text:
As confidentially submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2019
Registration No. 333-
FORM F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Q&K International Group Limited
(Translation of Registrant's name into English)
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
Identification Number)
Room 1607, Building A
No.596 Middle Longhua Road
Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200032
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant's principal executive offices)
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Shuang Zhao, Esq.
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP
c/o 37th Floor, Hysan Place
500 Hennessy Road
Chris K.H. Lin, Esq.
Daniel Fertig, Esq.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
c/o 35th Floor, ICBC Tower
3 Garden Road
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: as soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The term "new or revised financial accounting standard" refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of each class of securities to be registered
Proposed maximum aggregate
offering price(2)(3)
Amount of registration fee
Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share(1)
US$ US$
American depositary shares issuable upon deposit of Class A ordinary shares registered hereby will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (Registration No. 333- ). Each American depositary share represents Class A ordinary shares.
Includes Class A ordinary shares that are issuable upon the exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option. Also includes Class A ordinary shares initially offered and sold outside the United States that may be resold from time to time in the United States either as part of their distribution or within 40 days after the later of the effective date of this registration statement and the date the shares are first bona fide offered to the public. These Class A ordinary shares are not being registered for the purpose of sales outside the United States.
Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933.
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)
Issued , 2019
American Depositary Shares
Representing Class A Ordinary Shares
This is an initial public offering of American depositary shares, or ADSs, representing Class A ordinary shares of Q&K International Group Limited.
We are offering ADSs. [The selling shareholders identified in this prospectus are offering ADSs. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of ADSs by the selling shareholders] Each ADS represents Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share. We anticipate the initial public offering price per ADS will be between US$ and US$ .
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the ADSs or our shares. We will apply to list the ADSs on the [NASDAQ Global Market], under the symbol " ."
We are an "emerging growth company" under applicable United States federal securities laws and are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements.
See "Risk Factors" on page 16 to read about factors you should consider before buying the ADSs.
PRICE US$ PER ADS
Commissions(1)
Proceeds to
[Proceeds to
Shareholders]
Per ADS
US$ US$ US$ US$
For additional information on underwriting compensation, see "Underwriting."
To the extent that the underwriters sell more than ADSs in this offering, the underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an aggregate of additional ADSs from us [and the selling shareholders] at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
We have and will maintain a dual-class share structure. Our outstanding ordinary shares consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, and beneficially own all of our issued Class B ordinary shares. These Class B ordinary shares will constitute approximately % of our total issued and outstanding share capital immediately after the completion of this offering and % of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding share capital immediately after the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class A ordinary share, upon the completion of this offering, will be entitled to one vote, and is not convertible into Class B ordinary share under any circumstance. Each Class B ordinary share, upon the completion of this offering, will be entitled to votes and is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Our dual-class ordinary share structure involves certain risks. See the relevant risk factors on page 16 of this prospectus for a detailed discussion of such risks.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators have not approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment in New York, New York on , 2019.
MORGAN STANLEY CICC
Prospectus dated , 2019
[Page intentionally left blank for graphics]
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
CORPORATE HISTORY AND STRUCTURE
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
PRINCIPAL [AND SELLING] SHAREHOLDERS
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL
DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALES
EXPENSES RELATED TO THIS OFFERING
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the ADSs offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
Neither we nor the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the ADSs and the distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus outside of the United States.
Until , 2019 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade ADSs, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as the underwriter and with respect to its unsold allotments or subscriptions.
The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information and financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to this summary, we urge you to read the entire prospectus carefully, especially the risks of investing in our ADSs discussed under "Risk Factors," before deciding whether to invest in our ADSs. This prospectus contains information from an industry report dated June 27, 2019 commissioned by us and prepared by China Insights Consultancy, an independent market research firm, to provide information on China's branded long-term apartment rental market and several other markets in China, which we refer to as the China Insights Consultancy Report.
Providing homes for China's young people.
We are a leading technology-driven long-term apartment rental platform in China, offering young, emerging urban residents conveniently-located, ready-to-move-in, and affordable branded apartments as well as facilitating a variety of value-added services. We are one of the pioneers in providing branded rental apartments in China. Under our dispersed lease-and-operate model, we lease apartments from landlords and transform these apartments, mostly from bare-bones condition, into standardized furnished rooms to lease to people seeking affordable residence in cities, following an efficient, technology-driven business process. We grew significantly at 114.4% CAGR from 940 available rental units in Shanghai as of December 31, 2012, the year when we started substantial operation, to 91,234 available rental units across six cities in China as of December 31, 2018. We ranked first among branded long-term apartment operators in the Yangtze mega-city cluster centered around Shanghai, one of the most prosperous regions in China, in terms of gross rental value in 2018 and the number of available rental units as of December 31, 2018, and third among branded long-term apartment operators in China, in terms of the same metrics, according to China Insights Consultancy. We achieved average month-end occupancy rates of 91.6% and 92.4% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, the highest among major branded long-term apartment rental platforms in China, according to the same source.
Driven by the rapid urbanization, rising housing prices, millennial mindsets of sharing economy, and supportive government policies, branded long-term apartment rental service is an underpenetrated, fast-growing industry in China. An increasing number of young people in China move to cities for education or work and seek affordable long-term rental apartments. Traditionally, tenants rely on rental agencies or deal with individual landlords to rent apartments and have to contact individual landlords, who at times may not be responsive, for maintenance and repair during the lease. In the meantime, landlords need to handle apartment maintenance and repair and collect rentals all by themselves. In recent years, branded apartment operators have emerged to provide a one-stop, more efficient and hassle-free rental experience for tenants as well as landlords. In addition, central and local governments in China have adopted policies to incentivize and support the growth of the apartment rental sector, including reducing rental income tax and value-added tax for apartment rental operators, and offering equal access to public services and schools to both renters and homeowners, reducing income tax, and medical insurance and social security payment ratio for individuals with monthly income below RMB10,000.0 (US$1,456.0)—our target customer group. Compared to developed countries such as the United States, where the branded long-term apartment rental penetration rate was 46.0% in 2018, China's branded long-term apartment rental penetration rate was only 1.8% in 2018, and is expected to reach 11.2% by 2024, according to China Insights Consultancy.
Branded long-term apartment rental platforms operate under either a centralized or a dispersed model. Under the centralized model, an operator sources and operates a whole building or a few floors therein through purchasing or leasing from, or cooperating with, property owners. Under the dispersed model, an operator sources apartments from individual landlords in different locations and manage them centrally, leveraging advanced IT and mobile technologies. Compared to the centralized model, the dispersed model enjoys certain advantages, including a more abundant and flexible supply of apartments and less initial capital outlay, and is easier to achieve a nation-wide brand awareness. As a result, the dispersed model is more scalable. From 2018 to 2024, the size of the long-term apartment rental market in China under the dispersed model in terms of rent paid by tenants is expected to increase at 52.7% CAGR, compared to 45.9% CAGR for the centralized model in the same period, according to China Insights Consultancy.
We strategically focus on sourcing apartments under the dispersed model in relatively inexpensive yet convenient locations, typically near subway stations, to provide our tenants value for money. We do not own our rental apartments but lease them from our landlords under long-term leases. Our leases with landlords usually provide for a minimum term of five to six years, or landlord lock-in period, and can be extended for up to two to three years. As of December 31, 2018, our average landlord lock-in period was 63.3 months, the longest among major dispersed long-term apartment rental operators in China according to China Insights Consultancy. We generally lock in our lease-in cost for the first three years, with approximately 5% annual, non-compounding increase for the rest of the lease term. We typically convert a leased-in apartment to add an additional bedroom, or the N+1 model, and rent each bedroom separately to individual tenants after standardized decoration and furnishing. The N+1 model further increases affordability and provides flexibilities and co-rental efficiency for tenants. Each of our rental apartments typically has three rental units. The length of our leases with tenants is typically 26 months. As of September 30, 2018, 85.6% of our leases with tenants had a lock-in period of 12 months or more, and in FY 2018, 34.4% of our leases with tenants were terminated before the expiration of the applicable lock-in period. If a tenant chooses to terminate the lease during the lock-in period, except for termination during the first week of the lease, the tenant's security deposit will be forfeited. After the lock-in period, the tenant may terminate the lease anytime without penalty. In 2018, tenants, on average, stayed in our rental units for 8.5 months, the longest among major dispersed long-term apartment rental operators in China, according to China Insights Consultancy.
Technology is at the core of our business. We apply technology in every step of our operational process from apartment sourcing, renovation, and tenant acquisition, to property management. This enables us to operate a large, dispersed, and fast-growing portfolio of apartments with high operational efficiency, delivering superior user experience. For example, we utilize big data analytics to establish a fair and efficient pricing mechanism. This mechanism also provides clear guidance to our apartment sourcing staff and ensures certain rental spread can be achieved during the lease term. We have also developed a technology-driven, innovative project management system to centrally manage over 146 suppliers and contractors for apartment renovation, cleaning and maintenance, monitor the work process, track the work schedules, and exert quality control. Moreover, our intuitive mobile applications allow our tenants, landlords, and third-party service providers to execute transactions or provide services in a streamlined paperless environment. Our focus on technologies has enabled us to operate efficiently and grow rapidly while maintaining quality control.
We cooperate with third parties, including professional home service providers, e-commerce companies, and other service providers to facilitate a wide array of value-added services for our tenants. These include broadband internet, utilities, and our recently-launched Qingke Select, a curated e-commerce market place. These value-added initiatives help us diversify our revenue streams and help our tenants live more conveniently and comfortably. Revenue from value-added service as a percentage of our net revenue increased from 2.6% in FY 2017 to 10.4% in FY 2018.
We also cooperate with financial institutions to facilitate rental installment loans for our tenants in need. Our tenants can apply for rental installment loans from our cooperative partners to prepay rental for certain lease
period and enjoy rental discount for the rental prepayment. Approved loan proceeds covering up to 24 months' rentals are available to us at the inception of the lease. We typically pay the monthly interest on the rental installment loans to our financial institution partners for our tenants, and provide guarantee or other form of credit enhancement to these financial institutions with respect to our tenants' repayment of the loans. The proceeds from rental installment loans have helped us finance our capital expenditure on decorating and furnishing newly sourced apartments. As of September 30, 2018, we cooperated with ten financial institutions to finance rental installment loans, and the rental payment of 63.1% of the rental units offered on our platform had been facilitated by financing solutions.
As a result of our efficient and scalable business model, we have achieved rapid growth. In FY 2017 and FY 2018, we recorded net revenues of RMB522.7 million and RMB889.9 million (US$129.6 million), respectively, with a year-over-year growth of 70.3%. In FY 2017 and FY 2018, our net loss was RMB245.4 million and RMB499.9 million (US$72.8 million), respectively, and our adjusted EBITDA from available rental units was negative RMB44.3 million and negative RMB104.2 million (US$15.2 million), respectively.
We believe the following competitive strengths contribute to our success and differentiate us from our competitors:
leading and fast-growing long-term apartment rental platform with strong brand recognition;
proven business model with high-quality assets and innate scalability;
high operating efficiency driven by advanced IT and mobile technologies;
immense customer insight for optimal user experience and value-added service opportunities; and
experienced management team supported by a well-trained and motivated workforce.
The key elements of our strategy to grow our business include:
solidify market leadership in existing cities, and enter new cities through disciplined, return-driven expansion;
continue to improve efficiency and quality control through enhanced technology;
diversify and expand our value-added products and services;
pursue an asset-light strategy;
continue to optimize capital structure and drive down expansion cost; and
explore strategic alliance and acquisition opportunities.
Our ability to achieve our mission and execute our strategies is subject to risks and uncertainties, including those relating to:
our limited operating history;
our ability to achieve or maintain profitability or continue as a going concern in the future;
our ability to access financing on favorable terms in a timely manner and maintain and expand our cooperation with financial institutions;
our ability to attract and retain tenants;
our ability to expand into new markets; and
our ability to compete effectively.
In addition, we face risks and uncertainties related to our corporate structure and regulatory environment in China, including:
we rely on contractual arrangements with our variable interest entity and its shareholders for a significant portion of our business operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control;
any failure by our variable interest entity or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business;
China's macro-economic conditions, particularly the long-term apartment rental market and government measures aimed at China's real estate industry and apartment rental industry could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations; and
uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us.
See "Risk Factors" and other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that we face.
The chart below summarizes our corporate structure and identifies our principal subsidiaries and other consolidated entities as of the date of this prospectus:
Guangjie Jin, Xiamen Siyuan Investment Co., Ltd. and Bing Xiao are beneficial owners of the shares of Q&K E-Commerce, who hold 74.5%, 15.0% and 10.5% equity interests in Q&K E-Commerce, respectively.
The remaining minority interests are ultimately owned by Mr. Guangjie Jin.
The remaining minority interests are owned by third parties.
Our principal executive offices are located at Room 1607, Building A, No.596 Middle Longhua Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86-21-6417-9625. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman KY1-1111, Cayman Islands.
Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices. Our main website is www.qk365.com. The information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is , located at .
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
As a company with less than US$1.07 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year, we qualify as an "emerging growth company" pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, in the assessment of the emerging growth company's internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (a) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least US$1.07 billion; (b) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering; (c) the date on which we have, during the previous three year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (d) the date on which we are deemed to be a "large accelerated filer" under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.
Conventions that Apply to this Prospectus
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires in this prospectus:
"ADSs" refers to our American depositary shares, each of which represents Class A ordinary shares;
"apartments contracted" or "rental units contracted" refer to apartments or rental units that we have leased in from landlords, as applicable;
"available apartments" or "available rental units" refer to the apartments or rental units in operation, as applicable, which have been renovated and ventilated and are ready to rent to tenants;
"average month-end occupancy rate" refers to the aggregate number of leased-out rental unit nights of the last day of each month in the relevant period as a percentage of the aggregate number of available rental unit nights of the last day of each month in the relevant period.
"average monthly rental" refers to gross rental value divided by number of leased-out rental unit night for the relevant period times 30.5 (which representing the average number of days in a month);
"China" or the "PRC" refers to the People's Republic of China, excluding, for the purposes of this prospectus only, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan;
"gross rental value" refers to the total rental received by a rental operator from tenants for the relevant period the tenants stay in the rental operator's apartments, net of value-added tax, adding back any discount the rental operator offers for rental prepayment; for avoidance of doubt, gross rental value does not include any utility fees a rental operator charges tenants for the relevant period;
"leading tier 2 cities" refer to Chongqing, Tianjin, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Changsha, Ningbo and Zhengzhou, which ranked top ten in terms of gross domestic product in 2018 among all tier 2 cities in China;
"leased-out rental unit nights" refer to the number of nights that the rental units of a rental apartment were leased out for a relevant period;
"long-term apartment rental" refers to apartment rental business in which the rents are normally collected on a monthly or quarterly basis, and the lease terms are normally over six months;
"long-term apartment operator" refers to a company which operates long-term apartment rental business, collects vacant apartment resources and rents those apartments directly to tenants;
"ordinary shares" refers to our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share;
"period-average occupancy rate" refers to the aggregate number of leased-out rental unit nights as a percentage of the aggregate number of available rental unit nights during the relevant period;
"tenant renewal rate" refers to the percentage of tenants who choose to rent from the same operator after the end of the applicable lock-in period in the lease;
"rental spread" refers to the difference between average monthly rents (before any discount a rental operator offers for certain lump sum prepayment of rental) on a lease to a tenant, compared to the monthly straight-lined rental that the rental operator pays to the landlord for the same space;
"rental spread margin" refers to the rental spread as a percentage of the average monthly rental on a lease to a tenant on the same space;
"rental unit" refers to each bedroom in a rental apartment; we typically convert a leased-in apartment to add an additional bedroom, or the N+1 model, and rent each bedroom separately to individual tenants after standardized decoration and furnishing;
"RMB" and "Renminbi" refer to the legal currency of China;
"straight-lined rental" refer to the rental after adjustment to record rent holidays/rent-free period and rent escalation clauses on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease with the landlord;
"tier 1 cities" refer to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen;
"US$," "U.S. dollars," "$," and "dollars" refer to the legal currency of the United States; and
"we," "us," "our company," "our" and "Qingke" refer to Q&K International Group Limited, its subsidiaries, variable interest entity and its subsidiaries.
Unless otherwise indicated, the number of our tenants, tenant renewal rate, average lease term of our tenants, and our other operating data in this prospectus do not take into account tenants who choose not to stay in our apartments after the first week of their leases. To encourage prospective tenants to try out our apartments, we have put in place a policy to allow a new tenant to cancel a lease within three days from the move-in date, and we will return all rental, deposits and fees penalty free. If a new tenant cancels the lease on the fourth to the seventh day, we will return all unused rental, deposit and fees penalty free. In FY 2018, approximately 6.0% of our leases with tenants were terminated during the first week of their leases.
Our fiscal year end is September 30. "FY 2017" refers to our fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, and "FY 2018" refers to our fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, all information in this prospectus assumes no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option.
Our reporting currency is the Renminbi. This prospectus also contains translations of certain foreign currency amounts into U.S. dollars for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at RMB6.8680 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate on September 28, 2018 set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. We make no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this prospectus could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. The PRC government restricts or prohibits the conversion of Renminbi into foreign currency and foreign currency into Renminbi for certain types of transactions. On August 2, 2019, the noon buying rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board was RMB6.9387 to US$1.00.
Offering price
We currently estimate that the initial public offering price will be between US$ and US$ per ADS.
ADSs offered by us
ADSs (or ADSs if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full).
[ADSs offered by the selling shareholders
ADSs (or ADSs if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full).]
ADSs outstanding immediately after this offering
Ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering
ordinary shares, comprised of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares (or ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full to purchase an additional Class A ordinary shares). This number assumes the conversion of all outstanding preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares immediately prior to the completion of this offering.
The ADSs
Each ADS represents Class A ordinary shares of par value US$0.00001 per share.
The depositary will hold Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. You will have rights as provided in the deposit agreement among us, the depositary and all holders and beneficial owners of ADSs from time to time.
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. If, however, we declare dividends on our Class A ordinary shares, the depositary will pay you the cash dividends and other distributions it receives on our Class A ordinary shares after deducting its fees and expenses in accordance with the terms set forth in the deposit agreement.
Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, you may surrender your ADSs to the depositary in exchange for Class A ordinary shares. The depositary will charge you fees for any exchange.
We may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold your ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended.
To better understand the terms of the ADSs, you should carefully read the "Description of American Depositary Shares" section of this prospectus. You
should also read the deposit agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.
Ordinary shares
Our ordinary shares will be divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. In respect of matters requiring a shareholder vote, each Class A ordinary share will be entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share will be entitled to votes. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any transfer of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity which is not an affiliate of such holder, such Class B ordinary shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A ordinary shares. For a description of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, see "Description of Share Capital."
Over-allotment option
We [and the selling shareholders] have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable within 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an aggregate of additional ADSs.
We expect that we will receive net proceeds of approximately US$ million from this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, which is the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering for the expansion of our apartment network, including the related capital expenditure and sales and marketing activities, continued investment in our technology systems and infrastructure, and general corporate purposes. See "Use of Proceeds" for more information.
[We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of ADSs by the selling shareholders.]
Lock-up
We, our directors, executive officers, existing shareholders have agreed with the underwriters not to sell, transfer or dispose of any ADSs, ordinary
shares or similar securities for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus. See "Shares Eligible for Future Sales" and "Underwriting."
[Directed ADS Program]
[At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to % of the ADSs being offered by this prospectus for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, employees and other individuals associated with us and members of their families. The sales will be made by , underwriters of this offering, through a directed ADS program. We do not know if these persons will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved ADSs, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of ADSs available to the general public. Any reserved ADSs not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other ADSs. Certain participants may be subject to the lock-up agreements as described in "Underwriting—Directed Share Program" elsewhere in this prospectus.]
We intend to apply to have the ADSs listed on the [NASDAQ Global Market] under the symbol " ." Our ADSs and shares will not be listed on any other stock exchange or traded on any automated quotation system.
Payment and settlement
The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment therefor through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company on , 2019.
SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
The following summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data and summary consolidated cash flows data for FY 2017 and FY 2018, and summary consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2017 and 2018 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. You should read this Summary Consolidated Financial and Operating Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included elsewhere in this prospectus.
RMB RMB US$
(in thousands, except for share and per share data)
Summary Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss Data:
Net revenues:
Rental service revenue
Value-added services and others
Total net revenues
Operating costs and expenses:
(547,618 ) (897,959 ) (130,745 )
Selling and marketing expenses
(42,008 ) (117,826 ) (17,156 )
Pre-operation expenses
Impairment loss
Other income (expense), net
(1,460 ) 4,034 587
Total operating costs and expenses
(712,283 ) (1,316,372 ) (191,668 )
Loss from operations
(189,546 ) (426,435 ) (62,090 )
Interest income (expense), net
Foreign exchange gain (loss)
3 (91 ) (13 )
Fair value change of contingent earn-out liabilities
Loss before income taxes
(596 ) (2,393 ) (348 )
Less: net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests
35 (63 ) (9 )
Net loss attributable to Q&K International Group Limited
Deemed dividend
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders
The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2017 and 2018:
As of September 30,
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheets Data:
Accounts receivable (net of allowance)
Amounts due from related parties
Prepaid rents and deposit
92,687 170,683 24,852
Advance to suppliers
Non-current assets:
Property and equipment—net
578,331 1,320,822 192,315
Intangible assets—net
Land use rights
1,133,598 1,781,403 259,377
Liabilities and equity:
Non-current liabilities
Total mezzanine equity
Total Q&K International Group Limited shareholders' deficit
Total shareholders' deficit
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' deficit
The following table presents our summary consolidated cash flow data for FY 2017 and FY 2018:
Summary Consolidated Cash Flow Data:
Net cash used in operating activities
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes
(238 ) 3,455 501
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
320,106 (248,363 ) (36,162 )
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the beginning of the year
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of the year
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
We use adjusted EBITDA from available rental units, a non-GAAP financial measure, as a supplemental measure in evaluating and assessing our operating results.
Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units represents our net loss before (i) interest income (expense), net, (ii) income tax, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) impairment loss, (v) pre-operation expenses, (vi) fair value changes of contingent earn-out liabilities, and (vii) share-based compensation. We believe that adjusted EBITDA from available rental units help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain expenses that we include in net loss. For example, we believe that the exclusion of pre-operation expenses helps facilitate period-on-period comparison of our available rental units as the number of our newly sourced apartments under renovation may vary significantly from period to period as a result of our business development. We record contingent earn-out liabilities related to the EBITDA feature of series C and series C-1 preferred shares at fair value and re-measured it at each period-end, with the changes in the fair value recorded as an adjustment to the earnings. However, if we successfully complete a qualified IPO by December 31, 2019, the contingent earn-out liability will be extinguished.
Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of our operating performance. Investors are encouraged to review the historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measure presented by other companies. In addition, adjusted EBITDA from available rental units has certain limitations as an analytical tool. Please see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure" for more information.
The table below sets forth a reconciliation of our net loss to adjusted EBITDA from available rental units for the periods indicated:
RMB % of total
net revenues RMB US$ % of total
net revenues
(in thousands, except for percentages)
(245,440 ) (47.0 ) (499,922 ) (72,790 ) (56.2 )
Add/(less):
50,136 9.6 77,167 11,236 8.7
596 0.1 2,393 348 0.3
101,786 19.5 152,311 22,177 17.1
22,750 4.4 50,614 7,370 5.7
19,934 3.8 117,107 17,051 13.2
Fair value changes of contingent earn-out liabilities(1)
5,165 1.0 (6,164 ) (897 ) (0.7 )
Share-based compensation
Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units
(44,298 ) (8.5 ) (104,242 ) (15,177 ) (11.7 )
related to our contingent earn-out liabilities to series C and C-1 preferred shareholders.
Summary Operating Data
The table below sets forth our key operating data as of September 30, 2017 and 2018:
Number of apartments contracted
Number of available apartments
Number of rental units contracted
Number of rental units under renovation
Number of available rental units
Number of occupied rental units
Number of vacant available rental units
The table below sets forth the numbers of available rental units in cities where we operate as of September 30, 2017 and 2018:
The table below sets forth our key operating data for FY 2017 and FY 2018:
Gross rental value (RMB in thousands)
Period-average occupancy rate (%)
Average monthly rental (RMB)
Rental spread margin (%)
Average renovation cost per rental unit (RMB)
An investment in our ADSs involves significant risks. You should consider carefully all of the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, before making an investment in our ADSs. Any of the following risks could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We have a limited operating history in an emerging and rapidly evolving market, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and results of operations and may increase the risk that we will not be successful. In addition, our historical growth and financial condition may not be indicative of our future growth, profitability, and financial condition.
We have a limited operating history in the branded long-term apartment rental industry, which is an emerging and rapidly evolving market in China. While we have experienced rapid growth in recent periods, we may not continue our growth or maintain our historical growth rates or financial condition. You should not consider our historical growth or financial condition as indicative of our future performance.
You should consider our future operations in light of the challenges and uncertainties that we may encounter. These risks and challenges include, among other things:
changes in national, regional or local economic, demographic or real estate market conditions;
changes in laws and policies on rental housing, including but not limited to rent control laws or tenant protection laws;
changes in job markets and employment levels on a national, regional and local basis;
overall conditions in the rental market, including:
macroeconomic shifts in demand for rental homes;
inability to lease or re-lease homes to tenants on a timely basis, on attractive terms or at all; and
development of branded apartment rental industry in China;
failure of tenants to pay rent when due or otherwise perform their obligations in connection with the lease;
significant number of early terminations of leases;
level of competition for suitable rental homes;
our ability to expand and manage our apartment network and maintain rapid business growth;
our ability to maintain high occupancy rate and target rent levels;
our ability to raise rents;
costs and time period required to renovate rental homes;
unanticipated repairs, capital expenditures or other costs;
our ability to maintain or renew favorable terms with financing partners and other strategic partners;
our ability to maintain, deepen and broaden cooperation with financial institutions, service providers and other third parties;
our ability to develop more value-added products and services;
our ability to effectively control our operating costs and expenses;
our ability to maintain the proper functioning of our technology systems and infrastructure;
disputes and potential negative publicity in connection with rental collection, eviction proceedings, quality control and other aspects of our business;
costs resulting from the clean-up of, and liability to third parties for damages resulting from, environmental or safety problems;
decoration and supply chain capabilities;
our ability to increase our brand awareness;
our ability to attract and retain employees; and
changes in U.S. accounting standards regarding operating leases.
In addition, we utilize a lease-and-operate model, under which we lease apartments, usually in bare-bones condition, and lease to tenants after renovation. Therefore, we are also subject to the risks inherent in a lease-and-operate model, including:
upfront capital outlay for apartment sourcing and renovation;
ongoing capital needs to maintain and operate apartments; and
mismatch between our lease term with landlords and our lease term with tenants;
Any one or more of these factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We recorded net losses in the past and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability or continue as a going concern in the future.
We incurred net losses in FY 2017 and FY 2018 of RMB245.4 million and RMB499.9 million (US$72.8 million), respectively. As of September 30, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of RMB1,478.5 million (US$215.3 million). Our net cash used in operating activities were RMB43.6 million and RMB117.0 million (US$17.0 million) for FY 2017 and FY 2018, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and 2018, our current liabilities exceeded our current assets by RMB631.1 million and RMB1,521.9 (US$221.6 million), respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary if we are unable to continue as a going concern. We will need to generate increased revenue levels in future periods to become profitable, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or improve profitability as we intend to continue to spend significant funds to expand our operations, including expanding our apartment network, developing and enhancing our technology systems and infrastructure, and expanding offerings of other value-added services. Our efforts to grow our business may be more costly than we expect, and we may not be able to increase our revenue immediately or significantly to offset our operating expenses. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the other risks described in this prospectus, and unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. If we are unable to achieve or maintain profitability, the market price of our ADSs may significantly decrease.
Our business requires significant capital expenditure for sourcing, renovation and maintenance of rental apartments. Inability to access financing on favorable terms in a timely manner or at all would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects.
We recorded negative working capital. As of September 30, 2017 and 2018, our current liabilities exceeded our current assets by RMB631.1 million and RMB1,521.9 million (US$221.6 million), respectively. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources." Our capital expenditures totaled RMB275.7 million and RMB1,000.4 million (US$145.7 million) in FY 2017 and FY 2018, respectively. We are in need of additional funding to sustain and expand our
business, and we have formulated a plan to address our liquidity problem. Our management reviews our forecasted cash flows on an on-going basis to ensure that we will have sufficient capital from a combination of internally generated cash flows and proceeds from financing activities, if required, in order to fund our working capital and capital expenditures. We believe that adequate sources of liquidity will exist to fund our working capital and capital expenditures, and to meet our short-term debt obligations, other liabilities and commitments as they become due.
We utilize a lease-and-operate model. We generally incur substantial upfront capital outlay before we start to generate revenues on the relevant apartments. These include capital outlay for market research and evaluation of the target geographic area for expansion, apartment searching, prepayment of a few months' rental to our landlords, and renovation of the apartments we lease, which are usually in bare-bone condition, to add an additional bedroom and make them suitable for lease-out to tenants. We followed a disciplined and systematic process to expand our apartment network, involving comprehensive market research, site visits and other preparation work, during which period we may incur substantial operating costs and expenses. After we have identified the geographic area to expand into and available apartments to lease, the typical period from the time we enter into a lease agreement with landlords to successfully leasing out the apartment and receiving the first rental payments from tenants is approximately 80 days as of September 30, 2018, which may be significantly extended due to some factors that are beyond our control, including but not limited to, substantial delay during the renovation period due to third-party contractors' default, and inability to attract and retain tenants in a timely manner due to apartment rental market condition. Inability to timely access financing on favorable terms or at all would materially and adversely affect our apartment sourcing and expansion, which could materially and adversely affect our future business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects.
In addition, our rental apartments have infrastructure and appliances of varying ages and conditions. In order to maintain and operate our rental apartments, ongoing renovations and other leasehold improvements, including periodic home cleaning and replacement of furniture, fixtures and equipment, are required. These investments and expenditures also require ongoing funding and, to the extent we cannot fund these expenditures from our existing cash or cash flow generated from operations, we must borrow or raise capital through financing. If we fail to access capital that are necessary to maintain or improve the rental apartments, our rental apartments' attractiveness could be reduced, we could lose market share to our competitors and our occupancy rates may decline.
We have relied on our tenants' rental prepayments to finance our growth. To the extent a lease agreement is terminated during the rental period covered by the prepayment, we need to return the unused prepaid rentals. If a significant number of the lease agreements are terminated early, our liquidity and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.
We encourage tenants to prepay rentals by providing them with rental discounts as well as subsidizing the interests on their rental installment loans, which the tenants use to finance rental prepayments. These rental prepayments have helped us finance our capital expenditure for apartment sourcing, renovation, and ongoing apartment maintenance and operation.
Our tenant may terminate the lease agreement during the rental period covered by the prepayment, subject to the forfeiture of his/her security deposit should such termination take place during the lock-in period. In addition, we may terminate the lease agreement with a tenant, for example, if the tenant defaults on the repayment of his/her rental installment loan, which is granted by our financial institution partner and used by the tenant to finance his/her rental prepayment.
To the extent a lease agreement is terminated before the rental period covered by the prepayment, whether by the tenant or by us, we shall, upon such termination, return the unused prepaid rents, typically in a lump sum, to the tenant, or to our financial institution partner where the tenant has used the rental installment loan granted
by such financial institution to finance his/her rental prepayment. In FY 2018, substantially all of our leases were terminated during the rental period covered by the prepayment, including 34.4% terminated within the applicable lock-in period, and on average, our tenants stayed in our apartments for approximately 39.3% of the lease term covered by their prepayments. If a significant number of lease agreements are terminated during the rental period covered by the rental prepayments, we may not have sufficient immediate funds to return all unused rents, and we may not be able to timely re-possess the apartments and identify new tenants. See "—Our results of operation, financial condition, and reputation would be adversely affected if a significant number of our tenants fail to meet their obligations in connection with the lease." Failure to adequately manage our cash and liquidity could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We rely on our cooperation with a limited number of financial institutions.
As of September 30, 2018, we cooperated with ten financial institutions, which provide rental installment loans to our tenants to finance their rental prepayments. As of September 30, 2018, our largest and second largest financial institution partners accounted for 48.6% and 26.6% of the total amount of outstanding rental loans, respectively. In line with industry practice, we provide guarantee and other forms of credit enhancement to our financial institution partners with respect to tenants' repayment of the rental installment loans. As of September 30, 2018, rental payment of 63.1% of our available rental units had been facilitated by rental installment loans.
In addition, in August 2018, we started to cooperate with a rental service company owned by a state-owned bank in apartment sourcing and renovation. Under this model, we continue to be responsible for the entire operating process, including identifying potential apartments for rent, rental pricing and procuring and paying for apartment renovation. Once we have finished the renovation, the rental service company reimburses us for our costs incurred for the renovation. We make payments to the rental service company in installments equal to the reimbursed renovation costs plus interest and tax over a period of five years. At the end of the five-year period, the ownership of the renovation will be transferred to us. The cooperation has provided us with access to a stable source of low-cost capital to finance our apartment renovation upfront, which helps us scale in a cost-efficient manner. As of April 30, 2019, 24.1% of our total apartments were renovated pursuant to this cooperation.
If our financial institution partners reduce, discontinue or do not expand their cooperation with us, for example, as a result of changes in regulatory landscape, tightening of the credit market, default by a significant number of our tenants or otherwise, we may not be able to find alternative sources of financing on similar or better terms in a timely manner or at all, and as a result our business, financial condition and growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
Capital and credit market conditions may adversely affect our access to capital and/or the cost of capital, which could impact our future prospects, results of operations and growth prospectus.
In periods when the capital and credit markets experience significant volatility, the amounts, sources and cost of capital available to us may be adversely affected. We primarily use external financing to fund our expansion and renovation. If sufficient sources of external financing are not available to us on cost effective terms, we could be forced to limit our expansion and renovation and/or take other actions to fund our business activities. If economic conditions deteriorate or credit market tightens, there can be no assurance that the scope of cooperation with those financial institutions would not be terminated or reduced. To the extent that we are able and/or choose to access capital at a higher cost than we have experienced in recent years, absent changes in other factors, our earnings per share and cash flows could be adversely affected. In addition, the price of our ADSs may fluctuate significantly and/or decline in a high interest rate or volatile economic environment.
In addition, rising interest rates could increase interest costs and could affect our ability to become profitable. We currently have, and may in the future incur floating interest rate debt, which subject us to interest risks. See "—Our outstanding and future indebtedness may adversely affect our available cash flow and our
ability to operate our business. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional capital when desired, on favorable terms or at all." In addition, we pay the interest on our tenants' rental installment loans, which also exposes us to the risks associated with rising interest. If interest rates increase, our financing costs will also rise and our ability to become profitable could be adversely affected.
Our business is susceptible to China's macro-economic conditions, particularly the long-term apartment rental market and government measures aimed at China's real estate industry and apartment rental industry.
We conduct our apartment rental services business in China. Our business depends substantially on conditions of China's real estate industry, particularly the apartment rental industry. Demand for rental apartments in China has grown steadily in recent years, but the growth is often coupled with volatility and fluctuations in real estate transaction volume and prices as well as the employment rate. Fluctuations of supply and demand in China's real estate industry and apartment rental industry are caused by economic, social, political and other factors. The Chinese economy has shown slower growth since 2012 compared to the previous decade and this trend is likely to continue.
We target young people, including recent college graduates, entry level white collar workers and industry workers in cities with strong economic growth, net inflow of people, ambitious urban development plans and favorable policies supporting the development of the apartment rental market. As of September 30, 2018, we had 83,948 available rental units under management spread across China, approximately 97.4% of which (contributing to 99.2% of our rental service revenues in FY 2018) were located in the Yangtze mega-city cluster centered around Shanghai. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in China's economy, and slowdown or discontinuation of urbanization in our target markets may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our occupancy levels and rental rates mainly depend on demands from our target tenants in the target markets. We have benefited in recent periods from the growth of the economy, rapid urbanization and geographic concentration affecting the real estate markets and apartment rental markets, including, in particular:
soaring prices of residential real estates and extremely stringent home-buying requirements in top tier cities in China that have made it more difficult to purchase apartments, particularly for our target customers;
favorable rental-related policies and other government support for increased rental options;
increased number of "non-resident" population in top tier cities in China;
favorable interest rates for financing and a strong and healthy credit market; and
mismatch of supply and demand in China's long-term apartment rental market.
We do not expect these favorable trends in the apartment rental market to continue indefinitely. Lowered apartment purchase prices that make it more accessible to own apartments, unfavorable policies for the apartment rental markets or decrease of "non-resident" population in top tier cities may adversely affecting the apartment rental market. A softening of the apartment rental market in our target areas would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In recent years, PRC governmental authorities put forward favorable rental-related policies, including but not limited to, increasing rental housing supply, encouraging the development of modern rental companies, and reducing rental income taxes. These policies have in part driven our growth. Meanwhile, the PRC governmental authorities also enact certain criteria to regulate the apartment rental market. For example, the State Council of the PRC promulgated Several Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Cultivation and Development of the Home-Rental Market in 2016, which require the local housing authorities to strengthen the administration of the home-rental market participants, including residential tenancy enterprises, intermediary agencies and professionals, in coordination with relevant departments, and keep credit records of
relevant market participants. Moreover, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the PRC, or the MOHURD, published the Measures on Management of Residential tenancy and Home Sales (Discussion Draft) for public discussion in May 2017, which require the relevant PRC authorities to enhance scrutiny on (i) the terms of duration and rent adjustments in lease agreements, (ii) the filing of lease agreements, and (iii) residential tenancy enterprises. If the PRC governmental authorities adopt any prohibitive measures or policies with respect to rental housing, or the interpretation of current laws and regulations relating to the apartment rental market becomes more restrictive and rigorous, they may depress the apartment rental market, dissuade potential tenants from renting apartments, and cause a decline in average rental rates. See "—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us." Frequent changes in government policies may also create uncertainty that could discourage investment in real estate. Our business may be materially and adversely affected as a result of decreased demand of rental apartments that may result from government policies.
Our expansion into new markets may present increased risk.
We plan to expand in our existing cities and enter new cities which we believe have strong growth potential, for example, cities with strong economic growth, net inflow of people, ambitious urban development plans and favorable policies supporting the development of the branded long-term apartment rental market. To the extent our predictions or judgment on the market growth turn out to be inaccurate, we may not have sufficient supply or demand in the market to support our growth or achieve profitability. If we cannot maintain or increase occupancy levels and rental rates in our target markets to keep pace with rising costs of rents, renovation and operations, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected. See "—Our business is susceptible to China's macro-economic conditions, particularly the long-term apartment rental market and government measures aimed at China's real estate industry and apartment rental industry."
We followed a disciplined and systematic process to expand our apartment network, involving comprehensive market research, site visit and other preparation work. In addition, as we expand into new geographic areas, it takes time to ramp up the occupancy rate to our target level. For example, it took us eight months to ramp up the month-end occupancy rate in Hangzhou to above 90%. During the ramp up period, we may continue to incur upfront renovation costs and other operating costs and expenses without generating corresponding net revenues. For example, in FY 2018, we substantially expanded our apartment network in multiple cities, including Hangzhou, Wuhan and Nanjing, and incurred substantial upfront expenses in connection with our market research, preparation, and testing of our business models in these cities, and our selling and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses, and pre-operation expenses as a percentage of our net revenues increased significantly from FY 2017 to FY 2018 primarily as a result thereof.
In addition, we may not be able to replicate our success in existing cities to new cities we target in a timely manner or at all, as they may have different regulatory and competitive landscape. This may adversely affect our results of operations and growth prospects.
We face significant competition in the apartment rental market.
China's long-term apartment rental market is highly competitive. With the influx of new entrants and the expansion of current participants, we expect competition to continue and intensify, which could harm our ability to increase revenue and attain or sustain profitability. Our competitors include other branded apartment operators and apartment owners who directly rent their apartments to tenants. In addition, in response to increased cooling measures on housing sales, real estate developers may also pivot into standardized rental market. We believe the principal competitive factors in this industry include:
ability to source suitable and sufficient apartments across multiple regions with favorable terms including contract length, rental-free period, rent-in costs, etc;
ability to use big data analytics to establish competitive lease terms with both landlords and tenants;
ability to establish sustainable unit economic model;
ability to renovate and operate rental apartments in an efficient and cost-effective manner;
ability to achieve high standardization and manage a complex supply network;
ability to maintain financial flexibility;
geographic coverage and customer reach;
ability to set up IT and internet infrastructure; and
brand awareness and customer satisfaction, including the availability and range of value-added services to help foster a sense of community and loyalty among tenants.
We face competition for our sourcing of suitable apartments in our target markets. Our competitors may have better access to newer, better located apartments at lower cost. They may also have more rapid access to the information of available apartments, which helps them rent such apartments from owners before we receive such information. Moreover, our competitors may be more resourceful, have a lower cost of funds or better access to funding sources that may not be available to us. In addition, our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of rental apartments. Competition may result in fewer options of apartments available to us, higher rental rates to be paid by us, our acceptance of greater risk, lower yields and a narrower spread of yields over our financing costs. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable apartments that are consistent with our tenants' need, and our failure to accomplish the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operation.
We also face competition for our target tenants. Our competitors may successfully attract tenants with cheaper and more convenient rental units, better incentives, amenities and value-added services, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain quality tenants and lease out our rental apartments on favorable terms. In addition, our competitors may have better access to tenant information, which helps them identify and acquire quality tenants more quickly. Moreover, some competing housing options may qualify for government subsidies that may make such options more accessible and therefore more attractive than our rental apartments. This competition may affect our ability to attract and retain tenants and may reduce the rental rates we are able to charge.
Furthermore, as a result of the competition for suitable apartments and tenants, we may not be able to maintain the spread or margin between lease-in from landlords and lease-out to tenants, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
If we fail to compete effectively in the market, we would lose our market share, fail to gain additional market share, and our business, results of operation and growth prospectus may be materially and adversely affected.
New laws, regulations and policies may be promulgated to strengthen the regulation on the apartment rental industry which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects.
PRC laws, regulations and policies concerning the apartment rental industry are developing and evolving. Although we have been taking measures to comply with laws, regulations and policies that are applicable to our business operations, the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating the apartment rental industry in the future. We cannot assure you that our practice would not be deemed to violate any new PRC laws, regulations or policies relating to the apartment rental industry.
In recent years, some tier 1 cities in China have adopted the restriction on group-oriented leasing. Group-oriented leasing refers to the practice of renting a single apartment to multiple tenants under separate leases, resulting in the over-crowding of such apartment. In particular, Beijing and Shanghai have expressly banned the lease of rental apartment providing living space of less than five square meters per capita. We typically convert the living room of our rental apartment to add an additional bedroom, which is known as N+1 model. While some local governments, including Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuhan and Nanjing, do not consider N+1 model as group-oriented leasing, governmental authorities in other cities we operate may implement restrictions that affect our N+1 model in the future. In addition, we cannot assure you whether any local governments may change its policies or interpret them in a manner that renders our N+1 model non-compliant. If we are deemed to violate local laws, regulations and policies, we may be subject to penalties and may need to adjust our business model, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operation, financial condition and growth prospects.
Moreover, the PRC government may institute a licensing regime covering our industry at some point in the future. For example, we cannot rule out the possibility that future laws or regulations will require us to register as real estate brokerage enterprise. Under the current PRC laws and regulations, enterprises operating real estate brokerage related business are required to register as real estate brokerage enterprise at local housing authorities. Pursuant to the Real Estate Brokerage Management Methods promulgated by MOHURD, only enterprises providing intermediary and agency services to the landlords in order to facilitate real estate transactions in return for commissions are deemed as a real estate brokerage enterprise, which is different from our business model, as advised by our PRC legal counsel, JunHe LLP. Therefore, we do not believe that our current business constitutes real estate brokerage under PRC laws and regulations and as a result our company shall not be subject to registration as a real estate brokerage enterprise. If any future laws and regulations deem our business as real estate brokerage or any other licensing regime is introduced, we cannot assure you that we would be able to complete any newly required registration or 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.
In addition, under the current PRC legal regime, there is no laws or regulations specifically controlling the rents. The Administrative Measures for Commodity Housing Leasing, promulgated by the MOHURD on December 1, 2010, provides a principle rule that landlords shall not raise the rent unilaterally and randomly during the term of the lease agreements. In addition, on May 19, 2017, the MOHURD published the Measures on Management of Residential tenancy and Home Sales (Discussion Draft), or the Discussion Draft, for public discussion, which was closed on June 19, 2017. As of the date of this prospectus, the MOHURD had not promulgated or published any regulations, rules, notices or circulars in relation to the rents of house leasing. The Discussion Draft stipulates that landlords must not unilaterally raise rent if they have not reached a consensus with the tenant on the frequency and range of rent adjustments in the lease agreement. This Discussion Draft also stipulates that the local governments shall establish a system to publicize information on rents in the local markets. The Discussion Draft also stipulates that landlords shall not evict the tenants through violence, threats or other coercive measures. Although the final provisions, interpretation, adoption timeline and effective date of the Discussion Draft remain substantially uncertain, our business practices may be subject to stricter governmental supervision in the future, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects.
Our business growth depends on our ability to attract and retain tenants. If we are not able to attract or retain sufficient tenants in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and results of operation may be materially and adversely affected.
We depend on rental income from tenants for substantially all of our revenues. As a result, our success depends upon our ability to attract quality tenants for our rental apartments in a timely manner. We may not be successful in locating quality tenants to lease the rental apartments as quickly as we have expected or at all due to competition, market condition, delay in renovation or other factors. If vacancies continue for a longer period of time than we expect or indefinitely, we may suffer reduced revenues, which may have a material adverse effect on us.
In August 2018, we started to cooperate with a rental service company owned by a bank to finance apartment renovation, and we have implemented such model in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Pursuant to our agreement with the rental service company and the bank, we are required to place a security deposit in the amount of three times of the total monthly rents with the bank, which will be doubled if our occupancy rate falls below 75% or 85% in Shanghai or Hangzhou, respectively. If we cannot attract or retain sufficient tenant to maintain or achieve these occupancy rates, our business, financial condition and results of operation may be adversely affected.
Our results of operation, financial condition, and reputation would be adversely affected if a significant number of our tenants fail to meet their obligations in connection with the lease.
Our results of operation, financial condition, and reputation would be adversely affected if a significant number of our tenants fail to meet their obligations in connection with the lease. For instance, tenants may default on rental payments or repayment of rental installment loans. If a tenant defaults on his/her payment obligations after the applicable grace period, we may terminate the lease and re-possess the apartment pursuant to the lease agreement and the PRC laws, and lease the apartment to a new tenant. However, we may not be able to find a new tenant in a timely manner or at all, and the security deposit of the defaulting tenant may not be sufficient to cover our lost rentals for the period in between the leases.
In addition, tenants may use our rental apartments for illegal purposes, damage or make unauthorized structural changes to our rental apartments, refuse to leave the apartment upon termination of the lease, engage in domestic violence or similar disturbances, disturb nearby residents with noise, trash, odors or eyesores, sublet our apartments in violation of our lease or permit unauthorized persons to live in our rental apartments. Damage to our rental apartments may delay re-leasing, necessitate expensive repairs or impair the rental income of the rental apartment resulting in a lower than expected rate of return.
Tenants may terminate their leases during lease terms, exposing us to the risk of re-leasing our rental apartments, which we may be unable to do on a timely basis, on favorable terms or at all.
We typically enter into 26-month leases with tenants. Our lease-out agreements usually include a lock-in period (during which termination will result in forfeiture of deposit) of 12 months or longer after the move-in date. If the market rental rates decline, we anticipate our rental revenues may be affected greater than if our leases were for longer terms. Short-term leases may result in high turnover, which involves costs such as restoring the rental apartments, marketing costs and lower occupancy levels. Our estimates on tenant turnover rate and related cost may be less accurate than if we had more operating data upon which to base such estimates. If the rental rates for our properties decrease or our residents do not renew their leases, our operating results and ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be adversely affected.
In addition, tenants may terminate the lease during the lock-in period, subject to the forfeiture of their security deposits. In 2018, our tenants stayed in our rental units for an average duration of 8.5 months. We have promotional offers from time to time depending on the market condition pursuant to which tenants may receive coupons for the first few months of the lease, generally corresponding to the length of the applicable lock-in period. The coupon can be used to partially offset the rental. For FY 2018, the average duration that our tenants enjoy rental deduction by using coupons is 9.5 months. To the extent tenants terminate the lease during the lease term, including as a result of an increase in rental price after the promotional period, our business, results of operation and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.
We may not be able to successfully identify, secure and develop in a timely fashion additional apartments.
We plan to operate more rental apartments to further grow our business. We select locations which we believe would provide tenants with convenient access to core districts, major business development zones, and commercial centers, as well as affordability. However, we may not be successful in identifying and leasing
additional apartments at the locations as desirable as we anticipated, for example, due to delays in the completion of infrastructure or other facilities surrounding such location, such as subway stations and business centers, and on commercially reasonable terms or at all. We may also incur costs in connection with evaluating apartments and negotiating with their owners, including apartments that we are subsequently unable to lease. We may also lease furnished apartments that we expect to be in good condition from landlords only to discover unforeseen defects and problems afterwards that prevent us from leasing them out to our tenants in a timely manner, or at all. In addition, we may not be able to develop additional rental apartments on a timely basis due to renovation delays. If we fail to successfully identify, secure or develop in a timely fashion additional apartments, our ability to execute our growth strategy could be impaired and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
We may not be able to renew our existing leases with landlords on commercially reasonable terms and the rents we pay to landlords could increase substantially in the future, which could materially and adversely affect our operations.
We plan to renew our existing leases with landlords upon expiration. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to renew our leases with landlords on satisfactory terms, or at all. In particular, as the landlord lock-in period of 14.4% of our lease-in contracts will expire in the next two years and rents may be re-negotiated, we may incur significant increases in rents. If we fail to renew our leases with landlords or a significant number of our existing leases with landlords are not renewed on satisfactory terms upon expiration, our expansion may be impeded and our costs may increase. If we are unable to pass the increased costs on to our tenants through rental rate increases, our operating margins and earnings could decrease and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Early termination of the leases or breach of leasing agreements by landlords may materially and adversely affect our operations.
Our leases with landlords typically provide for a minimum term of five to six years, or landlord lock-in period, which shall be extended for up to two to three years at the discretion of landlords, with locked-in rents for the first three years, with approximately 5% annual, non-compounding increase in rents for the rest of the lease period. Landlords may terminate the leasing agreements before the end of their term for various reasons. Historically, less than 1% of our landlords terminated the leases during the lease term. If the lease with a landlord is terminated before expiration or breached the leasing agreements, making the apartments no longer available, we would have to terminate our lease agreements with our tenants who resided in such apartments and return the residue of pre-paid rents to such tenants or financial institutions in the scenario of rental installment loans. Alternatively, we would facilitate tenants to relocate to another apartments of ours and subsidize their relocation-related expenses. In either way, we may incur additional costs and expenses. In addition, although our lease agreements generally provide that landlords shall pay a penalty equal to the rents of the remaining period for early termination, the penalty may be lowered if the court deems the penalty prescribed under our lease agreements to be unfair, i.e., 30% higher than the actual losses we incurred. There can be no assurance that we are able to receive fair compensation for our losses, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected by landlords' early terminations.
Our estimation of potential rents involves a number of assumptions that may prove inaccurate, which could result in us paying too much rents for apartments we lease in or overestimating the rents to be paid by our tenants.
In determining whether a particular apartment meets our criteria, we make a number of assumptions, including, among other things, assumptions related to estimated time of negotiation with landlord, estimated renovation costs and time frames, annual operating costs, market rental rates, potential rent amounts, time from lease to sublease and tenant default rates. These assumptions may prove inaccurate, particularly since the apartments we rent from landlords vary materially in terms of renovation, quality and type of construction,
geographic location. For example, we utilize our proprietary smart pricing system, or the Smart Pricing System, to collect and analyze the average market rental rates of apartments similar to our rental apartments in the surrounding area and gauge the potential rent amounts of our rental apartments, which partially relies on the publicly available information from the internet and may be inaccurate. See "—We are highly dependent on information systems, and if our information systems contain undetected errors and ineffective algorithm, or we fail to properly maintain or promptly upgrade our technology, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected." As a result, we may pay too much for apartments we lease in and/or overestimate the rents we may charge our tenants, or our rental apartments may fail to perform as anticipated. See "—We may not be able to successfully identify, secure and develop in a timely fashion additional apartments."
We assess the financial impact of our underperformed apartments that do not meet the projected operating targets by recognizing impairment loss. We perform an assessment of the carrying value of leasehold improvements and furniture, fixtures and equipment used in each rental apartment at least on a quarterly basis. If the carrying amount of the assets exceeds its expected undiscounted cash flows, we will recognize an impairment loss equal to the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value. In FY 2017 and FY 2018, we incurred impairment loss of RMB22.8 million and RMB50.6 million (US$7.4 million), respectively. If a larger number of our apartments underperform, our impairment loss would increase, and our results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.
Our legal right to lease certain rental apartments could be challenged by apartment owners or other third parties or subject to government regulation, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects.
As we lease our rental apartments from the landlords, we do not hold any land use rights with respect to the land on which our rental apartments are located nor do we own any of the rental apartments we sublease to tenants. Instead, our business model relies on leases with third parties who either own or lease the apartments from the ultimate owners. We have not been provided with the ownership certificates of approximately 53% of our rental apartments due to various reasons, including but not limited to, landlords' inability to obtain ownership certificates when the lease agreements were concluded, in which case we would require the landlords to provide us with other supporting documents to prove their legitimate titles to the apartments in question. For example, a substantial number of our leased-in apartments are real property which is settlement of and compensation for housing demolition. In China, an owner of such real property cannot apply for and acquire the ownership certificate until the lock-up period for sale of such real property (typically five years) expires, although he or she has the right to possess, use, benefit from and dispose of (other than sale) such real property during the lock-up period. On the other hand, PRC laws expressly provide that the ownership certificate of a real property shall be the legal proof of the title to such real property, and it remains unclear whether any other documents can serve as a legal proof in lieu thereof. As a result, to the extent the person with whom we enter into a lease-in contract with fails to provide us with the ownership certificate of the rental apartment, we cannot ensure that he or she has the rights with respect to such apartment, including but not limited to leasing such apartment to us and allowing us to lease such apartment to our tenants. While we have performed our due diligence to verify the rights of our landlords to lease such apartments, we cannot assure you that our rights under those leases will not be challenged by other parties including government authorities.
Under the PRC Property Law, only the owner can have the right, at its full discretion, to possess, use, benefit and dispose of its immovable or movable property pursuant to law. The creation, variation, transfer and extinguishment of immovable real right pursuant to law shall be effective upon registration, unless the law provides the contrary. Accordingly, the local registration authority will issue to the real property owner a property title certificate which clearly indicates the ownership of the property. If the lessee intends to sublease the leased property to a third party, it shall obtain the prior consent regarding such sublease from the owner, otherwise any unauthorized sublease may be unwound by the owner. Therefore, we require the landlords to provide the photocopies of their property title certificates when entering into the lease agreement, to ensure that
we will be legitimately entitled to rent out the apartment to our tenants. However, the landlords of the properties offered by the governments to the landlords whose original properties are expropriated or demolished due to public interests, which account for a large portion of our rental apartments, may have not obtained the property title certificates in a timely manner due to certain local regulations and practices. In the event that landlords intend to lease their apartments to us before obtaining the property title certificates, as part of our due diligence for verification, we require the landlord to provide evidencing documents that can prove their ownership over the leased properties, including, among other things, (i) housing pre-sale contract, housing purchase agreement and housing purchase invoice, (ii) demolition compensation agreement and demolition settlement agreement, or (iii) the confirmation letter of random draw for demolition settlement properties, confirmation of housing selection, invoice of property management and utilities bills. However, these substitutive documents do not have the same legal force as the property title certificates, and thus it is possible that the party who signs the lease agreement is not the legal and beneficiary owner registered in the title certificate and the lease agreement may be invalidated, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects.
In addition, a fraction of our apartments have defects on the land use rights. Under the PRC legal regime regarding the land use right, land shall be used strictly in line with the approved usage of the land. Any change as contemplated to the usages of land shall go through relevant land alteration registration procedures. If any state-owned land is illegally used beyond the approved usage, the land administrative departments of the PRC governments at and above the county level may retrieve the land and impose a fine ranging from RMB10 to RMB30 per square meters of such land. As for our daily operation, in the vicinity of 2.2% of our apartments, which we leased from several enterprises, are currently premised on the land with an industrial usage or on the rural collective-owned land, not on the land with a construction usage for dwelling house, which has been in contravention of the aforesaid legal requirements and may subject the landlords to the legal implications that the land is retrieved by the PRC government and a fine will be imposed on the landlord. Although we are not the direct subject of such administrative sanction, our business and operation may be adversely affected by such retrieval of land thus incurred.
In several instances where our landlords are not the ultimate owners of apartments, no consents or permits were obtained from the owners, the primary lease holders or competent government authorities, as applicable, for the subleases of the apartments to us, which could potentially invalidate our leases or result in the renegotiation of such leases that leads to terms less favorable to us. Some of the apartments we lease from third parties were also subject to mortgages at the time the leases were signed. Where consent to the lease was not obtained from the mortgage holder in such circumstances, the lease may not be binding on the transferee of the apartment if the mortgage holder forecloses on the mortgage and transfers the apartment.
Moreover, under PRC laws, all lease agreements are required to be registered with the local housing bureau. Although failure to do so does not in itself invalidate the leases, lessees may not be able to defend these leases against bona fide third parties and may also be exposed to potential fines if they fail to rectify such non-compliance within the prescribed timeframe after receiving a notice from the relevant PRC government authorities. While the majority of our standard lease agreements require our landlords to make such registration, most of our leases have not been registered, which may expose both our landlords and us to potential monetary fines ranging from RMB1,000 to RMB10,000 for each unregistered lease, at the discretion of the relevant authority. We are in the process of registering more lease agreements. According to our PRC legal counsel, JunHe LLP, it is extremely rare for a party to be fined for its failure to register its lease agreements. In the event that any fine is imposed on us for our failure to register our lease agreements, we may not be able to recover such losses from the contract counterparties. Some of our rights under the unregistered leases may also be subordinated to the rights of other interested third parties.
Any challenge to our legal rights to the apartments we rented to the tenants, if successful, could impair the development or operations of such apartments. We are also subject to the risk of potential disputes with apartment owners or third parties who otherwise have rights to or interests in our rental apartments. Such
disputes, whether resolved in our favor or not, may divert management's attention, harm our reputation or otherwise disrupt our business.
We may not be able to effectively control the timing, quality and costs relating to the renovation and maintenance of apartments, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.
Our success depends on our ability to lease apartments that can be quickly renovated, repaired and leased out with minimal expense and maintained in quality condition. Nearly all of our rental apartments require some level of renovation when we rent them from landlords or following departure of a previous tenant or otherwise. The majority of the apartments we source are in bare-bones condition with cement walls and floors and utility pipes only, which needs decoration and furnishing in a short period of time with heavy work. We may also source apartments that we expect to be in good condition only to discover unforeseen defects and problems that require extensive renovation and costs. Since February 2019, we have started to source decorated and furnished apartments from landlords. Under this model, depending on the decoration quality, we generally only need to add a wall to separate out an additional bedroom from the living room, furnish the additional bedroom, and install smart door locks to the apartment and each bedroom therein, thus substantially reducing our cost for renovation, compared to sourcing bare-bones apartments. Rental cost for furnished apartments, on the other hand, tend to be higher than bare-bones apartments. In addition, from time to time, we may perform ongoing maintenance to our rental apartments. Although we have developed a technology-driven, innovative project management system to centrally manage suppliers and contractors, monitor the renovation process, track delivery schedules, and exert quality control throughout out the entire apartment renovation process to control the timing, quality and costs, our system may not work effectively. See "—We are highly dependent on information systems, and if our information systems contain undetected errors and ineffective algorithm, or we fail to properly maintain or promptly upgrade our technology, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected." As a result, our ability to adequately monitor or manage any such renovations or maintenance may be adversely affected if our system does not work properly.
We retain independent contractors and other third parties to perform renovation and maintenance work and are exposed to all of the risks inherent in apartment renovation and maintenance, including but not limited to, potential cost overruns, increases in labor and materials costs, delays by contractors in completing work and poor workmanship. If our assumptions regarding the costs or timing of renovation and maintenance across our rental apartments prove to be materially inaccurate, our results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects may be adversely affected. In addition, if we failed to control the quality of renovation and lead to any potential complaints from, or damages to, tenants, we could be exposed to material liability and be held responsible for damages, fines or penalties and our reputation may suffer. See "—We depend on third parties for different aspects of our business and the services that we offer. Our business, results of operation, financial condition and reputation may be materially and adversely affected if the third parties do not continue to maintain or expand their relationship with us, or fail to provide services or products according to the terms of our contracts or otherwise below standard, or by the third parties operational failure." and "—Environmental and fire hazards may adversely affect us."
Accidents, injuries or death in our rental apartments may adversely affect our reputation and subject us to liability.
There are inherent risks of accidents or injuries in our rental apartments. One or more accidents or injuries such as fire accident, damage or loss of properties injury or death due to any criminal behavior or other misconducts or acts or omission of our tenants or others, slip and fall, other accidents or suicide in any of our rental apartments could adversely affect our reputation among tenants and potential tenants, decrease our overall occupancy rates and increase our costs by requiring us to take additional measures to vet our tenants and make our safety precautions even more visible and effective. If accidents, injuries or death occur at any of our rental apartments, we may be held liable for costs related to the injuries. Please also refer to "—We do not maintain any insurance for our business, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption."
In addition, if any incidents, particularly fire accidents, occur in any of our rental apartments that do not possess the relevant licenses, permits, title certificate or fire safety inspection certificate, or is located on properties where the actual use and the designated land or property use are inconsistent, there could be substantial negative publicity, thereby triggering large-scale government actions that impact all of our rental apartments, which in turn will have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Environmental and fire hazards may adversely affect us.
Compliance with new or more stringent environmental laws or regulations or stricter interpretation of existing laws may require material expenditures by us. We may be subject to environmental laws or regulations or technical standards relating to the renovation of our rental apartments, such as those concerning poisonous volatile organic compounds or other issues. For example, under the relevant PRC laws, regulations and technical standards, we shall ensure that our rental apartments meet certain environmental standards, including the air quality and environmental protection standards for preventing the indoor environmental hazards generated by construction materials and decorative building materials. We may be subject to civil liabilities or administrative fines for our failure in compliance with all the environmental laws or regulations or technical standards relating to renovation of our rental apartments. Under the PRC laws, if the leased apartment imposes a threat to the safety or health of the tenant, then once the tenant is fully aware that the apartment is not of a satisfactory quality, the tenant is entitled to dissolve the lease agreement at any time. Therefore, we take measures to avoid environmental and fire hazards, including air quality monitoring after renovation and fire precaution measures. However, we cannot assure you that future laws, ordinances or regulations will not impose any material environmental or fire safety liability or that the current environmental condition of our rental apartments will not be affected by the activities of residents, existing conditions of the land, operations in the vicinity of the apartments or the activities of unrelated third parties. In addition, we may be required to comply with various fire, health, life-safety and similar laws and regulations. Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could result in fines and/or damages, suspension of the construction project, civil liability or other sanctions.
We depend on third parties for different aspects of our business and the services that we offer. Our business, results of operation, financial condition and reputation may be materially and adversely affected if the third parties do not continue to maintain or expand their relationship with us, or fail to provide services or products according to the terms of our contracts or otherwise below standard, or by the third parties operational failure.
We depend on third parties for different aspects of our business, including apartment sourcing, renovation, leasing out, management and maintenance. In addition, we rely on third parties for the provision of value-added services to our tenants. Selecting, managing and supervising these third party service providers requires significant resources and expertise. Poor performance by such third party service providers or misconduct or fraud on the part of their employees may reflect poorly on us and could significantly damage our reputation among desirable tenants. In the event of fraud or misconduct by a third party, we could also be exposed to material liability and be held responsible for damages, fines or penalties and our reputation may suffer. If we do not select, manage and supervise appropriate third parties to provide these services and products, our reputation and financial results may suffer.
The service or cooperative agreements we have with third party vendors, service providers or strategic partners are subject to a term, and not on an exclusive basis. If the third party service providers or strategic partners do not continue to maintain or expand their relationship with us, we would be required to seek new service providers or partners, which would cause delays and adversely affect our operations and the range and quality of the products and services that we offer. Moreover, our strategic partner may compete with us or enter into strategic cooperation with our competitors, which may materially and adversely affect our business and competitive position.
For example, we engage outside contractors for apartment sourcing and management functions. As of September 30, 2018, we had 1,185 apartment managers and 167 agents for apartment sourcing, of whom 643 and
123 were from our outside contractors, respectively. Although the apartment managers and agents for apartment sourcing are supervised by our regional supervisors who are our own employees at more senior positions, we cannot assure you that those from outside contractors will provide services that meet our requirements. Besides, the outside contractors may not continue to maintain or expand their relationship with us, and we may not be able to acquire additional apartment managers or agents for apartment sourcing on a timely manner or at all. These may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
Moreover, we engage third-party contractors and suppliers for our rental apartments' renovation. If these contractors or suppliers fail to finish the renovation on schedule or below standard, we may incur additional costs and delay to make our apartment suitable for leasing, and may not be able to rent out the apartments in a timely manner and with favorable terms, or at all. Below quality renovation may also expose us to potential complaints from tenants on the conditions of the apartments, including safety hazards as well as significant maintenance and repair costs. In addition, although it is our third-party contractors and suppliers' responsibility for the salaries of their employees, we may become a target towards which such employees demand their unpaid salaries if our third-party contractors and suppliers withhold or unreasonably deduct their salaries. Pursuant to the PRC Property Laws, where a debtor defaults on its debt obligations, the creditor shall be entitled to retain the already lawfully possessed movable property of the debtor, and have a priority over the movable property in satisfaction of its claim. Despite the fact that the decoration material are legally owned by us, not the third-party contractors or suppliers, we cannot eliminate the possibility that the unpaid employees may retain the decoration materials as a relief they think reasonable. As a result, we request our third-party contractors and suppliers to provide the evidence of payment once the salaries of their employees who have been involved in renovation and maintenance of our rental apartments are paid. However, we cannot assure you that we will not be sued or investigated for our third-party contractors or suppliers' unpaid salaries, or requested by the local governments to compensate such unpaid employees which may materially and adversely affect our reputation, financial condition and results of operation.
Furthermore, we cooperate with third parties for home cleaning and broadband internet access. In November 2018, we launched our curated ecommerce marketplace, Qingke Select, in partnership with a strategic partner, to provide clothing, small home appliances, snacks, laundry services, driving school and movies, etc., (all of which are sold by third-party vendors of products or services) to our tenants. Our customer satisfaction may be adversely affected as a result of any disruption or termination of services of our service provider or partners. In addition, our service providers frequently interact with our tenants. Notwithstanding our efforts to implement and enforce strong policies and practices regarding service providers, we may not successfully detect and prevent fraud, misconduct, incompetence, of our service providers including their employees or stability of their services, which may adversely affect our business and reputation.
A significant portion of our costs and expenses are fixed and we may not be able to optimize our cost structure to offset declines in our revenue, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
A significant portion of our operating costs and expenses, including but not limited to, overhead costs associated with the hiring of agents for apartment sourcing and apartment managers for apartment leasing out and management, employee base salaries, and rents we pay to our landlords, is fixed. Accordingly, a decrease in revenues could result in a disproportionately higher decrease in our earnings because our operating costs and expenses are unlikely to decrease proportionately. For example, the Chinese New Year holidays generally account for a lower portion of our annual revenues than other periods as people are less likely to move into new apartments or stay in rented apartments during that period, but our expenses do not vary as significantly with changes in occupancy and revenues as we need to continue to pay rents and salary and make regular repairs, maintenance and renovations throughout the year to maintain the attractiveness of our rental apartments. Furthermore, our apartment development and renovation costs may increase as a result of an increase in the cost of materials. However, we have limited ability to pass increased costs to tenants through rental rate increases as our rental in lease with our tenants are fixed during the lease term. Therefore, our costs and expenses may remain
constant or increase even if our revenues decline, which would adversely affect our net margins and results of operations.
Our outstanding and future indebtedness may adversely affect our available cash flow and our ability to operate our business. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional capital when desired, on favorable terms or at all.
As of September 30, 2018, we had RMB192.3 million (US$28.0 million) bank borrowings and RMB1,108.1 million (US$161.3 million) rental installment loans from certain financial institutions. Recent interest rates in China have been at historically low levels, and any increase in these rates would increase our interest expense and reduce our funds available for renovation, operations and other purposes. Our current level of indebtedness increases the possibility that we may be unable to pay the principal amount of our indebtedness and other obligations when due. Our outstanding and future loans, combined with our other financial obligations and contractual commitments, could have negative consequences on our business and financial condition.
We believe that our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash on hand will be sufficient to meet our current and anticipated needs for general corporate purposes for at least the next 12 months. However, we need to make continued investment for our expansion and in facilities, hardware, software, technological systems and to retain talents to remain competitive. Due to the unpredictable nature of the capital markets and our industry, such as tenants' unwillingness to prepay rental or utilize the rental installment loans, there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital on terms favorable to us, or at all, if and when required, especially if we experience disappointing operating results. If adequate capital is not available to us as required, our ability to fund our operations, take advantage of unanticipated opportunities, develop or enhance our infrastructure or respond to competitive pressures could be significantly limited. If we do raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our shareholders could be significantly diluted. These newly issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing shareholders.
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.
Prior to this offering, we had been a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. In the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. As defined in the standards established by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a "material weakness" is a deficiency or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
The material weaknesses identified relates to (i) lack of sufficient accounting and financial reporting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to (a) formalize and carry out key controls over financial reporting, (b) properly address complex accounting issues and (c) prepare and review consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements, and lack of a comprehensive accounting policy manual and closing procedure manual for its finance department to convert its primary financial information prepared under accounting principles generally accepted in the PRC into U.S. GAAP; and (ii) absence of audit committee and internal audit function to establish formal risk assessment process and internal control framework. We are in the process of implementing a number of measures to address the material weaknesses that have been identified, including hiring additional accounting staff with appropriate understanding of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements, training the existing financial reporting personnel and engaging an independent third party consultant to assist in establishing processes and oversight measures to comply with the requirements of Sarbanes Oxley Act. We also plan to take other steps to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting, including formalizing a set of
comprehensive U.S. GAAP accounting manuals, establishing an audit committee, establishing an internal audit function independently led by audit committee, providing relevant training to our accounting personnel and upgrading our financial reporting system to streamline monthly and year-end closings and integrate financial and operating reporting systems. Although we plan to implement measures to address the material weaknesses, implementation of those measures may not fully remediate the material weaknesses in a timely manner.
Upon completion of this offering, we will become a public company in the United States subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will require that we include a report of management on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report for the second fiscal year after the completion of the IPO. In addition, once we cease to be an "emerging growth company" as such term is defined under the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, after we become a public company, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.
During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we may identify other weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Generally, if we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions.
We are highly dependent on information systems, and if our information systems contain undetected errors and ineffective algorithm, or we fail to properly maintain or promptly upgrade our technology, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.
Our business relies heavily on our technology-driven, end-to-end systems that are highly technical and complex. Our website, mobile app and internal systems highly depend on the ability of such information systems to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data throughout each step of our operational process, including but not limited to, apartment sourcing, price evaluation, room decoration, room display, contract signing and tenant services. For example, tenants need to use our proprietary mobile apps to sign agreements with us, pay rents, open the doors of the rental apartments and their bedrooms, reserve house-keeping services, etc. We also utilize our Smart Pricing System to evaluate the rents of our apartments. The information systems on which we rely has contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Errors, ineffective algorithm or other design defects within the information systems on which we rely may result in a negative experience for our tenants, landlords, third-party service providers and our employees, delay introductions of new features or enhancements, result in errors or compromise our ability to protect user data or our intellectual property. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in our information systems on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, loss of tenants or landlords or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Security breaches, failure to maintain the integrity of internal or third-party data and other disruptions could compromise our information systems and expose us to costs, liabilities, fines or lawsuits, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer. In addition, actual or alleged failure to comply with data privacy and protection laws and regulations could have a serious adverse effect on our reputation.
Information security risks have generally increased in recent years due to the rise in new technologies and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetrators of cyberattacks. In the ordinary course of our business we acquire and store sensitive data, including our intellectual properties, our proprietary business information and personally identifiable information, such as names, identification card numbers, contacts and electronic signatures, of landlords, tenants, employees and third party contractors and service providers. The secure processing and maintenance of such information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Our landlords, tenants, employees and third party contractors and service providers expect that we will adequately protect their personal information. We are required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the personal information that we collect and to take adequate security measures to safeguard such information. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by computer hackers, foreign governments or cyber terrorists or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other unauthorized access or disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored therein could be accessed, publicly disclosed, misused, lost or stolen. Because the techniques used by computer programmers who may attempt to penetrate and sabotage our proprietary internal and third-party data change frequently and may not be recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques. The laws and regulations applicable to security and privacy are becoming increasingly important in China. Any unauthorized access, disclosure, misuse or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, disruption to our operations and the services we provide to customers or damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations, reputation and competitive position.
We leverage a wide array of internet technologies to achieve management and operation efficiency and effectiveness, which depend upon the performance and reliability of the internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China.
Our business depends on the performance and reliability of the internet infrastructure in China. Substantially all access to the internet is maintained through state-controlled telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT. In addition, the national networks in China are connected to the internet through international gateways controlled by the PRC government. These international gateways are generally the only websites through which a domestic user can connect to the internet. We cannot assure you that a more sophisticated internet infrastructure will be developed in China. We may not have access to alternative networks in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China's internet infrastructure. In addition, the internet infrastructure in China may not support the demands associated with continued growth in internet usage.
We also rely on third party providers to provide us with data communications capacity primarily through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We do not have access to alternative services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with the fixed telecommunications networks of the third-party providers, or if the third-party providers otherwise fail to provide such services. Any unscheduled service interruption could disrupt our operations, damage our reputation and result in a decrease in our revenues. Furthermore, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by third party providers. If the prices that we pay for telecommunications and internet services rise significantly, our gross margins could be significantly reduced. In addition, if internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our user traffic may decrease, which in turn may cause our revenues to decline.
We depend significantly on the strength of our brand and reputation. If we, our employees, agents, third-party contractors, suppliers, financial institutions or other third parties that we cooperate with engage, or are perceived to engage, in misconduct, fraudulent acts or wrongdoing, our business or reputation could be harmed and we could be exposed to regulatory investigations, costs and liabilities.
We believe our "Qingke" brand is considered a leading player in the professionally-managed long-term apartment rental market in China. Our continued success in maintaining and enhancing our brand and image depends to a large extent on our ability to satisfy the needs of agents, real estate buyers and other market participants by further developing and maintaining quality of services across our operations, as well as our ability to respond to competitive pressures.
We have a team of agents for apartment sourcing and apartment managers to manage our apartments and tenants. Our agents for apartment sourcing directly reach to landlords, including but not limited to, negotiating the lease agreements with landlords, and our apartment managers directly reach out to tenants, including but not limited to, negotiating the lease agreements with tenants, regular communication with our tenants and inspecting the apartments. As a result, our success of business largely rely on their professionalism. If our agents for apartment sourcing and apartment managers have any misconduct, such as misrepresentation of the terms and conditions in the agreements when engaging landlords or tenants, our business or reputation could be harmed and we could be exposed to legal proceedings, costs and liabilities.
In addition, third parties that we cooperate with may be subject of various allegations. For example, there have been media reports where our tenant alleged that we and our financial institution partner failed to properly inform him when he entered into a rental installment loan agreement, even though we are not a party to the rental installment loan agreement and there are records showing that the tenant entered into the rental installment loan agreement knowingly. Although we and our financial institution partners have taken measures to avoid similar allegations, including requiring tenants to confirm that they fully understand they are entering into the rental installment loan agreement with a financial institution, we cannot assure you that incidences like this will not happen in future. Media reports of allegations against us or our partners, whether or not proven or with basis, could harm our reputation and impair our ability to attract and retain landlords and tenants. If we are unable to maintain a good reputation, further enhance our brand recognition, continue to cultivate user trust and increase the positive awareness of our website, mobile app and WeChat public accounts, our reputation, brand, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Any negative publicity with respect to us, our employees, business partners, contractors, the apartment rental industry in general, the rental installment loans, or our cooperation with other parties may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
The reputation of our brand is critical to our business and competitiveness. Factors that are vital to our reputation include, but are not limited to, our ability to:
maintain the reliability of our system;
provide well maintained apartments to tenants;
provide appropriate and explicit terms, including rental, to landlords and tenants;
effectively manage and resolve tenants and landlords complaints; and
effectively protect personal information and privacy of our tenants, landlords, employees and third party contractors and service providers.
Any malicious or negative allegation made by the media, tenants, landlords or other parties about the foregoing or other aspects of our company, including but not limited to, our management, employees, business partners, contractors, business, compliance with law, financial condition and prospects, whether with merit or not, could severely compromise our reputation and harm our business and operating results.
In addition, negative publicity about rental installment loans, such as negative publicity about entering into rental installment loan agreements without tenants' acknowledgement, could harm our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We may from time to time be subject to claims, controversies, lawsuits and other legal and administrative proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.
We are currently not party to any material legal or administrative proceedings. However, in light of the nature of our business, we are susceptible to potential claims or controversies. We have been, and may from time to time in the future be, subject to or involved in various claims, controversies, lawsuits and other legal and administrative proceedings. Lawsuits and litigations may cause us to incur defense costs, utilize a significant portion of our resources and divert management's attention from our day-to-day operations, any of which could harm our business. Claims arising out of actual or alleged violations of law could be asserted against us by apartment owners, landlords, tenants, third party contractors and service providers, suppliers, competitors, or governmental entities in civil or criminal investigations and proceedings or by other entities. These claims could be asserted under a variety of laws in different jurisdiction, including but not limited to internet information services laws, intellectual property laws, unfair competition laws, data protection and privacy laws, labor and employment laws, securities laws, consumer protection laws, tort laws, contract laws, property laws and employee benefit laws. In addition, as we do not verify the authenticity of the information such as electronic signatures provided by tenants, landlords and other third parties, such information may be misused and not genuine, which may also subject us to claims, lawsuits and other proceedings. We may also receive formal and informal inquiries from government authorities and regulators regarding our compliance with laws and regulations, many of which are evolving and subject to interpretation.
In particular, we may be exposed to various claims and disputes with our tenants, including but not limited to, those related to the terms set forth in the lease agreements. We take various measures to ensure that our tenants are aware of and understand the terms set forth in the lease agreements. These measures include, but not limited to, requiring tenants to watch a video regarding important terms before entering into lease agreements, and video recording tenants read out important terms in the lease agreement and confirm they understand the lease agreement. However, our tenants may misunderstand the terms in the lease agreements, such as the length of the lease, upfront payment terms and terms related to rental installment loans. These misunderstandings may lead to dispute between our tenants and us. For example, tenants may claim that they are not aware that the length of the lease term is 26 months, or do not know their deposits may be forfeited when they terminate the lease during the lock-in period or otherwise breach the term of the lease. In addition, some claims and disputes with tenants may involve accidents, injuries or death in our rental apartments such as lawsuits if a tenant is assaulted or becomes victim of theft or other crime during his or her stay in our rental apartment. See "—Accidents, injuries or death in our rental apartments may adversely affect our reputation and subject us to liability." Moreover, we may be exposed to claims and disputes with third-party suppliers, including but not limited to, those related to the payment for the goods. Such claims and disputes may be escalated to lawsuits or other legal proceedings and may distract our management, and materially and adversely affect our business and reputation.
There is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves in legal and administrative actions or in asserting our rights under various laws. Even if we are successful in our attempt to defend ourselves in legal and administrative actions or to assert our rights under various laws, enforcing our rights against the various parties involved may be expensive, time-consuming and ultimately futile. These actions could expose us to negative publicity and to substantial monetary damages and legal defense costs, injunctive relief and criminal and civil fines and penalties, including but not limited to suspension or revocation of licenses to conduct business.
If we fail to comply with governmental laws and regulations, or obtain or keep licenses, permits or approvals applicable to our business, our business and operations may be restricted and we may incur liabilities, financial penalties and other governmental sanctions.
Our business is subject to various compliance and operational requirements under PRC laws. For example, we are required to file the lease contract with the local real estate administration department. See "Regulations—Regulations Relating to Leasing." Furthermore, new regulations may be adopted in the future to increase our compliance efforts at significant costs. For example, national or local regulations requiring companies engaged in apartment rental to register as "apartment rental enterprise" are likely to be promulgated in the cities where we operate our rental apartments. As of the date of this prospectus, one of our PRC subsidiaries engaged in apartment rental has not yet registered as apartment rental enterprise and we expect to complete the registration by December 31, 2019. We may not be in full compliance with all of the applicable requirements if they are adopted and become effective. Such failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations related to our business and apartment rental operation or obtain required permits may subject us to potential monetary damages and fines or the suspension of operations of our company.
In addition, pursuant to PRC regulations, the registered address of a PRC company should be the place where it mainly operates its business, and a PRC company is required to establish branch offices where it operates its business. We seek to register branch offices where we have business operations. However, we have not been able to establish branch offices in some of the places where we operate our business, such as some regions in Beijing, Wuhan and Nanjing, and no penalties had been imposed by the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, as of the date of this prospectus. 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, and our business operations may be adversely affected.
Moreover, under PRC advertising laws and regulations, we shall ensure that our advertising content is true and accurate and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. See "Regulations—Regulations on Consumer Protection." In addition, where a special government review is required for specific types of advertisements prior to internet posting, we are obligated to confirm that such review has been performed and approval has been obtained. Violation of these laws and regulations may subject us to penalties, including imposition of fines, orders to cease dissemination of the advertisements and orders to publish an announcement correcting the misleading information. While we have made significant efforts to ensure that our advertisements are in full compliance with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that all the content contained in such advertisements is true and accurate and in compliance with laws and regulations, especially given the uncertainty in the interpretation of these PRC laws and regulations. If we are found to be in violation of applicable PRC advertising laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties and our reputation may be harmed, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Failure to diversify our revenue streams and expand the market acceptance of our value-added services may adversely affect our growth.
Most of our revenue in FY 2017 and FY 2018 was generated from rental income collected from our tenants. We have been expanding and continue to expand our value-added products and services, such as Qingke Select, which is our curated e-commerce marketplace. However, we cannot assure you that our efforts to derive more revenue from those value-added services may be successful. Our success depends on our cooperation with third parties and effectiveness of algorithm. See "—We depend on third parties for different aspects of our business and the services that we offer. Our business, results of operation, financial condition and reputation may be materially and adversely affected if the third parties do not continue to maintain or expand their relationship with us, or fail to provide services or products according to the terms of our contracts or otherwise below standard, or by the third parties operational failure." and "—We are highly dependent on information systems, and if our information systems contain undetected errors and ineffective algorithm, or we fail to properly maintain or
promptly upgrade our technology, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected." Failure to diversify our business may expose our business to concentration risks and harm our operations. Furthermore, we may have limited or no experience in the development, provision, or marketing of additional value-added services. As a result of the foregoing, our business may be placed at a disadvantaged position, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Potential strategic investments, acquisitions or new business initiatives may disrupt our ability to effectively manage our business and adversely affect our operating results.
We may acquire or make investments in other companies, business, products, or technologies along our business value chain to complement and expand our business. We may not be able to find suitable acquisition or investment candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisition and investment on favorable terms, or at all. If we do not complete acquisition and investment as we expect, we may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals, and any acquisition and investment we complete could be viewed negatively by investors. In addition, if we fail to successfully integrate such acquisitions or the technologies associated with such acquisitions into our company, the revenues and operating results of the combined company could be adversely affected. Acquisitions and investments are inherently risky and may not be successful, and they may disrupt our ongoing operations, divert management from their primary responsibilities, subject us to greater-than-expected liabilities and our expenses, and adversely impact our business, financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
We use internet search engines, online marketplaces, WeChat and other social media to promote our brand, list our rental apartments and direct traffic to our website, mobile app and WeChat public accounts. If we fail to successfully implement these initiatives, we would not be able to attract sufficient tenants and our business would be adversely affected.
We have relied on internet search engines, online marketplaces, WeChat and other social media to promote our brand, list our rental apartments and direct traffic to our website, mobile app and WeChat public account and intend to further increase our usage on such channels in the future to attract more tenants. For example, we use search engine advertising services to promote our brand and rental apartments. We also list our available rental apartments on third-party online marketplaces and the potential tenant may make an appointment to visit and reserve such apartment by calling the number we post on such online marketplace. However, the search result rankings of our rental apartments' information through online marketplaces are beyond our control. Our competitors may result in their apartments' information receiving a higher search result ranking than ours in online marketplaces, or online marketplaces could revise their methodologies in a way that would adversely affect search result rankings of our rental apartments' information, which may adversely affect our results of operation. In addition, internet search engine providers could provide listings and other apartment rental information directly in search results or choose to align with our competitors. Our website has experienced fluctuations in search result rankings in the past, and we anticipate similar fluctuations in the future.
We plan to integrate our business with our WeChat public accounts and other social media applications to promote our brand and products. WeChat and other social media may make changes to their policies, which could hinder or impede potential tenants from being directed to our website or information of our rental apartments. Any reduction in the number of visitors directed to our website and mobile apps through our WeChat public accounts and other social media could also harm our business and operating results.
Any failure to protect our patents, trademarks, computer software copyright and other intellectual property rights could have a negative impact on our business.
Our business heavily relies on our intellectual properties and information systems throughout each step of our business. Our protection for our intellectual property and proprietary rights may not be adequate, and our business may suffer if third parties infringe on our intellectual property and proprietary rights.
We may not have sufficient intellectual property rights in all countries and regions where unauthorized third-party copying or use of our proprietary technology may occur and the scope of our intellectual property might be more limited in certain countries and regions. As of March 31, 2019, we had 33 computer software copyrights registered with the Copyright Protection Center of China. However, our existing and future computer software copyrights and/or patents may not be sufficient to protect our products, services, technologies or designs and/or may not prevent others from developing competing products, services, technologies or designs. We cannot predict the validity and enforceability of our copyrights and other intellectual property with certainty. Litigation or other proceedings may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights. Initiating infringement proceedings against third parties can be expensive and time-consuming, and divert management's attention from other business concerns. We may not prevail in litigation to enforce our intellectual property against unauthorized use.
We may be subject to intellectual property infringement or misappropriation claims by third parties, which may force us to incur substantial legal expenses and, if determined adversely against us, could materially disrupt our business.
We cannot be certain that our services, information system, information provided on our website, WeChat public accounts and mobile apps do not or will not infringe patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims alleging infringement of patents, trademarks or copyrights, or misappropriation of creative ideas or formats, or other infringement of proprietary intellectual property rights.
The validity, enforceability and scope of intellectual property rights protection in internet-related industries, particularly in China, are uncertain and still evolving. For example, as we face increasing competition and litigation is frequently used to resolve disputes in China, we face a higher risk of being the subject of intellectual property infringement claims. Pursuant to relevant laws and regulations, internet service providers may be held liable for damages if such providers have reason to know that the works uploaded or linked infringe the copyrights of others. In cases involving the unauthorized posting of copyrighted content by users on websites in China, there have been court proceedings but no settled court practice as to when and how hosting providers and administrators of a website can be held liable for the unauthorized posting by third parties of copyrighted material. Any such proceeding could result in significant costs to us and divert our management's time and attention from the operation of our business, as well as potentially adversely impact our reputation, even if we are ultimately absolved of all liability.
Our inability to use software licensed from third parties, including open source software, could negatively affect our ability to offer our services and subject us to possible litigation.
A portion of the technologies we use incorporates open source software, and we may incorporate open source software in the future. Such open source software is generally licensed by its authors or other third parties under open source licenses. These licenses may subject us to certain unfavorable conditions, including requirements that we offer our services that incorporate the open source software for no cost, that we make publicly available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon, incorporating, or using the open source software, or that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of the particular open source license.
Additionally, if a third-party software provider has incorporated open source software into software that we license from such provider, we could be required to disclose or provide at no cost any of our source code that incorporates or is a modification of such licensed software. If an author or any third party that distributes open source software that we use or license were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of the applicable license, we may need to incur significant legal expenses defending against such allegations and could be subject to significant damages and enjoined from providing services that contained the open source software. Any of the foregoing could result in disruptions to our business, or delays in the development of future
enhancements of our existing platform, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Failure to attract, motivate and retain quality personnel at a reasonable cost could jeopardize our competitive position. We also depend on the continued efforts of our senior management. Failure to retain our management team could harm our business.
We have, from time to time in the past, experienced, and we expect in the future to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining employees with appropriate qualifications. 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. As a result, we may need to offer higher compensation and other benefits in order to attract and retain quality personnel in the future, which may increase our labor costs and adversely affect our business.
We must hire and train qualified managerial and other employees on a timely basis to keep pace with our rapid growth while maintaining consistent quality of services across our operations in various geographic locations. We offer structured training programs provided by our Qingke College and regional management teams, to our managerial and other 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 decline in one or more of the markets where we operate, which in turn, may cause a negative perception of our brand and adversely affect our business.
We place substantial reliance on the experience and the institutional knowledge of members of our current management team. Mr. Guangjie Jin, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and other members of the management team are particularly important to our future success due to their substantial experiences in real estate, apartment rental and other related industries. Finding suitable replacements for Mr. Guangjie Jin and other members of our management team could be difficult, and competition for such personnel of similar experience is intense. The loss of the services of one or more members of our management team due to their departures or otherwise could hinder our ability to effectively manage our business and implement our growth strategies.
We have granted, and may continue to grant, options, restricted share units and other types of awards, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses.
We have granted, and may continue to grant, options, restricted share units and other types of awards to our employees and other persons who contributed to the success of our operations. We account for the compensation costs for our share-based incentives using a fair-value based method and recognize expenses in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In 2014, 2016 and 2017, we granted an aggregate number of 70.0 million share options exercisable into 70.0 million ordinary shares to certain management, employees and non-employees. No share-based compensation expense is recognized until the date of the IPO. In addition, in 2017, we granted an aggregate number of 15.99 million restricted share units, or RSUs, representing 15.99 million ordinary shares, to a consulting company, which provided consulting services, including but not limited to, management of financing and investments, merger and acquisition, initial public offering and construction of information technology system, to us. The total expenses recognized in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the aforementioned RSUs are RMB0.8 million and RMB2.3 million (US$0.3 million) for FY 2017 and FY 2018. In July 2019, we repurchased 5.19 million RSUs. For more information, please refer to "Management—Stock Options A and Stock Options B."
We believe the granting of share-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to them in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Increases in labor costs and raw materials and enforcement of stricter labor laws and regulations in the PRC may adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Labor costs in China have risen in recent years as a result of the enactment of new labor laws and social development. Given that substantially all of our employees are currently located in China, rising labor costs in China will increase our personnel expenses. In addition, we have witnessed growing inflation rates in many areas of the world, and particularly in China, where we procure our raw materials for renovation of apartments, which adversely affects our costs of raw materials. We may not be able to pass on rising costs as a result of higher labor costs and increasing raw material prices to our tenants in the form of higher rents. Accordingly, our financial condition may be adversely affected if labor costs and raw material prices continue to rise in the future.
Companies operating in China are required to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of our employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where we operate our businesses. The requirement of employee benefit plans has not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. Companies operating in China are also required to withhold individual income tax on employees' salaries based on the actual salary of each employee upon payment.
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 funds, 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, as amended, or the Labor Contract Law, and its implementation rules, employers are subject to various 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. Under the PRC Social Insurance Law and the Administrative Measures on Housing Fund, employees are required to participate in pension insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, and housing funds, and employers are required, together with their employees or separately, to pay the social insurance premiums and housing funds for their employees. Employers that fail to make adequate social insurance and housing fund contributions may be subject to fines and legal sanctions. We could be deemed to have failed to pay certain social insurance and housing fund contributions under the relevant PRC laws and regulation. If the relevant PRC authorities determine that we shall make supplemental contributions, that we are not in compliance with labor laws and regulations, or that we are subject to fines or other legal sanctions, such as order of timely rectification, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Furthermore, 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 of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Our financial condition and results of operations may fluctuate due to seasonal variations in the demand of rental apartments.
Our revenues were generally higher during the fourth quarter of our financial year, as many students search for apartments in the cities where they are employed after graduation from universities. In addition, during and
around the Chinese New Year holidays, which usually fall in January or February, our revenues were generally lower than the other period of the year as people are less likely to move into new apartments or stay in rented apartments during and around Chinese New Year holidays. As a result, even though our revenues rebound in March due to higher demand as labor forces come back to cities in search of jobs after the Chinese New Year holidays, our revenues were generally lower during the second quarter of our financial year. For these reasons, our results of operations may not be comparable from quarter to quarter. Although our rapid growth has lessened the impact of the seasonal fluctuations and cyclicality, our operating results have been and may continue to be subject to seasonality.
We do not maintain any insurance for our business, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.
We do not have any business disruption insurance, litigation insurance coverage, insurance policies covering damages to our IT infrastructure or information system, insurance on properties or tenant safety insurance, or insurance for the contractors. Any disruption to our IT infrastructures or systems, business disruption, litigation or natural disaster could result in substantial cost to us and diversion of our resources, as well as significantly disrupt our operations, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.
Moreover, to improve our performance and to prevent disruption of our business, we may have to make substantial investments to deploy additional servers and backup our databases, which could increase our expenses.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our variable interest entity do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, 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.
Foreign ownership of internet-based businesses, such as distribution of online information and other value-added telecommunication services, are subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. For example, foreign investors are generally not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interests in a value-added telecommunication service provider and any such foreign investor must have experience in providing value-added telecommunications services overseas and maintain a good track record in accordance with the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment promulgated in 2007, as amended in 2011, 2015 and 2017, and other applicable laws and regulations.
We are a Cayman Islands company and Shanghai Qingke Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. (the "Q&K WFOE"), our PRC subsidiary, is considered a foreign invested enterprise. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct our operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered into among the Q&K WFOE, Shanghai Qingke E-commerce Co., Ltd (the "VIE"), and the shareholders of the VIE. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we exert control over Shanghai Qingke E-commerce Limited and consolidate its operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. Shanghai Qingke Equipment Rental Co., the subsidiary of the VIE, has been operating our business, including, among others, operations of our www.qk365.com website since its incorporation. See "Corporate History and Structure" for more details. The VIE has obtained a value-added telecommunications service license for operations of internet content service ("ICP License") from Shanghai Bureau of Communication Management on April 29, 2015, which will remain valid until April 28, 2020.
We believe that our corporate structure and contractual arrangements comply with the current applicable PRC laws and regulations. Our PRC legal counsel, JunHe LLP, based on its understanding of the relevant laws
and regulations, is of the opinion that each of the contracts among the Q&K WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms. However, as there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, including the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, and the Telecommunications Regulations and the relevant regulatory measures concerning the telecommunications industry, there can be no assurance that the PRC government authorities, such as the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOC, the MIIT, or other authorities that regulate the foreign investment or the telecommunications industry, would agree that our corporate structure or any of the above contractual arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or policies that may be adopted in the future. PRC laws and regulations governing the validity of these contractual arrangements are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations.
If our corporate structure and contractual arrangements are deemed by the MIIT or the MOC or other regulators having competent authority as illegal, either in whole or in part, we may lose control of our variable interest entity and have to modify such structure to comply with regulatory requirements. However, there can be no assurance that we can achieve this without material disruption to our business. Further, if our corporate structure and contractual arrangements are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or we or the VIE fails to obtain or maintain any required permits or approvals, the relevant regulatory authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:
revoking our business and operating licenses;
levying fines on us;
confiscating any of our income that they deem to be obtained through illegal operations;
shutting down our services;
discontinuing or restricting our operations in China;
imposing conditions or requirements with which we may not be able to comply;
requiring us to change our corporate structure and contractual arrangements;
restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds from overseas offering to finance our variable interest entity's business and operations; and
taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business.
The imposition of any of the penalties above may materially and adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. In addition, it is uncertain whether any new PRC laws, regulations or rules relating to the "variable interest entity" structure will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. See "—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations."
We rely on contractual arrangements with our variable interest entity and its shareholders for a significant portion of our business operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.
We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders to operate our website, www.qk365.com, as well as certain other complementary businesses. See "Corporate History and Structure" for more details. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over the VIE. For example, the VIE and its shareholders may fail to fulfill their contractual obligations with us, such as failure to maintain our website and use the domain names and trademarks in a manner as stipulated in the contractual arrangements, or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests.
If we had direct ownership of the VIE, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of the VIE, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by the VIE and its shareholders of their obligations under these contracts to exercise control over the VIE. However, the shareholders of the VIE may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate our business through the contractual arrangements with the VIE. Although we have the right to replace any shareholder of the VIE under the contractual arrangements, if any shareholder is uncooperative or any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC laws and arbitration, litigation and other legal proceedings, the outcome of which will be subject to uncertainties. See "—Any failure by our variable interest entity or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business." Therefore, our contractual arrangements with the VIE may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership would be.
Any failure by our variable interest entity or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business.
If the VIE or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective under PRC laws. For example, if the shareholders of the VIE were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in the VIE to us or our designee if we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.
All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in China (the arbitration provisions relate to the claims arising out of the contractual relationship created by the VIE agreements, rather than claims under the United States federal securities laws and do not prevent shareholders of our company from pursuing claims under the United States federal securities laws). Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC laws. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under PRC laws, rulings by arbitrators are final and parties cannot appeal arbitration results in court unless such rulings are revoked or determined unenforceable by a competent court. If the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over the VIE and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected. See "—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us."
The shareholders of our variable interest entity may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
The shareholders of the VIE may have potential conflicts of interest with us. These shareholders may not act in the best interest of our company or may breach, or cause the VIE to breach, the existing contractual
arrangements we have with them and the VIE, which would have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control the VIE and receive economic benefits from it. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with the VIE to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. Neither Bing Xiao or the management or shareholders of Xiamen Siyuan Investment Management Co., Ltd., shareholders of the VIE, are our management or employee. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the exclusive option agreement with these shareholders to request them to transfer all of their equity interests in the VIE to the Q&K WFOE or an entity or individual designated by us, to the extent permitted by PRC laws. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of the VIE, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in the disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.
Contractual arrangements in relation to our variable interest entity may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or our PRC variable interest entity owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.
Under applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities within ten years after the taxable year when the transactions are conducted. The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law requires every enterprise in China to submit its annual enterprise income tax return together with a report on transactions with its related parties to the relevant tax authorities. The tax authorities may impose reasonable adjustments on taxation if they have identified any related party transactions that are inconsistent with arm's length principles. We may face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among the Q&K WFOE, the VIE and the shareholders of the VIE were not entered into on an arm's length basis in such a way as to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and adjust the Q&K WFOE's income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction of expense deductions recorded by the Q&K WFOE for PRC tax purposes, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities without reducing the Q&K WFOE's tax expenses. In addition, if the Q&K WFOE requests the shareholders of the VIE to transfer their equity interests in the VIE at nominal or no value pursuant to these contractual arrangements, such transfer could be viewed as a gift and subject the Q&K WFOE to PRC income tax. Furthermore, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on the VIE for the adjusted but unpaid taxes according to the applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if our variable interest entity's tax liabilities increase or if it is required to pay late payment fees and other penalties.
We may lose the ability to use and enjoy assets held by our variable interest entity that are material to the operation of our business if the entity goes bankrupt or becomes subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.
The VIE holds certain assets that are material to the operation of our business, including domain names and an ICP license. Under the contractual arrangements, the VIE may not and its shareholders may not cause it to, in any manner, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of its assets or its legal or beneficial interests in the business without our prior consent. However, in the event that the VIE's shareholders breach the contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIE, or if the VIE declares bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, 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 the VIE undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, independent third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering
our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Changes in China's economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Substantially all of our operations are located in China and all of our revenue is sourced from China. Accordingly, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally and by continued economic growth in China as a whole.
The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the 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 is 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 on the apartment rental industry. In addition, in the past the Chinese government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate increases, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, and since 2012, the Chinese economy has slowed down. 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.
The PRC legal system is based on written statutes and prior court decisions or legal cases have limited value as precedents. Since these laws, regulations and rules are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the application and interpretations of these laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform, are ambiguous and may be interpreted and applied inconsistently between different government authorities, and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties.
Developments in the apartment rental 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 us, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operations. See "—New laws, regulations and policies may be promulgated to strengthen the regulation on the apartment rental industry in the future which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects."
From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and
implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules in a timely manner until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.
Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.
The Foreign Investment Law was enacted by the second session of the thirteenth National People's Congress of the PRC on March 15, 2019 and will become effective on January 1, 2020, which will replace the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. This law will become the legal foundation for foreign investment in the PRC. The Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments. However, uncertainties still exist in relation to interpretation and implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, especially in regard to, including, among other things, the nature of "variable interest entity" structure, the promulgation schedule of both the "negative list" (the "Negative List") under the Foreign Investment Law and specific rules regulating the organization form of foreign-invested enterprises within the five-year transition period. As a result, the Foreign Investment Law may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects.
The "variable interest entity" structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. See "—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure" and "Corporate History and Structure."
However, the promulgated Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly define VIE structure as a form of foreign investment or indicate what actions shall be taken with respect to the existing companies with a VIE structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the apartment rental industry, in which the VIE and its subsidiaries operate, will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the "catalog of special administrative measures" to be issued. If companies with an existing VIE structure like us are required to complete the MOC market entry clearance, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all. If we are not able to obtain such clearance when required, our VIE structure may be regarded as invalid and illegal. As a result, we would not be able to (i) continue our business in China through our contractual arrangements with the VIE and shareholders of the VIE, (ii) exert control over the VIE, (iii) receive the economic benefits of the VIE under such contractual arrangements, or (iv) consolidate the financial results of the VIE. Were this to occur, our results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected and the market price of our ADSs may decline.
The Foreign Investment Law mainly stipulates three forms of foreign investment, which includes: (a) a foreign investor, individually or collectively with other investors, establishes a foreign-invested enterprise within PRC, (b) a foreign investor acquires stock shares, equity shares, interests in assets, or other like rights and interests of an enterprise within PRC, and (c) a foreign investor, individually or collectively with other investors, invests in a new project within PRC. Despite the fact that the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly
stipulate the contractual arrangements or VIE structure as a form of foreign investment, it contains a general provision that foreign investment includes "foreign investors invest in China through any other methods under laws, administrative regulations, or provisions prescribed by the State Council." Therefore, there are possibilities that future laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council of the PRC may stipulate contractual arrangements as a way of foreign investment, and then whether our contractual arrangements will be recognized as a foreign investment, whether our contractual arrangements will be deemed to be in violation of the access requirements of foreign investment and how our contractual arrangements will be interpreted and handled remain uncertain.
There is no guarantee that our contractual arrangements and the business of our consolidated VIE will not be materially and adversely affected in the future. If the contractual arrangements and business of our company, our PRC subsidiary or our variable interest entity are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits, approvals or clearance, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including levying fines, confiscating our income or the income of our PRC subsidiary or the VIE, revoking the business licenses or operating licenses of our PRC subsidiary or the VIE, shutting down our servers or blocking our rental apartments listed on the internet, discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on our operations, requiring us to undergo a costly and disruptive restructuring, restricting or prohibiting our use of proceeds from this offering to finance our business and operations in China, and taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business. In the extreme case-scenario, we may be required to unwind the contractual arrangements or dispose of our VIE which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and severely damage our reputation, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these occurrences results in our inability to direct the activities of the VIE, and/or our failure to receive economic benefits from the VIE, we may not be able to consolidate their results into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
The Foreign Investment Law, may also adversely impact our corporate governance practice and increase our compliance costs. For instance, the Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. Aside from an investment information report required at each investment, and investment amendment reports, which shall be submitted upon alteration of investment specifics, it is mandatory for entities established by foreign investors to submit an annual report, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liabilities. In addition, the Foreign Investment Law allows foreign invested enterprises established according to the existing laws regulating foreign investment to maintain their current structure and corporate governance during the five-year transition period. This infers that we may be required to adjust the structure and corporate governance of certain of our PRC subsidiaries in the transition period. Failure to take timely and appropriate measures to cope with any of these or similar regulatory compliance requirements may lead to regulatory incompliance and hence materially and adversely affect our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.
We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The PRC government extensively regulates the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the internet industry. These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations.
We only have contractual control over the entities which own the domain name of our website or are registered as the owner of the mobile apps. We do not directly own the website or mobile apps due to the restriction of foreign investment in businesses providing value-added telecommunication services in China, including internet information provision services. This may significantly disrupt our business, subject us to sanctions, compromise enforceability of related contractual arrangements, or have other harmful effects on us.
The evolving PRC regulatory system for the internet industry may lead to the establishment of new regulatory agencies. For example, in May 2011, the State Council announced the establishment of a new department, the State Internet Information Office (with the involvement of the State Council Information Office, the MIIT, and the Ministry of Public Security). The primary role of this new agency is to facilitate the policy-making and legislative development in this field, to direct and coordinate with the relevant departments in connection with online content administration and to deal with cross-ministry regulatory matters in relation to the internet industry.
The interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies including but not limited to those relating to the internet industry have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of our business. We cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our business in China or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain new ones. If the PRC government considers that we were operating without the proper approvals, licenses or permits or promulgates new laws and regulations that require additional approvals or licenses or imposes additional restrictions on the operation of any part of our business, it has the power, among other things, to levy fines, confiscate our income, revoke our business licenses, and require us to discontinue our relevant business or impose restrictions on the affected portion of our business. Any of these actions by the PRC government may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.
We are a holding company, and we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur. If our PRC subsidiary incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require our PRC subsidiary to adjust its taxable income under the contractual arrangements it currently has in place with the VIE and its shareholders in a manner that would materially and adversely affect their ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. See "—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—Contractual arrangements in relation to our variable interest entity may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or our PRC variable interest entity owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment."
Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiary, as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China, may pay dividends only out of its accumulated after-tax profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is required to set aside at least 10% of its accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such funds reaches 50% of its registered capital. At its discretion, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends.
Our PRC subsidiaries generate primarily all of their revenue in Renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As a result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to use their Renminbi revenues to pay dividends to us.
In response to the persistent capital outflow and the Renminbi's depreciation against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2016, the PBOC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, have implemented a series of capital control measures over recent months, including stricter vetting procedures for China-based companies to remit foreign currency for overseas acquisitions, dividend payments and shareholder loan repayments. The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls and our PRC subsidiary's dividends and other distributions may be subjected to tighter scrutiny in the future. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business. See also "—If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders."
In addition, the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC-resident enterprises are incorporated.
PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
Any funds we transfer to our PRC subsidiary, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital, are subject to approval by or registration with relevant governmental authorities in China. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises in China, capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary are subject to the requirement of making necessary filings and registration with other governmental authorities in China. In addition, (a) any foreign loan procured by our PRC subsidiary is required to be registered with the SAFE, or its local branches, and (b) our PRC subsidiary may not procure loans which exceed the statutory limitation. Any medium or long term loan to be provided by us to a variable interest entity of our company must be recorded and registered by the National Development and Reform Committee and the SAFE or its local branches. We may not complete such recording or registrations on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future capital contributions or foreign loans by us to our PRC subsidiary. If we fail to complete such recording or registration, our ability to use the proceeds of this offering and to capitalize our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
In 2008, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, which used to regulate the conversion by foreign-invested enterprises of foreign currency into Renminbi by restricting the usage of converted Renminbi. On March 30, 2015, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19. SAFE Circular 19 took effect as of June 1, 2015 and superseded SAFE Circular 142 on the same date. SAFE Circular 19 launched a nationwide reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of foreign-invested enterprises and allows foreign-invested enterprises to settle their foreign exchange capital at their discretion, but continues to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from using the Renminbi fund converted from their foreign exchange capitals for expenditures beyond their business scopes. On June 9, 2016, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming and Standardizing the Administrative Provisions on Capital Account Foreign Exchange, or SAFE Circular 16. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 continue to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using RMB fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, investment and financing (except for security investment or guarantee products issued by bank), providing loans to non-affiliated enterprises or constructing or purchasing real estate not for self-use. SAFE Circular 19 and
SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer to and use in China the net proceeds from this offering, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the price of our ADSs.
The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions in China and by China's foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the Renminbi to the U.S. dollar, and the Renminbi appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the Renminbi has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. On November 30, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the regular five-year review of the basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right, or the SDR, and decided that with effect from October 1, 2016, Renminbi is determined to be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the RMB has depreciated significantly in the backdrop of a surging U.S. dollar and persistent capital outflows of China. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and Renminbi internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system and we cannot assure you that the Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future.
Substantially all of our revenue and costs are denominated in Renminbi. We are a holding company and we rely on dividends paid by our operating subsidiaries in China for our cash needs. Any significant revaluation of the Renminbi may have a material and adverse effect on your investment. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from this offering into Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.
Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.
The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our net revenues in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our company in the Cayman Islands relies on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from the SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. Therefore, our PRC subsidiary is able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from the SAFE, subject to the condition that the remittance of such dividends outside of the PRC complies with certain procedures under PRC foreign exchange regulation, such as the overseas investment registrations by the beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents. But approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies.
In light of the flood of capital outflows of China in 2016 due to the weakening RMB, the PRC government has imposed more restrictive foreign exchange policies and stepped up scrutiny of major outbound capital
movement. More restrictions and substantial vetting processes are put in place by the SAFE to regulate cross-border transactions falling under the capital account. The PRC government may at its discretion further restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.
Furthermore, as these foreign exchange regulations are still relatively new and their interpretation and implementation has been constantly evolving, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border 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 required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.
The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering under a regulation adopted in August 2006, as amended, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval.
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in August 2006 and amended in 2009, requires an overseas special purpose vehicle formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle's securities on an overseas stock exchange. In September 2006, the CSRC published a notice on its official website specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by a special purpose vehicle seeking CSRC approval of its overseas listings.
We believe, based on the advice of our PRC legal counsel, JunHe LLP, that the CSRC's approval is not required for the listing and trading of our ADSs on the [NASDAQ Global Market] in the context of this offering, given that:
we established our PRC subsidiary by means of direct investment rather than by merger with or acquisition of PRC domestic companies as defined in the M&A Rules; and
no explicit provision in the M&A Rules classifies the respective contractual arrangements between the Q&K WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules.
However, there remains some uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering and the CSRC's opinions summarized above are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If the CSRC or any other PRC regulatory agencies subsequently determines that we need to obtain the CSRC's approval for this offering or if the CSRC or any other PRC government agencies promulgates any interpretation or implements rules before our listing that would require us to obtain CSRC or other governmental approvals for this offering, we may face adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. Sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiary, or other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations,
reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before the settlement and delivery of the ADSs that we are offering. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ADSs we are offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals for this offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding such approval requirement could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of the ADSs.
The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.
The M&A Rules discussed in the preceding risk factor and some 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, including requirements in some instances that the MOC be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. For example, the M&A rules require that the MOC be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise if (i) any important industry is concerned, (ii) such transaction involves factors that have or may have impact on the national economic security, or (iii) such transaction will lead to a change in control of a domestic enterprise which holds a famous trademark or PRC time-honored brand. The approval from the MOC shall be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire affiliated domestic companies. Mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the MOC when the threshold under the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, or the Prior Notification Rules, issued by the State Council in August 2008 is triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOC that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise "national defense and security" concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise "national security" concerns are subject to strict review by the MOC, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOC or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiary's ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC law.
The SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to PRC Resident's Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014 that requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC residents or entities, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions.
SAFE Circular 37 is issued to replace the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments through Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75.
If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, our PRC subsidiary may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.
However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents or entities holding direct or indirect interest in our company, nor can we compel our beneficial owners to comply with the requirements of SAFE Circular 37 or other applicable laws and regulations. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE Circular 37 or other applicable laws and regulations. Failure by such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with SAFE Circular 37, other related regulations or failure by us to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiary, could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiary's ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.
Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee share incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.
Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas non-publicly-listed companies may submit applications to SAFE or its local branches for the foreign exchange registration with respect to offshore special purpose vehicles. In the meantime, our directors, executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens, subject to limited exceptions, and who have been granted share incentive awards by us, may follow the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Share Incentive Plan of Companies Listed Overseas, promulgated by the SAFE in 2012, or the 2012 SAFE Notice. Pursuant to the 2012 SAFE Notice, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year who participate in any share incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the PRC subsidiaries of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of share incentive awards and the purchase or sale of shares and interests. When our company becomes an overseas listed company upon the completion of this offering, we and grantees of our share incentive awards who are PRC citizens or who reside in the PRC for a continuous period of no less than one year will be subject to these regulations. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject the grantees of share incentive awards to fines and legal sanctions, and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries' ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional share incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees under PRC law. See "Regulations—Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange—Regulations on Offshore Financing" for more details.
If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with a "de facto management body" within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to the enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the
term "de facto management body" as the body that exercises full and substantial control over and overall management of the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In April 2009, the State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") issued a circular, known as Circular 82, 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. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners like us, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the SAT's general position on how the "de facto management body" test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its "de facto management body" in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise's financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprise's primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.
We believe none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. See "Taxation—People's Republic of China Taxation" for more details. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term "de facto management body." As substantially all of our management members are based in China, it remains unclear how the tax residency rule will apply to our case. If the PRC tax authorities determine that Q&K International Group Limited or any of our subsidiaries outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, then Q&K International Group Limited or such subsidiary could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25% on its worldwide income, which could materially reduce our net income. In addition, we will also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor immediately below, if the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, gains realized on the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares may be subject to PRC tax, and it is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in the ADSs or ordinary shares.
Dividends payable to our foreign investors and gains on the sale of our ADSs or ordinary shares by our foreign investors may become subject to PRC tax.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation regulations issued by the State Council, a 10% PRC withholding tax is applicable to dividends payable to investors that are non-resident enterprises, which do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC or which have such establishment or place of business but the dividends are not effectively connected with such establishment or place of business, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties or under applicable tax arrangements between jurisdictions, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. Similarly, any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or ordinary shares by such investors is also subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 10%, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties or under applicable tax arrangements between jurisdictions, if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC. If we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends paid on our ordinary shares or ADSs, and any gain realized from the transfer of our ordinary shares or ADSs, may be treated as income derived from sources within the PRC and may as a result be subject to PRC taxation. Furthermore, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends payable to individual investors who are non-PRC residents and any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or ordinary shares by such investors may be subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 20%, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties or under applicable tax arrangements between jurisdictions, if such dividends or gains are deemed to be from PRC sources. If we or any of our subsidiaries established outside China are
considered a PRC resident enterprise, it is unclear whether holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares would be able to claim the benefit of income tax treaties or agreements entered into between China and other countries or areas. If dividends payable to our non-PRC investors, or gains from the transfer of our ADSs or ordinary shares by such investors, are deemed as income derived from sources within the PRC and thus are subject to PRC tax, the value of your investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares may decline significantly.
We and our shareholders face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises or other assets attributed to a Chinese establishment of a non-Chinese company, or immovable properties located in China owned by non-Chinese companies.
On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Several Issues Concerning the Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Property Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises, or Circular 7, 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 SAT Circular 698, issued by the SAT on December 10, 2009. Pursuant to this Circular 7, an "indirect transfer" of assets, including equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of PRC taxable assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax. According to Circular 7, "PRC taxable assets" include assets attributed to an establishment in China, immovable properties located in China, and equity investments in PRC resident enterprises, in respect of which gains from their transfer by a direct holder, being a non-PRC resident enterprise, would be subject to PRC enterprise income taxes. When determining whether there is a "reasonable commercial purpose" of the transaction arrangement, features to be taken into consideration include: whether the main value of the equity interest of the relevant offshore enterprise derives from PRC taxable assets; whether the assets of the relevant offshore enterprise mainly consists of direct or indirect investment in China or if its income mainly derives from China; whether the offshore enterprise and its subsidiaries directly or indirectly holding PRC taxable assets have real commercial nature which is evidenced by their actual function and risk exposure; the duration of existence of the business model and organizational structure; the replicability of the transaction by direct transfer of PRC taxable assets; and the tax situation of such indirect transfer and applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements. In respect of an indirect offshore transfer of assets of a PRC establishment, the resulting gain is to be included with the enterprise income tax filing of the PRC establishment or place of business being transferred, and would consequently be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Where the underlying transfer relates to the immovable properties located in China or to equity investments in a PRC resident enterprise, which is not related to a PRC establishment or place of business of a non-resident enterprise, a PRC enterprise income tax of 10% would apply, subject to available preferential tax treatment under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, and the party who is obligated to make the transfer payments has the withholding obligation. Where the payor fails to withhold any or sufficient tax, the transferor is required to declare and pay such tax to the tax authority by itself within the statutory time limit. Late payment of applicable tax will subject the transferor to default interest. Circular 7 does not apply to transactions of sale of shares by investors through a public stock exchange where such shares were acquired from a transaction through a public stock exchange. On October 17, 2017, the SAT promulgated the Bulletin of SAT on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source ("Bulletin 37"), which became effective on December 1, 2017, and SAT Circular 698 then was repealed with effect from December 1, 2017. Bulletin 37, among other things, simplified procedures of withholding and payment of income tax levied on non-resident enterprises.
There is uncertainty as to the application of Circular 7 and Bulletin 37. We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where PRC taxable assets are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries or investments. Our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxed if our company is transferor in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is transferee in such transactions under Circular 7 or Bulletin 37. For transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiary may be
requested to assist in the filing under Circular 7 or Bulletin 37. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 7 or Bulletin 37 or to request the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with Circular 7 and Bulletin 37, or to establish that our company should not be taxed under Circular 7 and Bulletin 37, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions in China against us or our management named in the prospectus based on foreign laws.
We are a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and we conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, most of our senior executive officers reside in China for a significant portion of the time and most of them are PRC nationals. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process upon us or those persons inside mainland China. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in the United States courts judgments obtained in the United States courts based on the civil liability provisions of the United States federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors who reside and whose assets are located outside the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of the United States courts against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state.
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of reciprocity with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.
The audit report included in this prospectus is prepared by auditors who are not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, our investors are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.
Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in our prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or 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 we have substantial operations within the PRC and the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections of the work of our independent registered public accounting firm as it relates to those operations without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our independent registered public accounting firm is not currently inspected fully by the PCAOB. This lack of PCAOB inspections in the PRC prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our independent registered public accounting firm's audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.
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. However, it remains unclear what further actions the SEC and PCAOB will take and its impact on Chinese companies listed in the U.S.
Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside the PRC 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. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct full inspections of auditors in the PRC makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm's audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside the PRC that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.
Proceedings instituted by the SEC against the "big four" 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.
In late 2012, the SEC commenced administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the mainland Chinese affiliates of the "Big Four" accounting firms (including the mainland Chinese affiliate of our independent registered public accounting firm). A first instance trial of the proceedings in July 2013 in the SEC's internal administrative court resulted in an adverse judgment against the firms. The administrative law judge proposed penalties on the Chinese accounting firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although that proposed penalty did not take effect pending review by the Commissioners of the SEC. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the Commissioner had taken place, the Chinese accounting firms reached a settlement with the SEC whereby the proceedings were stayed. Under the settlement, the SEC accepted that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents would normally be made to the CSRC. The Chinese accounting firms would receive requests matching those under Section 106 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and would be required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance would require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. The CSRC for its part initiated a procedure whereby, under its supervision and subject to its approval, requested classes of documents held by the accounting firms could be sanitized of problematic and sensitive content so as to render them capable of being made available by the CSRC to US regulators.
Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four PRC-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice at the end of four years starting from the settlement date, which was on February 6, 2019. Despite the final ending of the proceedings, the presumption is that all parties will continue to apply the same procedures: i.e. the SEC will continue to make its requests for the production of documents to the CSRC, and the CSRC will normally process those requests applying the sanitization procedure. We cannot predict whether, in cases where the CSRC does not authorize production of requested documents to the SEC, the SEC will further challenge the four PRC-based accounting firms' compliance with U.S. law. If additional challenges are imposed on the Chinese affiliates of the "big four" accounting firms, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.
In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these accounting firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.
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 Congress that would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which the PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. The Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act prescribes increased disclosure requirements for such issuers and, beginning in 2025, the delisting from national securities exchanges such as the NASDAQ or the NYSE of issuers included for three consecutive years
on the SEC's list. Enactment of this legislation or other efforts to increase US regulatory access to audit information could cause investor uncertainty for affected issuers, including us, and the market price of our ADSs could be adversely affected. It is unclear if this proposed legislation would be enacted.
If our independent registered public accounting firm were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ordinary shares from the [NASDAQ Global Market] or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.
Risks Related to this Offering and our American Depositary Shares
There has been no public market for our ordinary shares or ADSs prior to this offering, and you may not be able to resell our ADSs at or above the price you paid, or at all.
Prior to this initial public offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or ADSs. We intend to list our ADSs on the [NASDAQ Global Market]. Our ordinary shares will not be listed on any exchange or quoted for trading on any over-the-counter trading system. If an active trading market for our ADSs does not develop after this offering, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs will be materially and adversely affected.
Negotiations with the underwriters will determine the initial public offering price for our ADSs which may bear no relationship to their market price after the initial public offering. We cannot assure you that an active trading market for our ADSs will develop or that the market price of our ADSs will not decline below the initial public offering price.
The market price for our ADSs may be volatile.
The trading prices of our ADSs are likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation in the market prices or the underperformance or deteriorating financial results of other listed internet or 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 their trading prices. The trading performances of other Chinese companies' securities after their offerings, including internet and e-commerce companies, may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or other matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. 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 adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs.
In addition to the above factors, the price and trading volume of our ADSs may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including, among others, (i) regulatory developments affecting us, our tenants, our landlords, third-party service providers, financial institutions, or our industry, (ii) market conditions in the apartment rental industry, (iii) changes in the performance or market valuations of other apartment rental platforms, (iv) announcements by us or our competitors of new product and service offerings, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures or capital commitments, (v) actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and changes or revisions of our expected results, or changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts, (vi) negative publicity about us, our management or our industry, and (vii) sales or perceived potential sales of additional ordinary shares or ADSs.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, 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 cover us downgrade our ADSs or publish 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 our initial public offering price is substantially higher than our net tangible book value per share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.
If you purchase ADSs in this offering, you will pay more for your ADSs than the amount paid by our existing shareholders for their ordinary shares on a per ADS basis. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of US$ per ADS, representing the difference between the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, and our net tangible book value per ADS as of September 30, 2018, after giving effect to the net proceeds to us from this offering. In addition, you may experience further dilution to the extent that our ordinary shares are issued upon the exercise of any share options. See "Dilution" for a more complete description of how the value of your investment in our ADSs will be diluted upon completion of this offering.
Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future after this offering, you must rely on price appreciation of our ADSs for return on your investment.
We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings after this offering 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 discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts at they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. 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 subsidiary, 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 after this offering 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 in the public market after this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. Immediately after the completion of this offering, we will have ordinary shares outstanding including ordinary shares represented by ADSs, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. All ADSs sold in this offering will be freely transferable without restriction or additional registration under the Securities Act. The remaining ordinary shares outstanding
after this offering will be available for sale, upon the expiration of the 180-day lock-up period beginning from the date of this prospectus, subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. Any or all of these shares may be released prior to the expiration of the lock-up period at the discretion of the representatives of the underwriters of this offering. To the extent shares are released before the expiration of the lock-up period and sold into the market, the market price of our ADSs could decline.
After completion of this offering, certain holders of our ordinary shares may cause us to register under the Securities Act the sale of their shares, subject to the 180-day lock-up period in connection with this offering. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in ADSs representing these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the form of ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.
We have granted equity-based awards to certain management, employees and non-employees. See "Management—Stock Options A and Stock Options B." We may adopt a share incentive plan in the future, under which we may have the discretion to grant a range of equity-based awards to eligible participants. We intend to register all ordinary shares that we may issue pursuant to the equity-based awards we have granted and under the share incentive plan we may adopt. Once we register these ordinary shares, they can be freely sold in the public market in the form of ADSs upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates and the lock-up agreements described in the "Underwriting" section of this prospectus. If a large number of our ordinary shares or securities convertible into our ordinary shares are sold in the public market in the form of ADSs after they become eligible for sale, the sales could reduce the trading price of our ADSs and impede our ability to raise future capital. In addition, any ordinary shares that we issue under our share incentive plan would dilute the percentage ownership held by investors who purchase ADSs in this offering.
The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to direct the voting of the underlying ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs.
As a holder of our ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to cast any votes at such meetings. You will only be able to exercise the voting rights which attach to the underlying ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary, as the holder of the underlying ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will endeavor to vote the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with your instructions in the event voting is by poll, and in accordance with instructions received from a majority of holders of ADSs who provide instructions in the event voting is by show of hands. The depositary will not join in demanding a vote by poll. You will not be able to directly exercise any right to vote with respect to the underlying ordinary shares unless you withdraw the shares and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to completion of this offering, the minimum notice period required to be given by our company to our registered shareholders for convening a general meeting is ten (10) days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice to enable you to withdraw the underlying shares which are represented by your ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting to allow you to attend the general meeting or to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution which is to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. In addition, under our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to completion of this offering, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the underlying shares which are represented by your ADSs and becoming the registered holder of
such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. Where any matter is to be put to a vote at a general meeting, the depositary will, if we request, and subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, endeavor to notify you of the upcoming vote and to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the underlying shares which are represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct the voting of the underlying shares which are represented by your ADSs, and you may have no legal remedy if the underlying shares are not voted as you requested.
Your rights to pursue claims against the depositary as a holder of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement and the deposit agreement may be amended or terminated without your consent.
Under the deposit agreement, any action or proceeding against or involving the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby or by virtue of owning the ADSs may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and you, as a holder of our ADSs, will have irrevocably waived any objection which you may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such action or proceeding. Also, we may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold your ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended. See "Description of American Depositary Shares" for more details.
Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.
We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make such 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 in the future and may experience dilution in your holdings.
You may not receive dividends or other distributions on our ordinary shares and you may not receive any value for them, if it is illegal or impractical 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 underlying our ADSs, 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 is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not feasible to distribute certain property through the mail. Additionally, 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. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or
impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of our ADSs.
ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiffs in any such action.
The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws.
If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a federal or state court in the City of New York, which has non-exclusive jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement.
If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against either or both of us and the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiffs in any such action.
Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any substantive provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
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.
Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.
We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, a majority of our directors and executive officers reside within China, and most of the assets of these
persons are located within China. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these individuals, or to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of the PRC may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. See "Enforceability of Civil Liabilities" for more details.
You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.
We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors will have discretion under the post-offering memorandum and articles of association we expect to adopt, to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder resolution or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see "Description of Share Capital—Differences in Corporate Law."
You must rely on the judgment of our management as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and such use may not produce income or increase our ADS price.
As of September 30, 2018, our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were RMB118.8 million (US$17.3 million). Immediately following the completion of this offering, we expect to receive net offering proceeds of approximately US$ , or approximately US$ if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, after deducting underwriting discounts and the estimated offering expenses payable by us. These estimates are based upon an assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, the midpoint of the price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus. We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering for the expansion of our apartment network, including the related capital expenditure and sales and marketing activities, continued investment in our technology systems and infrastructure, and general corporate purposes. See "Use of Proceeds." However, our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds received by us. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether
proceeds are being used appropriately. The net proceeds may be used for corporate purposes that do not improve our efforts to achieve or maintain profitability or increase our ADS price. The net proceeds from this offering may be placed in investments that do not produce income or that lose value.
Our directors, officers and principal shareholders have substantial influence over our company and their interests may not be aligned with the interests of our other shareholders.
Our directors and officers will collectively own an aggregate of % of the total voting power of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately upon completion of this offering, based on the initial offering price of US$ per ADS and assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. See "Capitalization" and "Principal [and Selling] Shareholders." As a result, they have substantial influence over our business, including significant corporate actions such as change of directors, mergers, change of control transactions and other significant corporate actions.
They may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the ADSs. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders, including those who purchase ADSs in this offering. In addition, the significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs due to investors' perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise. For more information regarding our principal shareholders and their affiliated entities, see "Principal [and Selling] Shareholders."
Our dual-class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.
Immediately after the completion of this offering, our ordinary shares will consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, assuming the initial offering price of US$ per ADS, and assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, holders of Class A ordinary shares will be entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to votes per share based on our proposed dual-class share structure. We will sell Class A ordinary shares represented by our ADSs in this offering. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any transfer of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity which is not an affiliate of such holder, such Class B ordinary shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into the equal number of Class A ordinary shares.
Mr. Guangjie Jin, who beneficially owns 120,121,410 Class A ordinary shares and 310,329,080 Class B ordinary shares representing 96.8% of the aggregate voting power of our company as of the date of this prospectus, will beneficially own approximately % of the aggregate voting power of our company immediately after the completion of this offering due to the disparate voting powers associated with our dual-class share structure, based on the initial offering price of US$ per ADS and assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option. See "Capitalization" and "Principal [and Selling] Shareholders." As a result of the dual-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, will have considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding change of directors, mergers, change of control transactions and other significant corporate actions. He may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of our ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.
The post-offering memorandum and articles of association that we expect to adopt and to become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering will contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us and adversely affect the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.
We expect to adopt, subject to the approval by our shareholders, an amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. The post-offering memorandum and articles of association will contain 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 and issue from time to time one or more series of preferred shares without action by our shareholders and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders and ADS holders of the opportunity to sell their shares or 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 an emerging growth company and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.
We are an "emerging growth company" as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we are an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important.
The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an "emerging growth company" can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period. As a result of this election, our future financial statements may not be comparable to other public companies that comply with the public company effective dates for these new or revised accounting standards.
We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.
Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:
the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;
the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;
the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and
the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.
We will be required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each financial year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the [NASDAQ Global Market]. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.
As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the [NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the [NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards.
As a Cayman Islands company listed on the [NASDAQ Global Market], we are subject to the [NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards. However, [NASDAQ Global Market] rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the [NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards. Upon completion of this offering, we will follow our home country practices and rely on certain exemptions provided by the [NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards to a foreign private issuer, including exemptions from the requirements to have:
[majority of independent directors on our board of directors;
only independent directors being involved in the selection of director nominees and determination of executive officer compensation; and
regularly scheduled executive sessions of independent directors.]
As a result of our reliance on the corporate governance exemptions available to foreign private issuers, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of [NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards.
We may become a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes in the current or a future taxable year, which could subject U.S. investors in our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares to significant adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
A non-U.S. corporation will be a "passive foreign investment company" ("PFIC") if, in any particular taxable year, either (a) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of "passive" income or (b) the average percentage of the value of its assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Because the PFIC tests must be applied each year, and the composition of our income and assets and the value of our assets may change, and because the treatment of our VIE for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not entirely clear, it is possible that we may become a PFIC in the current or a future year. In particular, because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test may be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs may cause us to become a PFIC. In addition, the treatment of our rental income as active for purposes of these tests depends upon whether we conduct sufficient marketing or other activities with respect to the rented properties in each taxable year to meet the requirements for an active rental business under applicable Treasury regulations, which may be uncertain.
If we are a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in "Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations") may incur significantly increased U.S. federal income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an "excess distribution" under the U.S. federal income tax rules, and such U.S. Holder may be subject to burdensome reporting requirements. Further, if we are a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all subsequent years during which such U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares unless we cease to be a PFIC and the U.S. Holder makes a special "purging" election on Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") Form 8621. See "Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules" for more details.
We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an "emerging growth company."
Upon completion of this offering, we will become a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the [NASDAQ Global Market], impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1.07 billion in net revenues for our last financial year, we qualify as an "emerging growth company" pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company's internal control over financial reporting and permission to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies.
We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. After we are no longer an "emerging growth company," we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC. For example, as a result of becoming a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.
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.
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events. The forward looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled "Prospectus Summary," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Business." Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those listed under "Risk Factors," may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
You can identify some of these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "potential," "continue" or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but not limited to, statements relating to:
our mission and strategies;
general economic and business condition in China and elsewhere, particularly the long-term apartment rental market and government measures aimed at China's real estate industry and apartment rental industry;
competition in the apartment rental industry;
our future business development, financial condition and results of operations;
our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our apartments and services;
our ability to attract tenants and landlords; and
our relationship with financial institution partners and third-party product and service providers.
These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may later be found to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from our expectations are generally set forth in "Prospectus Summary—Our Business—Our Challenges," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," "Business," "Regulation" and other sections in this prospectus. You should thoroughly read this prospectus and the documents that we refer to with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
This prospectus contains certain data and information that we obtained from various government and private publications. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. Our industry may not grow at the rate projected by market data, or at all. Failure of this market to grow at the projected rate may have a material and adverse effect on our business and the market price of our ADSs. In addition, the rapidly changing nature of China's branded long-term apartment rental industry results in significant uncertainties for any projections or estimates relating to the growth prospects or future condition of our market. Furthermore, if any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data are later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents that we refer to in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.
We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately US$ , or approximately US$ if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us. These estimates are based upon an assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, the midpoint of the price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus. A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by US$ , assuming the number of ADSs offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses payable by us.
The primary purposes of this offering are to create a public market for our shares for the benefit of all shareholders, retain talented employees and obtain additional capital. We plan to use the net proceeds from this offering as follows:
approximately US$ million to expand our apartment network, including the related capital expenditure and sales and marketing activities;
approximately US$ million for continued investment in our technology systems and infrastructure; and
the balance for general corporate purposes.
The foregoing represents our current intentions based upon our present plans and business conditions to use and allocate the net proceeds of this offering. Our management, however, will have significant flexibility and discretion to apply the net proceeds of this offering. If an unforeseen event occurs or business conditions change, we may use the proceeds of this offering differently than as described in this prospectus. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to this Offering and our American Depositary Shares—You must rely on the judgment of our management as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and such use may not produce income or increase our ADS price."
In using the proceeds of this offering, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations as an offshore holding company to provide funding to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China only through loans or capital contributions and to our variable interest entity only through loans, subject to the approval of government authorities and limit on the amount of capital contributions and loans. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business." We expect that all the net proceeds from this offering will be used in the PRC in the form of RMB and mainly by funding our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary through capital contributions. In general, the relevant registration and approval procedures for capital contributions typically take approximately eight weeks to complete and there is no statutory limit on the amount of capital contributions under PRC laws and regulations. We currently see no material obstacles in completing the registration and approval procedures with respect to future capital contributions to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary.
Our board of directors has discretion on whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.
We do not have any plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future and intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.
We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries in China for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. PRC regulations may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to us. See "Regulations—Regulations Relating to Dividend Distribution" and "Taxation—People's Republic of China Taxation."
If we pay any dividends on our ordinary shares, we will pay those dividends which are payable in respect of the Class A ordinary shares underlying our ADSs to the depositary, as the registered holder of such Class A ordinary shares, and the depositary then will pay such amounts to our ADS holders in proportion to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs held by such ADS holders, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See "Description of American Depositary Shares." Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.
The following table sets forth our capitalization as of , 2019:
on an actual basis;
on a pro forma basis to reflect the automatic conversion of all of our issued and outstanding preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and
on a pro forma as adjusted basis to reflect (i) the automatic conversion of all of our issued and outstanding preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares and extinguishment of contingent earn-out liabilities immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and (ii) the sale of Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, the mid-point of the estimated range of the initial public offering price shown on the front cover of this prospectus, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option.
You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the information under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."
As of , 2019
Actual Pro Forma (unaudited) Pro Forma As Adjusted(1)
RMB US$ RMB US$ RMB US$
Contingent earn-out liabilities
Mezzanine equity:
Series B convertible redeemable preferred shares
Series C convertible redeemable preferred shares
Series C-1 convertible redeemable preferred shares
Shareholders' deficit:
Series A non-redeemable preferred shares
Additional paid-in capital(2)
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income
Total Q&K International Group Limited shareholders' deficit(2)
Total Capitalization(2)
The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our additional paid-in capital, total shareholders' equity and total capitalization following the completion of this offering are subject to adjustment based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.
Assuming the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus remains the same, and after deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, a US$1.00 change in the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS would, in the case of an increase, increase and, in the case of a decrease, decrease each of additional paid-in capital, total shareholders' equity/(deficit) and total capitalization by US$ million.
If you invest in our ADSs, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per ADS and our net tangible book value per ADS after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per ordinary share is substantially in excess of the book value per ordinary share attributable to the existing shareholders for our presently outstanding ordinary shares.
Our net tangible book value as of , 2019 was approximately US$ , or US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS. Net tangible book value represents the amount of our total consolidated tangible assets, less the amount of our total consolidated liabilities. Pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share is calculated after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares on a one-for-one basis and subject to anti-dilution adjustments set forth in the shareholders agreement and extinguishment of contingent earn-out liabilities. Dilution is determined by subtracting net tangible book value per ordinary share, after giving effect to the additional proceeds we will receive from this offering, from the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ordinary share, which is the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus adjusted to reflect the ADS-to-ordinary share ratio, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Because Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same dividend and other rights, except for voting and conversion rights, the dilution is presented based on all issued and outstanding ordinary shares, including Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares.
Without taking into account any other changes in net tangible book value after September 30, 2018, other than to give effect to our sale of the ADSs offered in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of September 30, 2018 would have been US$ , or US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS to the existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS to investors purchasing ADSs in this offering. The following table illustrates such dilution:
Per ordinary share Per ADS
Assumed initial public offering price
Net tangible book value as of , 2019
Pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the conversion of our preferred shares and extinguishment of contingent earn-out liabilities
Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value after giving effect to conversion of our preferred shares and extinguishment of contingent earn-out liabilities and this offering
Amount of dilution in net tangible book per ordinary share value to new investors in this offering
Amount of dilution in net tangible book value to new investors in this offering
A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value after giving effect to this offering by US$ , the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS after giving effect to this offering by US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS and the dilution in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS to new investors in this offering by US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS, assuming no change to the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses.
The following table summarizes, on a pro forma as adjusted basis as of , 2019, the differences between existing shareholders and the new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares (in the form of
ADSs or shares) purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share and per ADS paid before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The total number of ordinary shares does not include ordinary shares underlying the ADSs issuable upon the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters.
Ordinary Shares Purchased Total Consideration Average
Share Average
Number Percent Amount Percent
Existing shareholders
US$ US$ US$
New investors
US$ 100.0 %
The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our net tangible book value following the completion of this offering is subject to adjustment based on the actual initial public offering price of our ADSs and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.
The discussion and tables above also assume no exercise of any outstanding share options outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. As of the date of this prospectus, there were ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding share options at a weighted average exercise price of US$ per ordinary share, and there were ordinary shares available for future issuance upon exercise of future grants under our share incentive plans. To the extent that any of these options are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors.
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands to take advantage of certain benefits associated with being a Cayman Islands exempted company, such as:
political and economic stability;
an effective judicial system;
a favorable tax system;
the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions; and
the availability of professional and support services.
However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to:
the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors as compared to the United States; and
Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.
Our constituent documents do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, between us, our officers, directors and shareholders, be arbitrated.
Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China, and substantially all of our assets are located in China. All of our directors and executive officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and most of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for a shareholder to effect service of process within the United States upon these individuals, or to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States, in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have appointed , located at , as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.
Conyers Dill & Pearman, our legal counsel as to Cayman Islands law, and JunHe LLP, our legal counsel as to PRC law, have advised us, respectively, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands and China, respectively, would:
recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or
entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel, Conyers Dill & Pearman, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any State; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any State, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. The courts of the Cayman Islands would recognize as a valid judgment, a final and conclusive judgment in personam obtained in the United Courts against our company 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) or, in certain circumstances, an in personam judgment for non-monetary relief, 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. A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
JunHe LLP has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or the Cayman Islands. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on PRC law against us in the PRC, if they can establish sufficient nexus to the PRC for a PRC court to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. However, it would be difficult for foreign shareholders to establish sufficient nexus to the PRC by virtue only of holding our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
We began our operation through Qingke Fashion Life Service Co., Ltd. ("Q&K Fashion"), which was established on November 8, 2007 by certain individuals related to our founder and CEO, Mr Guangjie Jin, who transferred all voting rights to Mr. Guangjie Jin by proxy agreements. We substantially commenced our apartment rental business in 2012. During the period from 2007 to 2014, Q&K Fashion undertook several rounds of equity financing in the PRC. Mr. Guangjie Jin held more than 50% controlling interests over Q&K Fashion since the date of its incorporation.
On August 2, 2013, Q&K Fashion incorporated Shanghai Q&K E-commerce Co., Ltd ("Q&K E-Commerce"). On March 17, 2015, Q&K E-commerce incorporated Shanghai Qingke Equipment Rental Co., Ltd. ("Q&K Equipment Rental"). From 2013 to 2015, Q&K Fashion transferred all of its shareholding over Q&K E-commerce to several investors and our founder and CEO, Mr Guangjie Jin, allowing the latter to obtain control through majority equity ownership.
To facilitate financing and offshore listing, we underwent a series of reorganization (the "Reorganization") as follows. We incorporated Q&K International Group Limited in the Cayman Islands as our offshore holding company in August 2014. In April 2015, Shanghai Qingke Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. ("Q&K Investment Consulting", or the "WFOE") was incorporated as Q&K International Group Limited's wholly-owned subsidiary in the PRC. Shortly thereafter, Q&K International Group Limited issued ordinary shares to the offshore entities designated by then shareholders of Q&K Fashion in proportion to these shareholders' then shareholding percentage in Q&K Fashion. In April 2015, Q&K Investment Consulting entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Q&K E-Commerce (which became our variable interest entity, or VIE), Guangjie Jin, Bing Xiao, and Xiamen Siyuan Investment Management Co., Ltd. The contract arrangements enable us to obtain control over the VIE and its subsidiaries. The contractual arrangements consist of shareholder voting proxy agreements and powers of attorney, exclusive technology service agreement, exclusive option agreement, equity interest pledge agreement and spousal consent letter. See "—Contractual Arrangements with the VIE and its Shareholders" for details. In the meantime, Q&K Fashion transferred all its net assets to Q&K Equipment Rental, a subsidiary of our VIE. Both Q&K International Group Limited and Q&K Fashion were controlled by Mr. Guangjie Jin before and after the Reorganization, and therefore we consider the Reorganization as a reorganization of entities under common control.
Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in value-added telecommunications services, and Internet content provision services in particular, we currently conduct our value-added telecommunication services business through Q&K E-Commerce, which we effectively control through a series of contractual arrangements. The contractual arrangements between Q&K Investment Consulting, Q&K E-Commerce and the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce allow us to:
exercise effective control over Q&K E-Commerce and its subsidiaries;
receive substantially all of the economic benefits of Q&K E-Commerce and its subsidiaries; and
have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests and assets in Q&K E-Commerce when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.
For more details, see "—Contractual Arrangements with the VIE and its Shareholders." As a result of these contractual arrangements, we have effective control over, and are the primary beneficiary of, Q&K E-Commerce and its subsidiaries and other consolidated entities and therefore treat them as our consolidated affiliated entities under U.S. GAAP and have consolidated their financial results in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
In November 2015, we effected a one-for-ten share split of our ordinary shares and preferred shares.
We conduct substantially all our operations in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Beijing and Jiaxing through 11 subsidiaries and other consolidated entities incorporated in the respective cities and provinces. Among others:
Shanghai Qingke Public Rental Housing Leasing Management Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary primarily focus on the apartment renovation and the procurement of furniture, appliances and other equipment in relation to our apartment rental service.
Shanghai Qingke Trade Co., Ltd. primarily focuses on the operation of Qingke Select.
Shanghai Qingke Creative Industry Supporting Property Management Co., Ltd and its subsidiary primarily focus on sourcing apartment units in Shanghai.
Contractual Arrangements with the VIE and its Shareholders
Agreements that Provide Us with Effective Control over the VIE
Equity Pledge Agreement
Q&K Investment Consulting, Q&K E-Commerce, and the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce entered into an equity pledge agreement on April 21, 2015. We have completed the registration of the equity pledge with the relevant office of the Administration for Industry and Commerce in accordance with PRC Property Rights Law on April 30, 2015. Pursuant to the equity pledge agreement and upon the completion of the equity pledge registration, each shareholder of Q&K E-Commerce has pledged all of its equity interest in Q&K E-Commerce to Q&K Investment Consulting to guarantee the performance by such shareholder and Q&K E-Commerce of their respective obligations under the exclusive technology service agreement, shareholder voting proxy agreements, powers of attorney and exclusive option agreement as well as their respective liabilities arising from any breach. If Q&K E-Commerce or any of its shareholders breaches any obligations under these agreements, Q&K Investment Consulting, as pledgee, will be entitled to dispose of the pledged equity and have priority to be compensated by the proceeds from the disposal of the pledged equity. Each of the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce agrees that before its obligations under the contractual arrangements are discharged, he or she will not dispose of the pledged equity interests, create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity interests, or take any action which may result in any change of the pledged equity that may have material adverse effects on the pledgee's rights under this agreement without the prior written consent of Q&K Investment Consulting. The equity pledge agreement will remain effective until Q&K E-Commerce and its shareholders discharge all their obligations under the contractual arrangements.
Shareholder Voting Proxy Agreement
Q&K Investment Consulting, Q&K E-Commerce and the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce entered into a shareholder voting proxy agreement on April 21, 2015. Pursuant to the voting proxy agreement, each shareholder of Q&K E-Commerce irrevocably authorizes any person(s) designated by Q&K Investment Consulting to act as his or her attorney-in-fact to exercise all of such shareholder's voting and other rights associated with the shareholder's equity interest in Q&K E-Commerce, such as the right to appoint or remove directors, supervisors and officers, as well as the right to sell, transfer, pledge and dispose of all or a portion of the shares held by such shareholder. The shareholder voting proxy agreement will remain in force unless Q&K Investment Consulting gives out any instruction in writing or otherwise.
Spousal Consent Letter
The spouse of Bing Xiao signed a spousal consent letter on April 14, 2015. Bing Xiao holds 10.47% equity interest in Q&K E-Commerce. Under the spousal consent letter, the signing spouse unconditionally and irrevocably agreed, that she was aware of the disposal of Q&K E-Commerce shares held by Bing Xiao in the abovementioned exclusive option agreement, equity pledge agreement, shareholder voting proxy agreement and power of attorney. The signing spouse confirmed not having any interest in the Q&K E-Commerce shares and committed not to impose any adverse assertions upon those shares. The signing spouse further confirmed that her consent and approval are not needed for any amendment or termination of the abovementioned agreements and committed that she shall take all necessary measures needed for the performance of those agreements.
Agreement that Allows Us to Receive Economic Benefits from the VIE
Exclusive Technology Service Agreement
Q&K Investment Consulting and Q&K E-Commerce entered into an exclusive technology service agreement on April 21, 2015. Pursuant to this agreement, Q&K Investment Consulting or its designated party has the exclusive right to provide Q&K E-Commerce with consulting, software and technology services. Without Q&K Investment Consulting's prior written consent, Q&K E-Commerce shall not accept any technical support and services covered by this agreement from any third party. Q&K E-Commerce agrees to pay service fees equivalent to no less than 100% of its annual net profit. Q&K E-Commerce also agrees to pay service fees for any specific technology service and consultation service rendered by Q&K Investment Consulting at Q&K E-Commerce's request from time to time. Q&K Investment Consulting owns the intellectual property rights arising out of the provisions of services under this agreement. Unless terminated mutually, this agreement will remain effective for twenty years. This agreement will be automatically renewed for another ten years, unless there is any written objection rendered 30 days prior to its expiry.
Agreement that Provides Us with the Option to Purchase the Equity Interest and Assets in the VIE
Exclusive Option Agreement
Q&K Investment Consulting, Q&K E-Commerce and the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce entered into an exclusive option agreement in 2015. Pursuant to the exclusive option agreement, Q&K E-Commerce and its shareholders have irrevocably granted Q&K Investment Consulting or any third party designated by Q&K Investment Consulting an exclusive option to purchase all or part of their respective equity interests in Q&K E-Commerce. The purchase price shall be the lower of (i) the amount that the shareholders contributed to Q&K E-Commerce as registered capital for the equity interests to be purchased, or (ii) the lowest price permitted by applicable PRC law. The shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce irrevocably agree that if such price is lower than what is allowed by PRC law, the purchase price should be equal to the lowest price allowed by PRC law. Q&K E-Commerce or its shareholders will repay Q&K Investment Consulting or any third party designated by Q&K Investment Consulting the purchase price within ten business days after Q&K E-Commerce or its shareholders receives such purchase price. In addition, Q&K E-Commerce granted Q&K Investment Consulting an exclusive option to purchase, or have its designated entity or person, to purchase, at its discretion, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or part of Q&K E-Commerce's assets at the net book value of the transferred assets, or the lowest price permitted by applicable PRC law if the latter is higher than the relevant net book value.
Q&K Investment Consulting may transfer any of its right or obligations under this agreement to a third party after notifying Q&K E-Commerce and its shareholders. Without Q&K Investment Consulting's prior written consent, the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce shall not, among other things, amend its articles of association, increase or decrease the registered capital, sell, dispose of or set any encumbrance on its assets, business or revenue outside the ordinary course of business, enter into any material contract, merge with any other persons or make any investments, distribute dividends, or enter into any transactions which have material adverse effects on its business. The shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce also undertake that they will not transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose of their equity interests in Q&K E-Commerce to any third party or create or allow any encumbrance on their equity interests. This agreement will remain effective until Q&K Investment Consulting or any third party designated by Q&K Investment Consulting has acquired all equity interest of Q&K E-Commerce from its shareholders.
In the opinion of JunHe LLP, our PRC legal counsel:
the ownership structures of Q&K Investment Consulting and Q&K E-Commerce, both currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, will not result in any violation of applicable PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and
the contractual arrangements among Q&K Investment Consulting, Q&K E-Commerce, the shareholders of Q&K E-Commerce governed by PRC law both currently and immediately after giving
effect to this offering are valid, binding and enforceable, and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect.
However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may in the future take a view that is contrary to or otherwise different from the above opinion of our PRC legal counsel. It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for the operation of Q&K E-Commerce do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in our businesses, we could be subject to severe penalties including being prohibited from continuing operations. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our variable interest entity do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, 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" and "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us" for more details.
The following selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data and selected consolidated cash flows data for FY 2017 and FY 2018, and selected consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2017 and 2018 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. You should read this Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Selected Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss Data:
The following table presents our selected consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2017 and 2018:
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheets Data:
The following table presents our selected consolidated cash flow data for FY 2017 and FY 2018:
Selected Consolidated Cash Flow Data:
Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of our operating performance. Investors are encouraged to review the historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measure presented by other companies. In addition, adjusted EBITDA from available rental units has certain limitations as an analytical tool. Please see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure" for more details.
relating to our contingent earn-out liabilities to series C and C-1 preferred shareholders.
Selected Operating Data
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements about our business and operations. Our actual results may differ materially from those we currently anticipate as a result of many factors, including those we describe under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this prospectus. See "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."
We are a leading technology-driven long-term apartment rental platform in China, offering young, emerging urban residents conveniently-located, ready-to-move-in, and affordable branded apartments as well as facilitating a variety of value-added services. We are one of the pioneers in providing branded rental apartments in China. Under our dispersed lease-and-operate model, we lease apartments from landlords and transform these apartments, mostly from bare-bones condition, into standardized furnished rooms to lease to people seeking affordable residence in cities, following an efficient, technology-driven business process. We grew significantly at 114.4% CAGR from 940 available rental units in Shanghai as of December 31, 2012, the year when we started substantial operation, to 91,234 available rental units across six cities in China as of December 31, 2018. We achieved average month-end occupancy rates of 91.6% and 92.4% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, the highest among major dispersed long-term apartment rental brands in China, according to China Insights Consultancy.
We strategically focus on sourcing apartments under the dispersed model in relatively inexpensive yet convenient locations, typically near subway stations, to provide our tenants value for money. We do not own our rental apartments but lease them from our landlords under long-term leases. Our leases with landlords usually provide for a minimum term of five to six years, or landlord lock-in period, and can be extended for up to two to three years. As of December 31, 2018, our average landlord lock-in period was 63.3 months, the longest among major dispersed long-term apartment rental operators in China, according to China Insights Consultancy. We generally lock in our lease-in cost for the first three years, with an approximately 5% annual, non-compounding increase for the rest of the lease term. We typically convert a leased-in apartment to add an additional bedroom, or the N+1 model, and rent each bedroom separately to individual tenants after standardized decoration and furnishing. Each of our rental apartments typically has three rental units. The length of our leases with tenants is typically 26 months. As of September 30, 2018, 85.6% of our leases with tenants had a lock-in period of 12 months or more, and in FY 2018, 34.4% of our leases with tenants were terminated before the expiration of the applicable lock-in period. If a tenant chooses to terminate the lease during the lock-in period, except for termination during the first week of the lease, the tenant's security deposit will be forfeited. After the lock-in period, the tenant may terminate the lease anytime without penalty. In 2018, tenants, on average, stayed in our rental units for 8.5 months, the longest among major dispersed long-term apartment rental operators in China, according to China Insights Consultancy.
We apply technology in every step of our operational process from apartment sourcing, renovation, and tenant acquisition, to property management. This enables us to operate a large, dispersed and fast-growing portfolio of apartments with high operational efficiency, delivering superior user experience. Our focus on technologies has enabled us to operate efficiently and grow rapidly while maintaining quality control.
We cooperate with third parties, including professional home service providers, e-commerce companies and other service providers to facilitate a wide array of value-added services for our tenants. These include broadband internet, utilities, and our recently-launched Qingke Select, a curated e-commerce market place. These value-added initiatives help us diversify our revenue streams and help our tenants live more conveniently and comfortably. Revenue from value-added services as a percentage of our net revenues increased from 2.6% in FY 2017 to 10.4% in FY 2018.
We also cooperate with financial institutions to facilitate rental installment loans for our tenants in need. Our tenants can apply for rental installment loans from our cooperative partners to prepay rental for certain lease period and enjoy rental discount for the rental prepayment. Approved loan proceeds covering up to 24 months' rentals are available to us at the inception of the lease. We typically pay the monthly interest on the rental installment loans to our financial institution partners for our tenants, and provide guarantee or other form of credit enhancement to these financial institutions with respect to our tenants' repayment of the loans. The proceeds from rental installment loans have helped us finance our capital expenditure on decorating and furnishing newly sourced apartments. As of September 30, 2018, we cooperated with ten financial institutions to finance rental installment loans, and the rental payment of 63.1% of the rental units offered on our platform had been financed by these rental installment loans.
As a result of our efficient and scalable business model, we have achieved rapid growth. In FY 2017 and FY 2018, we recorded net revenues of RMB522.7 million and RMB889.9 million (US$129.6 million), with a year-over-year growth of 70.3%. In FY 2017 and FY 2018, our net loss was RMB245.4 million and RMB499.9 million (US$72.8 million), respectively, and our adjusted EBITDA from available rental units was negative RMB44.3 million and negative RMB104.2 million (US$15.2 million), respectively.
Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
General Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
Our results of operations are subject to general economic conditions and conditions affecting China's real estate industry, in particular the apartment rental industry, which include, among others:
Changes in the National, Regional or Local Economic Conditions and Outlook in China
We target young people including recent college graduates, entry level white collar workers and industry workers in cities with strong economic growth, net inflow of people, rapid urban development and favorable policies supporting the development of the apartment rental market. Our occupancy levels and rental rates mainly depend on the demands from our target population in our target markets. Changes in national, regional or local economic conditions in China, including urbanization rates and employment rates in our target markets may materially affect demand for our apartments and services, and as a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our costs and expenses may also be affected by China's inflation level. We may not be able to pass on increased costs to our tenants.
Government Policies and Regulations in China
Our business and results of operations can be significantly affected by PRC laws, regulations and policies, particularly those relating to the real estate industry. We have benefited in recent periods from certain favorable policies for the apartment rental industry, including:
stringent home-buying requirements in top tier cities in China, which have made it more difficult to purchase apartments, particularly for our target customers; and
favorable policies to incentivize and support the growth of the apartment rental sector.
The PRC laws, regulations and policies concerning the apartment rental industry are developing and evolving. New laws, regulations and policies may increase our compliance cost, and require adjustments to our business model. For additional information, please refer to "Regulations—Regulations Relating to Residential Tenancy" and "—Regulations Relating to Leasing."
The Competitive Landscape of China's Long-Term Apartment Rental Market
China's long-term apartment rental market is highly competitive. Our competitors include other branded apartment operators and apartment owners who rent their apartments to tenants directly or through real estate agencies. In addition, in response to increased cooling measures on housing sales, real estate developers may also pivot into standardized rental market.
Specific Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
Our results of operations are also affected by company-specific factors, including, among others:
Our ability to expand our apartment network;
Our ability to maintain and increase occupancy level and rental rate;
Our ability to control operating costs and expenses and improve operational efficiency;
Our ability to manage upfront capital outlay and expansion cost; and
Seasonality.
Our Ability to Expand Our Apartment Network
Our growth is impacted by our ability to expand our apartment network. We strategically select apartments in relatively inexpensive yet convenient locations, typically near subway stations in metropolitan areas. These locations provide tenants with convenient access to an entire city, including major business districts and commercial centers, and hence have strong demand potential and ample room for rental increase. Our ability to identify and source apartments that meet our strategic and financial return criteria is, in turn, impacted by, among others, the availability of, and competition for, our target apartments, as well as the efficiency of our sourcing staff.
As we expand the geographic coverage of our apartment network, we believe we will benefit from enhanced brand recognition and economies of scale. For example, as we expand and our reputation grows, an increasing number of landlords no longer require us to pay security deposits. We are also able to bulk purchase directly from manufacturers at competitive prices as we scale up.
Our Ability to Maintain and Increase Occupancy Level and Rental Rate
Our rental service revenues are affected by our occupancy level and rental rates. Our occupancy level mainly depends on the locations of our rental units, affordability of our rentals, including rental discounts and other promotions we offer, and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts. In addition, as we expand into new geographic regions, it takes time to ramp up the occupancy rate to our target levels. Leveraging our standardized and replicable sourcing and pricing systems, we were able to reduce the ramp-up time as we expand to other cities. For example, it took us eight months to ramp up the month-end occupancy rate in Hangzhou to above 90%, while it took us only four months to ramp up the month-end occupancy rate to above 90% when we expanded to Wuhan subsequently.
Our rental rate is primarily affected by the supply and demand dynamics in the rental markets where we operate. We apply Smart Pricing System to price our apartments through an automated, dynamic process, which takes into account data points including rent-in cost, decoration cost, historical transaction data (e.g., price and occupancy rate), demand seasonality, our target occupancy rates, and market prices for nearby apartments in similar conditions.
Our Ability to Control Operating Costs and Expenses and Improve Operational Efficiency
Rental cost represents our largest operating costs and expenses. We typically lock in our rental cost for the first three years, with approximately 5% annual, non-compounding increase for the rest of the lease term.
We also incur substantial operating expenses, including those for apartment sourcing, marketing, leasing, after-lease maintenance and research and development. In addition, as we expand into new regions, we incur substantial upfront operating expenses for market research, establishing logistics and supply chain and other supporting functions, and building our brand name. We have been improving, and intend to continue to improve, our operational efficiency through our end-to-end, technology-driven operational and management systems. For example, when we expand into a new city, our Smart Pricing System is replicable with some adjustments in parameters, enabling faster expansion at a lower cost. In terms of apartment renovation, our project management system enables modularization, standardization and digitization of the renovation process, which allows us to efficiently manage a fast-growing number of suppliers and contractors and streamline our decoration and renovation process. Each of our construction managers managed on average 152.8 rental units under construction in FY 2018, compared to 122.2 in FY 2017. We conduct the majority of our marketing and leasing processes and handle after-rent services and property maintenance requests online, which helps to improve efficiency. The number of rental units managed by each of our apartment managers increased from 74.8 in FY 2017 to 79.6 in FY 2018.
Our Ability to Manage Upfront Capital Outlay and Expansion Cost
We utilize a lease-and-operate model. Under this model, we incur substantial capital outlay, including for apartment sourcing, renovation, and prepayment of a few months' rentals to landlords. We finance our capital outlay primarily from tenants' rental prepayments. Tenants who prepay at least six months' rental can enjoy a 5% rental discount, and tenants who prepay at least 12 months' rental can enjoy a 10% rental discount (subject certain limits). Our rental service revenues are net of these discounts. In addition, we pay interest on rental installment loans for our tenants. Our results of operations, therefore, are significantly affected by our ability to finance the capital outlay for our expansion economically, reducing our reliance on tenant's rental prepayment. In August 2018, we started to cooperate with a rental service company owned by a bank for apartment sourcing and renovation. Under this model, we continue to be responsible for the entire operating process, including identifying potential apartments for rent, rental pricing and procuring and paying for apartment renovation. Once we have finished the renovation, the rental service company reimburses us for our costs incurred for the renovation. We make payments to the rental service company in installments equal to the reimbursed renovation costs plus interest and tax over a period of five years. At the end of the five-year period, the ownership of the renovation will be transferred to us. The model has provided us with a stable source of lower-cost capital to finance apartment sourcing and renovation, compared to the tenant rental prepayment model.
Since February 2019, we have started to source decorated and furnished apartments from landlords thus compared to sourcing bare-bones apartments, substantially reducing our upfront capital outlay for apartment renovation, while still adding an additional bedroom.
Our operating results have been, and may continue to be subject to, seasonality. Our occupancy and revenues were generally higher during the third quarter each year, as many students search for apartments in cities where they are employed after graduation. In addition, during and around the Chinese New Year holidays, which usually fall in January or February, people are less likely to move into new apartments or stay in rented apartments. As a result, our occupancy and revenues were generally lower for the first quarter each year, despite the rebound in March from higher demand as labor forces come back to cities in search of jobs after the Chinese New Year.
Key Operating Metrics
We regularly review a number of operating metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, establish budgets, measure the effectiveness of sales and marketing, and assess our operational efficiencies.
Gross Rental Value, Numbers of Apartments and Rental Units Contracted, Numbers of Available Apartments and Rental Units, and Number of Occupied Rental Units
Gross rental value, number of apartments contracted and number of rental units contracted, number of available apartments and number of available rental units are important operating measures by which we evaluate and manage the scale of our business and growth. Gross rental value refers to the total rental we receive from our tenants for a period, net of value-added tax, adding back any discount we offer for rental prepayment. We exclude the impact of the discount we offer for the rental prepayment when presenting gross rental value.
Our gross rental value is affected by the number of our available rental units, occupancy rate, and rental rates. Our gross rental value increased from FY 2017 to FY 2018, primarily as a result of the increase in the number of our available rental units, as we continue to expand our apartment network, in particular, in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, as well as the increase in our occupancy rate.
Our apartments contracted refer to apartments that we have leased in from landlords. Our number of apartments contracted increased by 99.4% from September 30, 2017 to September 30, 2018, mainly due to the expansion of our apartment network in cities we operate and to other cities including Wuhan and Beijing. Our number of available apartments refers to the number of our leased-in apartments that have been renovated and
ventilated and are ready for rent. Apartments in China usually have two to three bedrooms, which are suitable for a household, but could be too costly for individual tenants. We typically convert a leased-in apartment to add an additional bedroom, or the N+1 Model, and rent each bedroom, or rental unit, separately to individual tenants after standardized decoration and furnishing. The N+1 model further increases affordability and provides flexibilities and co-rental efficiency for tenants.
Our occupied rental units refer to available rental units that have been leased out to tenants. Our number of occupied rental units increased by 89.0% from September 30, 2017 to September 30, 2018, generally in line with the increase in the number of our available rental units. Our number of occupied rental units was lower than our number of rental units contracted because (i) a number of our rental units contracted were under renovation as we continued to expand our apartment network, including to new cities, in which case we may need longer lead time on renovation (for example, as we need to develop new local supply chain) and (ii) some of our available rental units were vacant, as it takes time to ramp up our occupancy rate to our target levels as we expanded to new geographic regions.
Period-average Occupancy Rate, Average Monthly Rental, and Rental Spread Margin
Our period-average occupancy rate is calculated by dividing the aggregate number of our leased-out rental unit nights by the aggregate number of available rental unit nights during a relevant period. Our period-average occupancy rate increased from 89.0% in FY 2017 to 91.6% in FY 2018 as we continued to improve our operating efficiency and service to tenants.
Our average monthly rental refers to our gross rental value divided by number of leased-out rental unit nights for the relevant period times 30.5—representing the average number of days in a month. Our rental spread margin refers to the rental spread as a percentage of the average monthly rental from the tenant on the same space. Our leases with landlords generally contain rent holidays and typically lock in our rental cost for the first three years, with approximately 5% annual, non-compounding increase for the rest of the lease term, and we record the total rental expense on a straight-line basis over the initial lease term, or monthly straight-lined rental. We use big data to establish a fair and efficient rental pricing mechanism. Our average monthly rental decreased from RMB1,299 in FY 2017 to RMB1,272 (US$185) in FY 2018 as we expanded to more remote areas in cities where the average monthly rentals are lower. Our rental spread margin decreased from 32.5% in FY 2017 to 29.5% in FY 2018 as a large number of rental units were in ramp-up period.
Average Renovation Cost Per Rental Unit
Our average renovation cost per rental unit refers to the average renovation cost of rental units that we lease in from landlords in the relevant fiscal year. Our renovation cost includes labor cost for renovation and cost for home appliances. Our average renovation cost per rental units decreased by 1.4% from FY 2017 to FY 2018 due to economies of scale and optimization of our standardized renovation process.
Components of Results of Operations
Our net revenues primarily consist of rental service revenues, and revenue from various types of fees we charge our tenants for some of our value-added services. Our revenues are net of value-added tax. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our net revenues.
revenues RMB US$ % of total
508,910 97.4 796,940 116,037 89.6
13,827 2.6 92,997 13,541 10.4
522,737 100.0 889,937 129,578 100.0
Our rental service revenues consist of rents collected under our lease agreements with tenants. Our leases with tenants typically have a term of 26 months, and a majority of them have a lock-in period of 12 months. Tenants who prepay at least six months' rental can enjoy a 5% rental discount, and tenants who prepay at least 12 months' rental can enjoy a 10% rental discount (subject to a RMB200.0 (US$29.1) limit per month after January 1, 2017). Our rental service revenues are net of these discounts.
To a lesser extent, we derive net revenues from various types of fees we charge our tenants for certain value-added services, such as broadband internet and utilities. We also receive indemnification payments for their early termination of lease agreements by tenants. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our net revenues from value-added services and others for the periods indicated.
RMB % of revenue
from value-
services and
others RMB US$ % of revenue
6,062 43.8 51,145 7,447 55.0
Utility service
— — 19,411 2,826 20.9
Others (property management)
— — 4,112 599 4.4
13,827 100.0 92,997 13,541 100.0
Operating Costs and Expenses
Our operating costs and expenses primarily consist of costs and expenses related to operating our network of apartments and rental units. The following table sets forth the components of our operating costs and expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the period indicated.
Other expense (income), net
712,283 136.3 1,316,372 191,668 147.9
Our operating cost includes rental cost, depreciation, personnel costs incurred by apartment managers in providing after-rent services, cleaning cost, utilities cost, broadband internet cost and others. Rental cost represents our rental expenses incurred after our leased-in rental units are renovated and decorated and available for rent to tenants. Depreciation is primarily associated with our capitalized renovation incurred when we convert and furnish our leased-in apartments for rent to tenants. We recognize depreciation with our leasehold improvements and other capital expenditures using a straight-line method over the shorter of expected useful lives or lease term. Personnel costs incurred by apartment managers in providing after-rent services are primarily associated with management and inspection of rental units and regular communication with tenants. Personnel costs incurred by apartment managers in providing before-rent services, such as accompanying potential tenants to visit our apartments and negotiating lease agreements with tenants, are recorded in selling and marketing expenses. Personnel costs are allocated according to the time apartment managers spend. The following table sets forth our operating cost in absolute amount and as a percentage of net revenue for the periods indicated.
Rental cost
Depreciation expenses
97,595 18.7 145,768 21,224 16.4
Personnel cost
Cleaning cost
Utility cost
— — 14,116 2,055 1.6
Broadband internet cost
3,266 0.6 28,236 4,111 3.2
6,811 1.3 9,154 1,333 1.0
Selling and marketing expenses primarily include personnel costs incurred by apartment managers in providing before-rent services as described above, as well as advertising and promotion costs.
Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs, transportation costs, consulting expenses, headquarter office rental expenses, general office expenses and other costs associated with running our day to day activities.
Research and development expenses include payroll expenses, employee benefits, and other headcount-related expenses associated with platform development and big data analysis to support our business operations.
Pre-operation expenses mainly include rental and sourcing costs incurred before an apartment is ready for lease.
We perform an assessment of the carrying value of leasehold improvements and furniture, fixtures and equipment used in each rental unit at least on a quarterly basis. If the carrying amount of the assets exceeds its expected undiscounted cash flows, we will recognize an impairment loss equal to the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value. We estimate the fair value of each rental unit by utilizing the discounted cash flow method, taking into consideration the projected revenue, growth rates and operating costs associated with the rental unit.
Interest expense primarily consists of interest on rental installment loans we pay for our tenants, and interest on our bank borrowings. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our interest income (expense), net for the periods indicated.
RMB % of
(expense),
net RMB US$ % of
Interest on bank borrowings
(8,963 ) (17.9 ) (5,823 ) (848 ) (7.5 )
Interest on rental installment loans
(41,389 ) (82.6 ) (73,936 ) (10,765 ) (95.8 )
(50,136 ) (100.0 ) (77,167 ) (11,236 ) (100.0 )
Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units represents our net loss before (i) interest income (expense), net, (ii) income tax expense, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) impairment loss, (v) pre-operation expenses, (vi) fair value changes of contingent earn-out liabilities, and (vii) share-based compensation. We believe that adjusted EBITDA from available rental units help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain expenses that we include in net loss. For example, we believe that the exclusion of pre-operation expenses helps facilitate period-on-period comparison of our available rental units as the number of our newly sourced apartments under renovation may vary significantly from period to period as a result of our business development. We record contingent earn-out liabilities related to the EBITDA feature of series C and series C-1 preferred shares at fair value and re-measured it at each period-end, with the changes in the fair value recorded as an adjustment to the earnings. However, if we successfully complete a qualified IPO by December 31, 2019, the contingent earn-out liability will be extinguished.
Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of our operating performance. Investors are encouraged to review our adjusted EBITDA from available rental units to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, net loss. Adjusted EBITDA from available rental units presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measure presented by other companies. In addition, adjusted EBITDA from available rental units has certain limitations as an analytical tool. One of the key limitations of using adjusted EBITDA from available rental units is that it does not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations.
Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates
We have identified below the accounting policies that we believe are the most critical to the presentation of our consolidated financial information. These accounting policies require subjective or complex judgments by our management, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. The estimates and assumptions are based on our historical experience and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis of making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. We review our estimates and underlying assumptions on an on-going basis. For further information on our principal accounting policies, see note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
We source apartments from landlords and convert them into standardized furnished rooms to lease to tenants seeking affordable residences in China. Revenues are primarily derived from rental service and value-added services.
Rental Service Revenues
Rental service revenues are primarily derived from the lease payments from our tenants and are recorded net of tax.
We typically enter into 26-month leases with our tenants, a majority of which have a lock-in period of 12 months or shorter. The lock-in period represents the term during which termination will result in the forfeiture of deposit, which is typically one or two months' rent. We determine that the lock-in period is the lease term under ASC 840. When tenants terminate their leases, we return unused portions of any prepaid rentals to the tenant within a prescribed period of time. Deposit can only be returned for termination after the lock-in period. Monthly rent is fixed throughout the lock-in period and there is no rent-free period or rent escalations during the period. We determine all lease arrangements with tenants are operating leases since the benefits and risks incidental to ownership remains with us. Revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis starting from the commencement date stated in the lease agreements.
Tenants who prepay rent for a certain period are entitled to rental discounts. Tenants who prepay at least six months' rental can enjoy a 5% discount, and tenants who prepay at least 12 months' rental can enjoy a 10% rental discount (subject to a RMB200.0 (US$29.1) limit per month after January 1, 2017). Such incentives are only applicable during the lock-in period. We consider the rental discounts as a lease incentive and record it as a reduction in revenue on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
Value-added services and others primarily consist of fees received from the tenants from our provision of internet connection and utility services as part of the lease agreement. The service fees are fixed in the agreements and recognized on a monthly basis during the period of the lease term. The service fee are recognized on a gross basis as we have latitude in determining prices and bear inventory risks.
Rental Installment Loans
In order to encourage our tenants to make advance payments, we cooperate with various financial institution partners to facilitate rental installment loans for our tenants, who apply for rental installment loans directly with these financial institutions. If the loans are approved by the financial institution partners, the proceeds, which represent the total rental payments for the period covered under the lease agreement, are remitted to us by way of the tenant's entrustment. The proceeds would then be applied to the tenants' rental payments on a monthly basis. We record the entire prepayment as rental installment loans. Tenants repay the loan principal in monthly installments directly to the financial institutions which equals to the monthly rental payment. We pay rental installment loan interests on behalf of tenants and recognize interest expense in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
We also provide guarantee to these financial institutions with respect to our tenants' repayment of the loans. In the event that the tenants default on the repayment or early terminate the lease agreements, we must return the remaining prepayments to the financial institutions within a prescribed period of time. Under the rental installment loan scheme, we have full control of the entire installment loan proceeds and the security deposits collected from the tenants at lease inception are usually sufficient to cover for the delinquent payments from default. As such, we determine that there should be no guarantee liabilities to be recorded as of September 30, 2017 or 2018.
For rental installment loans received directly from financial institutions, we determine the substance of the arrangement as akin to a debt from our tenants, and as such, this portion was classified as a cash inflow from financing activities within our statements of cash flows. During the lease term, constructive receipts and disbursements are recognized on a monthly basis by recognizing the repayment of rental installment loans as a financing cash outflow and the receipt of monthly rental income as an operating cash inflow.
Property and equipment are reviewed for impairment in accordance with ASC 360, "Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets", whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. We evaluate the carrying value of our long-lived assets for impairment by comparing the expected undiscounted future cash flows of the assets to the net book value of the assets if certain trigger events occur. Assets must be tested at the lowest level, generally the individual apartment, for which identifiable cash flows exist. If the expected undiscounted future cash flows are less than the net book value of the assets, the excess of the net book value over the estimated fair value is charged to in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. Fair value is based upon discounted cash flows of the assets at a rate deemed reasonable for the type of asset and prevailing market conditions. The discounted cash flow associated with the underlying assets incorporates certain assumptions including projected rooms' revenue, growth rates and projected operating costs based on current economic condition, expectation of management and projected trends of current operating results. As a result of reduced expectations of future cash flows from certain leased apartments, we determined that the property and equipment was not fully recoverable and consequently recorded an impairment charge of RMB22.8 million and RMB50.6 million (US$7.4 million) for FY 2017 and FY 2018, respectively.
Current income taxes are provided on the basis of net profit (loss) for financial reporting purposes, adjusted for income and expenses which are not assessable or deductible for income tax purposes, in accordance with the laws of the relevant tax jurisdictions.
Deferred income taxes are provided using assets and liabilities method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse.
Deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, the management considers all positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of projected future taxable income and results of recent operation.
In order to assess uncertain tax positions, we apply a more likely than not threshold and a two-step approach for the tax position measurement and financial statement recognition. Under the two-step approach, the first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. We recognize interest and penalties, if any, under accrued expenses and other current liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet and under other expenses in its consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. We did not have any significant unrecognized uncertain tax positions as of and for FY 2017 or FY 2018.
Fair Value of Ordinary Shares
We have been a private company with no quoted market prices for our ordinary shares. We therefore needed to make estimates of the fair value of our ordinary shares for the purpose of determining the fair value of our
ordinary shares at the date of the grant of share-based compensation awards to our employees as one of the inputs into determining the grant date fair value of the award. In determining the fair value of our ordinary shares, we have considered the guidance prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Audit and Accounting Practice Aid Series: Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation, or the AICPA Practice Guide. These estimates will not be necessary to determine the fair value of our ordinary shares once our ADSs begin trading. Valuations and estimates will no longer be necessary once our company goes public because we will then rely on the market price to determine the market value of our common stock.
The following table sets forth the fair value of our ordinary shares at different times with the assistance from an independent third-party appraiser:
Fair value per
share (US$) DLOM Discount rate
Purpose of valuation
0.03 13 % 26 % To determine the fair value of stock option grant
0.04 12 % 22 % To determine the fair value of RSU grant
0.05 12 % 22 % To determine the fair value of stock option grant and whether the series C convertible redeemable preferred shares contain any beneficial conversion feature
0.10 8 % 19 % To determine whether the series C-1 convertible redeemable preferred shares contain any beneficial conversion feature
0.10 8 % 19 % To determine the fair value of RSU grant
The determination of the fair value of our ordinary shares requires complex and subjective judgments to be made regarding our projected financial and operating results, our unique business risks, the liquidity of our shares and our operating history and prospects at the time of valuation.
In determining our equity value, we applied the discounted cash flow analysis based on our projected cash flow using our best estimate as of the valuation date. The major assumptions used in calculating the fair value of our equity include:
Discount Rates. The discount rates listed out in the table above were based on the weighted average cost of capital, which was determined based on a number of factors including risk-free rate, company specific risk premium, equity risk premium, company size and non-systemic risk factors.
Discount for Lack of Marketability, or DLOM. DLOM was quantified by the Black Scholes model. This model estimates a DLOM as a function of restricted transferability, using the value of an average-strike put option. This option pricing method is one of the methods commonly used in estimating DLOM as it takes into consideration factors like timing of a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering, and estimated volatility of our shares. The further the valuation date is from an expected liquidity event, the higher the put option value and thus the higher the implied DLOM. The lower the DLOM used for the valuation, the higher the determined fair value of the ordinary shares.
Fair Value of Options
We used the Binomial model to estimate the fair value of the options granted on the grant date with assistance from an independent valuation firm. The fair value per option was estimated at the date of grant using the following assumptions.
April 2016 October 2016 July 2017
Risk-free rate of return(1)
3.00 % 3.00 % 3.00 %
Contractual life of option
10 years 10 years 8.4 years
Estimated volatility rate(2)
0 % 0 % 0 %
Fair value of underlying ordinary shares
US$0.04 US$0.04 US$0.05
The risk-free rate is based on the yield of US Treasuries, adjusted by country risk premium of China.
The expected volatility is estimated based on historical price volatilities of ordinary shares of several comparable companies.
The costs of share based payments are recognized in our consolidated financial statements based on their grant-date fair value over the vesting. We determine fair value of our share options as of the grant date using binomial option pricing model and the fair value of our nonvested restricted share units as of the grant date based on the fair market value of the underlying ordinary shares. Determining the value of our share-based compensation expense in future periods also requires the input of subjective assumptions around likely future performance and estimated forfeitures of the underlying shares.
Stock Options A
On August 31, 2014, April 21, 2016, October 17, 2016 and October 18, 2016, we granted an aggregate number of 26.9 million share options to certain management, employees and non-employees. The exercise price was RMB2.00 per share and vests 50% on the first and second calendar year after the IPO year.
Stock Options B
On July 31, 2017, we granted 43.1 million share options to management and employees. The options vested immediately upon the grant date and the exercise price were RMB2.00 per share. If the grantee resigned before the IPO or before the lock-up period lapsed, we have the right to repurchase the share options or ordinary shares at RMB2.00 per share option/ordinary share.
The compensation expenses for above awards with performance as well as service conditions is based upon our judgment of likely future performance and service and may be adjusted in future periods depending on actual performance. Given the vesting was contingent on the IPO, no share-based compensation expense is recognized until the date of the IPO.
We estimate our forfeitures based on past employee retention rates, our expectations of future retention rates, and we will prospectively revise our forfeiture rates based on actual history. We estimate our future performance based on our historical results. Our compensation charges may change based on changes to our assumptions.
Restricted Share Units ("RSUs")
In 2017, we issued 15.99 million RSUs to a consulting company, out of which 5.2 million RSUs vested immediately upon grant and the remaining 10.79 million RSUs were re-purchasable by us anytime at our
discretion with nominal price before certain dates. We determined that RSUs with repurchase rights are not considered issued until the expiration of the repurchase rights. At each of the expiration dates, the corresponding RSUs are considered issued and vested immediately, and a measurement date has been reached. In July 2019, we repurchased 5.19 million RSUs.
EBITDA Performance Targets for Series C and C-1 Convertible Redeemable Preferred Shares
Along with the issuance of series C and C-1 convertible redeemable preferred shares, we contemporaneously entered into agreements with our holders of series C and C-1 convertible redeemable preferred shares on July 26, 2017 and March 16, 2018 respectively, pursuant to which for both share issuances, an EBITDA performance target were established. If EBITDA targets were exceeded, the preferred shareholders must give back a portion of its shareholding based on a pre-agreed formula to our managers as incentives with no additional consideration. If expected EBITDA targets were not met, the preferred shareholders were entitled to additional shareholding at par value based on a pre-agreed formula to make up for the dissatisfaction in EBITDA targets. If we are successful in completing a qualified IPO by December 31, 2019, the EBITDA feature is fully waived.
We believed that it was highly probable EBITDA targets will not be satisfied and recorded the fair value of the EBITDA feature separately as a contingent earn-out liability in the consolidated balance sheets as it met the definition of a freestanding financial instrument liability under ASC 480. At initial measurement, we allocated the proceeds from the issuance of series C and C-1 convertible redeemable preferred shares to the fair value of contingent earn-out liabilities, with the remaining being allocated to series C and C-1 convertible redeemable preferred shares. Contingent earn-out liabilities will be extinguished, if we are successful in completing a qualified IPO by December 31, 2019.
We determine the fair value with the help from third party professional valuation specialists, and the assumptions used in estimating fair value require significant judgment. The use of different assumptions and judgments could result in a materially different estimate of fair value. Key inputs in determining the fair value of the contingent earn-out liabilities include assumptions such as operating income, operating cost, number of new apartments acquired, probabilities of a qualified IPO, etc., and changes in these assumptions would affect the number and value of future additional shares to be issued. The contingent earn-out liabilities is re-measured at each period-end, with the changes in the fair value recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands currently have no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax. The Cayman Islands does not impose a withholding tax on payments of dividends to shareholders.
Our subsidiary incorporated in the British Virgin Islands is not subject to income or capital gains taxes, estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax. In addition, payment of dividends to the shareholders of our subsidiary in the British Virgin Islands are not subject to withholding tax in the British Virgin Islands.
Before April 1, 2018, our subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong was subject to Hong Kong profit tax at a rate of 16.5%. Since April 1, 2018, our subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong has been subject to Hong Kong
profit tax at a rate of 8.25% on assessable profits up to HK$2.0 million and 16.5% on any part of assessable profits over HK$2.0 million. There is an anti-fragmentation measure where each group will have to nominate only one company in the group to benefit from the progressive rates. No Hong Kong profit tax has been levied as we did not have assessable profit that was earned in or derived from the Hong Kong subsidiary during the periods presented. Hong Kong does not impose a withholding tax on dividends.
Generally, our PRC subsidiaries, variable interest entity and subsidiaries of our variable interest entity, which are considered PRC resident enterprises under PRC tax law, are subject to enterprise income tax on their worldwide taxable income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards at a rate of 25%.
We are subject to value-added tax, or VAT, at a rate of 6% on the services we provide, less any deductible VAT we have already paid or borne. We are also subject to surcharges on VAT payments in accordance with PRC law. VAT has been phased in since May 2012 to replace the business tax that was previously applicable to the services we provide. During the periods presented, we were not subject to business tax on the services we provide.
Dividends paid by our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China to our intermediary holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to a withholding tax rate of 10%, unless the relevant Hong Kong entity satisfies all the requirements under the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and receives approval from the relevant tax authority. If our Hong Kong subsidiary satisfies all the requirements under the tax arrangement and receives approval from the relevant tax authority, then the dividends paid to the Hong Kong subsidiary would be subject to withholding tax at the standard rate of 5%. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business."
If our holding company in the Cayman Islands or any of our subsidiaries outside of China were deemed to be a "resident enterprise" under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on its worldwide income at a rate of 25%. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders."
The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our net revenues. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.
(547,618 ) (104.8 ) (897,959 ) (130,745 ) (100.9 )
(34,353 ) (6.6 ) (84,953 ) (12,369 ) (9.5 )
(44,160 ) (8.4 ) (51,947 ) (7,564 ) (5.8 )
(1,460 ) (0.3 ) 4,034 587 0.5
(712,283 ) (136.3 ) (1,316,372 ) (191,668 ) (147.9 )
Loss from operation
3 — (91 ) (13 ) —
(596 ) (0.1 ) (2,393 ) (348 ) (0.3 )
FY 2018 Compared to FY 2017
Our net revenues increased by 70.3% from RMB522.7 million in FY 2017 to RMB889.9 million (US$129.6 million) in FY 2018. Our rental service revenues increased by 56.6% from RMB508.9 million in FY 2017 to RMB796.9 million (US$116.0 million) in FY 2018, driven by (i) a 90.0% increase in our number of available rental units from 44,199 as of September 30, 2017 to 83,948 as of September 30, 2018, and (ii) an increase in our period-average occupancy rate from 89.0% in FY 2017 to 91.6% in FY 2018.
Our net revenues from value-added services and others increased significantly from RMB13.8 million in FY 2017 to RMB93.0 million (US$13.5 million) in FY 2018, as we substantially launched our broadband internet and utility services in August and October 2017, respectively.
Our operating costs and expenses increased by 84.8% from RMB712.3 million in FY 2017 to RMB1,316.4 million (US$191.7 million) in FY 2018. The increase in our operating costs and expenses was
generally in line with our revenue growth and business expansion. We substantially increased our presence in Hangzhou and expanded our business to Nanjing and Wuhan, starting from late FY 2017.
Operating cost. Our operating cost increased by 64.0% from RMB547.6 million in FY 2017 to RMB898.0 million (US$130.7 million) in FY 2018.
Rental cost. Our rental cost increased by 60.5% from RMB414.2 million in FY 2017 to RMB664.7 million (US$96.8 million) in FY 2018. This was primarily attributable to the increase in our number of rental units contracted from 48,410 as of September 30, 2017 to 96,529 as of September 30, 2018 as we continued to expand our apartment network.
Our rental cost as a percentage of rental service revenue increased from 81.4% in FY 2017 to 83.4% in FY 2018, primarily due to a large number of new rental units in ramp-up period, which generated lower rental spread margin.
Depreciation expenses. Our depreciation expenses increased by 49.4% from RMB97.6 million in FY 2017 to RMB145.8 million (US$21.2 million) in FY 2018 as we continued to expand our apartment network from 13,288 available apartments as of September 30, 2017 to 25,698 available apartments as of September 30, 2018.
Personnel costs related to after-rent activities of our apartment managers. Our personnel costs incurred by apartment managers in providing after-rent services increased from RMB15.5 million in FY 2017 to RMB21.1 million (US$3.1 million) in FY 2018. This was primarily attributable to our business expansion.
Costs for value-added services and others. Our cleaning cost, utility cost, broadband internet cost and other cost increased significantly from RMB20.3 million in FY 2017 to RMB66.4 million (US$9.7 million) in FY 2018. This significant increase was primarily in relation to the growth of our internet access and utility services in FY 2018 which was in line with the increase in the net revenues from value-added services and others.
Selling and marketing expenses.
Our selling and marketing expenses increased by 180.5% from RMB42.0 million in FY 2017 to RMB117.8 million (US$17.2 million) in FY 2018. The increase was primarily attributable to the expansion of our business to new cities in FY 2018, which resulted in a significant increase in personnel costs and advertising and promotion expenses as we build our local team and brand name. Our personnel costs under selling and marketing expenses increased by 176.4% from RMB20.5 million in FY 2017 to RMB56.8 million (US$8.3 million) in FY 2018. Our advertising and promotion expenses increased by 239.5% from RMB12.3 million in FY 2017 to RMB41.8 million (US$6.1 million) in FY 2018.
Our selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of total net revenues increased from 8.0% in FY 2017 to 13.2% in FY 2018 as a result of our upfront investment to build our local team and brand name as we expanded to new cities.
General and administrative expenses.
Our general and administrative expenses increased by 147.3% from RMB34.4 million in FY 2017 to RMB85.0 million (US$12.4 million) in FY 2018. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in our personnel costs and office rents, as we need upfront investment in additional personnel and offices in preparation for expanding our business in new cities. Our personnel costs under general and administrative expenses increased by 191.0% from RMB14.3 million in FY 2017 to RMB41.6 million (US$6.1 million) in FY 2018. Our office rents increased by 132.1% from RMB7.3 million in FY 2017 to RMB16.9 million (US$2.5 million) in FY 2018.
For the same reason, our general and administrative expenses as a percentage of total net revenues increased from 6.6% in 2017 to 9.5% in FY 2018.
Research and development expenses. Our research and development expenses increased by 17.4% from RMB44.2 million in FY 2017 to RMB51.9 million (US$7.6 million) in FY 2018. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in our R&D staff costs.
Our research and development expenses as a percentage of total net revenues decreased from 8.4% in 2017 to 5.8% in FY 2018 as we were able to replicate and leverage our established technology-driven operational and management systems when we expanded to new regions.
Pre-operation expenses. Our pre-operation expenses increased significantly from RMB19.9 million in FY 2017 to RMB117.1 million (US$17.1 million) in FY 2018. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in our rental expenses incurred during the pre-operation period, which is in line with the increased number of our newly leased-in rental units.
Impairment loss. Our impairment loss increased significantly from RMB22.8 million in FY 2017 to RMB50.6 million (US$7.4 million) in FY 2018 because we made additional impairment provisions in line with our business expansion as indicated by the increase in the number of apartments contracted from 14,616 as of September 30, 2017 to 29,129 as of September 30, 2018.
As a result of the foregoing, our loss from operations increased by 125.0% from RMB189.5 million in FY 2017 to RMB426.4 million (US$62.1 million) in FY 2018.
Our interest expense increased by 58.4% from RMB50.4 million in FY 2017 to RMB79.8 million (US$11.6 million) in FY 2018. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in the interest expense we incurred for our tenants who used rental installment loans to prepay rentals from RMB41.4 million in FY 2017 to RMB73.9 million (US$10.8 million) in FY 2018. The increase in such interest expense was, in turn, due to the increase in our monthly average outstanding rental installment loan balance from RMB578.6 million in FY 2017 to RMB985.3 million (US$143.5 million) in FY 2018, partially offset by a slight decrease in our average interest rate for rental installment loans from 7.6% in FY 2017 to 7.5% in FY 2018.
Our interest income, which primary related to the interest from our bank deposits, increased significantly from RMB0.2 million in FY 2017 to RMB2.6 million (US$0.4 million) in FY 2018.
We recorded a fair value loss of contingent earn-out liabilities of RMB5.2 million in FY 2017 and a fa