BITA Bitauto Holdings Ltd

The following tables present the selected consolidated financial information for our company. Our selected consolidated statements of operations data presented below for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and our selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 and 2019 have been derived from our consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. Our selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and the selected consolidated statements of operations data for 2015 and 2016 presented below have been derived from our consolidated financial statements not included in this annual report. Our historical results for any period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period. You should read the following selected financial data in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes and the information under “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in this annual report. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Beginning from the first quarter of 2016, we changed our basis of accounting from IFRS to U.S. GAAP.

The following table sets forth our selected consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We rely on China’s automotive and financial services industries for substantially all our revenues and future growth, and both industries are going through rapid changes and subject to many uncertainties.

We rely on China’s automotive and financial services industries for substantially all our revenues, which we generate from providing internet content, marketing services and transaction services to our customers. China’s automotive industry and automobile financing market are changing rapidly and remain subject to many uncertainties. We cannot predict how these industries or markets will develop in the future. Further, the future development of China’s automotive and financial services industries could be affected by many factors, including:

Any adverse change to these factors could reduce demand for automobiles, which, in return, would likely reduce demand for our products and services from automakers, automobile dealers, car buyers, auto finance partners, and other aftermarket service providers. Demand for our products and services is particularly sensitive to changes in general economic conditions. Automakers and automobile dealers may cut their marketing expenditures and car buyers may delay their purchases during periods of economic downturn. In addition, purchases of new automobiles are often discretionary for consumers and have been, and may continue to be, affected by negative trends in the economy. Historically, unit sale of automobiles, particularly new automobiles, has been cyclical, fluctuating with general economic cycles. If China’s automotive and financial services industries fail to expand or China’s economy stagnates or contracts, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Our future growth depends on the increased acceptance of the internet as an effective marketing platform by the automotive industry.

We generate a significant portion of our revenues from providing internet marketing services to automakers, automobile dealers, auto finance partners and insurance companies. However, internet marketing is still evolving to be more widely accepted as an effective marketing platform by China’s automotive industry. Many of our current or potential customers may have limited experience with the internet as an advertising and marketing medium and therefore may not find the internet to be effective for promoting their automobiles and related services. Some automakers and automobile dealers may still prefer television, outdoor billboards, traditional broadcast, prints, elevator LCD displays and elevator posters, and may not be willing to spend a significant portion of their marketing budgets on online advertising. In addition, if the promotional effect or outcome realized through online advertising and marketing cannot meet the expectations of advertisers or address their needs, our customers may decrease their spending and efforts on online advertising and promotion and devote more marketing budgets to traditional media. Any negative perceptions as to the effectiveness of internet marketing services may limit the growth of our business and adversely affect our results of operations. If the internet does not become more widely accepted as a media platform for advertising and marketing, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and negatively affected.

We are facing increased competition, and if we cannot compete effectively, our financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.

Our advertising and subscription business faces competition from many market participants. We face competition from China’s automotive vertical platforms such as Autohome, Dongchedi and PCauto, social media platforms such as ByteDance, automotive channels of major internet portals, internet video, and emerging new media on mobile end, such as live-streaming applications, news reader applications, as well as traditional forms of media. Although we believe the rapid increase in China’s online population will draw more attention away from traditional forms of media, such as television, newspapers, magazines and radio, we still compete with them for clients and advertising revenues. Competition with automotive vertical platforms and other internet players is primarily centered on user traffic, user engagement and brand recognition among general internet users, spending by automakers and automobile dealers, and customer retention and acquisition. In addition, because the entry barrier for the internet advertising business is relatively low, new competitors, such as social media, internet video and new media on mobile end may be able to launch competitive services at relatively low costs and may acquire market share in a relatively short period of time.

Moreover, with respect to our transaction services primarily operated by Yixin, we face intense competition in automobile finance market from traditional banks, auto finance companies, other auto financing lease companies, and other companies that provide loan facilitation services. Our competitors may have significantly more financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their platforms and services. They may also have more extensive consumer bases, greater brand recognition and broader relationship with the constituents of the ecosystem including automakers, automobile dealers and auto finance partners than we have. As such, they may be better able to develop new services, to respond more quickly to new technologies and to undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, which may render our platform less attractive to consumers and our business partners. In addition, our business partners may terminate their cooperation with us and engage in similar business as we do. Failure to compete with current and potential competitors and achieve more widespread market acceptance of our platform and services could harm our business and results of operations.

For our digital marketing solutions business, we compete with other internet marketing service providers in China. We face competition from the digital marketing business of well-established international advertising agencies as well as local agencies that specialize in providing online marketing services. Most of these competitors do not focus only on the automotive industry, but also provide online marketing services to clients in other industries and may have greater resources and established reputation. As a result, these companies may be able to respond more quickly to changes in customer demands or to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products and services than we can. In the automotive industry, we not only compete for customers, but also compete in terms of advertisement design, relationships with third-party media vendors, the quality, breadth, prices and effectiveness of services. Competition could affect our market share, pricing, and cost structure. We cannot assure you that we will continue to compete effectively with our existing competitors, maintain our current fee arrangements, or compete effectively with new competitors in the future.

Our growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to successfully execute our mobile strategy.

There is an increasing trend of accessing the internet through devices other than a personal computer, such as smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices. We have developed a few mobile apps and plan to devote more resources to develop more applications for various mobile devices. However, we have limited experience in developing mobile platforms and face significant competition from established companies that have far greater experience than we do. We expect existing competitors to allocate more resources to develop and market competing applications and new mobile-applications competitors to enter the market. Our limited experience makes it difficult to predict whether we will succeed in developing mobile apps that appeal to individual users, automakers and automobile dealers. These and other uncertainties make it difficult to predict whether we will succeed in developing commercially viable mobile apps.

Furthermore, the generally lower processing speed, power, functionality and memory associated with mobile devices make using applications through such devices more difficult; and the versions of our applications developed for these devices may not be appealing to users. In addition, each device manufacturer or platform provider may impose unique or restrictive terms and conditions for developers relying on such devices or platforms, and our applications may not work well or be used on these devices as a result. As new devices, new mobile platforms and updates to platforms are continually being released, we may encounter problems in developing our applications for use on these devices and platforms and we may need to devote significant resources to creating, supporting and maintaining our applications on such devices and platforms. Our experience in developing browser-based applications may not be adequate for us to develop mobile apps, and we have limited experience working with wireless carriers, mobile platform providers and other partners. If we are unable to successfully expand into mobile platforms and devices, or if the versions of our applications that we create for such platforms and devices are not appealing to our users, our business and growth prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to successfully expand our service network into other geographical markets in China.

As of December 31, 2019, we had sales and service representatives network located in approximately 200 cities across China and we plan to continuously expand our network to more cities. Geographical expansion is particularly important for us to acquire more automobile dealer customers, whose operations are typically localized and spread out in every region. Our consumer-facing websites need localized content that are relevant to our website visitors in a specific region. We also aim to expand the network of auto dealers to enlarge the geographical reach of Yixin’s customers. Nonetheless, expanding into new geographical markets imposes additional burdens on our sales, marketing and general managerial resources. As China is a large and diverse market, business practices and demands may vary significantly by region and our experience in the markets in which we currently operate may not be applicable in other parts of China. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our experience to expand into other parts of China. If we are unable to manage our expansion efforts effectively, if our expansion efforts take longer than planned or if our costs for these efforts exceed our expectations, we will not achieve our objectives, such as increasing our market share, and our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our competitive position and ability to generate revenues could be further harmed if we fail to develop and introduce new products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Continued increases in our advertising revenues from our automobile website and mobile apps depend on our ability to attract consumers to our media properties and monetize that traffic at profitable margins with advertisers. If our website and mobile apps do not provide a compelling, differentiated user experience, we may lose visitors to competing sites. Further, if traffic to our websites and mobile apps declines, we may lose some of our advertising customers who may reduce or cease their advertising purchases from us. Our automobile dealer customers may not continue to subscribe to our SaaS platform, if we do not timely enhance their user experience and broaden our product and service offerings. Similarly, our digital marketing solutions business may gradually lose its competitive advantage if we are slower in technological innovations or in announcing either new or enhanced products and services. The sustainable growth of revenues from our transaction services depends on our ability to provide efficient and quality services to facilitate financed automobile transactions. In addition, we rely on constant product and service innovations to retain existing customers and attract new customers, while our competitors may introduce new alternative products that are more sophisticated and cost-effective than ours.

To increase our brand recognition and stay competitive, we need to continue to develop new products and services for visitors to our websites and our automaker and automobile dealer customers, as well as auto finance partners and other aftermarket service providers. The planned timing or introduction of new products and services is subject to risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that any of our new products and services will achieve widespread market acceptance and generate incremental revenues. Moreover, actual timing may differ materially from original plans. Unexpected technical, distribution or other problems could delay or prevent the introduction of one or more of its new products or services. If our new products and services are not well received, we may not only lose money, but also harm our reputation, and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Even if we introduce new business initiatives, we cannot assure you that we will be able to develop new business initiatives to grow our revenues. Our unfamiliarity with the new market sectors may make it difficult for us to anticipate the demands and preferences in the market and provide products and services that meet the requirements and preference of our users. Therefore, our financial results may be adversely affected in the short term if our new business initiatives are unable to continue to grow as we have expected. In addition, we may not be able to successfully identify, and timely and cost-effectively develop and introduce new products and services to our users and customers at all.

A limited number of automakers have contributed to a significant portion of our revenues, and if we are unable to maintain these key relationships or establish new relationships with additional automakers, our results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

In the past, a limited number of automakers have contributed a significant portion of our revenues, primarily in the form of advertising fees for advertisement placements on our websites and the corresponding mobile apps, and service fees for our digital marketing solutions. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, revenues from the top three automaker customers in each period accounted for approximately 7.4%, 6.1% and 5.9%, respectively, of our total revenues. There is no assurance that our relationships with any of our existing automaker customers will continue in the future, or we could receive any minimum level of revenues from them. If we lose one or more of our important automaker customers, or if they materially reduce their purchase of our services, our results of operations would be materially and adversely affected. In addition, we enter into advertising service contracts with most of our automaker customers through advertising agencies. If we cannot maintain our cooperative relationship with these advertising agencies, our ability to further expand our automaker customer base may be negatively impacted. Furthermore, our ability to timely collect payment from our automaker customers may be affected by a number of factors, including general economic conditions, many of which are outside our control. If we are unable to collect payments in a timely manner or at all, our business, results of operations and financial conditions may be materially and adversely affected.

Our dealer service delivery model has been widely welcomed by our automobile dealer customers, but if we cannot continue to attract and expand our automobile dealer subscribers, we may not be able to sustain our revenue growth and operating profit.

We have attracted the majority of automobile dealers across China to our subscription services. Our SaaS platform, designed mostly for automobile dealers, is based on a service distribution model through which we deliver a package of software applications over the internet to the automobile dealer subscribers. Such internet-based products enable our automobile dealer customers to create their own websites, publish automobile pricing and other promotional information and communicate with interested buyers. Our service delivery model has been greatly accepted by our automobile dealer customers. However, we cannot assure you that our service delivery model would continue to attract, maintain or expand our automobile dealer subscriber base by offering new products and services to automobile dealer customers. Our revenue growth and operating profits depend on the expansion of the automobile dealer customer base and the increase in subscription fees. If we cannot continue to attract and expand our automobile dealer customers or if our automobile dealer customers would not accept our subscription fee increase, we may not be able to sustain our revenue growth and operating profit.

Our customers may not renew their contracts for our services and we may not be able to sell additional or enhanced services to our existing customers.

Our customers may not renew our services after the expiration of their contract terms. They may also renew for shorter contract terms or for lower-cost editions of our services. For example, although the renewal rates for our automobile dealer subscription services were relatively high, it may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including customer dissatisfaction with our services, customers’ ability to maintain their operations and spending levels, customers’ operational cost control, the overall downturn in China’s automobile market, and deteriorating general economic conditions. If our customers do not renew their contracts for our services or switch to lower-cost editions at the time of renewal, our revenues could decline and our business may suffer. Our future success also depends in part on our ability to sell additional services or enhanced editions of our services to our current customers. This may also require increasingly sophisticated and costly sales efforts. Similarly, the rate at which our customers purchase new or enhanced services depends on a number of factors, including customers’ satisfaction with our services, customers’ ability to maintain their operations and spending levels, customers’ operational cost control, the overall development and status of China’s automobile market, and the general economic conditions. If our efforts to sell new or enhanced services to our customers are not successful, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

The interest income for our self-operated financing lease services or service fees for our loan facilitation services may decline in the future, and any material decrease in such interest income or service fees could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We provide transaction services, including self-operated financing lease services and loan facilitation services, primarily through Yixin, our controlled subsidiary. We charge interest income from consumers that finance their automobile purchases through our platform, and service fees from our loan facilitation financing partners that have extended loans to consumers through our loan facilitation services. In 2019, revenues from our self-operated financing lease services and loan facilitation services accounted for 50.6% of our total revenues. Any material decrease in the interest income for our self-operated financing lease services or in the loan facilitation service fees would have a substantial negative impact on our revenue and profit margin. The interest income for our self-operated financing lease services and loan facilitation service fees charged by us could be affected by a variety of factors, including auto sales, the competitive landscape of the automotive finance industry, general credit policy and environment, the mix and qualify of services and products we provide, and the relevant applicable regulatory requirements.

In addition, our interest income for self-operated financing lease services and our loan facilitation service fees are sensitive to many macroeconomic factors beyond our control, such as inflation, recession, changes in regulation, the status of the credit markets, changes in market interest rates, global economic disruptions, health epidemics, unemployment and fiscal and monetary policies. In particular, our current level of interest and fee rates may significantly decline due to changes in regulatory environment, and our profitability will suffer. In the event that the amount of our interest income or service fees decrease significantly in the future and we are not able to adopt any cost control initiatives, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed.

We are exposed to certain credit risks in operating self-operated financing business and providing loan facilitation services, to the extent that we provide risk assurance related to such loan facilitation services. Our current risk management system may not be able to accurately assess and mitigate all risks to which we are exposed to, including credit risk.

We provide transaction services primarily through Yixin, which primarily include self-operated financing business and loan facilitation services. For the self-operated financing services, we primarily provide consumers with auto finance solutions through financing lease services, and we face inherent risks of nonpayment of loans and bad debts. Our ability to manage the quality of our loan portfolio and the associated credit risks will have significant impact on the results of operations of our self-operated financing business. Any significant deterioration in the asset quality of our self-operated financing business and significant increase in associated credit risks may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For the loan facilitation services, we facilitate loans offered by our loan facilitation financing partners to our consumers. In connection with the loan facilitation services we provide, we are obligated to purchase the relevant loans upon certain specified events of default by customers through Yixin or Dalian Rongxin Financing Guarantees Company Limited, or Dalian Rongxin. We are exposed to certain credit risks in providing loan facilitation services, to the extent that we are obligated to purchase the relevant loans facilitated by us.

In the future, we may cooperate with third-party insurance companies or re-guarantee companies to provide insurance or re-guarantee in connection with our loan facilitation services, such that in the event of customer’s failure in making payment, third-party insurance companies or re-guarantee companies will be obligated to pay all or part of the unpaid outstanding amount to our loan facilitation financing partners. Under such circumstances, however, we cannot assure you that we will be able to reach agreements with any third-party insurance companies or re-guarantee companies on commercially acceptable terms, or at all, or such cooperation will be sufficient to cover the credit risks we are exposed to. As a result, our ability to mitigate the credit risks we are exposed to would be harmed and our results of operations would be adversely affected.

Failure to collect repayment of outstanding principal amounts or accrued interests that become due from our customers may have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial condition. We use litigation as a primary method of collection, which is not necessarily efficient as we expect. We may also incur significant expenses during the litigation process while the proceeds we receive from litigation may not cover such expenses. Furthermore, credit risks are exacerbated in consumer financing industry because there is relatively limited credit information available about individual customers. There is no assurance that our monitoring of credit risk issues and our efforts to mitigate credit risks through our credit assessment and risk management policies are or will be sufficient to enable us to maintain low delinquencies. If we were to experience a significant increase in delinquency rate, our financial performance and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Moreover, our data-driven credit risk management system may not be able to exhaustively mitigate our exposure to credit risks. Our credit risk management methods depend on the evaluation of information regarding customers, automobiles and other relevant matters, which may be inaccurate, incomplete, obsolete or improperly evaluated. In addition, for most of our auto financing products, we generally require less documentation from applicants than that would otherwise be required by traditional banks for credit assessment and approval, which further limits the credit information of certain applicants available to us and may result in increasing risks. Certain steps of our risk management procedures are carried out manually, and are susceptible to human error and misjudgment. As such, our assessment of credit risks associated with a particular customer may not always be accurate. We cannot assure you that our assessment and monitoring of credit risk will always be sufficient and our efforts to mitigate credit risk through our credit assessment procedures and risk management system are or will always be sufficient to manage our past due ratio. Any insufficiency in our credit risk management system and any significant deterioration in the portfolio quality of our self-operated financing business and loan facilitation services and significant increase in associated credit risk may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, deterioration in the overall quality of the financing assets from our self-operated financing business and loan facilitation services, and increased exposure to credit risks may occur due to a variety of reasons, including factors beyond our control, such as a slowdown in the growth of the PRC or global economies, health epidemics or a liquidity or credit crisis in the PRC or global financial sectors, which may adversely affect the liquidity of the borrowers or their ability to repay or roll over their debt. We may not be able to fully estimate the residual value of car collateral or to manage credit risks in relation to the risk assurance we provide. Any significant deterioration in the asset quality of our financial services business and significant increase in associated credit risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Most of financing contracts from Yixin’s self-operated financing business and loan facilitation services have been outstanding for a relatively short period of time. The asset quality of our self-operated financing business and loan facilitation services may further deteriorate.

Due to our limited operation history in transaction services, most of the financing contracts from our self-operated financing business and our loan facilitation services are outstanding for a relatively short period of time, and are not fully seasoned. Therefore, our historical past due ratio and other asset quality information may not be indicative of our future past due ratio and other asset quality information. The quality of the financing assets may deteriorate as they become fully seasoned and as our business volume expands. Moreover, the level of risks we are exposed to is different among different financing products and services we provide. The asset quality may also deteriorate as our product and service mix evolves. If any of the foregoing occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We rely on a limited number of third-party partners to fund the loans facilitated through our platform. Failure to maintain sufficient access to funding could materially harm our business and results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of financing partners to fund the loans facilitated through our platform and there is no guarantee or commitment on the amount of loans our financing partners will fund. In 2019, we had 12 loan facilitation financing partners, and our top three financing partners provided approximately 80% of funding for the loans facilitated through our platform in terms of transaction volume.

We have been making efforts to diversify our funding sources and broaden our collaboration with more loan facilitation financing partners. However, as the demand for our loans increases, there can be no assurance that our current loan facilitation financing partners can meet the funding needs of consumer loans facilitated through our platform, or we can find additional financing partners, or our cooperation with new financing partners will meet our expectations. In addition, if we or our financing partners terminate the cooperation, we may be unable to find substitutes in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If any of the foregoing occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

The development of our self-operated financing business is capital intensive. Restrictions in our capital raising arrangements and inability to obtain additional financing or refinance our indebtedness in the future may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The development of finance business is capital intensive. To address the capital requirements, Yixin has entered into asset-backed securitization arrangements, under which Yixin has transferred the economic benefits in certain financial assets in exchange for cash proceeds. As of December 31, 2019, the carrying amount of our asset-backed securities debts was RMB7.37 billion (US$1.06 billion). However, there is no guarantee that Yixin may enter into additional securitization transactions on commercially reasonable terms, and we may be subject to potential losses associated with the existing securitization transactions. We cannot assure you that additional securitization transactions will be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Transaction terms may deteriorate, in the form of reduced liquidity, reduced demand for asset-backed securities and higher financing costs, significantly in the event of global or domestic economic turmoil. Our ability to enter into securitization transactions in a timely manner is affected by a number of factors beyond our control, any of which could cause substantial delays, including market conditions, the approval by transaction counterparties of the terms of the securitization, as well as our ability to accumulate sufficient number of financing lease contracts for securitization.

Moreover, we have entered into revolving facility credit agreements and collateral borrowing agreements with commercial banks and licensed financial institutions in China since 2015. As of December 31, 2019, the outstanding amount under those agreements was RMB13.12 billion (US$1.89 billion). We may choose to refinance certain of our borrowings with new loans as they become due. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend in part on our operating and financial performance, which, in turn, is subject to prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. In addition, the increase in prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing could result in an increase in our interest expense or other refinancing costs. Refinancing our indebtedness could also require us to comply with more onerous covenants and further restrict our business operations. If we are not able to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all, when they become due, we will be required to repay our indebtedness as they become due.

Furthermore, in November 2017, Yixin completed the global offering of its shares and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The net proceeds from the global offering, after deducting certain underwriting commission and expenses were approximately HK$6,507.6 million. Yixin may seek to obtain additional cash by sale of additional equity securities, which could result in further dilution of our equity stake in Yixin, and the investors and other shareholders may have a strategy or objective different from ours with respect to Yixin or impose conditions that could restrict the operations of Yixin.

Due to further developments or changing business conditions, we may also require additional cash resources. Therefore, we may seek to obtain a credit facility or sell additional equity or debt securities, which could have significant consequence on our operations, including:

Any of these factors and other consequences could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations as well as our ability to meet our payment obligations under our debt. Our ability to meet our payment obligations under our outstanding debt depends on our ability to generate significant cash flow in the future. This, to some extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond our control. Furthermore, if we are unable to comply with the restrictions contained in our credit agreements, an event of default could occur under the terms of such agreements, which could cause repayment of such debt to be accelerated and put significant pressure on our cash flow management and will negatively affect our results of operations.

We are subject to potential losses associated with securitization transactions of our finance receivables.

Yixin securitizes finance receivables arising from our self-operated financing business through PRC trust plans in exchange for cash proceeds. Under these securitization transactions, Yixin transfers the economic benefits in finance receivables to a trust firm acting as the trustee and issuing entity, which then issues senior tranche debt securities to investors and subordinate tranche debt to Yixin. If the collateralized assets do not generate sufficient funds to meet the payment obligations of the trust, Yixin would not only need to absorb losses as the holders of the subordinate tranche debt, but also need to make up for the shortage from our own funds to repay the principal and interest of all senior tranche debt securities in full. We cannot guarantee that the delinquency rate of Yixin’s finance receivables will not rise significantly in the future, especially in the event of unanticipated economic turmoil. In case that lessees of the collateralized finance receivables stop making repayments, Yixin is obligated to use its own funds to repay all the principal and interest to the holders of senior tranche of debt securities. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We may not be able to continue to collect performance-based rebates for the advertisements we place on third-party websites, which is an important source of revenues for us.

An important part of our digital marketing solutions business is to place advertisements on third-party websites on behalf of our customers. Such media vendor websites often offer incentives in the form of performance-based rebates equal to a percentage of the purchase price for qualifying advertising space purchased and utilized by our customers. Performance-based rebates are an important source of our revenues. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, income from performance-based rebates accounted for 5.6%, 4.8% and 3.9%, respectively, of our total revenues. Nonetheless, our ability to collect rebates from a media vendor website is contingent upon the total value of advertisements we place on such websites during a set time period and whether such value reaches the predetermined thresholds. If we fail to reach the set threshold, we may not be able to continue to collect performance-based rebates at our expected levels, if at all. Under some media contracts for some customers, if we fail to reach the set minimum, we would lose not only part or all of the rebates, but also our performance security deposit. Some websites, in particular those with a large visitor base, may set the thresholds high or raise them from time to time and we may not be able to negotiate the rebate percentages or the threshold levels. Furthermore, media vendor websites may reduce the percentage of rebates or may not offer them at all. Our income from performance-based rebates may decrease or disappear, which could affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We may be liable to pay third-party media vendors in connection with the advertisements we placed with them on behalf of our customers if we fail to collect some or all the payments from these customers.

As part of our digital marketing solutions business, we place advertisements on the websites of third-party media vendors on behalf of our customers. We enter into advertising agreements with media vendors only after our customers have confirmed the proposed advertisements in their agency agreements with us. The media vendors are obligated to place the advertisements based on our customers’ specific requirements. We receive net service fees for such advertising services and record a receivable from our customers and a corresponding payable due to the media vendors based on the total amount of advertisements placed. In general, terms of our accounts payable due to media vendors are shorter than the terms of our receivables due from our customers, and we need to pay our media vendors for their advertising resources when payments are due regardless of whether our customers have made payments to us. As of December 31, 2019, the payables due to third-party media vendors in connection with the advertisements we placed with the media vendors on behalf of our customers was RMB710.6 million (US$102.1 million).

We cannot assure you that our customers will continue to make timely and full payments to us for the advertisements we placed on their behalves. If we fail to collect all or part of such payments from our customers, we may continue to be held liable to pay the media vendors the full amount of our payables when they become due. In addition, we may incur penalty for late payments. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Our business may be harmed by the potential conflicts of interest caused by our dual roles as both a supplier and a purchaser of advertisement resources.

As an internet content provider, we supply advertisement space; as an advertising agent, we purchase advertisement space on behalf of our customers. Conflict of interests may arise between our roles as a purchaser and as a supplier of advertisement resources. As a supplier, we have incentives to place more advertisements on our own websites. Such conflicts could harm our reputation as an independent purchasing agent for our customers and our reputation as a supplier of advertisement resources. There were no rebate arrangements to our digital marketing solutions business when we place advertisements on our own websites in prior years. Since 2017, rebate comparable to third-party advertising agents was paid to our digital marketing solutions business. While we have and will continue to follow our customers’ instruction and maximize their interests, we do not know how the market will respond to our multi-functional roles in the future. Our customers have directed, and will continue directing us to place their advertisements on websites of their choice, including websites in direct competition with ours, or our customers may choose not to advertise on our websites at all. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our business may suffer if we do not successfully manage our current and future growth.

We have experienced rapid growth in the past few years. Our revenues have increased from RMB8.75 billion (or RMB8.08 billion, if the VAT was presented on a net basis) in 2017 to RMB10.58 billion in 2018, and further to RMB10.75 billion (US$1.54 billion) in 2019. Our sales and service representatives network covered approximately 200 cities as of December 31, 2019. We intend to continue to expand our operations. However, we may not be able to sustain a similar growth rate in revenues or geographic coverage in future periods due to a number of factors, including the greater difficulty of growing at sustained rates from a larger revenue base. In addition, our expansion has placed, and will continue to place, substantial demands on our managerial, operational, technological and other resources. In order to manage and support our growth, we must continue to improve our existing operational, administrative and technological systems and our financial and management controls, and recruit, train and retain additional qualified personnel, particularly as we expand into new markets. As our operations expand into more cities throughout China, we will face increasing challenges in managing a large and geographically dispersed group of employees. We may not be able to effectively and efficiently manage the growth of our operations, recruit and retain qualified personnel and integrate new operations into our current business plan. As a result, our reputation, business and operations may suffer. Accordingly, you should not rely on our historical growth rate as an indication of our future performance.

Failure to enhance our brand recognition could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and growth prospects.

We believe the importance of brand recognition will increase as the number of internet users in China grows. It is critical to enhance our brand recognition and attract an increasing number of users to our platform in order to achieve a widespread acceptance of our business model, gain trust for our services and attract new business partners to our platform. For example, for our websites and mobile apps to be successful, we need to attract visitors on a regular basis by providing automobile and other relevant information. If we fail to effectively enhance our brand recognition, we may not be able to attract new advertising business to our own websites and mobile apps. We also need to continue to enhance our brand awareness among automobile dealers in order to build on our position as a leading automobile service provider. While we have a large network of automobile dealer customers, we will not be able to retain them to continue to cooperate with us if we fail to maintain as a trusted brand and bring our automobile dealer customers their expected user traffic.

We have taken steps to enhance our brand recognition and gradually establish our identity by expending significant time and resources, including participating in auto shows and other branding events. We use priority listing and traffic referral services provided by major internet search engines in China to increase our customers and users’ awareness of our content, products and services. For example, we provide auto-related content to market and promote our services via Baidu, Sogou and other search engines. We also cooperate with major news feed channels, such as Baidu, ByteDance and Kuaishou, and major mobile phone manufacturers to place advertisements on their platforms in order to promote our services and brand recognition. In 2019, we further implemented a three-year branding initiative to invite influential spokespersons and distribute our advertisements on various channels. We are likely to incur significant costs and expenses in our marketing efforts for promoting our brand. We cannot guarantee that these brand promoting activities will lead to revenue increases, and the failure to do so will materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, as we provide transaction services primarily through Yixin, which contributes to a significant portion of our revenues, it is also critical to enhance and maintain the awareness of Yixin brand among consumers and other constituents in our ecosystem. Successful promotion of Yixin brand depends largely on the quality of the services we offer through Yixin and the effectiveness of our marketing efforts as well as the consumer experience we provide through Yixin platform.

Our marketing efforts for promoting our brand will likely require us to incur significant costs and expenses and devote a large amount of resources. Brand promotion activities may not yield revenue increases, and, even if they do, there is no assurance that the revenue increases could be achieved together with or lead to our brand recognition or the promotion of the awareness of our platform. If we fail to enhance and maintain our brand recognition, we may not be able to grow or maintain our customer base as we would expect and we may lose market share. If this happens, our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

We may be subject to liability for placing advertisements with content that is deemed inappropriate or misleading.

PRC laws and regulations prohibit advertising companies from producing, distributing or publishing any advertisement with content in violation of PRC laws and regulations, including without limitation the content that impairs the national dignity of the PRC, involves designs of the PRC national flag, national emblem or national anthem or the music of the national anthem, contains terms such as “the state-level,” “the highest grade,” “the best” or other similar words, damages the safety of personal property, discloses personal privacy, is considered reactionary, obscene, superstitious or absurd, or is fraudulent, or disparages similar products. As an online advertisement distributor, we are required to verify the identity information of our customers who choose to place their advertisements on our websites. We must also review supporting documents provided by advertisers and verify the content of the advertisements and are prohibited from publishing any advertisement inconsistent with or with the lack of the supporting documents. While we do have a review procedure prior to publishing, we cannot guarantee that we can entirely eliminate advertisements with content that would be deemed inappropriate or misleading. If we are deemed to be in violation of PRC law or regulations, we may be subject to penalties, including suspension of publishing, confiscation of the revenues related to these advertisements, levying of fines and suspension or termination of our advertising business, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business.

Furthermore, we may be subject to claims by consumers misled by information on our websites or other portals powered by our database. We may not to be able to recover our losses from advertisers by enforcing the indemnification provisions in the contracts. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to ensure the accuracy of automobile dealer pricing and promotional information.

We rely on our automobile dealer customers to timely and accurately update their automobile information, prices, sales and promotions. The popularity of our automobile listings posted by automobile dealers, in particular pricing information of automobiles, is premised on the accuracy, comprehensiveness and reliability of the data. If the information listed by our automobile dealer customers is frequently misleading or exaggerated, we may gradually lose our appeal for our visitors. Our reputation could be harmed and we could experience reduced traffic to our websites, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Our provisions for impairment losses on finance receivables, accounts receivable and other receivables may not be adequate to cover potential credit losses, and we may need to increase our provision charges of the respective future period for impaired receivables to cover future potential credit losses.

We make provisions for impairment losses on finance receivables, accounts receivable and other receivables in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In 2019, we provide provisions for impairment losses on finance receivables, accounts receivable and other receivables of RMB1.28 billion (US$184.4 million). The provisions for impairment losses on finance receivables is determined on the basis of our internal provisioning procedures and guidelines with consideration of factors, such as the historical loss rate and days past due. As our provisions under U.S. GAAP require significant judgment and estimation, our provision for impairment losses on finance receivables may not always be adequate to cover credit losses in our business operations. In particular, since we have limited experience in the transaction services business, we might in the future adjust our provisioning judgment or policies as we gain more experience in this business, which could in turn lead to additional provisions for our receivables. We may not be able to obtain all or a substantial part of our accounts receivable and other receivables, and our accounts receivable and other receivables will be considered impaired if the carrying amounts exceeds the recoverable amount, which will negatively affect our financial performance. We expect our provision charge to increase in the future as we continue to grow our business. In addition, starting from the fiscal year of 2020, we will be subject to a newly adopted accounting policy, ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326),” which requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for certain financial instruments held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. It will incorporate both available forward-looking information and historical pattern to estimate the lifetime expected credit losses for financial instruments, including those that have not become past due. We expect that the adoption of Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326) may cause fluctuations in our financial results, including the level of provision for credit losses of finance receivables. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating results—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Adoption of ASC326.” Our provision for impairment losses may prove to be inadequate if adverse changes occur in the Chinese economy or if other events adversely affect specific customers or markets. Under such circumstances, we may need to make additional provisions for our receivables, which could significantly reduce our profit and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are susceptible to risks related to cash flow management.

We have experienced, and may continue to experience, short-term cash flow management problems from time to time. For example, some of our advertising services are not paid until our services are fully performed. Some automakers may designate their advertising agencies to place their advertisements on our websites and subsequently pay us. Such advertising agencies may delay making payments to us, leading to longer aging cycles of our accounts receivable. With the rapid growth of automobile financing lease services, our cash flow may be adversely affected by our increased indebtedness and exposure to credit risks. We may also buy automobiles and may not be able to resell the automobiles, or may incur losses in selling these automobiles. Our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to meet our payment obligation. If we fail to meet our payment obligation, we may incur penalty payments. We may need to expend more resources in payment collections. This could negatively affect our results of operations and make it impossible to predict our future operating results.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Since the beginning of 2020, outbreaks of COVID-19 have resulted in the temporary closure of many corporate offices, retail stores, and manufacturing facilities across China. In late January 2020, in response to intensifying efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Chinese government took a number of actions, which included extending the Chinese New Year holiday, quarantining and otherwise treating individuals in China who had the coronavirus, asking China residents to remain at home and to avoid gathering in public, and other actions. Our headquarters and principal service development facilities are located in Beijing and we currently lease the majority of our offices in various parts of China to support our operations. The outbreak has caused temporary closures of our offices and adjustment of operation hours of our offices in our headquarter and other offices in China. Some of our employees are still working from home, and we may experience lower work efficiency and productivity, which may adversely affect our service quality.

While the outbreak has been largely controlled in China, normal economic life throughout China was sharply curtailed and disruptions to normal operation of businesses in various areas, including the automakers and automobile dealers in China, further negatively influencing their automobile production and sales activities. In addition, the ongoing global pandemic may adversely affect the supply chains and manufacturing capabilities of the automakers and sales performance of both the automakers and automobile dealers. This, in turn, may materially and adversely affect our business as a result of the delayed marketing demand from automakers, dealers and advertising agencies that represent them, as well as their reduced ability to pay for the services on time. In addition, we provide transaction services, primarily including financing business and loan facilitation services, mainly through Yixin, our controlled subsidiary. The COVID-19 outbreak and the reduction in discretionary consumption has caused and is expected to cause pressure on sales of passenger vehicles in China. As a result, transaction volume on Yixin as well as demand for its financing and loan facilitation services has reduced and may continue to be suppressed. Furthermore, Yixin may experience a significant increase in delinquency rate as borrowers' ability to repay loans may be negatively affected by the unfavorable macroeconomic environment. If we experience severe and continued declines in demand for our services and deterioration in quality, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may delay acting on new business initiatives due to the negatively impacted macro economy and the auto industry in China. See "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Impact of COVID-19 on our Operations."

Currently, there is no vaccine or specific anti-viral treatment for COVID-19. Relaxation of restrictions on economic and social life may lead to new cases which may lead to the re-imposition of restrictions. As a result, the duration of such business disruption and the resulting financial and operational impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. Our business and financial performance have been adversely affected by the outbreak of coronavirus in China since the beginning of 2020, and this is likely to continue throughout the current year, if not longer.

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations and unexpected interruptions, which make it difficult to accurately predict our future operating results.

We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, seasonal fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations. Historically, our revenues tend to be lower in the first half and higher in the second half of each year. Advertising and promotional activities often increase in the second half of each year. New automobile models tend to be introduced in the last quarter, which usually leads to increases in advertising spending by automakers. Furthermore, some of our customers whose fiscal year ends with the calendar year often choose to take advantage of the last opportunities to increase their annual revenues before the year ends. Automakers and automobile dealers tend to enhance their advertising efforts in the fourth quarter when special online promotional campaigns are held, which also boosts our operational results in the fourth quarter. In comparison, activity levels tend to decrease after the fourth quarter’s spending. Our customers may not yet have a set plan for the new fiscal year. Further, the holiday period following the Chinese New Year is usually in the first quarter, which may contribute to the lower activity levels in the first half of each year. Our revenue trends relating to our transaction services operated by Yixin are also a reflection of consumers’ automobile purchase patterns. Consumers tend to purchase a higher volume of automobiles in the second half of each year, in part due to the introduction of new models from automakers. Therefore, the seasonality of the automobile retail business and the resulting spending pattern of automakers and automobile dealers may result in greater emphasis on the importance of our fourth quarter results. We expect quarterly fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations to continue.

Nonetheless, if conditions arise in the second half of a year that depress or affect automobile sales and marketing spending by our customers, such as depressed economic conditions or similar situations, our revenues for the year may be disproportionately and adversely affected. As a result of these factors, our quarterly results may not be comparable to the corresponding periods of prior years. Our actual results may differ significantly from our targets or estimated quarterly results. These fluctuations could result in volatility and cause the price of our ADSs to fall. As our revenues grow, these seasonal fluctuations may become more pronounced.

Our operating history may not serve as an adequate basis to judge our future prospects and results of operations.

Our operating history may not provide a meaningful basis on which to evaluate our business. In recent years, we have started new initiatives, among others including our transaction services primarily provided by Yixin, which was launched in December 2013 as our auto finance department and our controlled subsidiary, and was officially established in November 2014.

We expect that our operating expenses will increase as we expand. Any significant failure to realize anticipated revenue growth could result in significant operating losses. We expect to continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by companies at a similar stage of development, including our potential failure to:

If we are not successful in addressing any or all of these risks, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

Meanwhile, the limited operating history and the historical adjustment of business of Yixin make it difficult for investors to evaluate our business and prospects.

Our third-party vendors may raise prices and as a result increase our operating expenses.

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

Problems with China’s internet infrastructure or with our third-party data center hosting facilities could impair the delivery of our services and harm our business.

Our internet businesses heavily depend on the performance and reliability of China’s internet infrastructure, the continual accessibility of bandwidth and servers to our service providers’ networks, and the continuing performance, reliability and availability of our technology platform. Our advertising services on our websites and corresponding mobile apps enables us to place advertisement for our automotive customers, auto finance customers and insurance companies on the internet, and our SaaS platform enables us to deliver services to our automobile dealer customers, who access our software applications on the internet. Distribution of automobile dealers’ pricing and promotional information is also accomplished through the internet. Our transaction services provided by Yixin enables us to interact online with our car buyers, automaker, automobile dealers, auto finance partners, and aftermarket service providers to promote our products and solutions. Because we do not license our software to our customers, our customers depend on the internet to access our services. In addition, we depend on the internet to effectively publish our customers’ advertisements on our websites, which must be properly running and accessible to all visitors at all times. We rely on major Chinese telecommunication companies to provide us with bandwidth for our services, and we may not have any access to comparable alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems. Our content distribution networks, located in several regions throughout China, may also be shut down or otherwise experience interruptions in a particular region. Internet access may not be available in certain areas due to natural disasters, such as earthquakes or local government decisions. If we experience technical problems in delivering our services over the internet either at national or regional level, we could experience reduced demand for our services, lower revenues and increased costs.

Our main servers are located in the internet data centers of third parties in Beijing. We do not control the operation of these third-party data center hosting facilities, which are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures and similar events. They may also be subject to break-ins, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and similar misconduct. Despite precautions taken at these facilities, the occurrence of a natural disaster or an act of terrorism, a decision to close the facilities without adequate notice or other unanticipated problems at these facilities could result in lengthy interruptions in our services. We regularly back up our data on servers of the third parties’ data centers. Even with disaster recovery arrangements, our services could still be interrupted. We have not experienced any system failures in 2019. However, we cannot guarantee that such system failures and interruptions will not happen in the future. Upon occurrence, such interruptions would reduce our revenues, require us to provide the services again, make refunds or pay penalties, shrink our customer base and adversely affect our ability to attract new customers. Our business could also be materially and adversely affected if our current and potential customers believe our services are unreliable.

Failure to ensure and protect the confidentiality of the personal data of consumers could subject us to penalties, negatively impact our reputation and deter consumers from using our platform.

In providing our services, a challenge we face is the secure collection, storage and transmission of confidential information. We hold certain private information about consumers, such as their names, addresses and contact information, as well as financial and credit information. We also need to collect private information from and provide private information to our partners, third-party service providers and other parties for the purpose of conducting the automobile transactions. We are required to collect and use the private information in accordance with PRC laws and not to disclose or use such information without consent from our consumers. Consumers also demand complete security for such confidential information, which is essential to maintaining their confidence and trust in us. We rely on a network of process and software controls to protect the confidentiality of data provided to us or stored on our systems. We also rely on contracts with our partners and third-party service providers to ensure their protection of the private information we provide to them and to ensure they have the right to provide us the private information. If we, our business partners or third-party service providers do not maintain adequate controls or fail to implement new or improved controls, such data could be misappropriated or confidentiality could otherwise be breached. If we, our business partners or third-party service providers inappropriately disclose any personal information, we could be subject to claims for identity theft or similar fraud claims or claims for other misuses of personal information, such as unauthorized marketing or unauthorized access to personal information.

Our practices may become inconsistent with new laws or regulations of the PRC and other jurisdiction concerning data protection, or the interpretation and application of existing consumer and data protection laws or regulations, which is often uncertain and in flux. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, this could result in an order requiring that we change our practices, which could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results. For example, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into effect on May 25, 2018, includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Economic Area. The GDPR establishes new requirements applicable to the processing of personal data, affords new data protection rights to individuals and imposes penalties for serious data breaches. Individuals also have a right to compensation under the GDPR for financial or non-financial losses. Although we do not conduct any business in the European Economic Area, in the event that residents of the European Economic Area access our platform and input protected information, we may become subject to provisions of the GDPR.

Confidential information in our systems may also be compromised as a result of intentional or unintentional security breach. While we strive to protect our customers’ privacy, any failure or perceived failure to do so may result in proceedings or actions against us by consumers, government entities or others, and could damage our reputation and subject us to fines and damages. In addition, such events would lead to negative publicity and cause consumers to lose their trust and confidence in us, which may result in material and adverse effects on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any breaches to our security measures, including unauthorized access, computer viruses and “hacking,” may adversely affect our database and reduce use of our services and damage our reputation and brand names.

Breaches to our security measures, including computer viruses and hacking, may result in significant damage to our hardware and software systems and database, disruptions to our business activities, inadvertent disclosure of confidential or sensitive information, interruptions in access to our websites, and other material adverse effects on our operations.

In particular, security breaches to our database could have a material and adverse effect on our business. Our SaaS platform allows our customers to edit and publish pricing and promotional information, while our transaction services facilitates financed automobile transactions via Yixin’s online platform. These websites and mobile apps store transmit such information and keep track of data on historical marketing activities. This information is proprietary and confidential. Security breaches could expose us to risks of loss of this information and possible liability. We require user names and passwords to access this data and the accounts of our customers. These security measures may be breached as a result of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, during transfer of data or at any time, and result in persons obtaining unauthorized access to our customers’ data. Additionally, third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or customers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other information in order to gain access to our or our customers’ data. Our customers may not have effective security measures and may share their user names and passwords with a group larger than necessary. If our security measures are breached and unauthorized access to ours or our customer’s data is obtained, our services may be perceived as not being secure and customers may curtail or stop using our services altogether and we may incur significant legal and financial exposure and liabilities. We may incur significant costs to protect our systems and equipment against the threat of, and to repair any damage caused by, computer viruses and “hacking.” Moreover, if a computer virus or “hacking” affects our systems and is highly publicized, our reputation and brand names could be materially damaged and use of our services may decrease.

Certain directors and executive officers own a large percentage of our shares, allowing them to exercise significant influence over matters subject to shareholder approval, which may reduce the price of our ADSs and deprive shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for the ADSs.

As of March 31, 2020, our directors and executive officers beneficially owned approximately 11.0% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, these directors and executive officers have substantial influence over the outcome of corporate actions requiring shareholders’ approval, including the removal of directors, any merger or consolidation of our company, and any significant corporate transaction that includes a winding up, reduction of share capital or alteration of memorandum and articles of association, and their interests may not align with the interests of our ADSs holders. These shareholders may also delay or prevent a change of control or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, even if such a change of control would benefit you and our other shareholders. These shareholders may cause corporate actions to be taken even if they are opposed by you and our other shareholders. This could deprive you and our other shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company. In addition, the significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our ADSs due to investors’ perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise.

We rely heavily on our senior management team and key personnel and the loss of any of their services could severely disrupt our business.

Our future success is highly dependent on the ongoing efforts of our senior management and key personnel. We rely on our management team for their extensive knowledge of and experience in China’s automotive and internet industries as well as their deep understanding of the Chinese automobile market, business environment and regulatory regime. We do not carry, and do not intend to procure, key person insurance on any of our senior management team. The loss of the services of one or more of our senior executives or key personnel, Mr. Andy Xuan Zhang in particular, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Competition for senior management and key personnel is intense, and the pool of suitable candidates is very limited, and we may not be able to retain the services of our senior executives or key personnel, or attract and retain senior executives or key personnel in the future. If we fail to retain our senior management, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if any members of our senior management or any of our key personnel join a competitor or form a competing company, we may not be able to replace them easily and we may lose customers, business partners and key staff members. Each of our senior executives and key personnel has entered into an employment agreement with us, which contains confidentiality and non-competition provisions. In the event of a dispute between any of our senior executives or key personnel and us, we cannot assure you as to the extent, if any, that these provisions may be enforceable in the PRC due to uncertainties involving the PRC legal system.

We may not be able to attract and retain highly skilled employees, provide necessary training or maintain good relationships with our employees.

Our business is supported and enhanced by a team of highly skilled employees who are critical to maintaining the quality and consistency of our services and our brand and reputation. It is important for us to attract qualified employees, including but not limited to sales executives and engineers with high levels of experience in creative design, software development and internet-related services. Competition for these employees is intense. There may be a limited supply of qualified individuals in some of the cities in China where we have operations and other cities into which we intend to expand. In order to attract prospective, and retain current, employees, we may have to increase our employee compensation by a larger scale and at a faster pace than we expect, which would increase our operating expenses. In addition, we must hire and train qualified employees in a timely manner to keep pace with our growth while maintaining consistent quality of services across our operations in various geographic locations. We must also provide continuous training to our employees so that they are equipped with up-to-date knowledge of various aspects of our operations and can meet our demand for high-quality services. If we fail to do so, the quality of our services may deteriorate in one or more of the markets where we operate, which may cause a negative perception of our brand and adversely affect our business. Finally, we may run into disputes with our employees from time to time and if we are not able to properly handle our relationship with our employees, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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

We do not have any business liability, disruption or litigation insurance, and any business disruption or litigation we experience might result in our incurring substantial costs and diversion of resources.

The insurance industry in China is still at an early stage of development. Insurance companies in China offer limited business insurance products and are, to our knowledge, not well-developed in the field of business liability insurance. While business disruption insurance is available to a limited extent in China, we have determined that the risks of disruption, cost of such insurance and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance on commercially reasonable terms make it impractical for us to have such insurance. As a result, except for property insurance and automobile insurance, we do not have any business liability, disruption or litigation insurance coverage for our operations in China. Any business disruption or litigation may result in our incurring substantial costs and diversion of resources.

Failure to protect our brand, trademarks, software copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights could have a negative impact on our business.

We believe our brand, trademarks, software copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights are critical to our success. Any unauthorized use of our brand, trademarks, software copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights could harm our competitive advantages and business. Our efforts in protecting our brand and intellectual property rights may not always be effective. We regularly file applications to register our trademarks in China, but may not be able to register such marks, or register them within the category we seek. Similar trademarks could cause confusion among consumers or divert business opportunities from us, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Historically, China has not protected intellectual property rights to the same extent as the United States, and infringement of intellectual property rights continues to pose a serious risk in doing business in China. Monitoring and preventing unauthorized use is difficult. The measures we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate. Further, the application of laws governing intellectual property rights in China is uncertain and evolving, and could involve substantial risks to us. As the right to use internet domain names’ is not rigorously regulated in China, other companies may have incorporated in their domain names elements similar in writing or pronunciation to our trademarks and domain names. Furthermore, third parties may submit intellectual property infringement claims against us to the app stores where our mobile applications are available. In such cases, our mobile applications may be taken down by the relevant app stores until such claims have been resolved, which could significantly restrict our users from downloading or updating our mobile applications, which may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Copyright infringement and other intellectual property claims against us may adversely affect our business.

We have collected and compiled on our websites, automobile-related news and reports, automobile pictures and specifications, maps, consumer reviews, and other documents and information prepared by third parties. Because some content on our websites is collected from various sources, we may be subject to claims for breach of contract, defamation, tort liability, unfair competition, copyright or trademark infringement, or claims based on other theories. We could also be subject to claims based upon the content that is displayed on our websites or accessible from our websites through links to other websites or information on our websites supplied by third parties. Any lawsuits or threatened lawsuits, in which we are involved, either as a plaintiff or as a defendant, could cost us a significant amount of time and money and distract management’s attention from operating our business. Any judgments against us in such suits, or related settlements, could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. If a lawsuit against us is successful, we may be required to pay damages or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be based upon commercially reasonable terms, or we may be unable to enter into such agreements at all. As a result, the scope of our database we offer to the consumers could be reduced, which may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers.

Acquisitions, strategic alliances and investments could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business and lower our operating results and the value of your investment.

As part of our business strategy, we regularly evaluate investments in, or acquisitions of, complementary businesses, joint ventures, services and technologies, and we expect that periodically we will continue to make such investments and acquisitions in the future. For example, in January 2015, we entered into agreements to form strategic partnership with JD.com, Inc., or JD.com, China’s leading technology driven e-commerce company and retail infrastructure service provider listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and Tencent Holdings Limited, or Tencent, a leading provider of Internet value added services in China whose shares are listed and traded on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. In February 2015, JD.com and Tencent made investments in us with a combination of US$550 million in cash and certain resources, and investments totaling US$250 million in cash in Yixin. In June 2016, each of Tencent, JD.com, and Baidu, Inc., or Baidu, invested US$50 million in us and PAG subscribed for our convertible notes in an aggregate principal amount of up to US$150 million. Between August 2016 and May 2017, Tencent, JD.com, Baidu, together with certain other investors, invested in an aggregate amount of US$464 million in cash, in Yixin. On June 13, 2018, Yixin invested in Yusheng Holdings Limited, or Yusheng, by subscribing Yusheng’s interest-free convertible notes in the principal amount of US$260 million for a consideration of provision of certain agreed cooperation to Yusheng and a cash consideration of US$21 million, and Yusheng agreed to purchase from Yixin certain fixed and intangible assets relating to the used automobile transaction business of Yusheng for an aggregate purchase price of US$21 million. In November 2019, Yixin subscribed additional convertible notes issued by Yusheng with a cash consideration of US$43 million. In recent years, we continued to make certain investments in some private companies, a majority of which are in auto and auto-related industries.

Acquisitions, alliances and investments may not generate the financial results we expect and involve numerous risks, including:

In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our existing shareholders may be diluted, which could affect the market price of our ADSs. Further, if we fail to properly evaluate and execute acquisitions or investments, our business and prospects may be seriously harmed and the value of your investment may decline.

Furthermore, we may fail to identify or secure suitable acquisition and business partnership opportunities or our competitors may capitalize on such opportunities before we do, which could impair our ability to compete with our competitors and adversely affect our growth prospects and results of operations. Moreover, we may not be able to continue to maintain our control over our existing subsidiaries. For example, we currently control Yixin, our controlled subsidiary, through a voting agreement with Tencent dated November 15, 2019. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Transactions with JD.com, Tencent and Baidu—Voting Proxy Agreement.” Prior to the termination of the voting proxy agreement, we cannot guarantee that we would be able to renew the arrangements with Tencent and continue to obtain our control over Yixin. If such circumstances occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially affected.

Government policies on automobile purchases and ownership may materially affect our results of operations.

Government policies on automobile purchases and ownership may have a material effect on our business due to their influence on consumer behaviors. Since 2009, the PRC government has repeatedly changed the purchase tax on passenger automobiles with 1.6 liter or smaller engines. For example, purchase tax for passenger automobiles with 1.6 liter or smaller engines was raised back to 10% from previous 7.5% in January 2018. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress published the Vehicle Purchase Tax Law on December 29, 2018, which took effect on July 1, 2019. Pursuant to the Vehicle Purchase Tax Law, except for certain exemptions, purchase tax for passenger automobiles should be 10%. In addition, in August 2014, several PRC government authorities jointly announced that from September 2014 to December 2017, purchases of new energy automobiles that are within certain designated catalogues will be exempted from the purchase tax. This exemption period was later extended further to December 2020 according to an announcement jointly issued by several PRC government authorities in December 2017. In April 2015, several PRC government authorities also jointly announced that from 2016 to 2020, purchasers of new energy automobiles that are within certain designated catalogues will enjoy subsidies. In December 2016 and February 2018, relevant PRC government authorities further adjusted the subsidy policy for new energy automobiles in succession. In July 2018, several PRC government authorities jointly announced that passenger automobiles with 1.6 liter or smaller engines enjoy half reduction of the vehicle and vessel tax and new energy automobiles meeting certain criteria will be exempted from the vehicle and vessel tax. The executive meeting of the State Council held on March 31, 2020 announced certain new policies to promote automobile consumption, including but not limited to, extension of the preferential period of the exemption from the purchase tax and subsidy policy for new energy automobiles for another two years after the end of 2020. We cannot predict whether government subsidies will remain in the future or whether similar incentives will be introduced, and if they are, their impact on automobile sales in China. It is possible that automobile sales may decline significantly upon expiration of the existing tax preference and government subsidies if consumers have become used to such incentives and delay purchase decisions in the absence of new incentives. If automobile sales indeed decline, our revenues may fluctuate and our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Some local government authorities also issued regulations and relevant implementation rules in order to control traffic and reduce the number of automobiles. For example, local Beijing government authorities adopted interim regulations and relevant implementing rules in December 2010 to limit the total number of license plates issued to new automobile purchases in Beijing each year. The interim regulations and the implementing rules were amended in January 2018. Local Beijing government authorities also issued regulations to limit the total number of vehicles in Beijing to no more than six million by the end of 2017 and no more than 6.3 million by the end of 2020. Local Guangzhou government authorities also announced similar regulations, which came into effect in July 2013 and was amended in June 2018. There are similar policies that restrict the issuance of new passenger car license plates in other cities, such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Guiyang and Shenzhen. In September 2013, the State Council released a plan for the prevention and remediation of air pollution, which requires large cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, to further restrict the number of motor vehicles. In February 2020, a number of PRC government authorities jointly issued an implementation opinion to stimulate consumption for larger domestic market, which, among other things, encourages cities with policies limiting number of new passenger car license plates to increase the number appropriately. Some local governments have issued new policies in this respect. For example, in March 2020, several government authorities in Zhejiang province jointly issued an opinion to encourage Hangzhou to continue to increase the number of new passenger car license plates. In particular, the number of new passenger car license plates in 2020 will be increased by 20 thousands as compared to 2019. However, it is unclear how these local government will implement these new policies as well as when and how other local governments will adjust their current policies. Such regulatory developments, as well as other uncertainties, may adversely affect the growth prospects of China’s automotive industry, which in turn may have a material adverse impact on our business due to our reliance on the performance of automakers and automobile dealers.

Product recalls in the automobile industry could harm our business and cause our revenues to decrease.

Automakers periodically recall defective products. These product recalls interrupt the normal business operation of automakers, their joint ventures and their automobile dealers in China. From time to time, our customers recall products, the scale of which varies from customer to customer. It is difficult to determine the impact product recalls might have on our business and revenues, but we expect that our revenues may decrease if Chinese consumers stop or reduce purchasing automobiles made by the recalling automakers or automakers and their automobile dealers suspend or decrease using our services. If any of our customers recall their products in the future, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the internet in China may adversely affect our business, and we may be liable for information displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our websites, mobile apps or smart mini programs.

China has enacted laws and regulations governing internet access and the distribution of information through the internet. The PRC government prohibits information that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China or the public interest, contains terrorism or extremism content, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory, from being distributed through the internet. PRC laws also prohibit the use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or the distribution of socially destabilizing content. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the revocation of licenses to provide internet content and other licenses, the closure of the concerned websites, mobile apps or smart mini programs, and reputational harm. A website operator may also be held liable for censored information displayed on or linked to its website, mobile apps or smart mini programs. In particular, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, has issued rules from time to time to enhance the website operator’s obligations to monitor the information displayed on the information platform and prevent dissemination of illegal contents. We may be subject to potential liability for certain unlawful actions of our customers and subscribers or for content we distribute that is deemed inappropriate. We may be required to delete content that violates PRC laws and report content that we suspect may violate PRC laws, which may reduce our customer base or the purchases of our services. It may be difficult to determine the type of content that may result in liability for us, and if we are found to be liable, we may be prevented from operating our business or offering other services in China.

Our expansion into the financial sector may subject us to regulatory and reputational risks, each of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We provide self-operated financing services and loan facilitation services. PRC laws and regulations concerning the finance industry, particularly those governing credit lending, are evolving, developing and subject to changes. Although we have taken careful measures to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to the financial related services that we offer, the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating the finance industry in the future. If the operation of our financing related services were deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected. We cannot assure you that our practices would not be deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations. For example, Dalian Rongxin, a subsidiary of ours in China that provides financing guarantee services, is currently in the process of applying for an approval from its competent PRC government authority in connection with an increase of its registered capital. We are not certain when and whether Dalian Rongxin will be able to obtain such approval and a renewed financing guarantee business operating license reflecting such capital increase. If we fail to obtain such approval or complete the relevant governmental procedures for the capital increase, the business volume of Dalian Rongxin will be limited. Moreover, developments in the finance industry may lead to changes in PRC laws, regulations and policies or in the interpretation and application of existing laws, regulations and policies that may limit or restrict consumer financing or related services like those we offer, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operations. Furthermore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the PRC government will institute a new licensing regime covering services we provide at some point in the future. If such a licensing regime were introduced, we cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain any newly required license in a timely manner, or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

Furthermore, negative publicity about us or our financing partners, such as negative publicity about delinquent account collection practices and any failure by us or those partners to adequately protect the information of borrowers, to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to otherwise meet required quality and service standards could harm our reputation. Furthermore, any negative development in the industry, such as bankruptcies or failures of companies providing similar services, or negative perception of the industry as a whole, could compromise our image, undermine the trust and credibility we have established and impose a negative impact on our business and results of operations.

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

In August 2017, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Financing Guarantee Companies, or the Financing Guarantee Rules which became effective on October 1, 2017. Pursuant to the Financing Guarantee Rules, “financing guarantee” refers to the activities in which guarantors provide guarantee to the guaranteed parties as to loans, bonds or other types of debt financing, and “financing guarantee companies” refer to companies legally established and operating financing guarantee business. According to the Financing Guarantee Rules, the establishment of financing guarantee companies are subject to the approval in the form of an operating license by the relevant government authority, and unless otherwise stipulated, no entity may operate financing guarantee business without such approval. If any entity violates these regulations and operates financing guarantee business without approval, the entity may be subject to penalties including ban or suspension of business, fines of RMB500,000 to RMB1,000,000, confiscation of illegal gains if any, and criminal liability if the violation constitutes a criminal offense. On October 9, 2019, several PRC government authorities jointly issued the Supplementary Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Financing Guarantee Companies, or the Supplementary Provisions on Financing Guarantee Rules, which further emphasize that auto dealers, auto sales service providers and other institutions that provide services such as customer referrals and credit evaluations for lending institutions shall not engage in guarantee business without an operating license for financing guarantee institutions, and shall properly settle the existing financing guarantee business provided by them. As of the date of this annual report, there had not been specific implementation guidance on the Supplementary Provisions on Financing Guarantee Rules, or guidance on how the stock financing guarantee business shall be settled. Uncertainties exist as to how the Supplementary Provisions on Financing Guarantee Rules will be implemented and affect our business.

In connection with the loan facilitation services we provide, we are obligated to purchase the relevant loans upon certain specified events of default by customers. After the promulgation of Supplementary Provisions on Financing Guarantee Rules, Yixin has ceased to enter into new cooperation agreements under which Yixin may be required to provide risk assurance for the loans it facilitated thereunder. Yixin has acquired Guangzhou Shengda Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. a licensed financing guarantee company, and plans to set up, acquire and/or cooperate with other financing guarantee companies with operating licenses to meet potentially increasing demand of guarantee services by its loan facilitation business. In the meantime, Yixin is actively seeking to cooperate with third-party insurance companies or re-guarantee companies to let them provide insurance or re-guarantee in connection with our loan facilitation services. Yixin has not provided any guarantee independently as its principal business. However, Yixin may continue to fulfill its obligation to purchase default loans under its existing cooperation contracts with loan facilitation partners as required. Due to the lack of further interpretations, it is uncertain whether Yixin’s existing arrangements with certain financial institutions would be terminated by the government authority and be subject to penalties. If the relevant regulatory authorities determine that Yixin is operating financing guarantee business, Yixin may be subject to penalties, including fines, confiscation of illegal gains and suspension of illegal business, which will negatively affect our business and results of operations. If Yixin could no longer provide risk assurance under the regulatory regime, we will further leverage Dalian Rongxin or other financing guarantee companies Yixin sets up, acquires or cooperates with to provide guarantee for the loans facilitated by us through Yixin. However, as uncertainties remain with regard to when and whether Dalian Rongxin will be able to renew its license as well as Yixin’s plan to set up, acquire and/or cooperate with other financing guarantee companies, we cannot guarantee that the loan facilitation services we provide through Yixin will not be interrupted during the transition period, the occurrence of which will materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Any financial or economic crisis, or perceived threat of such a crisis, including a significant decrease in consumer confidence, may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any actual or perceived threat of a severe economic downturn in China could have a material and adverse impact on our business and results of operations. In particular, COVID-19 had a severe and negative impact on the Chinese and the global economy in the first quarter of 2020. Whether this will lead to a prolonged downturn in the economy is still unknown. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the global macroeconomic environment was facing numerous challenges. The growth rate of the Chinese economy had already been slowing since 2010. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies which had been adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China, even before 2020. Any prolonged slowdown in China’s economic development might lead to tighter credit markets, increased market volatility, sudden drops in business and consumer confidence and dramatic changes in business and consumer behaviors. In response to their perceived uncertainty in economic conditions, consumers might delay, reduce or cancel purchases of automobiles, which to some extent are considered as luxury items by many people in China, and our customers may also defer, reduce or cancel purchasing our services. To the extent any fluctuations in the Chinese economy significantly affect automakers’ and automobile dealers’ demand for our services or change their spending habits, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, an economic downturn may reduce the number of automakers and automobile dealers in China and decrease the demand for our services. We depend on automakers and automobile dealers for business, and negative economic trends could lead to consolidations among automakers and automobile dealers, and in effect shrink our customer base. Production lines might be contracted or shut down. A reduction in the number of automakers and automobile dealers would reduce the number of opportunities we have to sell our products and services. To the extent that the automakers and automobile dealers have used our products or services, consolidations may result in purchase cancellation of those product or service offerings. Any decrease in demand for our products and services could materially and adversely affect our ability to generate revenues, which in turn could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, with respect to our financing and loan facilitation services provided through Yixin, a significant general economic downturn may increase our or our financing partners’ credit risk exposure if the financial positions of the car buyers are severely and adversely affected. Although most of the financial leases via our platform are secured by the automobiles, foreclosures may be costly and time consuming and if those automobiles lose values dramatically, we may not be able to recover the full loan amount by foreclosures.

Any catastrophe, including outbreaks of health pandemics and other extraordinary events, could severely disrupt our business operations.

In addition to the impact of COVID-19, our operations are vulnerable to interruption and damage from natural and other types of catastrophes, including earthquakes, fire, floods, hail, windstorms, severe winter weather (including snow, freezing water, ice storms and blizzards), environmental accidents, power loss, communications failures, explosions, man-made events such as terrorist attacks, and similar events. Due to their nature, we cannot predict the incidence, timing and severity of catastrophes. In addition, changing climate conditions, primarily rising global temperatures, may be increasing, or may in the future increase, the frequency and severity of natural catastrophes. If any such catastrophe or extraordinary event were to occur in the future, our ability to operate our business could be seriously impaired. Such events could make it difficult or impossible for us to deliver our services to our customers and could decrease demand for our services. Although we are headquartered in Beijing, as of December 31, 2019, our sales and service representatives network covered approximately 200 cities throughout China, exposing us to potential catastrophes of all types in a broad geographic area in China. Because our property insurance only covers property damages caused by a limited number of numerated natural disasters and accidents and significant time could be required to resume our operations, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected in the event of any major catastrophic event.

In addition, our business could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of epidemics, such as influenza A (H1N1), avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, H7N9 or other pandemics. It is unclear how the virus will spread, which makes it difficult to predict its potential impact. Any occurrence of these pandemic diseases or other adverse public health developments in China could severely disrupt our staffing and otherwise reduce the activity levels of our work force, causing a material and adverse effect on our business operations.

Proceedings instituted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, against certain PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

Starting in 2011, the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between U.S. and Chinese law. Specifically, for certain U.S.-listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, sought to obtain from the Chinese firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. The firms were, however, advised and directed that under Chinese law, they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and that requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC.

In December 2012, the SEC instituted proceedings under Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against five Chinese-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’ work papers related to their audits of certain China-based companies that are publicly traded in the U.S. Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) grants the SEC the authority to deny to any person, temporarily or permanently, the ability to practice before the SEC who is found by the SEC, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to have willfully violated any such laws or rules and regulations. On January 22, 2014, an initial administrative law decision was issued, censuring these accounting firms and suspending four of the five firms from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. Four of these China-based accounting firms appealed to the SEC against this decision and, on February 6, 2015, each of the four China-based accounting firms 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. The firms’ ability to continue to serve all their respective customers is not affected by the settlement. The settlement requires the firms to follow detailed procedures to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms’ audit documents via the China Securities Regulatory Commission. If the firms do not follow these procedures, the SEC could impose penalties such as suspensions, or it could restart the administrative proceedings. The settlement did not require the firms to admit to any violation of law and preserves the firms’ legal defenses in the event the administrative proceeding is restarted. Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four PRC-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice four years after entry of the settlement. The four-year mark occurred on February 6, 2019.

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

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

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

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in our annual report filed with the SEC as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditors are located in the Peoples’ Republic of China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB. On December 7, 2018, the SEC and the PCAOB issued a joint statement highlighting continued challenges faced by the U.S. regulators in their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China. The joint statement reflects a heightened interest in an issue that has vexed U.S. regulators in recent years. On April 21, 2020, the SEC and the PCAOB issued another joint statement reiterating the greater risk that disclosures will be insufficient in many emerging markets, including China, compared to those made by U.S. domestic companies. In discussing the specific issues related to the greater risk, the statement again highlights the PCAOB's inability to inspect audit work paper and practices of accounting firms in China, with respect to their audit work of U.S. reporting companies. However, it remains unclear what further actions the SEC and PCAOB will take to address the problem.

Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor’s audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements. 

As part of a continued regulatory focus in the United States on access to audit and other information currently protected by national law, in particular China’s, in June 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills in both houses of the U.S. Congress, which if passed, would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. The proposed Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act prescribes increased disclosure requirements for these issuers and, beginning in 2025, the delisting from U.S. national securities exchanges such as the Nasdaq of issuers included on the SEC’s list for three consecutive years. Enactment of this legislation or other efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information could cause investor uncertainty for affected issuers, including us, and the market price of the ADSs could be adversely affected. It is unclear if this proposed legislation would be enacted. Furthermore, there has been recent media reports on deliberations within the U.S. government regarding potentially limiting or restricting China-based companies from accessing U.S. capital markets. If any such deliberations were to materialize, the resulting legislation may have material and adverse impact on the stock performance of China-based issuers listed in the United States.

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 applicable PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in internet content and marketing services, 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.

PRC law currently limits foreign ownership of companies that provide internet content services in China up to 50%. Foreign and wholly foreign-owned enterprises are currently restricted from providing other internet information services, such as internet advertising, financing, culture, publishing and audio-video program services. Our wholly foreign-owned PRC subsidiaries are currently not eligible to apply for the required licenses for providing internet content services in China.

As such, we conduct part of our material business through our variable interest entities in China, including, among others, Beijing Bitauto Information Technology Company Limited, or BBIT, and Beijing Yixin Information Technology Company Limited, or Beijing Yixin. Our variable interest entities are currently owned by shareholders who are PRC citizens or PRC entities and the relevant variable interest entities hold the requisite licenses or permits to provide internet content or advertising services in China. Shareholders of our variable interest entities are set forth in “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.” Our variable interest entities entered into a series of contractual arrangements with our subsidiaries but directly operate our businesses in China. We have been and are expected to continue to depend on variable interest entities to operate our businesses. We do not have any equity ownership interest in any of the variable interest entities but control their operations and receive the economic benefits through a series of contractual arrangements. For more information regarding these contractual arrangements, see “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements with our PRC Variable Interest Entities and Their Shareholders.”

Furthermore, on July 26, 2006, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, released the Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in Operating Value-added Telecommunications Business, or the MIIT Notice, which reiterates certain provisions under China’s Administrative Rules on Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises. Among other things, the MIIT Notice prohibits domestic telecommunications license holders from (i) renting, transferring or selling telecommunications licenses to any foreign investors in any form and (ii) providing any assistance, including providing resources, sites or facilities, to foreign investors that conduct value-added telecommunications business illegally in China. Under the MIIT Notice, holders of valued-added telecommunications business operating licenses, or their shareholders, must directly own the domain names and registered trademarks used by such license holders in their daily operations. BBIT’s internet information services are considered value-added telecommunication services set forth in the MIIT Notice and BBIT owns an ICP license, for its provision of internet information service and all the trademarks used for its internet information services on its websites. Since there is currently no official interpretation or implementation practice under the MIIT Notice, it remains uncertain how the MIIT Notice will be enforced and whether or to what extent the MIIT Notice may affect the legality of the corporate structures and contractual arrangements adopted by foreign-invested internet companies that operate in China.

There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, rules and regulations, including but not limited to the laws, rules and regulations governing the validity and enforcement of our contractual arrangements with variable interest entities. We have been advised by our PRC counsel that each of such contractual agreements for operating our business in China (including our corporate structure and contractual arrangements with the variable interest entities), except as otherwise disclosed in this report, does not violate, breach, contravene or otherwise conflict with any applicable PRC laws, rules or regulations. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC regulatory authorities will not adopt any new regulation to restrict or prohibit foreign investment in value-added telecommunications business through contractual arrangement in the future, or will not determine that our corporate structure and contractual arrangements violate PRC laws, rules or regulations.

If we, any of the variable interest entities or any of their current or future subsidiaries are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the State Administration for Market Regulation, or the SAMR, and the Ministry of Commerce, which regulates foreign investment , the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which regulates internet information services companies, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which regulates internet culture services companies, the National Radio and Television Administration, which regulates internet audio and video program services companies, the National News and Publication Bureau, which regulates internet publishing companies, and the CSRC, which regulates listed companies, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

The imposition of any of these penalties would result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business, and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on contractual arrangements with our variable interest entities in China, and their shareholders, for our business operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control or enabling us to derive economic benefits as through ownership of controlling equity interest.

We rely on and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with our variable interest entities in China and their respective shareholders to operate our internet content and advertising services business. Our variable interest entities contributed 50.5%, 38.9% and 35.7% of our total revenues in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries such as Beijing Bitauto Internet Information Company Limited, or BBII, and Tianjin Kars Information Technology Company Limited, or Tianjin Kars, follow the commonly used methodology, which is to charge service fees based on each variable interest entity’s revenues reduced by its cost of revenues, operating expenses and an appropriate amount of retained profit that is determined pursuant to tax planning strategies and relevant tax laws.

Although we have been advised by our PRC counsel that, each of the contractual arrangements with our variable interest entities are valid under current PRC laws, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with control over the variable interest entities as ownership of controlling equity interests would be in providing us with control over, or enabling us to derive economic benefits from the operations of, the variable interest entities. If we had direct ownership of the variable interest entities, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to (i) effect changes in the board of directors of those entities, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level, and (ii) derive economic benefits from the operations of the variable interest entities by causing them to declare and pay dividends. However, under the current contractual arrangements, as a legal matter, if any of the variable interest entities or any of their shareholders fails to perform its, his or her respective obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and resources to enforce such arrangements, and rely on legal remedies available under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective. For example, if shareholders of a variable interest entity were to refuse to transfer their equity interests in such variable interest entity to us or our designated persons when we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, we may have to take a legal action to compel them to fulfill their contractual obligations.

If (i) the applicable PRC authorities invalidate these contractual arrangements for violation of PRC laws, rules and regulations, (ii) any variable interest entity or its shareholders terminate the contractual arrangements or (iii) any variable interest entity or its shareholders fail to perform their obligations under these contractual arrangements, our business operations in China would be materially and adversely affected, and the value of your ADSs would substantially decrease. Further, if we fail to renew these contractual arrangements upon their expiration, we would not be able to continue our business operations unless the then-current PRC law allows us to directly operate internet content and advertising businesses in China.

In addition, if any variable interest entity or all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of the variable interest entities 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, our ability to generate revenues and the market price of your ADSs.

All of these contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our operating entities and we may be precluded from operating our business, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Based on the advice of Han Kun Law Offices, our PRC counsel, the corporate structure of our variable interest entities and our subsidiaries in the PRC are in compliance with all existing PRC laws and regulations. However, as advised by our PRC counsel, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws and regulations, and the PRC government may in the future take a view that is contrary to the above opinion of our PRC counsel. PRC laws and regulations governing the validity of these contractual arrangements which established our corporate structure for operating our business in China are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations.

Our ability to enforce the share pledge agreements between us and the variable interest entities’ shareholders may be subject to limitations based on PRC laws and regulations.

Pursuant to the share pledge agreements, the shareholders of variable interest entities agreed to pledge all of their equity interests in variable interest entities to the relevant PRC subsidiaries to secure variable interest entities’ performance of their obligations under the relevant contractual arrangements. The share pledge as contemplated under the share pledge agreements by and among our PRC subsidiaries, variable interest entities and each of their respective shareholders have been registered with the relevant local branch of the SAMR

The share pledge agreements provide that the pledged equity interest shall constitute security for all of the payment obligations of the variable interest entities under the exclusive business cooperation agreement. However, it is possible that a PRC court or an arbitration commission may take the position that the amount indicated on the equity pledge registration forms filed with the local branch of the SAMR represents the full debt amount that the pledge secures. If this is the case, the obligations that are supposed to be secured in these pledge agreements in excess of the amount listed on the equity pledge registration forms could be determined by the PRC court as unsecured debt.

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

Conflicts of interest may arise between the dual roles of those individuals who are both minority shareholders, directors and executive officers of our company and shareholders of our variable interest entities. For example, Mr. Bin Li, our chairman of the board of directors, is also the shareholder of some of our variable interest entities. For these directors and executive officers, their fiduciary duties toward our company under Cayman Islands law—to act honestly, in good faith and with a view to our best interests—may conflict with their roles in our variable interest entities, as what is in the best interest of our variable interest entities may not be in the best interests of our company. The fiduciary duty implied from their roles as our directors and executive officers is not fully aligned with their interests as shareholders of our variable interest entities. These individuals may breach or cause the variable interest entities that they beneficially own to breach or refuse to renew the existing contractual arrangements, which will have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control the variable interest entities and receive economic benefits from them. We do not have existing arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest these individuals may encounter in his capacity as a shareholder of the variable interest entities, on the one hand, and as a beneficial owner and a director and an officer of our company, on the other hand. We could, at all times, exercise our option under the exclusive option agreement with variable interest entities’ shareholders to cause them to transfer all of their equity ownership in variable interest entities to a PRC entity or individual designated by us, and this new shareholder of variable interest entities could then appoint new directors of variable interest entities to replace the current directors. In addition, if such conflicts of interest arise, BBII, our wholly foreign-owned PRC subsidiary, could also, in the capacity of the attorney-in-fact of variable interest entities’ shareholders as provided under the irrevocable power of attorney, directly appoint new directors of variable interest entities to replace the current directors. We rely on variable interest entities’ shareholders to comply with the laws of China, which protect contracts and provide that directors and executive officers owe a duty of loyalty to our company and require them to avoid conflicts of interest and not to take advantage of their positions for personal gains. Although our independent directors or disinterested officers may take measures to prevent the parties with dual roles from making decisions that may favor themselves as shareholders of the variable interest entities, we cannot assure you that these measures would be effective in all instances and when conflicts arise, these individuals will act in the best interests of our company or that conflicts will be resolved in our favor. The legal frameworks of China and the Cayman Islands do not provide guidance on resolving conflicts in the event of a conflict with another corporate governance regime. If we cannot resolve any conflicts of interest or disputes between us and those individuals, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which may materially disrupt our business. There is also substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

Contractual arrangements with the variable interest entities may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and may result in a finding that we and the variable interest entities owe additional taxes or are ineligible for tax exemption, or both, which could substantially increase our taxes owed and thereby reduce our net income.

As a result of our corporate structure and the contractual arrangements between us and our PRC variable interest entities, we are effectively subject to value-added tax and enterprise income tax on revenues derived from our contractual arrangements with our PRC variable interest entities. Under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audits or challenges by the PRC tax authorities. We are not able to determine whether any of our transactions with our variable interest entities and their respective shareholders will be regarded by the PRC tax authorities as arm’s-length transactions. The relevant tax authorities may perform investigations to determine whether our contractual relationships with our variable interest entities and their respective shareholders were entered into on an arm’s-length basis. If any of the transactions we have entered into among our wholly-owned subsidiaries in China and any of the variable interest entities and their respective shareholders are determined by the PRC tax authorities not to be on an arm’s-length basis, or are found to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, the PRC tax authorities may conduct transfer pricing adjustments and adjust the profits and losses of such variable interest entities and assess more taxes on it. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment interest and other penalties on such variable interest entities for underpayment taxes. Our results of operations may be adversely and materially affected if the tax liabilities of any of the variable interest entities increase or if it is found to be subject to late payment interests or other penalties.

We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities.

We are subject to enterprise income tax, value-added tax, and other taxes in each province and city in China where we have operations. Our tax structure is subject to review by various local tax authorities. The determination of our provision for income tax and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate decisions by the relevant tax authorities may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made.

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

We are a holding company, and we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries in China, for our cash requirements, including the funds necessary to service any debt we may incur. If our subsidiaries incur debt in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their abilities to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may adjust our taxable income under the contractual arrangements our subsidiaries currently have in place with the variable interest entities in a manner that would materially and adversely affect the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends and other distributions to us. Further, relevant PRC laws, rules and regulations permit payments of dividends by our subsidiaries only out of their retained earnings, if any, determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations of China. Under PRC laws, rules and regulations, each of our subsidiaries in China is also required to set aside 10% of after-tax income to fund a statutory reserve fund each year prior to payment of dividends until the cumulative fund reaches 50% of such subsidiary’s registered capital. Therefore, our subsidiaries’ ability is limited in terms of transferring a portion of their net assets to us whether in the form of dividends, loans or advances. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

If our PRC subsidiaries or variable interest entities become the subject of a bankruptcy or liquidation proceeding, we may lose the ability to use and enjoy substantially all of our assets, which could reduce the size of our operations and materially and adversely affect our business, ability to generate revenues and the market price of our ADSs.

As part of the contractual arrangements with the variable interest entities, their shareholders and our subsidiaries, the variable interest entities and their subsidiaries hold operating permits and licenses and substantially all of the assets that are important to the operation of our business. We expect to continue to be dependent on our variable interest entities and their subsidiaries to operate our business in China. If our variable interest entities go bankrupt and all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If our variable interest entities undergo a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, their equity holders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which would materially and adversely affect our business, our ability to generate revenues and the market price of our ADSs.

Uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the new PRC Foreign Investment Law and its Implementation Regulations and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

On January 1, 2020, the Foreign Investment Law and the Regulations for Implementation of the Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Implementation Regulations, came into effect and replace the trio of prior 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 Foreign Investment Law and the Implementation Regulations embody 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. However, since they are relatively new, uncertainties still exist in relation to their interpretation and implementation. For instance, under the Foreign Investment Law, “foreign investment” refers to the investment activities directly or indirectly conducted by foreign individuals, enterprises or other entities in China. Though it does not explicitly classify contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, there is no assurance that foreign investment via contractual arrangement would not be interpreted as a type of indirect foreign investment activities under the definition in the future. In addition, the definition contains a catch-all provision which includes investments made by foreign investors through means stipulated in laws or administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council. Therefore, it still leaves leeway for future laws, administrative regulations or provisions promulgated by the Stale Council to provide for contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment. On December 26, 2019, the Supreme People’s Court issued the Interpretations on Certain Issues Regarding the Applicable of Foreign Investment Law, or the FIL Interpretations, which came into effect on January 1, 2020. In accordance with the FIL Interpretations, where a party concerned claims an investment agreement to be invalid on the basis the investment is in prohibited or restricted industries under the negative list and violates the restrictions set out therein, the courts should support such claim. In any of these cases, it is uncertain whether our contractual arrangements will be deemed to be in violation of the market access requirements for foreign investment under the PRC laws and regulations and will be held invalid by the courts. The “variable interest entity” 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 “—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” and “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.”

Furthermore, if future laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council mandate further actions to be taken by companies with respect to existing contractual arrangements, we may face substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete such actions in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to take timely and appropriate measures to cope with any of these or similar regulatory compliance challenges could materially and adversely affect our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

A severe or prolonged downturn in the PRC or global economy could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

COVID-19 had a severe and negative impact on the Chinese and the global economy in the first quarter of 2020. Whether this will lead to a prolonged downturn in the economy is still unknown. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the global macroeconomic environment was facing numerous challenges. The growth rate of the Chinese economy had already been slowing since 2010, and China's GDP has experienced its first contraction in decades in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies which had been adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China, even before 2020. Unrest, terrorist threats and the potential for war in the Middle East and elsewhere may increase market volatility across the globe. There have also been concerns about the relationship between China and other countries, including the surrounding Asian countries, which may potentially have economic effects. In particular, there is significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and China with respect to trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, as well as changes in domestic economic and political policies and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate in China. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or Chinese economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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

Since our business operations are conducted in China, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are affected significantly by economic, political and legal developments in China. Because our business is closely related to the automotive and financial services industries and the internet marketing industry, both of which are highly sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending levels, our business tends to decline during general economic downturns.

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

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. The growth rate of the Chinese economy has gradually slowed since 2010, and the impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese economy in 2020 is likely to be severe. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce the demand for our products and services and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We may be required to obtain an internet news releasing service license and be subject to fines and/or suspension of business operations if any of the internet news posted on our websites is deemed to be political in nature, relate to macro-economics, or otherwise would require an internet news releasing service license.

In May 2017, the CAC issued the Provisions for the Administration of Internet News Information Services, or Internet News Provision, and its implementing rules, which became effective on June 1, 2017. Internet news information services refers to editing, publishing and reprinting and the dissemination platform service of internet news through internet websites, mobile apps, forums, blogs, micro-blogs, official accounts, instant message tools, live-streaming and other similar means. Under the Internet News Provision and its implementing rules, if an entity intends to provide internet news information services, it is required to obtain an internet news information service license, and no internet news service providers may take the form of a foreign-invested enterprise, whether a joint venture or a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, and no cooperation between internet news service providers and foreign-invested enterprises is allowed prior to the security evaluation by the CAC,. The CAC, shall be in charge of the supervision and administration of the internet news information services throughout China. The counterparts of the CAC, at the province level shall take charge of the supervision and administration of the internet news information services within their own jurisdiction.

As an internet content provider, we release information related to the automotive industry to internet users. In the event that such activities are deemed to be internet news information services, we will be required to obtain an internet news information service license. However, we have consulted the relevant government authorities and have been informed that according to their understanding, we would not be required to obtain the internet news information license because we only post industry-related information, such as introduction or evaluation of automobile products. However, if any of the internet information posted on our websites is deemed by the government require such license, we would need to apply for such license. If we are deemed to be in breach of the Internet News Provision or other relevant internet news information regulations, the PRC regulatory authorities may suspend relevant activities and impose a fine exceeding RMB10,000 but not more than RMB30,000.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could limit the protection available to you and us.

We conduct our business primarily through our significant subsidiaries and variable interest entities in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike in the common law system, prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. We conduct all of our business through our subsidiaries and variable interest entities established in China. However, since the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to us. For example, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce the legal protection that we enjoy either by law or contract. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all, which may have a retroactive effect.

Any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources and management attention. It may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of Chinese administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy in China than in more developed legal systems because PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms. Such uncertainties may impede our ability to enforce the contracts we have entered into with our business partners, customers and suppliers. Furthermore, intellectual property rights and confidentiality protections in China may not be as effective as in the United States or other countries. We cannot predict the effect of future developments in the PRC legal system, including the promulgation of new laws, changes to existing laws or the interpretation or enforcement thereof, or the preemption of local regulations by national laws. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to us.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may increase our administrative burden and restrict our overseas and cross-border investment activity. If our shareholders fail to make any required applications and filings under such regulations, we may be unable to distribute profits and may become subject to liability under PRC laws.

The State Administration for Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, has promulgated several regulations that require PRC residents, including PRC individuals and PRC corporate entities, to register with and obtain approval from 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, or offshore special purpose vehicle, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic companies or offshore assets or interests. These regulations apply to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may apply to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future.

Under the currently applicable foreign exchange regulations, PRC resident shareholders must amend and update their foreign exchange registrations with the local branches of SAFE when their offshore special purpose vehicles undergo material events or changes with respect to the basic information, such as changes to the name, the operation term or the identity of PRC resident shareholders, or increases or decreases in the investment amount, share transfers or exchanges, or mergers or divisions. In July 2014, SAFE promulgated Circular 37, pursuant to which, a PRC resident shareholder is only required to register the offshore special purpose vehicle that such shareholder directly owns the equity interests in, or the First Level SPVs. However, it is uncertain whether the PRC resident shareholders are required to amend the registrations if their offshore special purpose vehicles controlled by the First Level SPV undergo material events or changes. It is also uncertain whether Circular 37 would be retrospectively applicable to the transactions where the RPC resident shareholders should amend the relevant registrations in accordance with other foreign exchange regulations. If any PRC resident shareholder fails to make the required registration or update the previously filed registration, the PRC subsidiary of that offshore special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from distributing its profits and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to its offshore parent company, and the offshore parent company may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

We have requested PRC resident shareholders who we know hold direct or indirect interest in our company to make the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required under Circular 37 and other related rules. However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents holding direct or indirect interest in our company, and we cannot provide any assurance that these PRC residents will comply with our request to make or obtain any applicable registrations or comply with other requirements under Circular 37 or other related rules. The failure or inability of our PRC resident shareholders to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, limit the ability of our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China to distribute dividends and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into these subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for circumventing applicable foreign exchange restrictions. As a result, our business operations and our ability to distribute profits to you could be materially and adversely affected. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview —Regulation—Regulations on Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by PRC Residents.”

Furthermore, as the interpretation and implementation of these foreign exchange regulations has been constantly evolving and may be uncertain under certain circumstances, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations.

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

Under the PRC law, Renminbi is freely convertible to foreign currencies with respect to “current account” transactions, but not with respect to “capital account” transactions. We receive all our revenues in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, our income is primarily derived from dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy their foreign currency-denominated obligations. Approval or registration from SAFE or its local branch is required where Renminbi 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. Dividend payments are current account transactions, which can be made in foreign currencies by complying with certain procedural requirements but do not require prior approval from SAFE. The PRC government may also exercise its discretion to restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.

Fluctuations in exchange rates of the Renminbi could materially affect our reported results of operations.

The conversion of Renminbi into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. The value of Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. We cannot assure you that Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future.

Significant revaluation of the RMB may have a material and adverse effect on your investment. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars 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, repaying our U.S. dollar denominated notes or other payment obligations 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. In addition, appreciation or depreciation in the value of the RMB relative to U.S. dollars would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms regardless of any underlying change in our business or results of operations.

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

PRC rules on mergers and acquisitions may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC, promulgated the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009. Among other things, the M&A Rules and other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. For example, the approval of the Ministry of Commerce must be obtained under circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire domestic companies affiliated with PRC enterprises or residents. After the PRC Foreign Investment Law and its Implementation Regulations became effective on January 1, 2020, the provisions of the M&A Rules remain effective to the extent they are not inconsistent with the PRC Foreign Investment Law and its Implementation Regulations. In addition, national security review rules issued by the PRC governmental authorities in 2011 require acquisitions by foreign investors of domestic companies engaged in military-related or certain other industries that are crucial to national security to be subject to prior security review. These rules also prohibit any transactions attempting to bypass such security review, including by controlling entities through contractual arrangements. We believe that our business is not in an industry related to national security. However, we cannot preclude the possibility that the Ministry of Commerce or other government agencies may publish interpretations contrary to our understanding or broaden the scope of such security review in the future. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the SAMR shall be notified in advance of any concentration of undertakings, occurring inside or outside China, if certain thresholds are triggered. Although we have no current plans to make any acquisitions, we may elect to grow our business in the future in part by directly acquiring complementary businesses in China. Complying with the requirements of these regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the Ministry of Commerce or the SAMR, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions.

PRC regulations on loans and direct investments by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from making loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC entities.

As an offshore holding company of our PRC subsidiaries, we may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and variable interest entities, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries. Such loans to our subsidiaries or variable interest entities in China and capital contributions are subject to PRC regulations and approvals. For example, loans by us to our subsidiaries or variable interest entities in China cannot exceed a statutory upper limit and must be filed with SAFE, or its local branch through the online filing system of SAFE after the loan agreement is signed and at least three business days prior to the borrower withdraws any amount from the foreign loan. In addition, such loans with a term of more than one year are also subject to filings with the National Development and Reform Commission and/or its local branches. If we finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions, such PRC subsidiaries are required to apply for registrations with SAMR or its local branches, submit a report of change to the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart through the online enterprise registration system, and complete the exchange registration with qualified banks. In addition, the PRC government also restricts the convertibility of foreign currencies into Renminbi and use of the proceeds. On March 30, 2015, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Administration Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, which took effect and from June 1, 2015. Although Circular 19 allows for the use of RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital for equity investments in the PRC, the restrictions will continue to apply as to foreign-invested enterprises’ use of the converted RMB for purposes beyond the business scope, for provision of inter-company Renminbi loans to non-associated enterprises. On October 23, 2019, the SAFE issued the Circular on Further Promoting Cross-border Trade and Investment Facilitation, or Circular 28, which expressly allows foreign-invested enterprises that do not have equity investments in their approved business scope to use their capital obtained from foreign exchange settlement to make domestic equity investments as long as the investments are real and in compliance with the foreign investment-related laws and regulations. Violations of the applicable circulars and rules may result in severe penalties, including substantial fines as set forth in the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations. If our variable interest entities require financial support from us or our wholly owned subsidiaries in the future and we find it necessary to use foreign currency-denominated capital to provide such financial support, our ability to fund our variable interest entities’ operations will be subject to statutory limits and restrictions, including those described above.

The applicable foreign exchange circulars and rules may significantly limit our ability to convert, transfer and use the net proceeds from any offering of additional equity securities in China, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or filings on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries or with respect to future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or filings, our ability to contribute additional capital to fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely and materially affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Increases in labor costs and enforcement of stricter labor laws and regulations in the PRC may adversely affect our business and our profitability.

China’s overall economy and the average wage in China have increased in recent years and are expected to continue to grow. The average wage level for our employees has also increased in recent years. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to pass on these increased labor costs to the product providers or corporate borrowers who pay for our services, our profitability and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, we have been subject to stricter regulatory requirements in terms of entering labor contracts with our employees and paying various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and childbearing insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. Pursuant to the PRC Labor Contract Law, or the Labor Contract law, that became effective in January 1, 2008, as amended on December 28, 2012 and effective as of July 1, 2013, and its implementation rules that became effective in September 2008, employers are subject to stricter requirements in terms of signing labor contracts, minimum wages, paying remuneration, determining the term of employees’ probation and unilaterally terminating labor contracts. In the event that we decide to terminate some of our employees or otherwise change our employment or labor practices, the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules may limit our ability to effect those changes in a desirable or cost-effective manner, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

On October 28, 2010, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the PRC Social Insurance Law, or the Social Insurance Law, which became effective on July 1, 2011 and was amended on December 29, 2018. According to the 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.

As the interpretation and implementation of labor-related laws and regulations are still evolving, we cannot assure you that our employment practice do not and will not violate labor-related laws and regulations in China, which may subject us to labor disputes or government investigations. If we are deemed to have violated relevant labor laws and regulations, we could be required to provide additional compensation to our employees and our business, financial condition and results will be adversely affected.

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

The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, classifies enterprises as resident enterprises and non-resident enterprises. The EIT Law provides that an income tax rate of 20% may be applicable to dividends payable to non-resident investors, which (i) do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC or (ii) have an establishment or place of business in the PRC but the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. The State Council of the PRC reduced such rate to 10% through the implementation regulations of the EIT Law. Further, pursuant to the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement between Hong Kong and Mainland China issued on August 21, 2006, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, and the Notice on Certain Issues with Respect to the Enforcement of Dividend Provisions in Tax Treaties issued on February 20, 2009, or the Notice No. 81, by the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns more than 25% of the equity interest in a company in China at all times during the 12-month period immediately prior to obtaining a dividend from such company, the 10% withholding tax on dividends is reduced to 5% provided certain other conditions and requirements under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement and other applicable PRC laws are satisfied at the discretion of relevant PRC tax authority. We are a Cayman Islands holding company and we have subsidiaries in Hong Kong which in turn hold controlling equity interest of our PRC subsidiaries. Substantially all of our income may be derived from dividends we receive from BBII and our other PRC subsidiaries. If we and our Hong Kong subsidiary are considered as non-resident enterprises and our Hong Kong subsidiary is considered as a Hong Kong resident enterprise under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement and is determined by the competent PRC tax authority to have satisfied relevant conditions and requirements, then the dividends paid to our Hong Kong subsidiaries by BBII and our other PRC subsidiaries may be subject to the reduced income tax rate of 5% under the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement. However, based on the Notice No. 81, if the relevant PRC tax authorities determine, in their discretion, that a company benefits from such reduced income tax rate due to a structure or arrangement that is primarily tax-driven, such PRC tax authorities may adjust the preferential tax treatment; and based on the Notice on Issues concerning Beneficial Owner in Tax Treaties, or Circular 9, issued on February 3, 2018 by the SAT, which became effective from April 1, 2018, when determining the applicant’s status of the “beneficial owner” regarding tax treatments in connection with dividends, interests or royalties in the tax treaties, several factors, including without limitation, whether the applicant is obligated to pay more than 50% of his or her income in twelve months to residents in third country or region, whether the business operated by the applicant constitutes the actual business activities, and whether the counterparty country or region to the tax treaties does not levy any tax or grant tax exemption on relevant incomes or levy tax at an extremely low rate, will be taken into account, and it will be analyzed according to the actual circumstances of the specific cases. If our Hong Kong subsidiaries are determined by PRC government authority as receiving benefits from reduced income tax rate due to a structure or arrangement that is primarily tax-driven, the dividends paid to our Hong Kong subsidiaries by BBII and our other PRC subsidiaries will be subject to the standard income tax rate of 10%, which would materially and adversely affect the amount of dividends, if any, we may pay to our shareholders and ADS holders.

Under the EIT Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China; such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management body” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. The implementing rules of the EIT Law define “de facto management body” as “substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounting, and properties” of the enterprise. On April 22, 2009, or the SAT, issued a circular, or SAT Circular 82, and as amended on December 29, 2017, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. In addition, a bulletin issued by the SAT issued on July 27, 2011, which became effective September 1, 2011 and as amended on June 15, 2018, provided more guidance on the implementation of Circular 82. This bulletin clarifies matters including resident status determination, post-determination administration and competent tax authorities. Although the SAT Circular 82 and the bulletin only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the determining criteria set forth in the SAT Circular 82 may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” text should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises or individuals.

Although we do not believe that our legal entities organized outside of the PRC constitute PRC resident enterprises, it is possible that the PRC tax authorities could reach a different conclusion. If the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands company is a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we may be subject to the enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide taxable income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations; in our case, this would mean that income sourced from outside the PRC would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Second, the EIT Law provides that dividends paid between “qualified resident enterprises” are exempt from enterprise income tax. It is unclear whether the dividends we receive from BBII will constitute dividends between “qualified resident enterprises” and would therefore qualify for tax exemption, because the definition of qualified resident enterprises is unclear and the relevant PRC government authorities have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as resident enterprises for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Third, dividends payable by us to our non-PRC resident enterprise investors and gains on the sale of shares by such non-PRC resident enterprise investors may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 10% and such dividends and gains earned by non-PRC resident individual investors may be subject to PRC individual income tax at a rate of 20%. It is unclear whether, if we were considered a PRC resident enterprise, our non-resident investors would be able to claim the benefit of income tax treaties or agreements entered into between China and other countries or regions.

In addition to the uncertainty as to the application of the “resident enterprise” classification, there can be no assurance that the PRC Government will not amend or revise the taxation laws, rules and regulations to impose stricter tax requirements, higher tax rates or retroactively apply the EIT Law, or any subsequent changes in PRC tax laws, rules or regulations. If such changes occur and/or if such changes are applied retroactively, such changes could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments currently available to us in the PRC or imposition of any additional PRC taxes on us could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

A number of our subsidiaries, variable interest entities and their subsidiaries registered in PRC enjoy a preferential tax treatment due to their qualifications as High and New Technology Enterprise or Software Enterprise. Under the EIT Law, an entity qualified as a High and New Technology Enterprise would enjoy a preferential income tax rate of 15%, and an entity qualified as a Software Enterprise would enjoy a two-year exemption from enterprise income tax followed by a three-year half reduction of enterprise income tax from the first fiscal year when it becomes profitable. Both of the qualifications are subject to review and renewal. Specifically, the qualification of High and New Technology Enterprise is to be renewed every three years and the qualification of Software Enterprise is to be reviewed annually. As of December 31,2019, we had nine entities qualified as High and New Technology Enterprise or Software Enterprise.

BBII was recognized as a High and New Technology Enterprise in 2008, and successfully renewed the qualification every three years with the latest renewal completed in 2017. We are currently in the process of renewing the High and New Technology Enterprise qualification for BBII.

Beijing Bit EP Information Technology Company Limited, or Bit EP, was recognized as a High and New Technology Enterprise in 2016, and successfully renewed the qualification in 2019.

Target Net (Beijing) Technology Company Limited, or Target Net, was recognized as a High and New Technology Enterprise in 2013, and successfully renewed the qualification every three years with the latest renewal completed in 2019.

Beijing BitOne Technology Company Limited, or Beijing BitOne, and Beijing Chehui Technology Company Limited, or Beijing Chehui, were each recognized as a High and New Technology Enterprise in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Bitauto (Xi’an) Information Technology Company Limited, or Bitauto Xi’an, Shanghai Lanshu Information Technology Company Limited, or Shanghai Lanshu, Beijing Yixin, and Tianjin Bida Information Technology Company Limited, or Tianjin Bida, were recognized as Software Enterprise in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2018, respectively.

In accordance with relevant PRC laws and regulations, Xinjiang Yin’an Information Technology Company Limited, or Xinjiang Yin’an, has been exempted from EIT for four years since 2017, and Xinjiang Wanxing Information Technology Company Limited, or Xinjiang Wanxing, has been exempted from EIT for three years since 2018.

If any of the aforementioned entities fails to maintain its qualification, the applicable EIT rate may increase to up to 25%, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We face uncertainty with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC shareholders.

The PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the non-resident enterprise’s direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise by promulgating and implementing the Notice on Certain Corporate Income Tax Matters on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-Tax Resident Enterprises, or Public Notice 7, issued by the SAT, on February 3, 2015, which partially replaced and supplemented previous rules under the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Circular 698, issued by the SAT, on December 10, 2009.

Public Notice 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to capture not only Indirect Transfer as set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving the transfer of real property in China and assets of an establishment or a place in the PRC by a foreign company through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. Public Notice 7 also interprets the term “transfer of the equity interest in a foreign intermediate holding company” broadly. In addition, Public Notice 7 further clarifies certain criteria on how to assess reasonable commercial purpose and introduces safe harbor scenarios applicable to internal group restructurings. However, it also imposes burdens on both the foreign transferor and the transferee of the indirect transfer as they are required to make a self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to PRC tax and whether to file or withhold the PRC tax accordingly. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise being the transferor, or the transferee, or the PRC entity which directly owned the taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may re-characterize such indirect transfer as a direct transfer of the equity interests in the PRC tax resident enterprise and other properties in China. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of up to 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise.

Public Notice 7 and its interpretation by relevant PRC authorities clarify that an exemption provided by Circular 698 for transfers of shares in a publicly-traded entity that is listed overseas is available if the purchase of the shares and the sale of the shares both take place in open-market transactions. However, if a shareholder of an entity that is listed overseas purchases shares in the open market and sells them in a private transaction, or vice versa, PRC tax authorities might deem such a transfer to be subject to Circular 698 and Public Notice 7, which could subject such shareholder to additional reporting obligations or tax burdens. Accordingly, if a holder of our ADSs or ordinary shares purchases our ADSs or ordinary shares in the open market and sells them in a private transaction, or vice-versa, and fails to comply with Circular 698 or Public Notice 7, the PRC tax authorities may take actions, including requesting us to provide assistance for their investigation or impose a penalty on us, which could have a negative impact on our business operations. In addition, since we may pursue acquisitions as one of our growth strategies, and may conduct acquisitions involving complex corporate structures, PRC tax authorities might impose taxes on capital gains or request that we submit additional documentation for their review in connection with any potential acquisitions, which may cause us to incur additional acquisition costs or delay our acquisition timetable.

On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or SAT Bulletin 37, which came into effect on December 1, 2017 and concurrently abolished Circular 698 and was further amended on June 15, 2018. The SAT Bulletin 37 further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of non-resident enterprise income tax Pursuant to Public Notice 7 and SAT Bulletin 37, both the transferor and the transferee may be subject to penalties under PRC tax laws if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor fails to pay the taxes.

The PRC tax authorities have discretion under Public Notice 7 and SAT Bulletin 37 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 may pursue acquisitions in the future that involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of these transactions under Public Notice 7 and SAT Bulletin 37, our income tax expenses associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Certain of our leased property interests may be defective and we may be forced to relocate operations affected by such defects, which could cause significant disruption to our business and have a negative impact on our operation and financial results.

With respect to some of our leased properties, the lessors failed to provide property title certificates proving the title ownership of these lessors. According to PRC laws, rules and regulations, in situations where a landlord lacks evidence of the title or the right to lease, the relevant lease agreement may not be valid or enforceable under PRC laws, rules and regulations, and may also be subject to challenge by third parties. However, we cannot assure you that such defects will be cured in a timely manner or at all. Our business may be interrupted and additional relocation costs may be incurred if we are required to relocate operations affected by such defects. Moreover, if our lease agreements are challenged by third parties, it could result in diversion of management attention and cause us to incur costs associated with defending such actions, even if such challenges are ultimately determined in our favor. In addition, our lease agreements have not been registered with competent government authority. According to PRC laws, rules and regulations, the failure to register the lease agreement will not affect its effectiveness between the tenant and the landlord, however, the landlord and the tenant may be subject to administrative fines of up to RMB10,000 each for such failure to register the lease. As of the date hereof, we are not aware of any action, claim or investigation being conducted or threatened by the competent government authorities with respect to the defects in our leased properties. However, if we are fined or penalized by government authorities due to our lessors’ failure to register our lease agreements, our business and financial condition may be negatively impacted.

We may be required to register our offices outside of our corporate residence address as branch offices under PRC law and any failure to do so may subject our centers to shut-down or penalties.

A company that uses an office in a location outside its corporate residence address to conduct business operation must register such office as a branch company with the competent local authority. In addition, as we expand our operations, we may need to register additional branch companies from time to time. As of the date of this report, we have not registered approximately half of the locations outside of the corporate residence addresses as branch companies. However, whether an operating place will be deemed as having business nature or otherwise qualified for branch company registration is subject to the sole discretion of the government authorities. We cannot assure you that the government authority will take the same view with us on whether an operating place is required or qualified to be registered as a branch company. We plan to apply for the registration of the relevant offices and we cannot assure you whether the registration can be completed in a timely manner. Although we have not been subject to any query or investigation by any PRC government authority regarding the absence of such registration, if the PRC regulatory authorities determine that we are in violation of the relevant laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties, including fines, confiscation of income and suspension of operation. If we become subject to these penalties, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

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

Under relevant PRC rules and regulations, PRC citizens who are granted stock options by an overseas publicly listed company are required, through a qualified PRC domestic agent or PRC subsidiaries of such overseas publicly-listed company, to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures. In addition, the registration must be amended within three months after the occurrence of any material changes to the underlying plan. As of the date of this annual report, we have adopted four employee share incentive plans, all of which have been registered and updated with SAFE. Nevertheless, if in the future, we or our PRC grantees fail to comply with these regulations, we or such employees may be subject to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

Risks Related to Our ADSs

The market price for our ADSs may continue to be volatile.

The trading prices of our ADSs have been, and are likely to continue to be, volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. The trading prices of our ADSs ranged from US$9.72 to US$20.80 in 2019. This was partly because of broad market and industry factors, such as the performance and fluctuation in the market prices or the underperformance or declining financial results of other companies based in China that have listed their securities in the United States in recent years. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial price declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of other PRC companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward PRC companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. The recent ongoing administrative proceedings brought by SEC against five accounting firms in China, alleging that they refused to hand over documents to the SEC for ongoing investigations into certain China-based companies, occurs at a time when accounting scandals have eroded investor appetite for China-based companies. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or matters of other PRC companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards PRC companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. In addition, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, which may have a material and adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs. Moreover, since our controlled subsidiary, Yixin is listed on the Hong Kong Stock exchange, the volatility of the stock prices on the Hong Kong Stock exchange may further increase the volatility of our ADSs. Furthermore, the market price for our ADSs is likely to continue to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors including the following:

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

We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for ordinary operation, for at least 12 months. We may, however, require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of additional equity securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. It is uncertain whether financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made with respect to the going private transaction proposed by Tencent Holdings Limited’s subsidiary and Hammer Capital, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. Potential uncertainty involving the proposed going private transaction may adversely affect our business and the market price of our ADSs.

On September 12, 2019, our board of directors received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter from Morespark Limited and Hammer Capital, or together as the Buyer Group, proposing to acquire all of our outstanding ordinary shares that are not already owned by the Buyer Group or their affiliates for US$16.0 in cash per ADS in a going private transaction. On September 12, 2019, the Buyer Group entered into a support agreement, or the Support Agreement, with Mr. Bin Li, JD.com Global Investment Limited and Cox Automotive Global Investments, Inc., or together as the Supporting Shareholders, who collectively beneficially owned more than 48.5% of the total issued and outstanding shares of our company at the time of the execution of the Support Agreement. Pursuant to the Support Agreement, the Supporting Shareholders agreed to vote all the shares and ADSs beneficially owned by them in favor of the going private transaction.

Our board of directors has formed a special committee consisting of three independent directors, Mr. Erhai Liu, Ms. Annabelle Yu Long and Mr. Jun Hou, to consider the going private transaction. The special committee then retained Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as its U.S. legal counsel, and Duff & Phelps, LLC and Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC as its independent financial advisors. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated.

As of March 31, 2020, the Buyer Group beneficially owned approximately 7.7% of all our issued and outstanding shares, representing approximately 7.7% of the aggregate voting power, and the Supporting Shareholders beneficially owned approximately 47.9% of all issued and outstanding shares, representing approximately 47.9% of the aggregate voting power. The proposed going private transaction, whether or not pursued or consummated, presents a risk of diverting management focus, employee attention and resources from other strategic opportunities and from operational matters. In addition, if we sign any definitive agreement with the Buyer Group, we may be subject to various restrictions under those agreements on the conduct of our business prior to the completion of the transaction, which may delay or prevent us from undertaking business opportunities that may arise pending completion of the transaction. Also, any development of the transaction, such as entering into or termination of any definitive agreement, may increase volatility of the trading price of our ADSs.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our ADSs or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our ADSs to decline.

Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on price appreciation of our ADSs for return on your investment.

We intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in our ADSs as a source for any future dividend income.

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

Substantial future sales or perceived potential sales of our ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

Sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. Such sales also might 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. Any future sales of a substantial number of our ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

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

Except as described in this annual report and in the deposit agreement, holders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise voting rights attaching to the shares represented by our ADSs on an individual basis. 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 distribute 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 and voting takes place at the shareholder meeting by poll. 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 may materially and adversely affect the rights of shareholders. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to you or carry out your voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your ADSs. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if your ADSs are not voted as you requested. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting.

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

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

You may not receive dividends or other distributions if it is unlawful or impracticable to make them 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 ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, determine that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs.For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property to you.

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

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

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the United States federal courts may be limited because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law, we conduct substantially all of our operations in China and the majority of our directors and officers reside outside the United States.

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands and conduct substantially all of our operations in China through our PRC subsidiaries. A majority of our directors and officers reside outside the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the Cayman Islands or in China in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, 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 recognize as a valid judgment, a final and conclusive judgment in personam obtained in a federal or state court of the United States under which a sum of money is payable (other than a sum of money payable in respect of multiple damages, taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty) and would give a judgment based thereon; provided that (a) such courts had proper jurisdiction over the parties subject to such judgment; (b) such courts did not contravene the rules of natural justice of the Cayman Islands; (c) such judgment was not obtained by fraud; (d) the enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to the public policy of the Cayman Islands; (e) no new admissible evidence relevant to the action is submitted prior to the rendering of the judgment by the courts of the Cayman Islands; and (f) there is due compliance with the correct procedures under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, and by the Companies Law and common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against us and our directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors 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 provides persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States and provides significantly less protection. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in United States federal courts.

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

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

Our memorandum and articles of association contains certain provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company, including a provision that grants authority to our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preference shares without action by our shareholders and to determine, with respect to any series of preference shares, the terms and rights of that series. The provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of the opportunity to sell their shares, including shares represented by ADSs, at a premium over the prevailing market price by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transactions.

We are exempt from certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE and we have elected to rely on certain exemptions.

Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, are considerably different than the standards applied to U.S. domestic issuers. We are exempt from certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE by virtue of being a foreign private issuer. For example, we are not required to:

We have elected to follow home country practice with respect to the above. Other than these practices, there have been no significant differences between our corporate governance practices and those followed by U.S. domestic companies under the requirements of NYSE rules.

Our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under the NYSE corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

We believe that we were a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes for the taxable year ended December 31, 2019, which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors in the ADSs or ordinary shares.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be treated as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year if either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income, or (ii) 50% or more of the value of its assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income (the “asset test”). Although the law in this regard is unclear, we treat our PRC variable interest entities as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not only because we exercise effective control over the operation of such entities but also because we are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate their financial results in our consolidated financial statements.

Assuming we are the owner of our PRC variable interest entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based on our income, assets, and the market price of our ADSs, we believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ending December 31, 2019. In addition, we will very likely be classified as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2020, and for future taxable years.

If we were to be classified as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—General”) may incur significantly increased U.S. federal income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such distribution is treated as an “excess distribution” under U.S. federal income tax rules. Further, if we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares. We urge you to consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences of holding and disposing of ADSs or ordinary shares if we are classified as a PFIC. For more information, see “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

Compliance with rules and regulations applicable to companies publicly listed in the United States is costly and complex and any failure by us to comply with these requirements on an ongoing basis could negatively affect investor confidence in us and cause the market price of our ADSs to decrease.

In addition to Section 404, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also mandates, among other things, that companies adopt corporate governance measures, imposes comprehensive reporting and disclosure requirements, sets strict independence and financial expertise standards for audit committee members, and imposes civil and criminal penalties for companies, their chief executive officers, chief financial officers and directors for securities law violations. For example, in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the NYSE has adopted additional comprehensive rules and regulations relating to corporate governance. These laws, rules and regulations have increased the scope, complexity and cost of our corporate governance and reporting and disclosure practices. Our current and future compliance efforts will continue to require significant management attention. In addition, our board members, chief executive officer and chief financial officer could face an increased risk of personal liability in connection with the performance of their duties. As a result, we may have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified board members and executive officers to fill critical positions within our company. Any failure by us to comply with these requirements on an ongoing basis could negatively affect investor confidence in us, cause the market price of our ADSs to decrease or even result in the delisting of our ADSs from the NYSE.

In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company’s securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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

As a public company in the United States, we are subject to reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. The SEC, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, adopted rules requiring every public company to include a management report on such company’s internal control over financial reporting in its annual report, which contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, an independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We have been subject to these requirements since the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

Our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as of December 31, 2019. Our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report, which has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2019. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures.” However, if we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, our management and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level. This could in turn result in loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs. Furthermore, we have incurred and anticipate that we will continue to incur considerable costs, management time and other resources in an effort to comply with Section 404 and other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.