminate after all the obligations under these agreements have been satisfied in full and the pledged equity interests have been transferred to the WFOE, the Company and/or their designees. The equity interest pledge agreement may only be early terminated by the WFOE unilaterally. The equity pledge has also been registered with the local administration for industry and commerce and remains effective until all payments due under the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement have been fulfilled by the VIE.

 

F- 11



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

In May 2012, the Contractual Agreements were supplemented by the following terms:

 

·                                      Dividends and distributions are not permitted without the prior consent of the WFOE. To the extent there is a dividend or distribution, the Nominee Shareholders will remit the amounts in full to the WFOE immediately;

 

·                                      The Nominee Shareholders agreed that the total consideration received from the transfer of any part of the equity interests or sale of assets of the VIE will first be applied to the outstanding balance under the loan and exclusive technical consulting and services agreements. After full repayment of the outstanding balance, any remaining consideration will be remitted in full to the WFOE as a nonreciprocal transfer;

 

·                                      With respect to the loan agreement, the term of the loan shall continue indefinitely until all the obligations have been fulfilled. The WFOE may at its discretion determine the time and manner for the repayment and the Nominee Shareholders’ option as to the form of repayment is superseded;

 

·                                      With respect to the equity option agreement, the method of payment of the equity option shall be determined at the discretion of the WFOE. In the event of liquidation or dissolution of the VIE, all assets shall be sold to the WFOE at the lowest selling price permitted by the applicable PRC law, and any proceeds from the transfer and any residual interests in the VIE shall be remitted to the WFOE immediately. The Company also agrees to fund the WFOE if and when the VIE requires financial support from the WFOE, to the extent allowed by law, to the VIE for its operations and forego the right to seek repayment;

 

·                                      The appointment of any individuals to exercise the powers and rights assigned pursuant to the power of attorney agreement requires the approval of the Company. All the activities in relation to such powers and rights assigned are directed and approved by the Company; and

 

·                                      With respect to the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement, the service fees are determined based on a predetermined formula based on the financial performance of the VIE and can be adjusted by the WFOE unilaterally. The terms of the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement will continue to be in effect until it is terminated by the WFOE.

 

In October 2012, the power of attorney agreement, loan agreement, equity option agreement, and exclusive technical consulting and services agreement were also updated to reflect an additional capital contribution amounting to RMB10,000 to the VIE by the WFOE. The supplemental terms of the Contractual Agreements entered into in May 2012 remain effective.

 

As a result, the power of attorney has since been effectively reassigned to the Company which has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance. The Company is also obligated to absorb the expected losses of the VIE through the financial support as described above. The Company and the WFOE, as a group of related parties, have held all of the variable interests of the VIE. The Company has been determined to be most closely associated with the VIE within the group of related parties and has replaced the WFOE as the primary beneficiary of the VIE since May 2012. As the VIE was subject to indirect control by the Company through the WFOE immediately before and direct control immediately after the Contractual Agreements were supplemented, the change of the primary beneficiary of the VIE was accounted for as a common control transaction based on the carrying amount of the net assets transferred.

 

The Company and other PRC entities and their respective nominee shareholders entered into a series of agreements substantially similar to the above Contractual Agreements. Through these agreements, the Company demonstrates its ability and intention to continue to absorb substantially all of the expected losses and profits of these other PRC entities and direct the activities of these other PRC entities that most significantly impact their economic performance. Therefore, the Company also consolidates these other PRC entities in accordance with SEC Regulation SX-3A-02 and Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810, Consolidation.

 

The principal Affiliated PRC Entities and other PRC entities are collectively known as the “Affiliated PRC Entities.”

 

F- 12



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

B ased on the Exclusive Technical Consulting and Services Agreement, WFOE would charge the principal Affiliated PRC Entities service fees based on a predetermined formula with reference to the financial performances of the principal Affiliated PRC Entities. The service fees can be adjusted by the WFOE unilaterally. No service fee was charged to the principal Affiliated PRC Entities by the WOFE for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 as the principal Affiliated PRC Entities did not generate sufficient profits.

 

R evenue-producing assets held by the principal Affiliated PRC Entities mainly consist of office computer equipment, servers and network equipment and software. The unrecognized revenue-producing assets mainly consist of licenses, domain names and trademarks which did not meet the recognition criteria set in ASC 350-30-25.

 

T here was no pledge or collateralization of the principal Affiliated PRC Entities’ assets and the Company has not provided any financial support that was not previously contractually required to the Affiliated PRC Entities.

 

The carrying amounts and classifications of the assets and liabilities of Affiliated PRC Entities before eliminating intercompany balances and transactions between the principal Affiliated PRC Entities and other entities within the Group are as follows:

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

122,682

 

768,605

 

118,652

 

Restricted cash

 

207,589

 

944,488

 

145,804

 

Funds receivable

 

387,705

 

691,563

 

106,759

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

187,607

 

391,712

 

60,470

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

77,642

 

545,449

 

84,203

 

Deferred tax assets

 

16,755

 

66,452

 

10,258

 

Amount due from related parties 1

 

11,331

 

100,379

 

15,496

 

Total current assets

 

1,011,311

 

3,508,648

 

541,642

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

 

6,033

 

64,437

 

9,947

 

Long-term investments, net

 

58,375

 

485,445

 

74,940

 

Other non-current assets

 

11,502

 

59,082

 

9,121

 

Goodwill

 

 

10,755

 

1,660

 

Total non-current assets

 

75,910

 

619,719

 

95,668

 

Total assets

 

1,087,221

 

4,128,367

 

637,310

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer advances and deposits

 

5,887

 

23,815

 

3,677

 

Accounts payable

 

70,834

 

77,523

 

11,968

 

Salaries and welfare payable

 

15,524

 

13,941

 

2,152

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

782,758

 

2,044,266

 

315,580

 

Income tax payable

 

18,555

 

66,665

 

10,291

 

Amounts due to related parties

 

 

527,939

 

81,500

 

Amounts due to inter-companies 2

 

182,926

 

1,504,524

 

232,258

 

Total current liabilities

 

1,076,484

 

4,258,673

 

657,426

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current liabilities

 

3,429

 

15,793

 

2,438

 

Total non-current liabilities

 

3,429

 

15,793

 

2,438

 

Total liabilities

 

1,079,913

 

4,274,466

 

659,864

 

 

F- 13



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

The financial performance and cash flows of Affiliated PRC Entities are as follows:

 

 

 

Years ended December, 31

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

 

82,474

 

371,555

 

1,333,367

 

205,836

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of revenues

 

45,298

 

215,981

 

1,009,694

 

155,870

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

4,966

 

(10,990

)

(158,328

)

(24,442

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

41,181

 

94,178

 

628,207

 

96,978

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(961

)

(65,109

)

(513,174

)

(79,220

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

 

(50,000

)

7,000

 

530,939

 

81,963

 

 


(1) Information with respect to related parties is discussed in Note 13.

 

(2) Amount s due to inter-companies mainly consist of payables to WFOE and other group companies resulting from expenses paid on behalf of the principal Affiliated PRC Entities for daily operations.

 

2.              Summary of significant accounting policies

 

Basis of presentation

 

The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”).

 

Principles of consolidation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities of which the Company or a subsidiary of the Company is the primary beneficiary. All significant intercompany transactions and balances between the Company, its subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities are eliminated upon consolidation.

 

Use of estimates

 

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Areas where management uses subjective judgment include, but are not limited to, estimating the provisions for accounts and funds receivable, loss on contracts,   useful lives of long-lived assets and intangible assets, fair value of warrant liability and other derivatives embedded in long-term debt and the cancelation rate of air travel facilitating services sold; determining the purchase price allocation of business combination and share-based compensation expenses; assessing the impairment of long-term investments, long-lived assets and goodwill, realizability of deferred tax assets, unrecognized tax benefits, display advertising revenue rebates and contingencies. Management bases the estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

 

F- 14



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Foreign currency translation and transactions

 

The functional currency of the Company and Queen’s Road is the United States dollar (“US$”). The Company’s PRC subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities determined their functional currency to be the Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”). The determination of the respective functional currency is based on the criteria of ASC 830, Foreign Currency Matters . The Company uses the RMB as its reporting currency. The Company uses the average exchange rate for the year and the exchange rate at the balance sheet date to translate the operating results and financial position, respectively. Translation differences are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss, a component of shareholders’ equity (deficit).

 

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are remeasured into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing on the transaction dates. Foreign currency denominated financial assets and liabilities are remeasured at the exchange rates prevailing at the balance sheet date. Exchange gains and losses are included in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Convenience translation

 

Amounts in U.S. dollars are presented for the convenience of the reader and are translated at the noon buying rate of 6.4778 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2015 in the City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted into US$ at such rate.

 

Reclassification of revenue amounts

 

The Company presented revenues in the categories of flight and flight related, accommodation reservation, display advertising services and other services beginning January 1, 2015. Therefore, comparative amounts for the years ended December 31, 2013 and  2014 were reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. Such reclassifications had no effect on net loss, total assets, total liabilities or total shareholders’ (deficit) equity as previously reported.

 

Fair value of financial instruments

 

Financial assets and liabilities of the Company primarily comprise of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, funds receivable, short-term investments, due from and due to related parties, employee housing loan receivables (Note 20), customer advances and deposits, accounts payable, warrant liability, short-term loan and long-term debt. As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, the carrying values of these financial instruments, except for employee housing loan receivables, short-term loan, long-term debt and warrant liability, approximated their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

 

The fair value of the employee housing loan receivables, short-term loan and long-term debt have been calculated by discounting the expected future cash flows using rates currently available for instruments with similar terms, credit risk and remaining maturities. The calculated fair value approximated the carrying amounts of the outstanding employee housing loan receivables, short-term loan and long-term debt.

 

The Baidu Warrants (Note 13) is measured at fair value at each reporting date until the final measurement date, which is the date of completion of services required to earn each relevant tranche. The Company determined the fair value of warrant liability with the assistance of an independent third-party valuation firm.

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand and bank deposits, which are unrestricted as to withdrawal and use. All highly liquid investments with original stated maturity of three months or less are classified as cash equivalents.

 

F- 15



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Restricted cash

 

The Company acts as an intermediary between users and certain online travel agencies (“OTAs”), airline and hotel customers for the reservations originated through the Company’s website or mobile platform. The use of the cash collected from users for such reservations is restricted. Such restricted cash cannot be used for the operations of the Company or any other purpose not designated by users and is subject to remittance to these customers in a short period of time.

 

Restricted cash also includes cash deposits held by the Company’s banks for the issuance of guarantee letters to the Company’s business partners and as guarantee for loans to subsidiaries.

 

Short-term investments

 

All highly liquid investments with original maturities of greater than three months, but less than twelve months, are classified as short-term investments. Short-term investments represented time deposits and financial products with original maturities exceeding three months but within twelve months held in various reputable financial institutions in the PRC.

 

Accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts

 

Accounts receivable are recognized and carried at original invoiced amount less an allowance for any potential uncollectible amounts. An estimate for doubtful accounts is made when the collection of the full amount is no longer probable. Bad debts are written off as incurred.

 

The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the failure of customers to make payments on time. The Company reviews the accounts receivable on a periodic basis and makes allowances when there is doubt as to the collectability of individual balances. In evaluating the collectability of individual receivable balances, the Company considers many factors, including the age of the balance, the customer’s historical payment history, its current credit-worthiness and current economic trends.

 

Funds receivable

 

Funds receivable are cash due from third-party on-line payment service providers, net of service fees, for clearing transactions. An allowance for doubtful accounts is recorded in the period in which a loss is determined to be probable. Receivable balances are written off after all collection efforts have been exhausted. As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, no allowance for doubtful accounts was provided for the funds receivable.

 

F- 16



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Property and equipment, net

 

Property and equipment are stated at cost and are depreciated using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the asset or the term of the related lease, as follows:

 

 

 

Estimated useful life

Office furniture and equipment

 

3 or 5 years

Office computer equipment

 

3 years

Servers and network equipment

 

3 years

Software

 

3 years

Digital locks*

 

3 years

Leasehold improvements

 

Over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets of up to 3 years

 


 

* The Company’s apartment rental operations require the usage of digital locks to secure the apartments being rented out.

 

Repair and maintenance costs are charged to expenses as incurred, whereas the cost of renewals and betterment that extends the useful lives of property and equipment is capitalized as additions to the related assets. Retirements, sales and disposals of assets are recorded by removing the cost and accumulated depreciation from the assets and accumulated depreciation accounts with any resulting gain or loss reflected in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Intangible assets, net

 

Intangible assets with finite lives are carried at cost less accumulated amortization and are amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated economic lives. As of December 31, 2015, the finite intangible asset represented the software platform with the estimated economic life 8 years acquired in 2015 (Note 8).

 

Intangible assets with indefinite lives mainly comprised of an acquired domain name which is measured on initial recognition at cost. The domain name may be used indefinitely without significant costs of renewal. The expected cash flows generated from the domain name is for an indefinite period. As a result, the domain name has been assessed as having an indefinite useful life. The domain name is not amortized, but instead tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if certain circumstances indicate a possible impairment may exist in accordance with ASC subtopic 350-30 (“ASC 350-30”),  Intangibles-Goodwill and Other: General Intangibles Other than Goodwill . The Company performs its annual impairment assessment for acquired indefinite-lived intangible assets in December of each year.

 

Goodwill

 

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the amounts assigned to the fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed of acquired businesses.

 

Goodwill is not amortized but is reviewed at least annually for impairment or earlier, if an indication of impairment exists. Recoverability of goodwill is evaluated using a two-step process. In the first step, the fair value of a reporting unit is compared to its carrying value. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to a reporting unit, goodwill is considered not impaired and no further testing is required. If the carrying value of the net assets assigned to a reporting unit exceeds the fair value of a reporting unit, the second step of the impairment test is performed in order to determine the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill. Determining the implied fair value of goodwill requires valuation of a reporting unit’s tangible and intangible assets and liabilities in a manner similar to the allocation of purchase price in a business combination. If the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, goodwill is deemed impaired and is written down to the extent of the difference. The Company estimates total fair value of the reporting unit using discounted cash flow analysis, and makes assumptions regarding future revenue, gross margins, working capital levels, investments in new products, capital spending, tax, cash flows, and the terminal value of the reporting unit. The Company determined that it had only one reporting unit as of December 31, 2015.

 

F- 17



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Long-term investments, net

 

The Company’s long-term investments consist of cost method investments and equity method investments.

 

In accordance with ASC subtopic 325-20 (“ASC 325-20”),  Investments-Other: Cost Method Investments , for investments in an investee over which the Company does not have significant influence and which do not have readily determinable fair value, the Company carries the investment at cost and only adjusts for other-than-temporary declines in fair value and distributions of earnings that exceed the Company’s share of earnings since its investment. Management regularly evaluates the impairment of the cost method investments based on performance and financial position of the investee as well as other evidence of market value. Such evaluation includes, but is not limited to, reviewing the investee’s cash position, recent financing, projected and historical financial performance, cash flow forecasts and financing needs. An impairment loss is recognized in earnings equal to the excess of the investment’s cost over its fair value at the balance sheet date of the reporting period for which the assessment is made. The fair value would then become the new cost basis of investment.

 

Cost method accounting is also applied to investments that are not considered as “in-substance” common stock investments, and do not have readily determinable fair values.

 

Investments in entities in which the Company can exercise significant influence but does not own a majority equity interest or control are accounted for using the equity method of accounting in accordance with ASC topic 323 (“ASC 323”), Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures. Under the equity method, the Company initially records its investment at cost and the difference between the cost of the equity investee and the fair value of the underlying equity in the net assets of the equity investee is recognized as equity method goodwill, which is included in the equity method investment on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company subsequently adjusts the carrying amount of the investment to recognize the Company’s proportionate share of each equity investee’s net income or loss into earnings after the date of investment. The Company will discontinue applying the equity method if an investment (and additional financial supports to the investee, if any) has been reduced to zero. An impairment loss on the equity method investments is recognized in earnings when the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary.

 

Business combinations

 

The Company accounts for its business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC topic 805 (“ASC 805”): Business Combinations. The acquisition method of accounting requires all of the following steps: (i) identifying the acquirer, (ii) determining the acquisition date, (iii) recognizing and measuring the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree and (iv) recognizing and measuring goodwill or a gain from a bargain purchase. The consideration transferred in a business combination is measured as the aggregate of the fair values at the date of exchange of the assets given, liabilities incurred, and equity instruments issued as well as the contingent considerations and all contractual contingencies as of the acquisition date. The costs directly attributable to the acquisition are expensed as incurred. Identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities acquired or assumed are measured separately at their fair value as of the acquisition date, irrespective of the extent of any noncontrolling interests. The excess of (i) the total of cost of acquisition, fair value of the noncontrolling interests and acquisition date fair value of any previously held equity interest in the acquiree over (ii) the fair value of the identifiable net assets of the acquiree, is recorded as goodwill. If the cost of acquisition is less than the fair value of the net assets of the subsidiary acquired, the difference is recognized directly in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as a gain.

 

The determination and allocation of fair values to the identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed and noncontrolling interests is based on various assumptions and valuation methodologies requiring considerable judgment from management. The most significant variables in these valuations are discount rates, terminal values, the number of years on which to base the cash flow projections, as well as the assumptions and estimates used to determine the cash inflows and outflows. The Company determines discount rates to be used based on the risk inherent in the related activity’s current business model and industry comparisons. Terminal values are based on the expected life of assets, forecasted life cycle and forecasted cash flows over that period.

 

F- 18



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Impairment of long-lived assets

 

The Company evaluates its long-lived assets or asset group with finite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significant adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying amount of its long-lived assets or asset group may not be fully recoverable. When these events occur, the Company evaluates the impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the assets, the Company recognizes an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount of the long lived assets or asset group over their fair value. Fair value is generally determined by discounting the cash flows expected to be generated by the assets or asset group when the market prices are not readily available for the long-lived assets or asset group. No impairment charge was recognized for any of the years presented.

 

Convertible debt instruments

 

ASC topic 815 (“ASC 815”), Derivatives and Hedging, requires all contracts which meet the definition of a derivative to be recognized on the balance sheet as either assets or liabilities and recorded at fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments are recognized periodically in earnings if it does not qualify for hedge accounting. The Company considers the Cash Conversion Subsections under ASC subtopic 470-20 (“ASC 470-20”), Debt with Conversion and Other Options, in accounting for its long-term debt that may be settled in cash or other assets upon conversion, including partial cash settlement, unless the embedded conversion option is required to be separately accounted for as a derivative instrument under ASC 815.   ASC470-20  requires a convertible debt instrument to be separated into its liability and equity components by allocating the issuance proceeds to each of those components. The debt component is initially measured at its fair value considering all terms except the conversion option. The equity component is classified in stockholders’ equity (deficit) and measured as the residual amount. The resulting excess of the principal amount of the liability component over its carrying amount is amortized to interest cost using interest method. The equity component shall not be remeasured as long as it continues to meet the equity classification.

 

If a convertible debt instrument within the scope of the Cash Conversion Subsections contains embedded features other than the embedded conversion option, ASC 815 shall be applied to determine if any of those features must be separately accounted for as a derivative instrument. Transaction costs incurred with third parties other than the investors and that directly relate to the issuance of convertible debt instruments within the scope of the Cash Conversion Subsections are allocated to the liability and equity components in proportion to the allocation of proceeds and accounted for as debt and equity issuance costs, respectively.

 

If an instrument within the scope of the ASC 470-20 is derecognized, the Company allocates the consideration transferred and transaction costs incurred to the extinguishment of the liability component and the reacquisition of the equity component.

 

To account for the extinguishment of the instrument, an amount equal to the fair value of the liability component immediately prior to extinguishment is deducted from the fair value of the total settlement consideration transferred and allocated to the liability component. Any difference between the amount allocated to the liability and the net carrying amount of the liability component, including any unamortized debt issue costs, is recognized in earnings as a gain or loss on debt extinguishment. Any remaining consideration is allocated to the reacquisition of the equity component and recognized as a reduction of shareholders’ equity.

 

Revenue recognition

 

The Company’s revenue is primarily derived from flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services. Revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, service has been performed, price is fixed or determinable and the collectability of the related fee is reasonably assured in accordance with ASC 605, Revenue Recognition (“ASC 605”). Specifically, contracts are signed to establish significant terms such as the price and specific services to be provided. The Company assesses the creditworthiness of its customers prior to signing the contracts to ensure collectability is reasonably assured. Non-refundable payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue recognition are satisfied are recorded as customer advances and deposits.

 

F- 19



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

When flight and flight related services, display advertising services and other services arrangements with a customer involve multiple elements as defined in ASC 605-25, the total arrangement consideration is allocated to the separate deliverables on the basis of their relative selling price. Relative selling price is based on vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) if available, third-party evidence (“TPE”) if VSOE is not available or management’s best estimate of selling price (“BESP”) if neither VSOE nor TPE are available. In determining its BESP for each deliverable, the Company considers its overall pricing model and objectives, as well as market or competitive conditions that may impact the price at which the Company would transact if the deliverables were sold regularly on a standalone basis. In addition, the consideration allocated to the delivered element is limited to the amount that is not contingent upon the delivery of additional deliverables or meeting other specified performance conditions. The Company monitors the conditions that affect its determination of selling price for each deliverable and reassesses such estimates periodically.

 

Flight and flight related services

 

Flight and flight related services revenues mainly represent commission revenues from reservations of air tickets and related services. The Company receives fees from OTAs and airlines for reservations and sales of flight related services, including the sales of insurance policies on the Company’s website and mobile platform. Fees from flight and flight related services are recognized as revenue, net of estimated cancellations, upon the issuance of flight tickets by OTAs or airlines. Estimated cancellations were insignificant for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Company considers the above arrangements in accordance with ASC 605 and has concluded that it acts as an agent, generally, does not assume inventory risks. Therefore, the Company presents revenues from such transactions on a net basis in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

In 2015, the Company pre-purchases air tickets from airlines to sell on its website and mobile platform. On such transactions, the Company acts as the principal and presents revenues on a gross basis. Revenues recognized on a gross basis represent the sales prices of the air tickets sold and the costs of the air tickets paid to the airlines are recorded as “cost of revenues” in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Accommodation reservation services

 

The Company receives commissions from hotels and OTAs for hotel room reservations through the Company’s website and mobile platform. Fees from hotel reservation services are recognized upon the reservation of the hotel rooms or after confirmation with the hotel that the end user has completed his or her stay depending on the terms and conditions of the underlying contract. When the Company’s contracts with the hotels state that the Company earns the fees regardless of whether the end users complete their stay at the hotels, fees are recognized upon the reservation of the hotel room. The Company presents revenues from such transactions on a net basis where the Company acts as an agent which does not assume inventory risk for hotel room nights.

 

In 2015, the Company pre-purchases hotel rooms from hotels to sell on its website and mobile platform. On such transactions, the Company acts as the principal and presents revenues on a gross basis. Revenues recognized on a gross basis represent the sales prices of the hotel rooms sold and the costs of the hotel rooms paid to the hotels are recorded as “cost of revenues” in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

F- 20



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Display advertising services

 

The majority of the Company’s display advertising service arrangements involves multiple deliverables such as banner advertisements, logos and other media insertions that are delivered over the same period or different periods of time. The Company, as an industry practice in the PRC, regularly provides display advertising services at a discount to its standard rates. These discounts are in the form of free advertising elements, of which the duration and other terms of services are specified as part of the revenue contract. The banner advertisements, logos, other media insertions and free elements are each considered to be a separate deliverable in the multiple element arrangements.

 

Revenue is recognized ratably when the deliverables are published over the stated display period.

 

Rebates provided to customers of display advertising services

 

The Company provides cash incentives in the form of rebates to certain advertising agencies based on the cumulative advertising volume during each fiscal year. Such rebates are recorded as a reduction of revenue in the period revenue is recognized. Rebates to advertising agencies amounted to RMB7,878, RMB11,925 and RMB19,155 (US$2,957) for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

Other services

 

The other services primarily represent commissions received from OTAs and local tour agencies for the reservation of vacation packages on the Company’s website, reservation of railway tickets and car tickets, third-party online payment platforms for payments originating from user online bookings through the Company’s website or mobile platform. The commission is based on a contracted percentage of the total payments processed. Revenue is recognized, on a net basis, when the four revenue recognition criteria in accordance with ASC 605 as shown above have been met. When the Company acts as the principal in selling pre-purchased services such as vacation packages assuming inventory risk, the Company presents revenues on a gross basis in “Other services” in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Revenues from flight and flight related, accomodation reservation and other services booked on a gross basis were RMB604,519 (US$93,322) for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Coupon programs

 

In 2015, the Company launched various coupon programs through which the Company offers incentives to end users primarily under the services arrangements where the Company acts as an agent to its customers including OTA, airlines and hotels:

 

a.               Red pocket coupons

 

The Company issues “red pocket coupons” to end users upon their completion of certain actions unrelated to the purchases of customer products on the Company’s mobile platform, or from time to time, without any actions required from the end users. The red pocket coupons can be used primarily in future purchases of eligible customer products offered on the Company’s mobile platform reducing purchase price. The red pocket coupons expire at the end of the quarter during which they are issued.

 

b.               Consumption points program

 

The Company issued “consumption points” that the end users accumulate from purchases of all customer products offered on the Company’s website and mobile platform. Consumption points are convertible into red pocket coupons that can be used to reduce the purchase price of eligible customer products offered on the Company’s mobile platform in future purchases. The consumption points could convert to red pocket coupons which expire at the end of the quarter during which they are granted.

 

F- 21



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

c.                Product-specific coupons

 

Product-specific coupons for car service or movie tickets, issued with or without the end users completing current purchases on the Company’s platforms, can be used against future purchases of the same products to reduce purchase price. The product-specific coupons generally expire within 3 months from issuance.

 

As the end users are required to make future purchases of the customers’ products on the Company’s website or mobile platform to redeem the coupons, the Company recognizes the amounts of coupons redeemed by the end users as marketing expense when future purchases are made.  Whereas the Company presents coupons issued to end users in connection with current sales to customers as reduction of revenue.  When coupons are redeemed in sales under arrangements where the Company acts as the principal, the amount of coupons redeemed by customers are presented as reduction of revenue.

 

Cost of revenues

 

Cost of revenues consists primarily of sales taxes (including business tax and output value-added tax) and surcharges, cost of the air tickets and hotel rooms purchased from airlines and hotels, online payment processing fees, travel related data acquisition costs, bandwidth and server hosting costs, depreciation, payroll and related costs of operations.

 

The Company incurs sales taxes and surcharges in connection with the provision of flight and flight related services, accommodation reservation services, display advertising services and other services in the PRC. According to ASC 605, the Company includes such taxes incurred in cost of revenues which amounted to RMB83,641, RMB164,894 and RMB256,246 (US$39,558) for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

Advertising expenses

 

Advertising expenses, other than expense from Baidu Zhixin Cooperation (Note 13), which primarily includes online marketing expenses and brand marketing expenses through various other forms of media, are included in sales and marketing expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. Online marketing expenses include search engine fees, link placement fees and contextual advertising placement fees for the acquisition of traffic to the Company’s website or mobile platform when incurred. Online marketing expenses also include expenses incurred for the promotion of the Company’s mobile applications. Advertising expenses for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were RMB208,230, RMB595,476 and RMB1,737,490 (US$268,222), respectively.

 

Product sourcing

 

Product sourcing expenses primarily consist of expenses incurred to develop and maintain the network of the Company’s travel service providers.

 

Product developments

 

Product development expenses primarily consist of salaries and related compensations for product development personnel who are responsible for developing, improving as well as maintaining the Company’s website and mobile platform. Product development expenses are recognized as incurred. The Company recognizes website and software development costs in accordance with ASC 350,  Intangibles-Goodwill and Other . The Company expenses all costs that are incurred in connection with the planning and implementation phases of development and costs that are associated with repair or maintenance of the existing websites or the development of software for internal use and website contents. The Company capitalizes software development costs that fulfill the capitalization criteria . Website and software development costs subject to capitalization have been insignificant.

 

F- 22



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Leases

 

Leases are classified as either capital or operating leases at the inception date. Leases that transfer substantially all the benefits and risks incidental to the ownership of assets are accounted for as if there was an acquisition of an asset and incurrence of an obligation at the inception of the lease. All other leases are accounted for as operating leases and such rental payments are expensed on a straight-line basis over the periods of their respective lease terms. The Company leases office space and server racks under operating lease agreements. Certain of the lease agreements contain rent holidays. Rent holidays are considered in determining the straight-line rent expense to be recorded over the lease term. The lease term begins on the date of initial possession of the lease property for purposes of recognizing lease expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

 

The Company had no capital leases as of December 31, 2014 and 2015.

 

Income taxes

 

The Company follows the liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates that will be in effect in the period in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company records a valuation allowance to offset deferred tax assets if based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rate is recognized in tax expense in the period that includes the enactment date of the change in tax rate.

 

In accordance with the provisions of ASC 740,  Income taxes, the Company recognizes in its financial statements the benefit of a tax position if the tax position is more likely than not to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the “more likely than not” recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The Company estimates its liability for unrecognized tax benefits which may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities, changes and/or developments with respect to tax audits, and expiration of the statute of limitations. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in some cases, appeal or litigation process. The actual benefits ultimately realized may differ from the Company’s estimates. As each tax audit is concluded, adjustments, if any, are recorded in the Company’s financial statements. Additionally, in future periods, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require the Company to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Changes in recognition and measurement estimates are recognized in the period in which the changes occur. The Company has elected to classify interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as income tax expense.

 

Share-based compensation

 

Options granted to employees

 

The Company applies ASC 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”) to account for its employee share-based compensation.

 

In accordance with ASC 718, the Company determines whether an award should be classified and accounted for as a liability award or equity award. All grants of share-based awards to employees classified as equity awards are recognized in the financial statements based on their grant date fair values. Specifically, the grant date fair value of share options are calculated using an option pricing model. The Company has elected to recognize compensation expense using the straight-line method for all employee equity awards granted with graded vesting based on service conditions provided that the amount of compensation cost recognized at any date is at least equal to the portion of the grant-date value of the options that are vested at that date.

 

F- 23



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

For certain share options granted to corporate headquarter employees prior to December 9, 2015, there was a performance target that affects the exercisability of the award, which can be achieved after the requisite service period. That is, the employee was eligible to vest in the award regardless of whether the employee was rendering service on the date the performance target is achieved. The Company accounts for the performance target as a performance condition. As such, the performance target was not reflected in estimating the fair value of the award at the grant date. Compensation cost was recognized in the period in which it became probable that the performance target would be achieved. If the performance target became probable of being achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost was recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period.

 

The service inception date is the date at which the requisite service period begins. If it is determined that the service inception date precedes the grant date, recognition of compensation cost for the period between the service inception date and the grant date is based on the fair value of the award at the reporting dates that occur before the grant date. The service inception date precedes the grant date if an award is authorized, the recipient begins to provide services and either the award’s terms do not include a substantive future requisite service condition that exists at the grant date or the award contains a market or performance condition that if not satisfied during the service period preceding the grant date and following the inception of the arrangement results in forfeiture of the award. An award is authorized when all approval requirements are completed, including action by the Board of Directors approving the award and the number of options or other equity instruments to be issued to individual employees.

 

To the extent the required vesting conditions are not met resulting in the forfeiture of the share-based awards, previously recognized compensation expense relating to those awards are reversed. ASC 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in the subsequent period if actual forfeitures differ from initial estimates.

 

Forfeiture rates are estimated based on historical and future expectations of employee turnover rates and are adjusted to reflect future changes in circumstances and facts, if any. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures such that expense is recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to vest. To the extent the Company revises these estimates in the future, the share-based payments could be materially impacted in the period of revision, as well as in following periods. The Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model was applied in determining the estimated fair value of the options granted to employees.

 

According to ASC 718, a change in any of the terms or conditions of stock options shall be accounted for as a modification of the plan. Therefore, the Company calculates incremental compensation cost of a modification as the excess of the fair value of the modified option over the fair value of the original option immediately before its terms are modified, measured based on the share price and other pertinent factors at the modification date. For vested options, the Company would recognize incremental compensation cost in the period the modification occurs and for unvested options, the Company would recognize, over the remaining requisite service period, the sum of the incremental compensation cost and the remaining unrecognized compensation cost for the original award on the modification date.

 

Warrants issued to non-employees

 

The Company accounted for the warrants issued to non-employees following the measurement guidance in ASC505-50, Equity, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees and classified the warrants issued as a liability pursuant to the classification guidance in ASC 505-50-25-10 and ASC 718-10-25-11.

 

For the warrants issued to non-employees that was classified as liabilities, it was measured at fair value at each reporting date until the final measurement date, which was the date of completion of services required to earn the warrants. The cost associated with the warrants issued was recognized ratably over the period of service required to earn each tranche of warrants. Upon vesting, the warrants continue to be accounted for as a liability in accordance with ASC 480-10-25-8 and measured in accordance with ASC 480-10-35 at every reporting period until the warrants were settled. Changes in the fair value of the vested warrants were recognized in earnings in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

F- 24



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Loss per share

 

Loss per share is calculated in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share . Basic loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to holders of common shares by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period using the two-class method.  Under the two-class method, net income is allocated between ordinary shares and participating securities based on dividends declared (or accumulated) and participating rights in undistributed earnings as if all the earnings for the reporting period had been distributed. For the years ended December 31,  2013, 2014 and 2015, the two-class method is applicable because the Company has two classes of ordinary shares outstanding, Class A and Class B ordinary shares, respectively (note 17). The participation rights (liquidation and dividend rights) of the holders of the Company’s Class A and Class B ordinary shares are identical, except with respect to voting and conversion. As a result, and in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share , the undistributed income for each year is allocated based on the contractual participation rights of the Class A and Class B ordinary shares. As the liquidation and dividend rights are identical, the undistributed income is allocated on a proportionate basis.

 

Basic loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders as adjusted for the effect of dilutive ordinary equivalent shares, if any, by the weighted average number of ordinary and dilutive ordinary equivalent shares outstanding during the period. Ordinary equivalent shares consist of ordinary shares issuable upon the conversion of share options, long-term debt and Baidu Warrants, using the treasury stock method. Ordinary share equivalents are excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share if their effects would be anti-dilutive. Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share is presented in the Company’s consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Comprehensive loss

 

Comprehensive loss is defined to include all changes in shareholders’ equity (deficit) except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners. Among other disclosures, ASC 220-10, Comprehensive Income: Overall requires that all items that are required to be recognized under current accounting standards as components of comprehensive income be reported in a financial statement that is displayed with the same prominence as other financial statements. For each of the periods presented, the Company’s comprehensive loss includes foreign currency translation adjustments and is presented in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. There have been no reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income to net loss for the periods presented.

 

Segment reporting

 

In accordance with ASC 280, Segment Reporting , the Company’s chief operating decision maker, the Chief Executive Officer, reviews the consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Company as a whole and hence, the Company has only one operating segment as its reportable segment. The Company does not distinguish between markets or segments for the purpose of internal reporting. The Company’s long-lived assets are substantially all located in the PRC and substantially all the Company’s revenues are derived from within the PRC. Therefore, no geographical segments are presented.

 

Contingencies

 

When a loss contingency is at least reasonably possible, then the Company discloses an estimate of the loss or range of loss, if such estimate can be made and material, or states that such estimate is immaterial if it can be estimated but immaterial, or discloses that an estimate cannot be made. The assessment of whether a loss is probable or reasonably possible, and whether the loss or a range of loss is estimable, often involve complex judgments about future events. Management is often unable to estimate the loss or a range of loss, particularly where (i) the amounts including damages sought are indeterminate, (ii) the proceedings are in the early stages, or (iii) there is a lack of clear or consistent interpretation of laws specific to the matter among different jurisdictions. In such cases, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing or ultimate resolution of such matters, including eventual loss, fine, penalty or business impact, if any.

 

F- 25



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Concentration of risks

 

Concentration of credit risk

 

Financial instruments that are potentially subject to credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash,  accounts and funds receivable, short-term investments,  and employee housing loan receivables (Note 21). The carrying amounts of these financial instruments represent the maximum amount of loss due to credit risk. The deposits placed with financial institutions are not protected by statutory or commercial insurance. In the event of bankruptcy of one of these financial institutions, the Company may be unlikely to claim its deposits back in full. Management believes that these financial institutions are of high credit quality and continually monitors the credit worthiness of these financial institutions.

 

Accounts receivable are typically unsecured and are derived from revenue earned from customers. The risk is mitigated by credit evaluations the Company performs on its customers’ financial conditions and ongoing monitoring process of outstanding balances. Funds receivable represent amount due from third-party payment service providers. The Company carefully considers and monitors the credit worthiness of the third-party payment service providers to mitigate any risks associated with funds receivable. Employee housing loan receivables are typically unsecured. The risk is mitigated by the Company’s ongoing monitoring of outstanding balances. The Company maintains reserves for estimated credit losses and these losses have generally been within expectations. No customer individually represented greater than 10% of the total accounts receivable as of December 31, 2014 and 2015.

 

Business, customer, political, social and economic risks

 

The Company participates in a dynamic high technology industry and believes that changes in any of the following areas could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s future financial position, results of operations or cash flows: changes in the overall demand for services and products; competitive pressures due to new entrants; advances and new trends in new technologies and industry standards; changes in bandwidth suppliers; changes in certain strategic relationships or customer relationships; regulatory considerations; copyright regulations; and risks associated with the Company’s ability to attract and retain employees necessary to support its growth.

 

The Company’s operations could be adversely affected by significant political, economic and social uncertainties in the PRC. Internet and advertising related businesses are subject to significant restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. Specifically, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than a 50% equity interest in any Internet content provider business. In addition, PRC regulations generally require any foreign entities that invest in the advertising services industry to have at least a two-year track record with a principal business in the advertising industry outside of the PRC.

 

Currently, the Company conducts its operations in the PRC through Contractual Agreements entered between the Company, the WFOE and the Affiliated PRC Entities. Based on the opinion of TransAsia Lawyers, the Company’s PRC legal counsel, the corporate structure and Contractual Agreements of the Affiliated PRC Entities and the PRC subsidiaries are in compliance with all existing PRC laws and regulations. Therefore, in the opinion of management, (i) the ownership structure of the Company and the Affiliated PRC Entities is in compliance with existing PRC laws and regulations; (ii) the Contractual Agreements with the VIE and its Nominee Shareholders are valid and binding, and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and (iii) the Company’s business operations are in compliance with existing PRC law and regulations in all material respects. However, the legal system in 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 the Company’s ability to enforce these Contractual Agreements. In addition, the relevant regulatory authorities may find the current Contractual Agreements and businesses to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations. If the Company or any of its current or future Affiliated PRC Entities are found in violation of any existing or future laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including revoking the business licenses or operating licenses of the WFOE, and Affiliated PRC Entities, shutting down the Company’s servers or blocking the Company’s websites, discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on the Company’s operations.

 

F- 26



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

The Affiliated PRC Entities contributed 9.2%, 7.8% and 32.0% of the Company’s consolidated revenues for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

Currency convertibility risk

 

A majority of the Company’s sales and expenses and a significant portion of the Company’s assets and liabilities are denominated in RMB. On January 1, 1994, the PRC government abolished the dual rate system and introduced a single rate of exchange as quoted daily by the People’s Bank of China (the “PBOC”). However, the unification of the exchange rates does not imply that the RMB may be readily convertible into United States dollars or other foreign currencies. All foreign exchange transactions continue to take place either through the PBOC or other banks authorized to buy and sell foreign currencies at the exchange rates quoted by the PBOC. Approvals of foreign currency payments by the PBOC or other institutions require submitting a payment application form together with suppliers’ invoices, shipping documents and signed contracts.

 

Additionally, the value of the RMB is subject to changes in central government policies and international economic and political developments affecting supply and demand in the PRC foreign exchange trading system market.

 

Foreign currency exchange rate risk

 

Since July 21, 2005, the RMB was permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. There was appreciation of RMB against US$ of approximately 2.8% in the year ended December 31, 2013 and depreciation of 2.5% and  4.4% in the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or US government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ in the future. Any significant revaluation of RMB may materially and adversely affect the Company’s cash flows, revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, the ADS in US$.

 

Recently issued accounting pronouncements

 

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2014-09 (“ASU 2014-09”), Revenue from Contracts with Customers , which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605, Revenue Recognition . The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of the promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for goods or services. The amendments in ASU 2014-09 are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim period within that reporting period. Early adoption is not permitted. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers-Deferral of the effective date (“ASU 2015-14”). The amendments in ASU 2015-14 defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 issued in May 2014. According to ASU 2015-14, the new revenue guidance ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Earlier application is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. The Company is in the process of evaluating its contracts with customers under the new standard and cannot currently estimate the financial statement impact of adoption.

 

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03 (“ASU 2015-03”),  Interest — Imputation of Interest . To simplify presentation of debt issuance costs, ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the amendments in this Update. ASU 2015-03 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company early adopted ASU 2015-03 in April 2015. The Company has determined and elected to early adopt the guidance.

 

F- 27



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

In September 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-16, Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments , which eliminates the requirement for acquirers in a business combination to account for measurement-period adjustments retrospectively. Instead, acquirers must recognize measurement-period adjustments during the period in which they determine the amounts, including the effect on earnings of any amounts that would have been recorded in previous periods if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. This update is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact on its consolidated financial statements of adopting this guidance.

 

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17,  Income Taxes (Topic 740) : Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes , which simplifies the presentation of deferred income taxes by requiring deferred tax assets and liabilities be classified as noncurrent on the balance sheet. The amendments in this update are effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. All short-term deferred tax assets and liabilities will be reclassified to long-term assets and liabilities upon adoption of this update. The Company is currently evaluating the impact on its consolidated financial statements of adopting this guidance.

 

In February, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases , which requires lessees to recognize assets and liabilities related to lease arrangements longer than 12 months on the balance sheet. This standard also requires additional disclosures by lessees and contains targeted changes to accounting by lessors. The updated guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and early adoption is permitted. The recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee have not significantly changed from previous GAAP.  The Company is currently evaluating the impact on its consolidated financial statements of adopting this guidance.

 

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-07,  Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Simplifying the Transition to the Equity Method of Accounting , which eliminates the requirement to retrospectively apply the equity method in previous periods. Instead, the investor must apply the equity method prospectively from the date the investment qualifies for the equity method. The amendments in this update are effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact on its consolidated financial statements of adopting this guidance.

 

3.              Acquisitions

 

On January 31, 2015, the Company acquired 55% equity interest of a B2B flight ticket reservation company to enrich its products and achieve synergies with its existing operations for total consideration of RMB11,000 in cash. Goodwill recognized from the acquisition was RMB10,755 (US$1,660). On December 3, 2015, the Company further acquired remaining 45% equity interest from three noncontrolling shareholders with consideration of RMB6,300 (US$973) in cash. Concurrently, the Company provided RMB2,700 (US$417) in cash as compensation for key management future services. Such employee compensation expense is charged to the statements of comprehensive loss over future service period of one year on a straight line basis. The difference between the fair value of the consideration and the carrying amount of the noncontrolling interest was recognized in additional paid-in-capital.

 

No purchase price allocation or pro forma results of operation of this acquisition have been presented because management considers the effect of the acquisition is immaterial to the Company’s consolidated financial results.

 

The revenue and net loss of the acquiree since the acquisition date included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2015 were RMB2,893 (US$447) and RMB14,126 (US$2,181), respectively.

 

F- 28



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

4.               Accounts receivable, net

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Accounts receivable

 

176,273

 

294,253

 

45,425

 

Less: allowance for doubtful accounts

 

(10,869

)

(15,871

)

(2,450

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

165,404

 

278,382

 

42,975

 

 

The movements in the allowance for doubtful accounts were as follows:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Balance at beginning of the year

 

8,758

 

10,869

 

1,678

 

Additions

 

2,199

 

5,849

 

903

 

Write-offs

 

(88

)

(847

)

(131

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at end of the year

 

10,869

 

15,871

 

2,450

 

 

5.              Prepayments and other current assets

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Prepaid travel related data acquisition costs

 

24,043

 

23,036

 

3,556

 

Deposits and advances to suppliers

 

91,148

 

550,159

 

84,930

 

Prepaid expenses

 

22,178

 

46,763

 

7,219

 

Receivable from employees

 

33,578

 

405,333

 

62,573

 

Receivable from broker for exercise of share options

 

26,308

 

11,114

 

1,716

 

Other receivables

 

62,479

 

284,087

 

43,855

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

259,734

 

1,320,492

 

203,849

 

 

6.              Property and equipment, net

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Office furniture and equipment

 

33,112

 

42,198

 

6,514

 

Office computer equipment

 

56,089

 

71,399

 

11,022

 

Servers and network equipment

 

84,219

 

145,296

 

22,431

 

Software

 

17,030

 

26,351

 

4,068

 

Digital locks

 

4,551

 

62,060

 

9,580

 

Leasehold improvements

 

55,811

 

73,621

 

11,365

 

Total

 

250,812

 

420,925

 

64,980

 

Accumulated depreciation

 

(101,505

)

(188,840

)

(29,152

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

 

149,307

 

232,085

 

35,828

 

 

Depreciation expenses for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were RMB22,735, RMB52,048 and RMB 110,915  (US$17,122), respectively.

 

F- 29



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

7.              Long-term investments, net

 

The Company’s long-term investments consist of cost method investments and equity method investments.

 

The carrying amount of the Company’s cost method investments was RMB103,175 and RMB630,602 (US$97,348) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The increase in balance from 2014 was primarily due to additional investment made in 2015.

 

The carrying amount of the Company’s equity method investments was nil and RMB82,365 (US$12,715) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The Company shared loss of nil, nil and RMB5,840 (US$902) from its equity method investments during the years end ed December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

T he Company recognized impairment charge of nil, nil and RMB39,425 (US$6,086) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, for certain cost method investees  as their financial positions and performance are deteriorating and the Company does not expect them to generate any positive future cash flows.

 

8.              Goodwill and intangible assets

 

Goodwill

 

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill were as follows:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Balance at beginning of the year

 

 

 

 

Goodwill acquired (Note 3)

 

 

10,755

 

1,660

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at end of the year

 

 

10,755

 

1,660

 

 

No impairment charge for goodwill was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015.

 

Intangible assets

 

Finite-lived intangible asset

 

The net carrying amount of intangible asset with finite live representing a software acquired in 2015 was RMB8,854 (US$1,367) as of December 31, 2015. Amortization expense of RMB1,146 (US$177) was recognized for the year ended December 31, 2015. The annual estimated amortization expense of the acquired intangible asset for each of the next five years is as follows:

 

Years ending December 31,

 

RMB

 

US$

 

2016

 

1,250

 

193

 

2017

 

1,250

 

193

 

2018

 

1,250

 

193

 

2019

 

1,250

 

193

 

2020

 

1,250

 

193

 

 

F- 30



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Indefinite-lived intangible assets

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Domain name

 

2,849

 

2,986

 

461

 

Trademark

 

 

849

 

131

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

2,849

 

3,835

 

592

 

 

No impairment to the intangible assets occurred for the year ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

 

9.            Short-term loan

 

On September 14, 2015, the Company obtained a RMB denominated loan with a principal amount of RMB643,500 (US$99,339) from Xiamen International Bank at an annual interest rate of 1.62%. The short-term bank loan matures in one year and is guaranteed by a deposit of RMB650,000 (US$100,343) by an overseas subsidiary. Interest expense of RMB3,156 (US$487) was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

10.           Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Payable to travel service providers (“TSP”s)

 

673,990

 

1,381,899

 

213,328

 

Payable to end users

 

65,708

 

203,083

 

31,351

 

Accrued operating expenses

 

260,332

 

545,557

 

84,220

 

Contract termination loss provision

 

64,485

 

 

 

Payable to employees from the exercise of share options

 

32,305

 

33,753

 

5,211

 

Other tax payable

 

43,899

 

949,224

 

146,535

 

Accrued sales rebates

 

14,828

 

21,435

 

3,308

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

1,155,547

 

3,134,951

 

483,953

 

 

11.           Long-term debt

 

On June 17, 2015, the Company issued US$500,000 senior unsecured convertible notes (the “Notes”) to third-parties, SL Camel Holding Ltd. (“SL”), Gaoling Fund L.P and YHG Investment L.P. (“HH”). The Notes bear interest at a coupon rate of 2% per annum with a maturity date of June 17, 2021. The significant terms of the Notes are summarized below:

 

Conversion and settlement method

 

The Notes are convertible at any time, at the holders’ option, into the Company’s ADSs, at an initial conversion price of US$55.00 per ADS, subject to adjustments under the terms of the Notes.  Upon conversion, the Company shall pay or deliver its ADSs or cash, or any combination of cash and ADSs at the Company’s election.

 

F- 31



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Repurchase

 

If the Company undergoes a Fundamental Change as defined in the agreement of the Notes, holders of the Notes have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or part of the at the repurchase price of 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest.

 

Redemption

 

Upon the occurrence of any of the Events of Default as defined in the agreement of the Notes, the outstanding principal and accrued interest of the Notes will become due and payable in full.

 

Make-whole provision

 

In an event of Make-Whole Fundamental Change as defined in the agreement of the Notes, the conversion rate applicable to each Note that is surrendered for conversion shall be increased to an amount based on a predetermined formula.

 

The Company accounted for the Notes under the cash conversion guidance under ASC 470-20 given the conversion option of the Notes is not required to be bifurcated under ASC 815. At issuance, the Company separated the Notes into equity component of RMB569,090 (US$87,852) and debt component of RMB2,534,213 (US$391,215). The allocated issuance costs to the debt component of RMB42,926 (US$6,627) were presented as direct deduction from the principal amounts of the Notes on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company evaluated all the embedded derivative features and concluded that the make-whole provision feature of the Notes should be bifurcated from the debt host. As of the issuance date, the fair value of the make-whole provision feature was immaterial due to the triggering of a fundamental change was determined to being remote.

 

On October 26, 2015, Make-Whole Fundamental Change and the redemption provision were triggered by the share exchange between Baidu and Ctrip (Note 1). The make-whole provision feature was announced to be effective for the period from October 26, 2015 to December 21, 2015. On December 21, 2015, the make-whole provision feature expired unexercised.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2015, effective interest rate on the debt component of the Notes was 5.65% and the Company recognized interest expenses of RMB 83,428 (US$12,879).

 

12.         Income taxes

 

Cayman Islands and Hong Kong

 

The Company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, the Company is not subject to tax on income or capital gain. Additionally, upon payments of dividends by the Company to its shareholders, no Cayman Islands withholding tax will be imposed. Queen’s Road is incorporated in Hong Kong and is subject to Hong Kong profits tax rate of 16.5% for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

 

PRC

 

The Company’s PRC subsidiaries and Affiliated PRC Entities are subject to the statutory rate of 25%, unless otherwise specified, in accordance with the Enterprise Income Tax law (the “EIT Law”), which was effective since January 1, 2008.

 

Both the WFOE and Qunar.com were recognized as qualified HNTEs in December 2009 and hence were eligible for a 15% preferential tax rate for 2010 and 2011. Both recognitions were renewed on October 2012 and July 21 2015, and hence the WFOE and our Qunar.com are eligible for a 15% preferential tax rate effective from 2012 to 2017.

 

F- 32



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Under the EIT Law, dividends paid by PRC enterprises out of profits earned post-2007 to non-PRC tax resident investors are subject to PRC withholding tax at 10%. A lower withholding tax rate may be applied based on applicable tax treaty with certain jurisdictions.

 

Loss before income taxes consists of:

 

 

 

Years ended December  31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Non-PRC

 

(54,602

)

(954,438

)

(5,190,211

)

(801,230

)

PRC

 

(91,595

)

(874,903

)

(2,130,496

)

(328,892

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(146,197

)

(1,829,341

)

(7,320,707

)

(1,130,122

)

 

The income tax expense is comprised of:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Current

 

49,528

 

32,742

 

80,669

 

12,453

 

Deferred

 

(8,436

)

(15,182

)

(57,885

)

(8,936

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

41,092

 

17,560

 

22,784

 

3,517

 

 

F- 33



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

A reconciliation of the differences between the statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate for enterprise income tax is as follows:

 

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Notes

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Loss before income tax

 

 

 

(146,197

)

(1,829,341

)

(7,320,707

)

(1,130,122

)

Expected taxation at PRC EIT statutory rate of 25%

 

 

 

(36,549

)

(457,335

)

(1,830,177

)

(282,531

)

Effect of different tax rates in different jurisdictions

 

 

 

14,426

 

239,800

 

1,296,116

 

200,086

 

Research & development super-deduction

 

 

 

(22,767

)

(33,391

)

(43,049

)

(6,646

)

Effect of lower tax rate applicable to HNTE

 

 

 

(20,502

)

49,341

 

200,158

 

30,899

 

Late payment interest

 

 

 

1,533

 

9,256

 

10,742

 

1,658

 

Adjustment of estimated income tax accruals

 

 

 

 

1,759

 

3,021

 

467

 

Deemed revenue

 

(i)

 

95,441

 

113,474

 

34,806

 

5,373

 

Non-deductible expenses

 

 

 

2,668

 

14,860

 

25,863

 

3,993

 

Changes in valuation allowance

 

 

 

7,446

 

81,496

 

326,569

 

50,413

 

Non-taxable income

 

 

 

(604

)

(1,700

)

(1,265

)

(195

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense

 

 

 

41,092

 

17,560

 

22,784

 

3,517

 

 


(i)            The Company acts as an agent for its travel facilitating services including transportation insurance policies (the “Transportation Insurance Arrangements”) in accordance with ASC 605 and therefore, the Company presents revenues from such transactions on a net basis in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. Under the current PRC tax laws and regulations, the Company’s existing business arrangement more likely than not will subject the Company to income taxes on a gross basis for the Aviation Insurance Arrangements. The difference between the net revenue and the gross revenue is recognized as deemed revenue for additional income taxes. The associated income tax expense is calculated by applying the applicable tax rate to the deemed revenue amount and includes the late payment interest based on the applicable tax rules. The majority of the liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits represent tax positions taken with respect to deemed revenue. The unrecognized tax benefits are recorded in non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

 

F- 34



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

The significant components of deferred taxes are as follows:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Deferred tax assets, current portion:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising expenses

 

163

 

115,671

 

17,857

 

Bad debt expenses

 

1,878

 

3,299

 

509

 

Expense cut-off

 

 

 

 

Accrued expenses

 

77,753

 

170,603

 

26,336

 

Accrued salaries and welfare payable

 

30,549

 

7,839

 

1,210

 

Interest of borrowings

 

 

3,674

 

567

 

Less: valuation allowance

 

(87,484

)

(220,573

)

(34,050

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current deferred tax assets

 

22,859

 

80,513

 

12,429

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax assets, non-current portion:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising expenses

 

6

 

 

 

Depreciation expenses

 

525

 

985

 

152

 

Tax loss carry forward

 

12,634

 

195,915

 

30,244

 

Impairment of long-term investments

 

 

9,856

 

1,522

 

Less: valuation allowance

 

(13,165

)

(206,645

)

(31,901

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current deferred tax assets

 

 

111

 

17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities, non-current portion:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intangible asset

 

 

(1,318

)

(203

)

 

Valuation allowances have been provided on the deferred tax assets where, based on all available evidence, it was considered more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realized in future periods. The Company recorded a full valuation allowance against deferred tax assets of the WFOE and certain Affiliated PRC Entities that were in a cumulative loss position, respectively, as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

 

As of December 31, 2015, the Group had net operating tax loss carry forwards amounted toRMB1,255,770(US$193,857),which will expire from 2018 to 2021 if not used.

 

F- 35



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Unrecognized tax benefits

 

As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, the Company recorded RMB152,865 and RMB181,589 (US$28,033) of unrecognized tax benefits, which primarily represent the estimated income tax expenses the Company would pay should its income tax return have been prepared in accordance with the current PRC tax laws and regulations. It is possible that the amount accrued will change in the next 12 months; however, an estimate of the range of the possible change cannot be made at this time.

 

As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, unrecognized tax benefits of RMB58,818 and RMB70,117 (US$10,824), respectively, if ultimately recognized will impact the effective tax rate.

 

The unrecognized tax benefit is as follows:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Balance at January 1

 

32,782

 

83,677

 

152,865

 

23,599

 

Additions based on tax positions related to the current year

 

53,745

 

67,798

 

23,408

 

3,614

 

Additions based on tax positions related to the prior years

 

 

6,401

 

79,737

 

12,309

 

Reductions based on tax positions related to prior years

 

(2,850

)

(5,011

)

(74,421

)

(11,489

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at December 31

 

83,677

 

152,865

 

181,589

 

28,033

 

 

During the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Company recognized late payment interest expense of RMB1,533, RMB9,256 and RMB10,742 (US$1,658), and penalties of nil, nil and nil, respectively, as part of income tax expense. The Company had accrued approximately RMB11,597 and RMB22,339 (US$3,449) for the late payment of interest as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

As of December 31, 2015, the tax years ended December 31, 2010 through 2015 for the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities remain subject to examination by the PRC tax authorities.

 

F- 36



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

13.                   Related party transactions

 

a) Related parties

 

Name of related parties

 

Relationship with the Company

Baidu, Inc.

 

Ultimate holding company prior to October 26, 2015

 

 

 

Baidu Holdings Limited. (“Baidu Holdings”)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Baidu Online”)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Beijing Baidu Netcom Science Technology Co., Ltd. (“Baidu Netcom”)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

FuJian Bo Rui Websoft Technology Co., Ltd. (“Bo Rui”)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

FuJian Bo Dong Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. (“Bo Dong”)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Beijing Nuo Mi Network Information Technology Co., Ltd. (“Nuo Mi)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Baidu.com Times Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Baidu Times”)

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Beijing BaiduPay Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (“BaiduPay” )

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Shanghai Baidu Microcredit Co., Ltd.

 

An entity controlled by Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (“Ctip.com”)

 

Largest shareholder of the Company effective October 26, 2015

 

 

 

Ctrip and its subsidiaries (“Ctrip”)

 

Entities controlled by Ctrip

 

 

 

eLong, Inc. (“eLong”)

 

An affiliate of Ctrip

 

 

 

Huazhu Hotel Management Co., Ltd. (“Huazhu”)

 

An affiliate of Ctrip

 

 

 

Homeinns Hotel Management Co., Ltd. (“Homeinns”)

 

An affiliate of Ctrip

 

 

 

Baituo Travel Websoft Technology Ltd. (“Baituo”)

 

Equity method investee of the Company

 

F- 37



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

b) The Company had the following related party transactions for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015:

 

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Notes

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Online marketing services from Baidu Netcom

 

(i)

 

91,533

 

165,058

 

93,725

 

14,469

 

Online marketing services from Bo Rui

 

(ii)

 

202

 

547

 

18,309

 

2,826

 

Online marketing services from Bo Dong

 

 

 

1,195

 

4,780

 

475

 

73

 

Online marketing services contributed by Baidu, Inc.

 

(iii)

 

5,920

 

3,304

 

 

 

Online marketing services from Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

 

4,714

 

 

 

Online marketing services from Baidu Times

 

(iv)

 

 

7,670

 

15,148

 

2,338

 

Online marketing services from Baidu Online

 

(v)

 

 

 

93,909

 

14,497

 

Online marketing services from Nuo Mi

 

 

 

 

377

 

3,672

 

567

 

Online marketing services from Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

(vi)

 

 

699,983

 

37,178

 

5,739

 

Loan from Baidu Online

 

(vii)

 

150,000

 

 

1,134,000

 

175,059

 

Loan from Baidu Times

 

(viii)

 

 

 

639,800

 

98,768

 

Repayment of loan from Baidu Online

 

(vii)

 

150,000

 

 

 

 

Repayment of loan from Baidu Netcom

 

(ix)

 

50,000

 

 

 

 

Loan to Baidu Holdings

 

(x)

 

 

 

649,880

 

100,324

 

Loan to Baituo

 

(xi)

 

 

 

31,210

 

4,818

 

Loans to Baidu Holdings

 

(vii)

 

99,623

 

 

 

 

Repayment of loan to Baidu Holdings

 

(vii)

 

98,975

 

 

 

 

Compensation received from termination of Baidu Zhixin Cooperation

 

(vi)

 

 

 

207,000

 

31,955

 

Accommodation reservation commission earned from Homeinns

 

 

 

 

 

4,263

 

658

 

Accommodation reservation commission earned from Huazhu

 

 

 

 

 

3,082

 

477

 

Imputed interest

 

(vii),(ix)

 

2,050

 

 

 

 

Loan interest expense

 

(vii),(viii)

 

115

 

 

47,112

 

7,273

 

Loan interest income

 

(x)

 

 

 

1,173

 

181

 

 


(i)                                      During the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, Baidu Netcom provided to the Company online marketing services amounting to RMB91,533, RMB165,058 and RMB93,725 (US$14,469), respectively. As one of the largest online marketing service providers in the PRC, Baidu Netcom typically requires upfront payments from its customers. As of December 31 2014 and 2015, such payments amounted to RMB10,000, RMB22,000 and RMB6,600 (US$1,019), respectively. The related services are expected to be delivered within the next 12 months.

 

(ii)                                   During the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, Bo Rui provided to the Company online marketing services amounting to RMB202,  RMB547 and RMB18,309 (US$2,826), respectively.

 

(iii)                                In connection with the Baidu Transaction, the Company and Baidu, Inc. entered into a business cooperation agreement, whereby Baidu, Inc. provides free online marketing services and directs user traffic to the Company’s website. The Company recorded online marketing expenses based on the Company’s estimate of the expenses that would have been incurred if the Company had operated as an unaffiliated entity with a corresponding credit to additional paid in capital. The term of the business cooperation agreement is for an initial term of three years (the “Initial Term”); provided, however that notwithstanding Baidu, Inc.’s Non-Competition Undertaking to the Company survive until the later of (i) the expiration of the Initial Term and (ii) the date on which Baidu, Inc. and its controlled affiliates hold less than 50% of the voting power attaching to the outstanding shares of the Company (on a fully-diluted basis). The business cooperation agreement expired in July, 2014. Upon its expiration, the Company started to pay other related parties of Baidu, Inc. for the aforementioned online marketing services provided.

 

F- 38



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

 

(iv)                               During the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, Baidu Times provided to the Company online marketing services amounting to nil, RMB7,670 and RMB15,148 (US$2,338), respectively.

 

(v)                                  On June 1, 2015, the Company and Baidu Online entered into a business cooperation agreement, under which Baidu Online agreed to grant the Company an exclusive right to integrate its hotel information and products into the personal computer and mobile versions of Baidu Maps. The Company will display location-based hotel data through the Baidu Maps interface. Users can click on the displayed hotels to view hotels and to complete bookings. The Company pays Baidu Online cash amount at a certain percentage of gross revenue the Company earns pursuant to this agreement in exchange for the services Baidu Online provides to the Company. This agreement will expire in May 2016 subject to renewal negotiation between both parties.

 

(vi)                               On October 1, 2013, in order to further enhance the cooperation between the Company and Baidu, Inc. in the online travel business through deepening integration, the Company and Baidu, Inc. entered into the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, for an initial term starting from November 21, 2013 until December 31, 2016, subject to an automatic renewal for seven years unless agreed otherwise by both parties. Under the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, Baidu, Inc. agreed to grant the Company the exclusive right to operate certain new search products on Baidu’s website for travel-related search results (the “Cooperation Platform”), and the Company may offer links to various travel-related products, including links to the Company’s website, such as airline tickets, hotels and certain commercial package tour products provided through the Cooperation Platform.

 

Pursuant to the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, Baidu, Inc. agreed to guarantee certain minimum page views to be generated from users of the Cooperation Platform, which will be no less than 2,190 million page views per year in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and no less than 2,196 million page views for 2016 (the “Minimum Traffic Guarantee” or “MTG”).

 

In exchange for the services to be performed under the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, on November 21, 2013, the Company issued to Baidu, Inc. warrants for 45,800,000 of the Company’s Class B Ordinary Shares (the “Baidu Warrants”), which is calculated by dividing US$229,000 by the public offering price of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, or US$5 per Class B ordinary share, subject to adjustments as discussed below. The Baidu Warrants have no exercise price; thus are more akin to nonvested redeemable restricted stock units. The Baidu Warrants are exercisable in independent tranches of 11,450,000 or 25% from January 15, 2015, 16,030,000 or 35% from January 15, 2016 and 18,320,000 or 40% from January 15, 2017 and will expire on December 31, 2019. As long as the pre-existing non-competition undertaking remains in effect, Baidu, Inc. has the option to redeem all or part of the Baidu Warrants for (i) Class B ordinary shares (the “Share Settlement”); or (ii) cash equal to US$5 per warrant. If Baidu, Inc. terminates its pre-existing non-competition undertaking, Baidu, Inc. can only choose to settle a portion of the Baidu Warrants by Share Settlement to enable it to hold up to 49.9% of the Company’s voting rights and the remaining Baidu Warrants must be settled in cash at an amount that equals the higher of US$5 per Class B ordinary share or the average closing price of the Company’s Class B ordinary share on NASDAQ Global Market for the ten days preceding the settlement.

 

For any year during the initial term, if the Company fails to meet the applicable benchmark revenue (the “Benchmark Revenue”) as defined below, and Baidu, Inc. fails to fulfill 90% of the applicable MTG (the “Benchmark MTG”), the number of underlying Class B ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the relevant tranche of Baidu Warrants with respect to that year would be adjusted downward in proportion to the deficit of the Benchmark MTG. Under the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, the Company has agreed to make its best business efforts to achieve an agreed-upon Benchmark Revenue of RMB480,000, RMB630,000 and RMB800,000 for 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. In any year that the Company’s revenues exceeds the Benchmark Revenue applicable to that year, Baidu, Inc. will also be entitled to cash payment equal to 76% of the excess revenue for that year.

 

The Company accounted for the Baidu Warrants following the measurement guidance in ASC505-50, Equity, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees and classified the entire Baidu Warrants as a liability pursuant to the classification guidance in ASC 505-50-25-10 and ASC 718-10-25-11.

 

F- 39



 

The Baidu Warrants is measured at fair value at each reporting date until the final measurement date, which is the date of completion of services required to earn each relevant tranche. The cost associated with the warrants issued pursuant to the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement has been recognized ratably over the period of service required to earn each tranche of warrants based upon the number of the Baidu Warrants and taking into account the potential effect of the downward adjustment to the number of underlying shares in the event the contractual benchmarks are not achieved by Baidu. Upon vesting, the Baidu Warrants should continue to be accounted for as a liability in accordance with ASC 480-10-25-8 and measured in accordance with ASC 480-10-30 and ASC 480-10-35 at every reporting period until the Baidu Warrants are settled. Changes in the fair value of each vested tranche of the Baidu Warrants will be recognized in earnings in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

For the period from October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013, the Cooperation Platform was still in the testing phase and therefore, no meaningful traffic was generated. Based on the above, the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement with Baidu, Inc. did not have any material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013. The Cooperation Platform was officially launched on January 1, 2014 and the services pursuant to the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement commenced on the same day.

 

On June 1, 2015, Baidu, Inc. and the Company mutually agreed to terminate the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement with immediate effect as permitted under the agreement. Both parties agreed that Baidu, Inc. would pay the Company a cash consideration of RMB207,000 (US$31,955) in connection with the termination. The consideration received from Baidu, Inc. as the Company’s vendor was presumed to be a reduction of price of the services provided by Baidu per ASC 605-50-45-12. The online marketing expense for Baidu Zhixin Cooperation was RMB699,983 and RMB37,178 (US$5,739) for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively, and nil and RMB143,584 (US$22,166) of the cash consideration received were recognized as deduction to online marketing expense, respectively.

 

Concurrently with the termination of the Zhixin Cooperation Agreement, Baidu, Inc. fully exercised the first independent tranche of the Baidu Warrants for services provided to the Company in 2014 into 11,450,000 Class B ordinary shares.  The Company recognized remeasurement loss of RMB397,987 (US$61,439) for the first 5 months of 2015 immediately before the warrants were exercised. The cash consideration received from Baidu, Inc. was recorded in “Accrued expenses and other current liabilities” on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet to be recognized prospectively against future Baidu service payments pursuant to ASC 605-50-45-13 as consideration received from a vendor.

 

(vii)                            On April 22, 2013, the Company was granted an interest free loan amounting to RMB100,000 (US$15,437) from Baidu Online with a repayment term of three months to supplement the Company’s RMB working capital needs and to provide RMB funding for establishing a new entity in the PRC. In order to secure such loan, on the same day, the Company also granted an interest free loan amounting to US$11,174 to Baidu Holdings with the same three month repayment term, and extended the repayment term of the November 1, 2012 interest free loan amounting to US$5,000 by three months. Both the loans granted by the Company to Baidu Holdings were to reciprocate the interest free loan from Baidu Online. On July 22, 2013, the Company repaid the RMB100,000 loan to Baidu Online in full. The Company recorded imputed interest expense amounting to RMB1,376 (US$212) relating to this loan based on the market interest rate of 5.6%. On August 6, 2013, Baidu Holdings also repaid both the US$11,174 and US$5,000 loan, respectively to the Company in full. On September 27, 2013, the Company was granted a loan amounting to RMB50,000 with an annual interest rate of 6% from Baidu Online with a repayment term of 15 days to supplement the Company’s RMB working capital needs. On October 12, 2013, the Company repaid the RMB50,000 loan to Baidu Online in full. The Company recorded interest expense amounting to RMB115 (US$18) relating to this loan.

 

On February 27, 2014, the Company entered into a US$300,000 revolving credit facility agreement with Baidu, Inc.. The three-year credit facility bears no commitment fee. Any drawdown bears interest at a rate of 90% of the benchmark lending rate published by the People’s Bank of China and shall be repaid within three years from the drawdown date. The Company is allowed to repay its outstanding debt obligation at maturity either by cash or by issuance of Class B ordinary shares. The applicable share conversion price will be determined by the prevailing share price at the maturity date. On March 12 and May 4, 2015, the Company drew down RMB507,000 (US$78,267) and RMB627,000 (US$96,792) respectively, pursuant to the revolving credit facility agreement. The Company recorded interest expense amounting to RMB42,182 (US$6,512) for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company fully repaid these loans in March 2016.

 

F- 40



 

(viii)                         On October 26, 2015, the Company was granted a loan amounting to RMB639,800 (US$98,768) from Baidu Times. The loan bore an interest at 4.14% with a repayment term of 12 months. The Company recorded interest expense amounting to RMB4,930 (US$761) for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company fully repaid the loan in March 2016.

 

 

(ix)                               On December 28, 2012, the Company was granted an interest free loan amounting to RMB50,000 from Baidu Netcom with a repayment term of six months. The Company repaid the loan in full on March 27, 2013. The Company recorded imputed interest expense amounting to RMB674 for the year ended December 31, 2013 relating to this loan based on the market interest rate of 5.6%.

 

(x)                                  On October 27, 2015, the Company granted a loan amounting to US$100,000 to Baidu Holdings. The loan bore an interest at 1.00% with a repayment term of 12 months. The Company recorded interest income amounting to RMB1,173 (US$181) for the year ended December 31, 2015.The Company fully collected the repayment in March 2016.

 

(xi)                               The Company granted a loan amounting to RMB31,210 (US$4,818) to Baituo to supplement its working capital needs in 2015. Baituo repaid RMB6,210 (US$959) in December 2015.

 

F- 41



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

c) The Company had the following related party balances outstanding as of December 31 2014, and 2015:

 

 

 

 

 

As of December 31

 

 

 

 

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Note

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due from related parties:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baidu Holdings

 

 

 

 

651,053

 

100,505

 

Baidu Times

 

 

 

3,670

 

 

 

Baidu Netcom

 

 

 

25,210

 

6,976

 

1,077

 

Nuo Mi

 

 

 

11,071

 

72,910

 

11,256

 

Baidu Online

 

 

 

 

50,839

 

7,848

 

Baidu Microcredit

 

 

 

 

116

 

18

 

Ctrip.com

 

 

 

 

2,258

 

349

 

Huazhu

 

 

 

 

1,409

 

218

 

Homeinns

 

 

 

 

2,562

 

395

 

Baituo

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

3,859

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total due from related parties

 

 

 

39,951

 

813,123

 

125,525

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to related parties:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baidu Online

 

 

 

 

1,234,301

 

190,543

 

Baidu Netcom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baidu, Inc.

 

 

 

4,714

 

 

 

Nuo Mi

 

 

 

377

 

4,048

 

625

 

Baidu Times

 

 

 

768

 

645,926

 

99,714

 

Bo Rui

 

 

 

50

 

6,921

 

1,068

 

Ctrip.com

 

 

 

 

298

 

46

 

eLong

 

 

(i)

 

69,919

 

10,794

 

Huazhu

 

 

 

 

87

 

13

 

Bo Dong

 

 

 

396

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total due to related parties

 

 

 

6,305

 

1,961,500

 

302,803

 

 


(i)                                      Amount mainly represented the payment for advertising service received in advance from eLong.

 

Except for the loans with related parties disclosed above, balances with related parties are unsecured, interest-free and repayable upon demand.

 

14.           Employee defined contribution plan

 

Full time employees of the Company in the PRC participate in a government mandated defined contribution plan, pursuant to which certain pension benefits, medical care, employee housing fund and other welfare benefits are provided to employees. Chinese labor regulations require that the PRC subsidiaries and Affiliated PRC Entities of the Company make contributions to the government for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees’ salaries. The Company has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. The total amounts for such employee benefits, which were expensed as incurred, were RMB87,588,  RMB222,755 and RMB367,732 (US$56,768) for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

F- 42



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

 

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

15.           Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income

 

The movement of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income is as follows:

 

 

 

Foreign currency
translation adjustments

 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

 

(11,603

)

Other comprehensive loss

 

(16,873

)

Balance as of December 31, 2013

 

(28,476

)

Other comprehensive income

 

32,639

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

 

4,163

 

Other comprehensive income

 

132,647

 

Balance as of December 31, 2015

 

136,810

 

Balance as of December 31, 2015 in US$

 

21,120

 

 

16.           Ordinary shares

 

In June 2015, the Company issued 6,842,106 ADSs, equivalent to 20,526,318 Class B ordinary shares, as a result of a secondary public offering. In addition, the Company issued 11,450,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares as a result of the exercise of the 2014 Baidu Warrants (Note 21).

 

On October 26, 2015, the Company’s largest shareholder, Baidu, Inc., exchanged 178,702,519 Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 Class B ordinary shares of its ownership interest in the Company with Ctrip. The exchange ratio was 1 Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADSs.  Upon the completion of the transaction, Ctrip owns 190,152,519 Class B ordinary shares of Qunar and became the largest shareholder of the Company.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2015, 210,781,507 shares of Class A ordinary shares were exchanged into Class B ordinary shares. 42,070,053 shares of Class B ordinary shares were issued from share options exercised.

 

As of December 31, 2015, there were 13,517,672 and 419,204,400 Class A and Class B ordinary shares outstanding, respectively.

 

F- 43



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

17.           Loss per share

 

Basic and diluted loss per share for each of the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 presented are calculated as follows:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

Class A

 

Class B

 

Class A

 

Class B

 

Class A

 

Class A

 

Class B

 

Class B

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

RMB

 

US$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic loss per share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

(183,368

)

(3,921

)

(1,401,672

)

(445,229

)

(3,492,180

)

(539,100

)

(3,857,151

)

(595,441

)

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

3,147

 

486

 

3,475

 

536

 

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for computing basic loss per share

 

(183,368

)

(3,921

)

(1,401,672

)

(445,229

)

(3,489,033

)

(538,614

)

(3,853,676

)

(594,905

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding

 

299,524,536

 

6,403,973

 

266,696,495

 

84,713,813

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

201,373,547

 

201,373,547

 

Basic loss per share:

 

(0.61

)

(0.61

)

(5.26

)

(5.26

)

(19.14

)

(2.95

)

(19.14

)

(2.95

)

Basic loss per ADS*:

 

 

 

(1.83

)

 

 

(15.78

)

 

 

 

 

(57.42

)

(8.85

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted loss per share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

(183,368

)

(3,921

)

(1,401,672

)

(445,229

)

(3,492,180

)

(539,100

)

(3,857,151

)

(595,441

)

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

 

 

 

3,147

 

486

 

3,475

 

536

 

Reallocation of net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders as a result of conversion of Class A to Class B ordinary shares (Note 16)

 

 

(183,368

)

 

(1,401,672

)

 

 

(3,489,033

)

(538,614

)

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for computing diluted loss per share

 

(183,368

)

(187,289

)

(1,401,672

)

(1,846,901

)

(3,489,033

)

(538,614

)

(7,342,709

)

(1,133,519

)

Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding

 

299,524,536

 

6,403,973

 

266,696,495

 

84,713,813

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

201,373,547

 

201,373,547

 

Conversion of Class A to Class B ordinary shares (note 16)

 

 

299,524,536

 

 

 

266,696,495

 

 

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

Weighted-average number of shares outstanding- diluted

 

299,524,536

 

305,928,509

 

266,696,495

 

351,410,308

 

182,319,107

 

182,319,107

 

383,692,654

 

383,692,654

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted loss per share:

 

(0.61

)

(0.61

)

(5.26

)

(5.26

)

(19.14

)

(2.95

)

(19.14

)

(2.95

)

Diluted loss per ADS*:

 

 

 

(1.83

)

 

 

(15.78

)

 

 

 

 

(57.42

)

(8.85

)

 


*The Company was listed on November 1, 2013 with issuance of a total of 12,777,650 ADSs. Each ADS represents three Class B ordinary shares. The net loss per ADS for the year ended December 31, 2013 was calculated using the same conversion ratio assuming the ADSs had been in existence throughout this period.

 

The effects of all outstanding share options, long-term debt and Baidu Warrants were been excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 as their effects would be anti-dilutive.

 

F- 44



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

18.           Share-based compensation

 

2007 Share Incentive Plan

 

In November 2007, the Company’s shareholders approved the 2007 Share Incentive Plan (the “2007 Share Incentive Plan”), which is administered by the Board of Directors or any of its committees. Under the Plan, the Board of Directors may grant options to its employees, directors and consultants to purchase an aggregate of no more than 9,600,140 ordinary shares of the Company. On December 29, 2011, the Board of Directors approved the increase of the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan from 20,724,362 to 26,060,000 shares. On August 10, 2012, the Board of Directors approved that starting from January 1, 2013, the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan would increase annually by 1.5% of the total outstanding ordinary and redeemable ordinary shares as of January 1 of that respective calendar year. On September 22, 2013, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares available for issuance under the 2007 Share Incentive Plan by 6,066,896 shares. The options granted have a contractual term of ten years and generally vest over a four-year period, with 25% of the awards vesting one year after the date of grant and 1/16 of the remaining grants vesting on a quarterly basis thereafter.

 

The fair value of each award was estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model by the Company.

 

Under the 2007 Share Incentive Plan, the Company granted 10,988,106, 9,993,411 and 10,443,825 share options to employees during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. Among the grants, 1,671,867, 7,929,555 and 2,641,314 shares options granted during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, had performance condition on their exercisability.

 

Included in the grants above:

 

1)            On January 25, 2013, the Board of Directors waived the performance conditions in relation to the performance based options granted on March 6, 2012 and approved that 450,000 options, representing 90% of the options previously granted would commence vesting based on the original vesting schedule. In accordance with ASC 718, the Company accounted for the waiver of the performance conditions as a modification. As the original vesting conditions were not satisfied, the grant-date fair value of the original award was ignored and the fair value of the award measured at the modification date is recognized starting from the modification date. The share-based compensation expense recognized for the modified award for the year ended December 31, 2013 was RMB1,697 (US$262).

 

2)            On September 22, 2013, the Board of Directors approved to issue two option grants to Chenchao Zhuang, the former CEO and director of the Company. The first option grant consisted of 3,033,448 options with an exercise price of US$3.9559. The second option grant consisted of 3,033,448 options with an exercise price of US$6.5932. Both option grants have a contractual term of ten years and will vest over a period from grant date to December 31, 2016, with 25% of the awards vesting on December 31, 2013 and the remaining awards vesting 1/16 on a quarterly basis thereafter. The fair value of the options granted was US$2.69 and US$2.19 for the first and second option grant, respectively.

 

Business Unit Incentive Plan

 

On January 13, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a business unit incentive plan (the “Business Unit Incentive Plan”), which is governed under the aforementioned 2007 Share Incentive Plan. Under the Business Unit Incentive Plan, the Board of Directors may grant options to its employees of specific business units to purchase an aggregate of no more than 10,800,000 Class B ordinary shares of the Company. On November 25, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an extension of the Business Unit Incentive Plan to cover employees of four new business units. The total number of Class B ordinary shares of the Company to be issued under the Business Unit Incentive Plan was increased to 18,000,000. The options will be granted at an exercise price of US$0.01 if the business units meet their respective certain long-term performance conditions. Upon grant, the options will have various vesting terms. The Business Unit Incentive Plan was terminated in November 2015.

 

F- 45



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

Modification to the 2007 Share Incentive Plan

 

In December 2015, Qunar modified the awards under the 2007 Share Incentive Plan to be convertible to Ctrip ADSs at a ratio of 1 Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADS. Unvested awards under the 2007 Share Incentive Plan became fully vested for certain employees and all cliff vesting conditions and performance-based vesting conditions were removed from all outstanding awards under the 2007 Share Incentive Plan. Furthermore, all business unit points granted under the Business Unit Incentive Plan converted into options based on the ratio of 3 points to 1 Qunar ADS.

 

The Company accounted for the modifications in accordance with ASC 718-20-35-3 with the amount of compensation cost to be recognized for a modified award being the grant-date fair value of the original award plus the incremental value resulting from the modification to the award.

 

T he total incremental compensation cost resulting from the modifications was RMB1,575,369 (US$243,195) for the year ended December 31, 2015. Incremental value resulting from modifications to vested awards as well as any unrecognized grant-date fair value of the original awards plus the incremental value resulting from the accelerations of awards that became fully vested was recognized in earnings immediately.  The incremental compensation cost from modifications on those options with vesting conditions is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting schedule of the modified options in addition to any unrecognized grant-date fair value of the original awards.

 

2015 Share Incentive Plan

 

On November 18, 2015, Board of Directors approved a new share incentive plan (the “2015 Share Incentive Plan”). Share options granted under the 2015 Share Incentive Plan, when vested and exercised, will be convertible to Ctrip ADSs at a ratio of 1 Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADS. Certain options granted under the 2015 Share Incentive Plan vest immediately upon grant, while others vest on a quarterly basis on the same vesting schedule as those outstanding awards under the 2007 Share Incentive Plan. Under the 2015 Share Incentive Plan, the Board of Directors may grant options to its employees, directors and consultants to purchase an aggregate of no more than 28,476,795 ordinary shares of the Company. These options granted have a contractual term of ten years.

 

The fair value of each award was estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model by the Company.

 

Under the 2015 Share Incentive Plan, the Company granted 27,470,970 share options to employees during the year ended December 31, 2015. Among the grants, 1 0,632,195 shares options granted have service condition on their exercisability.

 

The following table summarizes the option activities for the year ended December 31, 2015

 

 

 

Number of
shares

 

Weighted
average
exercise
price (US$)

 

Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
(Years)

 

Aggregate
intrinsic
value
(US$ in
thousands)

 

Share options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding, December 31, 2014

 

25,163,443

 

1.30

 

7.89

 

201,417

 

Granted

 

37,914,795

 

0.01

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

(42,070,053

)

0.78

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited/Cancelled

 

(2,248,747

)

0.01

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding, December 31, 2015

 

18,759,438

 

0.01

 

9.36

 

329,603

 

Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2015

 

15,383,914

 

0.01

 

9.37

 

270,295

 

Exercisable at December 31, 2015

 

2,482,338

 

0.01

 

9.35

 

43,615

 

 

F- 46



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the difference between the fair value of Company’s ordinary share as at the balance sheet date and the exercise price. Total intrinsic value of options exercised for the three years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 was RMB88,920, RMB508,520 and RMB 4,578,311 (US$706,770) respectively. The total fair value of the options vested during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were RMB88,870, RMB220,800 and RMB7,784,881  (US$1,201,778), respectively.

 

The following table presents the assumptions used to estimate the fair values of the share options granted in the years presented:

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Risk-free interest rate

 

1.91%~2.71%

 

1.91%~2.07%

 

0.71%~1.85%

 

Dividend yield

 

 

 

 

Expected volatility range

 

46.68%~47.66%

 

45.78%~46.58%

 

36.33%~42%

 

Expected life (in years)

 

10

 

6.11

 

0.98~6.11

 

 

As of December 31, 2015, there were RMB2,238,826 (US$345,615) of unrecognized share-based compensation costs, net of estimated forfeitures, related to option awards that are expected to be recognized over a weighted-average vesting period of 1.91years. Total unrecognized compensation costs may be adjusted for future changes in estimated forfeitures.

 

The fair value of each option award was estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model. The risk-free interest rate for periods within the contractual life of the share option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for a term consistent with the expected term of the awards. The expected term of stock options granted is developed giving consideration to the vesting period and contractual term. Qunar did not expect to declare any dividends on its ordinary shares on the respective grant dates. Expected volatility is estimated based on the historical volatility ordinary shares of several comparable companies in the same industry.

 

The total weighted average grant-date fair value of the option awards granted during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were RMB16.59, RMB58.59 and  RMB 190.45 (US$29.40) per option, respectively.

 

The following table summarizes total compensation cost recognized:

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

US$

 

Product developments

 

20,784

 

59,884

 

1,299,625

 

200,628

 

Product sourcing

 

2,117

 

2,958

 

151,864

 

23,444

 

Sales and marketing

 

5,417

 

12,565

 

310,604

 

47,949

 

General and administrative

 

35,389

 

190,963

 

3,020,480

 

466,281

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

63,707

 

266,370

 

4,782,573

 

738,302

 

 

19.           Restricted net assets

 

The Company’s ability to pay dividends may depend on the Company receiving distributions of funds from its PRC subsidiaries and Affiliated PRC Entities. Relevant PRC statutory laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by the Company’s PRC subsidiaries only out of its retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. The results of operations reflected in the consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP differ from those reflected in the statutory financial statements of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and Affiliated PRC Entities.

 

F- 47



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

In accordance with the PRC Regulations on Enterprises with Foreign Investment and its articles of association, a foreign invested enterprise established in the PRC is required to provide certain statutory reserves, namely general reserve fund the enterprise expansion fund and staff welfare and bonus fund which are appropriated from net profit as reported in the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. A foreign invested enterprise is required to allocate at least 10% of its annual after-tax profit to the general reserve until such reserve has reached 50% of its respective registered capital based on the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. Appropriation to the enterprise expansion fund and staff welfare and bonus fund are at the discretion of the Board of Directors for all foreign invested enterprises. The aforementioned reserves can only be used for specific purposes and are not distributable as cash dividends. The Company’s PRC subsidiaries were established as foreign invested enterprises and therefore, is subject to the above mandated restrictions on distributable profits.

 

Additionally, in accordance with the company law of the PRC, a domestic enterprise is required to provide statutory reserves of at least 10% of its annual after-tax profit until such reserve has reached 50% of its respective registered capital based on the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. A domestic enterprise is also required to provide discretionary surplus reserve, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, from the profits determined in accordance with the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. The aforementioned reserves can only be used for specific purposes and are not distributable as cash dividends. The Affiliated PRC Entities were established as domestic invested enterprises and therefore are subject to the above mentioned restrictions on distributable profits.

 

During the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, appropriations to statutory reserves amounted to RMB1,136, nil and RMB3,011(US$465), respectively.

 

As a result of these PRC laws and regulations subject to the limit discussed above that require annual appropriations of 10% of after-tax income to be set aside, prior to payment of dividends as general reserve fund, the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their net assets to the Company.

 

Foreign exchange and other regulation in the PRC may further restrict the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities from transferring funds to the Company in the form of dividends, loans and advances. As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, amounts restricted are the net assets of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and the Affiliated PRC Entities, which amounted to RMB171,009 and RMB226,235 (US$34,925), respectively.

 

20 .          Other non-current assets

 

On August 1, 2013, the Company launched an RMB20,000 employee interest-free housing loan program. In 2014, the Company expanded the housing loan pool to RMB40,000. Employees other than executive officers and senior management personnel who meet certain requirements may apply for such loans subject to approval by the Company. Each loan to each employee has a cap of RMB500 and is repayable within three to five years. The Company accounts for employee interest-free loans in accordance with ASC subtopic 835-30,  Imputation of Interest , whereby the effective interest rate is applied and the difference between the present value of the loan receivables and the cash loaned to the employees is regarded as employee compensation. Over the term of the loans, the loans receivable are accreted to its face value with interest income recognized in the same amount. As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, the Company has granted loans amounting to RMB26,911 and RMB44,207 (US$6,824) with terms of five years, respectively, of which RMB15,288 and RMB22,520 (US$3,476) were non-current, respectively.

 

Management evaluated the collectability of the loans granted and concluded that the risk of default was remote. Therefore, no allowance was provided as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The remaining balances included in other non-current assets are mainly comprised of long-term rental deposits of RMB29,034 and RMB57,325 (US$8,849) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively, and prepayments to purchase equipment with an amount of RMB11,595 and RMB8,963 (US$1,384) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

F- 48



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

21.           FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

 

Financial assets and liabilities of the Company primarily comprise of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted cash, funds receivable, accounts receivable, due from and due to related parties, employee housing loan receivables, customer advances and deposits, accounts payable, short-term loan, other payables, the Notes and warrant liability. As of December 31, 2014 and 2015, the carrying values of these financial instruments, except for employee housing loan receivables, the Notes and warrant liability, approximated their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

 

The fair value of the employee housing loan receivables has been calculated by discounting the expected future cash flows using rates currently available for instruments with similar terms, credit risk and remaining maturities. The calculated fair value approximates the carrying amount of the outstanding employee housing loan receivables. The warrant liability was recorded at fair value on the issuance date and subsequently adjusted to the fair value at each reporting date. The liability component of the Notes was initially recorded at fair value net of issuance costs, with subsequent accretion to face value.

 

ASC topic 820 (“ASC 820”), Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

 

Level 1 - Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets

Level 2 - Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity

 

ASC 820 describes three main approaches to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach; (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset.

 

In accordance with ASC 820, the Company measured the Baidu Warrants at fair value on a recurring basis. Baidu Warrants were classified as Level 2 by using the binomial-tree model with exogenous credit risk developed by Tsiveriotis and Fernandes (1998) based on inputs that are directly and indirectly observable in the market.

 

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value as of December 31, 2014 are summarized as below:

 

 

 

Fair Value Measurement or Disclosure
at December 31, 2014 Using

 

 

 

Quoted Prices in Active
Market for Identical Assets

 

Significant Other
Observable Inputs

 

Unobservable
inputs

 

 

 

(Level 1)

 

(Level 2)

 

(Level 3)

 

 

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

RMB

 

Recurring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warrant liability

 

 

701,776

 

 

Total liability measured at fair value

 

 

701,776

 

 

 

No asset or liability was measured at fair value as of December 31, 2015 as the Baidu Warrants were exercised (Note 13).

 

The Company ha d no assets or liabilities measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015.

 

F- 49



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

22.           Commitments and contingencies

 

Operating lease commitments

 

The Company leases office facilities and server racks under non-cancelable operating leases expiring on different dates. Payments under operating leases are expensed on a straight-line basis over the periods of their respective leases, and the terms of the leases do not contain rent escalation, contingent rent, renewal, or purchase options. There are no restrictions placed upon the Company by entering into these leases. Total expenses under these operating leases were RMB51,262, RMB163,067 and RMB248,087 (US$38,298) for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

 

Future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases consist of the following as of December 31, 2015:

 

Years ended December 31,

 

RMB

 

US$

 

2016

 

224,957

 

34,727

 

2017

 

58,821

 

9,080

 

2018 and thereafter

 

6,294

 

972

 

 

 

290,072

 

44,779

 

 

Capital Commitments

 

The Company’s capital commitments relate primarily to commitments in connection with the expansion and improvement of its network infrastructure and renovation of its offices. Total capital commitments contracted but not yet reflected in the consolidated financial statements amounted to RMB29,786 and RMB11,331 (US$1,749) as of December 31, 2014 and 2015. All of the commitments relating to the network infrastructure and renovation on the offices are to be fulfilled within the next year.

 

In addition, as of December 31, 2015, the Company has contractual commitments to make additional investments contingent on the achievement of certain conditions by three existing investees with a total maximum amount of RMB20,045 (US$3,094).

 

Loss contingencies

 

With respect to display advertising services, the Company, as an industry practice in the PRC, regularly provides such services at a discount to its standard rates. These discounts are in the form of free advertising elements, of which the duration and other terms of services are specified as part of the revenue contract. The value-added tax pilot program replaced the business tax rules for advertising services in Beijing effective from September 1, 2012. There are uncertainties under the current value-added tax rules as to whether these free elements should constitute deemed services in addition to the chargeable elements rather than discounts to the overall revenue arrangements for tax purposes and thus be subject to value-added tax at the standard rates of services. The Company currently considers that such free elements do not give rise to deemed services for value-added tax purposes and the value-add tax for a revenue contract is calculated based on the total consideration for the overall arrangements. The rules related to the value-added tax pilot program are still evolving and the timing of the promulgation of the final tax rules or related interpretation is uncertain. The maximum estimated amount for this reasonably possible contingency up to December 31, 2015 was RMB7,197 (US$1,111).

 

Legal contingency

 

On September 6, 2013, the Company early terminated an agreement (“Distribution Agreement”) with one of its travel service providers, eLong due to it’s failure to make its international hotel inventories available on the Company’s platform within the agreed time period. Subsequently, eLong filed a complaint with an intermediary court in Beijing for a civil suit against the Company alleging breach of contract by the Company and sought (i) a declaration that the notice to terminate the aforementioned agreement was null and void and (ii) damages in the amount of approximately RMB140,700 to compensate for alleged losses suffered by the TSP in connection with the Company’s early termination of the aforementioned agreement.

 

F- 50



 

QUNAR CAYMAN ISLANDS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013, 2014 AND 2015

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”) except for number of shares)

 

On July 1, 2015, the Company received the final judgment (the “Final Judgment”) from the Beijing High People’s Court (the “Court”) with respect to the contract dispute with eLong over the Distribution Agreement. In the Final Judgment, the Court upheld that the Company shall prospectively credit to eLong’s advertisement account opened at the Company in the amount of RMB137,385(US$21,209) corresponding to the period up to June 30, 2016 and the Distribution Agreement shall continue to be performed by both parties. The credits are not redeemable for cash but to be utilized by eLong for prospective advertising services provided by the Company.

 

23.           Subsequent events

 

On January 8, 2016, SL and HH irrevocably waived and relinquished their rights to convert the Notes held by them and transferred all of the Notes to Ctrip (the “Exchange”).  The Exchange was accounted for as an extinguishment of debt.

 

In March 2016, the Company obtained a RMB denominated loan with a principal amount of RMB1,773,800 (US$273,828) from Ctrip. The loan is free of interest and has a term of three years.  Ctrip obtained a US$ denominated loan with a principal amount of US$285,000 from the Company.  The loan is free of interest and has a term of three years.

 

F- 51


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