Registration No. 333-______

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 10, 2024

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM S-8

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

GOLDEN HEAVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LTD.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Cayman Islands		Not applicable
(State or other jurisdiction		(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation or organization)		Identification No.)

 

No. 8 Banhouhaichuan Rd

Xiqin Town, Yanping District

Nanping City, Fujian Province, China 353001

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plan)

   

Cogency Global Inc.

122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor

New York, NY 10168

+1 800-221-0102

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including areas code, of agent for service)

 

Copies to:

 

Henry Yin, Esq.	Alex Weniger-Araujo, Esq.
Benjamin Yao, Esq.	Loeb & Loeb LLP
Loeb & Loeb LLP	345 Park Avenue
2206-19 Jardine House	New York, New York 10154
1 Connaught Place	212 407-4000
Central, Hong Kong SAR
+852 3923-1111

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☐
Emerging growth company	☒

 

If an emerging growth company, 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. ☐

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

This Registration Statement is being filed by the Registrant to register 5,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.005 per share, that may be issued the Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

This Registration Statement also includes a reoffer prospectus that may be used for the offer and sale of “control securities,” as such term is defined in General Instruction C to Form S-8, which have been or will be acquired pursuant to the Plan by officers and directors of the Company who may be deemed to be “affiliates” of the Company, as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The reoffer prospectus contained herein has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of General Instruction C of Form S-8 and Part I of Form F-3.

 

 

PART I

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

Item 1. Plan Information.*

 

Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.*

 

*

The documents containing the information specified in this Part I of Form S-8 (Plan Information and Registration Information and Employee Plan Annual Information) will be sent or given to recipients of the grants under the Plan as specified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act. Such documents are not required to be and are not filed with the SEC either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 of the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II hereof, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act. The Registrant will provide a written statement to participants advising them of the availability without charge, upon written or oral request, of the documents incorporated by reference in Item 3 of Part II hereof and including the statement in the preceding sentence. The written statement to all participants will indicate the availability without charge, upon written or oral request, of other documents required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 428(b) of the Securities Act, and will include the address and telephone number to which the request is to be directed.

  

 

Reoffer Prospectus

 

5,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares

 

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.

 

This reoffer prospectus relates to 5,000,000 of our Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.005 (“Class A Ordinary Shares”), that may be reoffered or resold, from time to time, by certain selling shareholders (the “Selling Shareholders”) described in this reoffer prospectus, all of whom are deemed to be our “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and that have been acquired, or will be acquired, under the Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), which was adopted effective on December 9, 2024.

 

The Selling Shareholders may, from time to time, sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any or all of their Class A Ordinary Shares on any stock exchange, market, or trading facility on which the Class A Ordinary Shares are traded or in private transactions. These dispositions may be at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market price, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the Class A Ordinary Shares by the Selling Shareholders.

 

Our Class A Ordinary Shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GDHG.”

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 10 of this reoffer prospectus for a discussion of the risks that you should consider in connection with an investment in our securities.

 

We are an offshore holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We have no material operations of our own and conduct substantially all our operations through the Chinese operating entities. We directly hold 100% equity interests in the Chinese operating entities and do not currently adopt any variable interest entity (“VIE”) contractual agreements between the entities. Investors in our securities are purchasing equity interests in the Cayman Islands holding company, and not in the Chinese operating entities. Investors in our securities may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating entities. Our operating structure involves unique risks to investors. The Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow our operating structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares, and could cause the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares to significantly decline or become worthless. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which the operating entities conduct their business activities, may intervene or influence such operations at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in such operations and the value of our securities, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless” in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024 (the “2023 Annual Report”). As used in this reoffer prospectus, terms such as the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our company,” or “our” refer to Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd., unless the context suggests otherwise, and when describing Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.’s consolidated financial information, such terms shall also include the Chinese operating entities. For further information on our corporate structure, see “Prospectus Summary—Our Corporate Structure.”

 

 

As substantially all of our operations are conducted by the operating entities in China, we are subject to the associated legal and operational risks, including risks related to the legal, political and economic policies of the Chinese government, the relations between China and the United States, or Chinese or United States regulations, which risks could result in a material change in our operations and/or cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or become worthless, and affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. The PRC government have adopted a series of regulatory actions and issued statements to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. As of the date of this reoffer prospectus, neither we nor the Chinese operating entities have been involved in any investigations on cybersecurity review initiated by any PRC regulatory authority, nor has any of them received any inquiry, notice, or sanction. As confirmed by our PRC counsel, AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou), we are not subject to cybersecurity review with the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the “CAC,” under the Cybersecurity Review Measures that became effective on February 15, 2022, since we currently do not have over one million users’ personal information and do not anticipate that we will be collecting over one million users’ personal information in the foreseeable future, which we understand might otherwise subject us to the Cybersecurity Review Measures. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Recent greater oversight by the CAC over data security could adversely impact the operating entities’ business” in the 2023 Annual Report.

 

On February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the “Trial Measures,” and five supporting guidelines, which came into effect on March 31, 2023. According to the Notice on the Administrative Arrangements for the Filing of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies from the CSRC, or “the CSRC Notice,” domestic companies that have already been listed overseas before the effective date of the Trial Measures (namely, March 31, 2023) shall be deemed as existing issuers (the “Existing Issuers”). Existing Issuers are not required to complete the filing procedures immediately, and they shall be required to file with the CSRC for any subsequent offerings, excluding issuance of securities for the implementation of equity incentive plans, conversion of provident funds into an increase in company capital, distribution of stock dividends, and share division. As advised by our PRC counsel, AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou), as this offering is an issuance of securities for the implementation of the Company’s equity incentive plan, we are not required to complete filing procedures with the CSRC. However, in the event that we intend to undertake new offerings or fundraising activities in the future, we should ensure compliance with the relevant regulations and file for compliance accordingly. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—The approval and/or other requirements of the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with offerings under PRC rules, regulations or policies, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approval” in the 2023 Annual Report. Other than the foregoing, as of the date of this reoffer prospectus, according to our PRC counsel, AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou), no relevant laws or regulations in the PRC explicitly require us to seek approval from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities for our overseas listing. As of the date of this reoffer prospectus, neither we nor the Chinese operating entities have received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions regarding our overseas listing from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities. Since these statements and regulatory actions are newly published, however, official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued. It is highly uncertain what the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on the daily business operations of the Chinese operating entities, our ability to accept foreign investments, and our listing on a U.S. exchange. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (the “SCNPC”) or PRC regulatory authorities may in the future promulgate laws, regulations, or implement rules that require us or the Chinese operating entities to obtain regulatory approval from Chinese authorities for listing in the U.S.

 

 

In addition, our Class A Ordinary Shares may be delisted from a national exchange or prohibited from being traded over-the-counter under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCA Act”) if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) is unable to inspect our auditor for two consecutive years. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued its determinations that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong, because of positions taken by PRC authorities in those jurisdictions, which determinations were vacated on December 15, 2022. Our auditor, ASSENTSURE PAC, is headquartered in Singapore, will be inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis, and it is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol Agreement (the “SOP”) with the CSRC and China’s Ministry of Finance. The SOP, together with two protocol agreements governing inspections and investigations (together, the “SOP Agreements”), establish a specific, accountable framework to make possible complete inspections and investigations by the PCAOB of audit firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong, as required under U.S. law. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB determined that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and voted to vacate its previous determinations to the contrary. However, should PRC authorities obstruct or otherwise fail to facilitate the PCAOB’s access in the future, the PCAOB will consider the need to issue a new determination. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, and on December 29, 2022, legislation entitled “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” (the “Consolidated Appropriations Act”) was signed into law by President Biden, which contained, among other things, an identical provision to the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and amended the HFCA Act by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three, thus reducing the time period for triggering the delisting of our Company and the prohibition of trading in our securities if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our accounting firm at such future time. If trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares is prohibited under the HFCA Act in the future because the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor at such future time, Nasdaq may determine to delist our Class A Ordinary Shares and trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares could be prohibited. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors— Risks Related to Our Class A Ordinary Shares and the Trading Market—Recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act passed by the U.S. Senate all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our future offerings” in the 2023 Annual Report.

 

As of the date of this reoffer prospectus, we have not maintained any cash management policies that dictate the purpose, amount and procedure for fund transfers among our Cayman Islands holding company, our subsidiaries, or investors. Rather, the funds can be transferred in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. Our Cayman Islands holding company made a net cash transfer in the amount of approximately $6.19 million to the Chinese operating entities, which amount is derived from the net proceeds raised from our initial public offering. See “Prospectus Summary—Cash Transfers and Dividend Distributions.” As of the date of this reoffer prospectus, our Cayman Islands holding company has not declared or paid dividends or made distributions to the Chinese operating entities or to investors in the past, nor were any dividends or distributions made by a Chinese operating entity to the Cayman Islands holding company. Our board of directors has complete discretion on whether to distribute dividends, subject to applicable laws. We do not have any current plan to declare or pay any cash dividends on our Class A Ordinary Shares in the foreseeable future. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors— Risks Related to Our Class A Ordinary Shares and the Trading Market—We currently do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future and you must rely on price appreciation of the Class A Ordinary Shares for return on your investment” in the 2023 Annual Report. Subject to certain contractual, legal and regulatory restrictions, cash and capital contributions may be transferred among our Cayman Islands holding company and the Chinese operating entities. If needed, our Cayman Islands holding company can transfer cash to the Chinese operating entities through loans and/or capital contributions, and the Chinese operating entities can transfer cash to our Cayman Islands holding company through loans and/or issuing dividends or other distributions. There are limitations on the ability to transfer cash between the Cayman Islands holding company, the Chinese operating entities or investors. Cash transfers from the Cayman Islands holding company to the Chinese operating entities are subject to the applicable PRC laws and regulations on loans and direct investment. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—PRC regulations of loans and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of our offshore financing to make loans or additional capital contributions to the operating entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and business” in the 2023 Annual Report. If any of the operating entities incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to the Cayman Islands holding company. Cash transfers from the Chinese operating entities to the Cayman Islands holding company are also subject to the current PRC regulations, which permit the Chinese operating entities to pay dividends to their shareholders only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by the operating entities to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. To the extent funds or assets in the business are in the PRC or a PRC entity, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of our company or the operating entities by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets” in the 2023 Annual Report. Cash transfers from the Cayman Islands holding company to the investors are subject to the restrictions on the remittance of Renminbi into and out of China and governmental control of currency conversion. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Restrictions on the remittance of Renminbi into and out of China and governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to pay dividends and other obligations, and affect the value of your investment” in the 2023 Annual Report. Additionally, to the extent cash or assets in the business is in China or a Chinese operating entity, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of China due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of our Company or the operating entities by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by the operating entities to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. To the extent funds or assets in the business are in the PRC or a PRC entity, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of our company or the operating entities by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets” in the 2023 Annual Report.

 

 

As of the date of this reoffer prospectus, Cuizhang Gong beneficially owns 10,000,000, or 100%, of our Class B ordinary shares through YITONG ASIA INVESTMENT PTE. LTD., an exempt private company limited by shares incorporated in Singapore that is 100% owned by Cuizhang Gong. As a result, Cuizhang Gong owns more than a majority of the aggregate voting power of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. As such, we are a “controlled company” under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5615 and are allowed to follow certain exemptions afforded to a “controlled company” under the Nasdaq Listing Rules. However, we do not intend to avail ourselves of such corporate governance exemptions. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Class A Ordinary Shares and the Trading Market—Since we are a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the Nasdaq listing rules, we may follow certain exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that could adversely affect our public shareholders” in the 2023 Annual Report.

 

We are both an “emerging growth company” and a “foreign private issuer” as defined under applicable U.S. securities laws and are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Class A Ordinary Shares and the Trading Market—For as long as we are an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with certain reporting requirements, including those relating to accounting standards and disclosure about our executive compensation, that apply to other public companies” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Class A Ordinary Shares and the Trading Market—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” in the 2023 Annual Report.

 

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this reoffer prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

Reoffer prospectus dated December 10, 2024

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

		Page
Commonly Used Defined Terms		iii
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements		iv
Prospectus Summary		1
Risk Factors		10
Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable		11
Capitalization and Indebtedness		11
Dilution		11
Use of Proceeds		11
Description of Share Capital		12
Selling Shareholders		13
Plan of Distribution		14
Taxation		15
Material Contracts		15
Material Changes		15
Legal Matters		16
Experts		16
Incorporation of Documents by Reference		17
Where You Can Find Additional Information		18
Enforceability of Civil Liabilities		19

 

 

Neither we nor the Selling Shareholders have authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information other than that contained in this reoffer prospectus. We and the Selling Shareholders take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may provide. We and the Selling Shareholders are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. The information contained in this reoffer prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this reoffer prospectus or such other date stated in this reoffer prospectus, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and/or prospects may have changed since those dates. You should also read this reoffer prospectus together with the additional information described under “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference.”

 

This reoffer prospectus may be supplemented from time to time to add, update, or change information in this reoffer prospectus. Any statement contained in this reoffer prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this reoffer prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in a reoffer prospectus supplement modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified will be deemed to constitute a part of this reoffer prospectus only as so modified, and any statement so superseded will be deemed not to constitute a part of this reoffer prospectus.

 

For investors outside the United States: we have not, and the Selling Shareholders have not, taken any action that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this reoffer 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 reoffer prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the securities covered hereby and the distribution of this reoffer prospectus outside the United States.

 

 

COMMONLY USED DEFINED TERMS

 

Unless otherwise indicated or the context requires otherwise, references in this reoffer prospectus to:

 

	●	“BVI” are to the British Virgin Islands;
	●	“China” and the “PRC” are to the People’s Republic of China;
	●	“Class A Ordinary Shares” are to Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.005 per share;
	●	“Class B Ordinary Shares” are to Class B ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.005 per share;
	●	“Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
	●	“Nasdaq” are to Nasdaq Stock Market LLC;
	●	“operating entities” are to the seven subsidiaries that conduct our operations in China, consisting of Nanping Golden Heaven Amusement Park Management Co., Ltd., Changde Jinsheng Amusement Development Co., Ltd., Qujing Jinsheng Amusement Investment Co., Ltd., Tongling Jinsheng Amusement Investment Co., Ltd., Yuxi Jinsheng Amusement Development Co., Ltd., Yueyang Jinsheng Amusement Development Co., Ltd., and Mangshi Jinsheng Amusement Park Co., Ltd.;
	●	“ordinary shares” or “Ordinary Shares” are, collectively, to the Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares;
	●	“RMB” and “Renminbi” are to the legal currency of China;
	●	“SEC” are to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;
	●	“Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
	●	“U.S.”, “US” or “United States” are to United States of America, its territories, its possessions and all areas subject to its jurisdiction;
	●	“US$,” “$,” “USD” and “U.S. dollars” are to the legal currency of the United States; and
	●	“we,” “the Company,” “us,” “our company,” “our” are to Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd., our Cayman Islands holding company, unless the context suggests otherwise, and also includes its subsidiaries when describing the consolidated financial information of Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.

 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This reoffer prospectus and our SEC filings that are incorporated by reference into this reoffer prospectus contain or incorporate by reference forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements,” including any projections of earnings, revenue, or other financial items, any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new projects or other developments, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, any statements of management’s beliefs, goals, strategies, intentions, and objectives, and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “potential,” “likely,” “projects,” “continue,” “will,” and “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, are based on assumptions, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. We cannot guarantee that we actually will achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations expressed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on these statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements. These important factors include those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained or incorporated by reference in this reoffer prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus we may authorize for use in connection with a specific offering. These factors and the other cautionary statements made in this reoffer prospectus should be read as being applicable to all related forward-looking statements whenever they appear in this reoffer prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

 

 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our securities involves risks. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement and under the heading “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in the 2023 Annual Report, which is incorporated in this reoffer prospectus by reference, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act that are incorporated herein by reference, together with all of the other information appearing in this reoffer prospectus or incorporated by reference into this reoffer prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, in light of your particular investment objectives and financial circumstances. In addition to those risk factors, there may be additional risks and uncertainties of which management is not aware or focused on or that management deems immaterial. Our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

 

In addition, we are not a Chinese operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company. We have no material operations of our own and conduct substantially all of the operations through the operating entities in China. Investors are purchasing equity interests in the Cayman Islands holding company, and not in the Chinese operating entities. Investors may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating entities. We hold 100% equity interests in the operating entities in China, and we do not use a VIE structure. Our operating structure involves unique risks to investors. The Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow our operating structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares, and could cause the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares to significantly decline or become worthless.

 

 

OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

 

The Selling Shareholders may, from time to time, offer and sell any or all of their Class A Ordinary Shares in one or more offerings. The Class A Ordinary Shares offered under this reoffer prospectus may be offered in amounts, at prices, and on terms to be determined at the time of sale. We will keep the registration statement of which this reoffer prospectus is a part effective until such time as all of the Class A Ordinary Shares covered by this reoffer prospectus have been disposed of pursuant to and in accordance with such registration statement.

 

CAPITALIZATION AND INDEBTEDNESS

 

Our capitalization will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or in a report on Form 6-K subsequently furnished to the SEC and specifically incorporated by reference into this reoffer prospectus.

 

DILUTION

 

Because the Selling Shareholders who offer and sell Class A Ordinary Shares covered by this reoffer prospectus may do so at various times, at prices and at terms then prevailing or at prices related to the then current market price, or in negotiated transactions, we have not included in this reoffer prospectus information about the dilution (if any) to the public arising from these sales.

 

Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

 

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of any of our Class A Ordinary Shares by the Selling Shareholders. We have agreed to pay all expenses relating to registering the Class A Ordinary Shares covered by this reoffer prospectus. The Selling Shareholders will pay any brokerage commissions and/or similar charges incurred in connection with the sale of the Class A Ordinary Shares covered hereby.

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

 

Information contained under the heading “Item 10. Additional Information” in the 2023 Annual Report is incorporated into this reoffer prospectus by reference.

 

History of Share Capital

 

On August 11, 2023, our shareholders approved (i) the increase of the Company’s authorized share capital from US$50,000 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 each, to US$200,000 divided into 2,000,000,000 ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 each; (ii) the re-designation and re-classification of ordinary shares of the Company into Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares.

 

Effective on September 19, 2024, our shareholders approved the reorganization of the Company’s share capital, where the Company’s authorized share capital of US$210,000 to be divided into: (i) 1,800,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, and (ii) 300,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, be consolidated and divided at a share consolidation ratio of 1:50, such that the authorized share capital of US$210,000 will be divided into: (i) 36,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.005 each, and (ii) 6,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.005 each.

 

As of the date of this reoffer prospectus, our authorized share capital is US$210,000 divided into 36,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of par value US$0.005 each and 6,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares of par value US$0.005 each. Holders of Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights as set forth in our fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In respect of matters requiring a vote of all shareholders, each holder of Class A Ordinary Shares will be entitled to one vote per one Class A Ordinary Share and each holder of Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to 200 votes per one Class B Ordinary Share. The Class B Ordinary Shares are convertible into Class A Ordinary Shares at any time after issuance at the option of the holder on a one-to-one basis. During the last three years, no ordinary shares were issued in exchange for consideration other than cash.

 

 

SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

 

The following table sets forth (a) the name and position or positions with the Company of each Selling Shareholder; (b) the aggregate of (i) the number of Class A Ordinary Shares held by each Selling Shareholder as of the date of this reoffer prospectus, and (ii) the number of shares to be issued to each Selling Shareholder under the Plan that are being registered pursuant to this Registration Statement for resale by each Selling Shareholder as of the date of this reoffer prospectus; (c) the number of Class A Ordinary Shares that each Selling Shareholder may offer for sale from time to time pursuant to this reoffer prospectus, whether or not such Selling Shareholder has a present intention to do so; and (d) the number of Class A Ordinary Shares to be beneficially owned by each Selling Shareholder following the sale of all shares that may be so offered pursuant to this reoffer prospectus, assuming no other change in ownership of Class A Ordinary Shares by such Selling Shareholder after the date of this reoffer prospectus. Unless otherwise indicated, beneficial ownership is direct and the person indicated has sole voting and investment power.

 

To our knowledge, none of our officers and directors have a present intention to offer Class A Ordinary Shares for sale, although they retain the right to do so.

 

Inclusion of an individual’s name in the table below does not constitute an admission that such individual is an “affiliate” of the Company.

 

		Principal										Number of
		Position		Shares Owned Prior to								Shares				Shares Beneficially
		with the		Resale (2)								Offered for				Owned After Resale (2)
Selling Shareholders		Company (1)		Number				Percent				Resale				Number				Percent
Jing Xu		Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors			0				0	%			700,000				0				0	%
Jinhua Wang		Director			0				0	%			700,000				0				0	%

 

*	Indicates less than 1%
(1)	All positions described are with the Company, unless otherwise indicated.
(2)	Percentage is computed with reference to 29,323,604 Class A Ordinary Shares issued as of the date of this reoffer prospectus and the 5,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares reserved for issuance under the Plan, and assumes for each Selling Shareholder the sale of all shares offered by that particular Selling Shareholder under this reoffer prospectus.

The Company may supplement this reoffer prospectus from time to time as required by the rules of the SEC to include certain information concerning the security ownership of the Selling Shareholders or any new Selling Shareholders, the number of securities offered for resale and the position, office, or other material relationship which a Selling Shareholder has had within the past three years with the Company or any of its predecessors or affiliates.

 

 

Plan of Distribution

 

In this section of the reoffer prospectus, the term “Selling Shareholder” means and includes:

 

	●	the persons identified in the table above as the Selling Shareholders;
	●	those persons whose identities are not known as of the date hereof but may in the future be eligible to acquire Class A Ordinary Shares under the Plan; and
	●	any of the donees, pledgees, distributees, transferees, or other successors in interest of those persons referenced above who may: (a) receive any of the Class A Ordinary Shares offered hereby after the date of this reoffer prospectus and (b) offer or sell those shares hereunder.

 

The Class A Ordinary Shares offered by this reoffer prospectus may be sold from time to time directly by the Selling Shareholders. Alternatively, the Selling Shareholders may from time to time offer such shares through underwriters, brokers, dealers, agents, or other intermediaries. The Selling Shareholders as of the date of this reoffer prospectus have advised us that there were no underwriting or distribution arrangements entered into with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares offered hereby. The distribution of the Class A Ordinary Shares by the Selling Shareholders may be effected: in one or more transactions that may take place on the Nasdaq Capital Market (including one or more block transaction) through customary brokerage channels, either through brokers acting as agents for the Selling Shareholders, or through market makers, dealers, or underwriters acting as principals who may resell these shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market; in privately-negotiated sales; by a combination of such methods; or by other means. These transactions may be effected at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices, or at other negotiated prices. Usual and customary or specifically negotiated brokerage fees or commissions may be paid by the Selling Shareholders in connection with sales of our Class A Ordinary Shares.

 

The Selling Shareholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers in connection with distributions of the shares or otherwise. In such transactions, broker-dealers may engage in short sales of our Class A Ordinary Shares in the course of hedging the positions they assume with the Selling Shareholders. The Selling Shareholders also may sell shares short and redeliver the shares to close out such short positions. The Selling Shareholders may enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers which require the delivery to the broker-dealer of our Class A Ordinary Shares. The broker-dealer may then resell or otherwise transfer such Class A Ordinary Shares pursuant to this reoffer prospectus.

 

The Selling Shareholders also may lend or pledge our Class A Ordinary Shares to a broker-dealer. The broker-dealer may sell the Class A Ordinary Shares so lent, or, upon a default, the broker-dealer may sell the pledged Class A Ordinary Shares pursuant to this reoffer prospectus. Any securities covered by this reoffer prospectus which qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 may be sold under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this reoffer prospectus.

 

The Selling Shareholders have advised us that they have not entered into any agreements, understandings, or arrangements with any underwriters or broker-dealers regarding the sale of their securities. There is no underwriter or coordinating broker acting in connection with the proposed sale of Class A Ordinary Shares by the Selling Shareholders.

 

Although the Class A Ordinary Shares covered by this reoffer prospectus are not currently being underwritten, the Selling Shareholders or their underwriters, brokers, dealers, or other agents or other intermediaries, if any, that may participate with the selling security holders in any offering or distribution of the Class A Ordinary Shares may be deemed “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act and any profits realized or commissions received by them may be deemed underwriting compensation thereunder.

 

Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in a distribution of the Class A Ordinary Shares offered hereby may not simultaneously engage in market making activities with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares for a period of up to five days preceding such distribution. The Selling Shareholders will be subject to the applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, including without limitation Regulation M, which provisions may limit the timing of purchases and sales by the Selling Shareholders.

 

In order to comply with certain state securities or blue sky laws and regulations, if applicable, the Class A Ordinary Shares offered hereby will be sold in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In certain states, the Class A Ordinary Shares may not be sold unless they are registered or qualified for sale in such states, or unless an exemption from registration or qualification is available and is obtained.

 

We will bear all costs, expenses, and fees in connection with the registration of the Class A Ordinary Shares offered hereby. The Selling Shareholders, however, will bear any brokerage or underwriting commissions and similar selling expenses, if any, attributable to the sale of the Class A Ordinary Shares offered pursuant to this reoffer prospectus. We have agreed to indemnify the Selling Shareholders against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments to which any of those security holders may be required to make in respect thereof.

 

There can be no assurance that the Selling Shareholders will sell any or all of the securities offered by them hereby.

 

 

TAXATION

 

Material income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership, and disposition of the securities offered by this reoffer prospectus are set forth in “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation” in the 2023 Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference and, if applicable, in any accompanying prospectus supplement or relevant free writing prospectus.

 

MATERIAL CONTRACTS

 

Our material contracts are described in the documents incorporated by reference into this reoffer prospectus. See “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below.

 

MATERIAL CHANGES

 

Three putative class action lawsuits were filed on December 8, 2023, December 19, 2023 and January 17, 2024 by certain shareholders against the Company, our then Chief Executive Officer, Qiong Jin, our Chief Financial Officer, Jinguang Gong and our independent directors in the Supreme Court of the State of New York (Case No. 161978/2023) and United States District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 2:23-cv-10619-HDV-SK and Case No. 2:24-cv-00423-SVW-AJR). The above two complaints filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of the Company during the class period assert claims that plaintiffs were economically damaged, and generally allege that the referenced defendants violated sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by making allegedly false and misleading statements regarding, among other matters, the Company’s business operations, management, financial condition and prospects. Plaintiffs in the matter filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California filed motion to consolidate the two matters and appoint lead plaintiff and lead counsel. The Court held a hearing on the motions on April 11, 2024, consolidated the actions, appointed Rahul Patange (“Patange”) as Lead Plaintiff in the consolidated action, and Pomerantz LLP as lead counsel. The consolidated action will now proceed under the Case No. 2:23-cv-10619-HDV-SK. The parties have agreed on a briefing schedule for the Lead Plaintiff to file an amended complaint and for defendants to respond to the newly amended complaint. The above complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of the Company during the class period asserts claims that the plaintiffs were economically damaged, and generally alleges that the defendants violated sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, by making allegedly inaccurate, untrue and misleading statements regarding, among other matters, the Company’s business operations, management, financial condition and prospects. Plaintiffs amended the Supreme Court of the State of New York complaint on February 14, 2024. On April 15, 2024, Revere Securities, LLC and R.L. Lafferty & Co. (collectively, the “Underwriter Defendants”) filed a cross-claim in the New York matter against the Company for indemnification pursuant to the Underwriter Agreement dated, April 11, 2023. The Company is actively conducting a legal internal investigation pertaining to the allegations presented in these complaints. As of the date of this prospectus, the Company has only filed an answer to the Supreme Court of the State of New York amended complaint and the Underwriter Defendants’ cross-claims. The Company strongly denies any wrongdoing, and intends to vigorously defend all of the matters. Since the lawsuits are still in the preliminary stage, the Company is currently unable to estimate the potential outcome, if any, associated with the resolution of the lawsuits.

 

 

On February 8, 2024, the Company received a written notification letter (the “Notification Letter”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), notifying the Company that it is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rules for continued listing on the Nasdaq. The Notification Letter does not impact the Company’s listing on Nasdaq at this time. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company has been provided 180 calendar days, or until August 6, 2024, to regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). To regain compliance, the Company’s Class A Ordinary Shares must have a closing bid price of at least US$1.00 for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. In the event the Company does not regain compliance by August 6, 2024, the Company may be eligible for additional time to regain compliance or may face delisting. The Company’s business operations are not affected by the receipt of the Notification Letter. On October 17, 2024, the Company received a written notification from the Nasdaq informing the Company that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) and Nasdaq has determined to continue the listing of the Company’s securities on Nasdaq.

 

On November 18, 2024, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with certain investors. The investors agreed to subscribe for and purchase from the Company, through a private placement, a total of 20,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares for a total purchase price of US$25.2 million. In the event that the Company fails to meet certain operational and financial targets by September 30, 2027, the Company will issue up to 10,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares to the investors for no additional consideration. The Company will use the proceeds from issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares for acquisition, upgrade, development, operation and maintenance of parks. In addition, pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company will issue warrants (the “Warrants”) to the investors granting the investors the right to purchase up to 40,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares in aggregate at an exercise price of US$1.386. The Warrants will expire five (5) years after issuance. The Warrants contain standard adjustments to the exercise price.

 

On November 18, 2024, the Company entered into a series of amendments to warrant with existing holders of warrants, pursuant to which, (i) the exercise price were amended to be US$1.386, and (ii) the existing holders of warrants agreed to exercise their respective warrants in whole concurrently with execution of such amendment.

 

Except as otherwise described in the 2023 Annual Report, in our reports of foreign issuer on Form 6-K filed or submitted under the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference herein, and as disclosed in this reoffer prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement, no reportable material changes have occurred since September 30, 2023.

 

LEGAL MATTERS

 

We are being represented by Loeb & Loeb LLP with respect to certain legal matters of U.S. federal securities and New York State law. The validity of the securities offered in this offering and certain other legal matters as to Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Ogier, our counsel as to Cayman Islands law. Legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou). If legal matters in connection with offerings made pursuant to this reoffer prospectus are passed upon by counsel to underwriters, dealers, or agents, such counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any such offering.

 

EXPERTS

 

The consolidated financial statements of Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries appearing in the 2023 Annual Report have been audited by ASSENTSURE PAC, an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, and as incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. The office of ASSENTSURE PAC is located at UEN-201816648N, 180B Bencoolen Street 03-01, The Bencoolen, Singapore 189648.

 

 

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

 

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this reoffer prospectus certain information we file with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference in this reoffer prospectus shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this reoffer prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequently filed document, which also is incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this reoffer prospectus.

  

We hereby incorporate by reference into this reoffer prospectus the following documents:

 

	(1)	our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024;
	(2)	our reports of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K filed with the SEC on February 22, 2024, March 6, 2024, April 19, 2024, June 14, 2024, July 3, 2024, July 16, 2024, July 30, 2024, August 9, 2024, September 11, 2024, September 16, 2024, October 15, 2024, October 18, 2024, November 13, 2024, and November 19, 2024;
	(3)	the description of the Company’s ordinary shares contained in Item 1 of the registration statement on Form 8-A12B (File No. 001-41675) filed with the SEC on March 30, 2023, the description of securities contained in exhibit 2.2 to the 2023 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024 and descriptions contained in Form 6-K filed with the SEC on August 11, 2023 and Form 6-K filed with the SEC on September 11, 2024, and any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description;
	(4)	any future annual reports on Form 20-F filed with the SEC after the date of this reoffer prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the securities offered by this reoffer prospectus; and
	(5)	any future reports of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this reoffer prospectus that are identified in such reports as being incorporated by reference into the registration statement of which this reoffer prospectus forms a part.

 

The 2023 Annual Report contains a description of our business and audited consolidated financial statements with a report by our independent auditors. These statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this reoffer prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this reoffer prospectus, other than exhibits to those document unless such exhibits are specially incorporated by reference in this reoffer prospectus, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this reoffer prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.

No. 8 Banhouhaichuan Rd

Xiqin Town, Yanping District

Nanping City, Fujian Province, China 353001

+86 0599 8508022

 

You should rely only on the information that we incorporate by reference or provide in this reoffer prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making any offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained or incorporated in this reoffer prospectus by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document containing the information.

 

 

Where You Can Find ADDITIONAL Information

 

As permitted by SEC rules, this reoffer prospectus omits certain information and exhibits that are included in the registration statement of which this reoffer prospectus forms a part. Since this reoffer prospectus may not contain all of the information that you may find important, you should review the full text of these documents. If we have filed a contract, agreement, or other document as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this reoffer prospectus forms a part, you should read the exhibit for a more complete understanding of the document or matter involved. Each statement in this reoffer prospectus, including statements incorporated by reference as discussed above, regarding a contract, agreement, or other document is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual document.

 

We are subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we are required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. All information filed with the SEC can be inspected over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic or current reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.

 

 

ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

 

We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability. We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands in order to enjoy the following benefits: (a) political and economic stability; (b) an effective judicial system; (c) a favorable tax system; (d) the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions; and (e) the availability of professional and support services. However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include:

 

●

the Cayman Islands has a less exhaustive body of securities laws than the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors; and

 

●

Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.

 

Our constitutional documents do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, among us, our officers, directors and shareholders, be arbitrated.

 

We conduct a substantial amount of our operations in China, and a substantial amount of our assets are located in China. A majority our officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for a shareholder to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons, or to enforce against us or them judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. It may also be difficult for shareholder to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our executive officers and directors.

 

We have appointed Cogency Global Inc. as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.

 

We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would:

 

●

recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws; and

 

●

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.

 

There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce a foreign judgment, without any re-examination or re-litigation of matters adjudicated upon, provided such judgment:

 

(a)

is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction;

 

(b)

imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given;

 

(c)

is final and conclusive;

 

(d)

is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty;

 

(e)

was not obtained by fraud; and

 

(f)

is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

 

 

However, the Cayman Islands courts are unlikely to enforce a judgment obtained from the United States courts under civil liability provisions of the securities laws if such judgment is determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands to give rise to obligations to make payments that are penal or punitive in nature. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination, it is uncertain whether such civil liability judgments from United States courts would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

 

Subject to the above limitations, in appropriate circumstances, a Cayman Islands court may give effect in the Cayman Islands to other kinds of final foreign judgments such as declaratory orders, orders for performance of contracts and injunctions.

 

Our PRC legal counsel, AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou), has advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether PRC courts would (i) 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 (ii) 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. Our PRC legal counsel, AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou), has advised us that the PRC Civil Procedures Law governs the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with 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. The PRC does not have any treaties or other agreements with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. 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 determine that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether 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. It will be difficult for U.S. shareholders to originate actions against us in China in accordance with PRC laws because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and it will be difficult for U.S. shareholders, by virtue only of holding our ordinary shares, to establish a connection to China for a PRC court to have jurisdiction as required under the PRC Civil Procedures Law.

 

In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the BVI or Hong Kong would (i) 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 (ii) entertain original actions brought in the British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.

 

 

There is uncertainty with regard to British Virgin Islands law as to whether a judgment obtained from the United States courts under civil liability provisions of the securities laws will be determined by the courts of the British Virgin Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such a determination is made, the courts of the British Virgin Islands are also unlikely to recognize or enforce the judgment against a British Virgin Islands company. Because the courts of the British Virgin Islands have yet to rule on whether such judgments are penal or punitive in nature, it is uncertain whether they would be enforceable in the British Virgin Islands. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the British Virgin Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States, in certain circumstances a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction may be recognized and enforced in the courts of the British Virgin Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the High Court of the British Virgin Islands, provided such judgment:

 

●

is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction and such foreign court had proper jurisdiction over the parties subject to such judgment;

 

●

imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given;

 

●

is final;

 

●

no new admissible evidence relevant to the action is submitted prior to the rendering of the judgment by the courts of the BVI;

 

●

is not in respect of taxes, a fine, a penalty or similar fiscal or revenue obligations of the company;

 

●

was not obtained in a fraudulent manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the British Virgin Islands.

 

In appropriate circumstances, a BVI Court may give effect in the BVI to other kinds of final foreign judgments such as declaratory orders, orders for performance of contracts and injunctions.

 

Foreign judgments of United States courts will not be directly enforced in Hong Kong as there are currently no treaties or other arrangements providing for reciprocal enforcement of foreign judgments between Hong Kong and the United States. However, the common law permits an action to be brought upon a foreign judgment. That is to say, a foreign judgment itself may form the basis of a cause of action since the judgment may be regarded as creating a debt between the parties to it. In a common law action for enforcement of a foreign judgment in Hong Kong, the enforcement is subject to various conditions, including but not limited to, that the foreign judgment is a final judgment conclusive upon the merits of the claim, the judgment is for a liquidated amount in civil matter and not in respect of taxes, fines, penalties, or similar charges, the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice, and the enforcement of the judgment is not contrary to public policy of Hong Kong. Such a judgment must be for a fixed sum and must also come from a “competent” court as determined by the private international law rules applied by the Hong Kong courts. The defenses that are available to a defendant in a common law action brought on the basis of a foreign judgment include lack of jurisdiction, breach of natural justice, fraud, and contrary to public policy. However, a separate legal action for debt must be commenced in Hong Kong in order to recover such debt from the judgment debtor. As a result, subject to the conditions with regard to enforcement of judgments of United States courts being met, including but not limited to the above, a foreign judgment of United States of civil liabilities predicated solely upon the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any State or territory within the United States could be enforceable in Hong Kong. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions in China against us or our management based on foreign laws” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Class A Ordinary Shares and the Trading Market—Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable” in the 2023 Annual Report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOLDEN HEAVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LTD.

 

REOFFER PROSPECTUS

 

December 10, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. (the “Company”) is subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) and, accordingly, files periodic reports and other information with the Commission. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the Commission, including the Company. The address for the SEC’s Web site is “http://www.sec.gov”. The following documents are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:

 

(a) The Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024,

  

(b) The Company’s Current Reports on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on February 22, 2024, March 6, 2024, April 19, 2024, June 14, 2024, July 3, 2024, July 16, 2024, July 30, 2024, August 9, 2024, September 11, 2024, September 16, 2024, October 15, 2024, October 18, 2024, November 13, 2024, and November 19, 2024; and

       

(c) The description of the Company’s ordinary shares contained in Item 1 of the registration statement on Form 8-A12B (File No. 001-41675 ) filed with the SEC on March 30, 2023, the description of securities contained in exhibit 2.2 to the 2023 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024 and descriptions contained in Form 6-K filed with the SEC on August 11, 2023 and Form 6-K filed with the SEC on September 11, 2024.

 

Except to the extent such information is deemed furnished and not filed pursuant to securities laws and regulations, all documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and, to the extent specifically designated therein, reports on Form 6-K furnished by the Registrant to the SEC, in each case, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement indicating that all securities offered under this Registration Statement have been sold, or deregistering all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing or furnishing of such documents.

 

Any statement contained herein or in a document all or a portion of which is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

 

Item 4. Description of Securities.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

None.

 

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to the public policy, such as providing indemnification against the indemnified person's own fraud, dishonesty, willful default or willful neglect or against the consequences of committing a crime.

 

 

Our fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that to the extent permitted by law, the Company shall indemnify each existing or former director, secretary and other officer and their personal representatives against: (a) all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by the existing or former director, secretary and other officer in or about the conduct of the Company’s business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of the existing or former director’s, secretary’s or officer’s duties, powers, authorities or discretions; and (b) without limitation to paragraph (a), all costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by the existing or former director, secretary and other officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings (whether threatened, pending or completed) concerning the Company or its affairs in any court or tribunal, whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. No such existing or former director, secretary and other officer, however, shall be indemnified in respect of any matter arising out of his own fraud, willful default or willful neglect. See our fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association filed as Exhibit 4.2 to this registration statement.

 

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we have agreed to indemnify our directors and executive officers against all liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our Company to the fullest extent permitted by law with certain limited exceptions. The form of indemnification agreement is filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the 2023 Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8. Exhibits.

 

For a list of all exhibits filed or included as part of this Registration Statement, see “Index to Exhibits” at the end of this Registration Statement.

 

Item 9. Undertakings.

 

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”);

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

 

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

(i) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(ii) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

 

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

*********************

 

 

Signatures

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Nanping, People’s Republic of China.

 

	Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.
Date: December 10, 2024	By:	/s/ Jin Xu
		Jin Xu
		Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Director

 

Power of Attorney

 

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Jin Xu and Jinguang Gong, and each of them, individually, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities (including his capacity as a director and/or officer of the registrant), to sign any and all amendments and post-effective amendments and supplements to this registration statement, and including any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or his substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated. 

 

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Jin Xu		Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer),		December 10, 2024
Jin Xu		Chairman of Board of Directors and Director
/s/ Jinguang Gong		Chief Financial Officer		December 10, 2024
Jinguang Gong		(Principal Accounting and Financial Officer)
/s/ Jinhua Wang		Director		December 10, 2024
Jinhua Wang
/s/ Bin Chen		Independent Director		December 10, 2024
Bin Chen
/s/ Daofu Lin		Independent Director		December 10, 2024
Daofu Lin

 

 

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

 

Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of America of Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd., has signed this registration statement thereto in New York, NY on December 10, 2024.

 

	Cogency Global Inc.
	Authorized U.S. Representative
	By:	/s/ Collen A. De Vries
	Name:	Colleen A. De Vries
	Title:	Senior Vice President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc.

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit		Description
4.1		Specimen Certificate for Class A Ordinary Shares (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-268166) initially filed with the SEC on November 4, 2022)
4.2*		Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
5.1*		Opinion of Ogier as to the legality of the securities being registered
10.1*		Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan
23.1*		Consent of ASSENTSURE PAC
23.2*		Consent of Ogier (included as Exhibit 5.1)
23.3*		Consent of AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou)
24.1		Power of Attorney (included on signature page hereof)
107*		Filing Fee Table

 

*

Filed herewith.

 

 

II-6

Exhibit 4.2

 

Companies Act (Revised)

 

Company Limited By Shares

 

 

 

Fourth AMENDED AND RESTATED
memorandum of association
of
Golden heaven group holdings ltd.
金色乐园集团控股有限公司

 

 

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 10 September 2024 and conditional upon and with
effect from 19 September 2024 at the opening of business of the Nasdaq marketplace)

 

 

Companies Act (Revised)

 

Company Limited by Shares

 

Fourth Amended and Restated
Memorandum of Association

 

of

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.
金色乐园集团控股有限公司

 

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 10 September 2024 and conditional upon and with effect from 19 September 2024 at the opening of business of the Nasdaq marketplace)

 

1

The name of the Company is Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. 金色乐园集团控股有限公司.

 

2

The Company’s registered office will be situated at the office of Harneys Fiduciary (Cayman) Limited, 4th Floor, Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 10240, Grand Cayman KY1-1002, Cayman Islands or at such other place in the Cayman Islands as the directors may at any time decide.

 

3

The Company’s objects are unrestricted. As provided by section 7(4) of the Companies Act (Revised), the Company has full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by any law of the Cayman Islands.

 

4

The Company has unrestricted corporate capacity. Without limitation to the foregoing, as provided by section 27(2) of the Companies Act (Revised), the Company has and is capable of exercising all the functions of a natural person of full capacity irrespective of any question of corporate benefit.

 

5

Nothing in any of the preceding paragraphs permits the Company to carry on any of the following businesses without being duly licensed, namely:

 

(a)

the business of a bank or trust company without being licensed in that behalf under the Banks and Trust Companies Act (Revised); or

 

(b)

insurance business from within the Cayman Islands or the business of an insurance manager, agent, sub-agent or broker without being licensed in that behalf under the Insurance Act (Revised);or

 

(c)

the business of company management without being licensed in that behalf under the Companies Management Act (Revised).

 

6

Unless licensed to do so, the Company will not trade in the Cayman Islands with any person, firm or corporation except in furtherance of its business carried on outside the Cayman Islands. Despite this, the Company may effect and conclude contracts in the Cayman Islands and exercise in the Cayman Islands any of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside the Cayman Islands.

 

 

7

The Company is a company limited by shares and accordingly the liability of each member is limited to the amount (if any) unpaid on that member’s shares.

 

8

The authorised share capital of the Company is US$210,000 divided into: (i) 36,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.005 each, and (ii) 6,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.005 each. Subject to the Companies Act (Revised) and the Company’s articles of association, the Company has power to do any one or more of the following:

 

(a)

to redeem or repurchase any of its shares; and

 

(b)

to increase or reduce its capital; and

 

(c)

to issue any part of its capital (whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced):

 

(i)

with or without any preferential, deferred, qualified or special rights, privileges or conditions; or

 

(ii)

subject to any limitations or restrictions

 

and unless the condition of issue expressly declares otherwise, every issue of shares (whether declared to be ordinary, preference or otherwise) is subject to this power; or

 

(d)

to alter any of those rights, privileges, conditions, limitations or restrictions.

 

9

The Company has power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate limited by shares under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands.

 

 

Companies Act (Revised)

 

Company Limited By Shares

 

 

FOURTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
articles of association
of
Golden heaven group holdings ltd.
金色乐园集团控股有限公司

  

 

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 10 September 2024 and conditional upon and with
effect from 19 September 2024 at the opening of business of the Nasdaq marketplace)

 

 

Contents

 

1 Definitions, interpretation and exclusion of Table A	1
Definitions	1
Interpretation	4
Exclusion of Table A Articles	4
2 Shares	5
Power to issue Shares and options, with or without special rights	5
Power to issue fractions of a Share	5
Power to pay commissions and brokerage fees	5
Trusts not recognised	6
Security interests	6
Power to vary class rights	6
Effect of new Share issue on existing class rights	6
No bearer Shares or warrants	7
Treasury Shares	7
Rights attaching to Treasury Shares and related matters	7
Register of Members	7
Annual Return	8
3 Share certificates	8
Issue of share certificates	8
Renewal of lost or damaged share certificates	8
4 Lien on Shares	9
Nature and scope of lien	9
Company may sell Shares to satisfy lien	9
Authority to execute instrument of transfer	9
Consequences of sale of Shares to satisfy lien	10
Application of proceeds of sale	10
5 Calls on Shares and forfeiture	10
Power to make calls and effect of calls	10
Time when call made	11
Liability of joint holders	11
Interest on unpaid calls	11
Deemed calls	11
Power to accept early payment	11
Power to make different arrangements at time of issue of Shares	11
Notice of default	11
Forfeiture or surrender of Shares	12
Disposal of forfeited or surrendered Share and power to cancel forfeiture or surrender	12
Effect of forfeiture or surrender on former Member	12
Evidence of forfeiture or surrender	13
Sale of forfeited or surrendered Shares	13

 

 

6 Transfer of Shares	13
Form of Transfer	13
Power to refuse registration for Shares not listed on a Designated Stock Exchange	13
Suspension of transfers	14
Company may retain instrument of transfer	14
Notice of refusal to register	14
7 Transmission of Shares	14
Persons entitled on death of a Member	14
Registration of transfer of a Share following death or bankruptcy	15
Indemnity	15
Rights of person entitled to a Share following death or bankruptcy	15
8 Alteration of capital	16
Increasing, consolidating, converting, dividing and cancelling share capital	16
Dealing with fractions resulting from consolidation of Shares	16
Reducing share capital	17
9 Conversion, redemption and purchase of own Shares	17
Power to issue redeemable Shares and to purchase own Shares	17
Power to pay for redemption or purchase in cash or in specie	17
Effect of redemption or purchase of a Share	17
Conversion rights	18
Share conversion	18
10 Meetings of Members	18
Annual and extraordinary general meetings	18
Power to call meetings	18
Content of notice	19
Period of notice	20
Persons entitled to receive notice	20
Accidental omission to give notice or non-receipt of notice	20
11 Proceedings at meetings of Members	21
Quorum	21
Lack of quorum	21
Chairman	21
Right of a Director to attend and speak	21
Accommodation of Members at meeting	22
Security	22
Adjournment	22
Method of voting	22
Outcome of vote by show of hands	23
Withdrawal of demand for a poll	23
Taking of a poll	23
Chairman’s casting vote	23
Written resolutions	23
Sole-Member Company	25

 

 

12 Voting rights of Members	25
Right to vote	25
Rights of joint holders	25
Representation of corporate Members	26
Member with mental disorder	26
Objections to admissibility of votes	26
Form of proxy	26
How and when proxy is to be delivered	27
Voting by proxy	28
13 Number of Directors	29
14 Appointment, disqualification and removal of Directors	29
First Directors	29
No age limit	29
Corporate Directors	29
No shareholding qualification	29
Appointment of Directors	29
Board’s power to appoint Directors	30
Removal of Directors	30
Resignation of Directors	30
Termination of the office of Director	30
15 Alternate Directors	31
Appointment and removal	31
Notices	32
Rights of alternate Director	32
Appointment ceases when the appointor ceases to be a Director	32
Status of alternate Director	32
Status of the Director making the appointment	32
16 Powers of Directors	32
Powers of Directors	32
Directors below the minimum number	33
Appointments to office	33
Provisions for employees	34
Exercise of voting rights	34
Remuneration	34
Disclosure of information	34
17 Delegation of powers	35
Power to delegate any of the Directors’ powers to a committee	35
Local boards	35
Power to appoint an agent of the Company	36
Power to appoint an attorney or authorised signatory of the Company	36
Borrowing Powers	36
Corporate Governance	36

 

 

18 Meetings of Directors	37
Regulation of Directors’ meetings	37
Calling meetings	37
Notice of meetings	37
Use of technology	37
Quorum	37
Chairman or deputy to preside	37
Voting	38
Recording of dissent	38
Written resolutions	38
Validity of acts of Directors in spite of formal defect	38
19 Permissible Directors’ interests and disclosure	39
20 Minutes	39
21 Accounts and audit	39
Auditors	40
22 Record dates	40
23 Dividends	40
Source of dividends	40
Declaration of dividends by Members	41
Payment of interim dividends and declaration of final dividends by Directors	41
Apportionment of dividends	41
Right of set off	42
Power to pay other than in cash	42
How payments may be made	42
Dividends or other monies not to bear interest in absence of special rights	43
Dividends unable to be paid or unclaimed	43
24 Capitalisation of profits	43
Capitalisation of profits or of any share premium account or capital redemption reserve;	43
Applying an amount for the benefit of Members	43
25 Share Premium Account	44
Directors to maintain share premium account	44
Debits to share premium account	44
26 Seal	44
Company seal	44
Duplicate seal	44
When and how seal is to be used	44
If no seal is adopted or used	45
Power to allow non-manual signatures and facsimile printing of seal	45
Validity of execution	45

 

 

27 Indemnity	45
Release	46
Insurance	46
28 Notices	46
Form of notices	46
Electronic communications	47
Persons entitled to notices	48
Persons authorised to give notices	48
Delivery of written notices	48
Joint holders	48
Signatures	48
Giving notice to a deceased or bankrupt Member	49
Date of giving notices	49
Saving provision	49
29 Authentication of Electronic Records	50
Application of Articles	50
Authentication of documents sent by Members by Electronic means	50
Authentication of document sent by the Secretary or Officers of the Company by Electronic means	50
Manner of signing	51
Saving provision	51
30 Transfer by way of continuation	51
31 Winding up	52
Distribution of assets in specie	52
No obligation to accept liability	52
32 Amendment of Memorandum and Articles	52
Power to change name or amend Memorandum	52
Power to amend these Articles	52

 

 

Companies Act (Revised)

 

Company Limited by Shares

 

Fourth Amended and Restated
Articles of Association

 

of

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.

 

金色乐园集团控股有限公司

 

(Adopted by special resolution passed on 10 September 2024 and conditional upon and with
effect from 19 September 2024 at the opening of business of the Nasdaq marketplace)

 

1

Definitions, interpretation and exclusion of Table A

 

Definitions

 

1.1

In these Articles, the following definitions apply:

 

Act means the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, including any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force;

 

Articles means, as appropriate:

 

(a)

these articles of association as amended from time to time: or

 

(b)

two or more particular articles of these Articles;

 

and Article refers to a particular article of these Articles;

 

Auditors means the auditor or auditors for the time being of the Company;

 

Board means the board of Directors from time to time;

 

Business Day means a day when banks in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands are open for the transaction of normal banking business and for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in the Cayman Islands;

 

Cayman Islands means the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands;

 

Class A Ordinary Share means a share designated as a class A ordinary share of the Company of par value of US$0.005 each and having the rights attached to such share and being subject to the restricted specified in these Memorandum and Articles;

 

Class A Shareholder means any person or persons entered on the register of Members from time to time as the holder of a Class A Ordinary Share;

 

 

Class B Ordinary Share means a share designated as a class B ordinary share of the Company of par value of US$0.005 each and having the rights attached to such share and being subject to the restricted specified in these Memorandum and Articles;

 

Class B Shareholder means any person or persons entered on the register of Members from time to time as the holder of a Class B Ordinary Share;

 

Clear Days, in relation to a period of notice, means that period excluding:

 

(a)

the day when the notice is given or deemed to be given; and

 

(b)

the day for which it is given or on which it is to take effect;

 

Commission means Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America or other federal agency for the time being administering the U.S. Securities Act;

 

Company means the above-named company;

 

Default Rate means ten per cent per annum;

 

Designated Stock Exchanges means Nasdaq Capital Market in the United States of America for so long as any class of the Company’s Shares are there listed and any other stock exchange on which any class of the Company’s Shares are listed for trading;

 

Designated Stock Exchange Rules means the relevant code, rules and regulations, as amended, from time to time, applicable as a result of the original and continued listing of any class of the Shares on the Designated Stock Exchanges;

 

Directors means the directors for the time being of the Company and the expression Director shall be construed accordingly;

 

Electronic has the meaning given to that term in the Electronic Transactions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands;

 

Electronic Record has the meaning given to that term in the Electronic Transactions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands;

 

Electronic Signature has the meaning given to that term in the Electronic Transactions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands;

 

Fully Paid Up means:

 

(a)

in relation to a Share with par value, means that the par value for that Share and any premium payable in respect of the issue of that Share, has been fully paid or credited as paid in money or money’s worth; and

 

(b)

in relation to a Share without par value, means that the agreed issue price for that Share has been fully paid or credited as paid in money or money’s worth;

 

General Meeting means a general meeting of the Company duly constituted in accordance with the Articles;

 

 

Independent Director means a Director who is an independent director as defined in the Designated Stock Exchange Rules as determined by the Board;

 

Member means a Class A Shareholder or a Class B Shareholder;

 

Memorandum means the memorandum of association of the Company as amended from time to time;

 

month means a calendar month;

 

Officer means a person appointed to hold an office in the Company including a Director, alternate Director or liquidator and excluding the Secretary;

 

Ordinary Resolution means a resolution of a General Meeting passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the Members who (being entitled to do so) vote in person or by proxy at that meeting. The expression also includes a written resolution passed by the requisite majority in accordance with Article 11.19;

 

Ordinary Share means an ordinary share in the capital of the Company;

 

Partly Paid Up means:

 

(a)

in relation to a Share with par value, that the par value for that Share and any premium payable in respect of the issue of that Share, has not been fully paid or credited as paid in money or money’s worth; and

 

(b)

in relation to a Share without par value, means that the agreed issue price for that Share has not been fully paid or credited as paid in money or money’s worth;

 

Secretary means a person appointed to perform the duties of the secretary of the Company, including a joint, assistant or deputy secretary;

 

Share means a Class A Ordinary Share or a Class B Ordinary Share in the share capital of the Company and the expression:

 

(a)

includes stock (except where a distinction between shares and stock is expressed or implied); and

 

(b)

where the context permits, also includes a fraction of a Share;

 

Special Resolution means a resolution of a General Meeting or a resolution of a meeting of the holders of any class of Shares in a class meeting duly constituted in accordance with the Articles in each case passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of Members who (being entitled to do so) vote in person or by proxy at that meeting. The expression includes a unanimous written resolution;

 

Treasury Shares means Shares held in treasury pursuant to the Act and Article 2.14; and

 

U.S. Securities Act means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States of America, as amended, or any similar federal statute and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, all as the same shall be in effect at the time.

 

 

Interpretation

 

1.2

In the interpretation of these Articles, the following provisions apply unless the context otherwise requires:

 

(a)

A reference in these Articles to a statute is a reference to a statute of the Cayman Islands as known by its short title, and includes:

 

(i)

any statutory modification, amendment or re-enactment; and

 

(ii)

any subordinate legislation or regulations issued under that statute.

 

Without limitation to the preceding sentence, a reference to a revised Act of the Cayman Islands is taken to be a reference to the revision of that Act in force from time to time as amended from time to time.

 

(b)

Headings are inserted for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Articles, unless there is ambiguity.

 

(c)

If a day on which any act, matter or thing is to be done under these Articles is not a Business Day, the act, matter or thing must be done on the next Business Day.

 

(d)

A word which denotes the singular also denotes the plural, a word which denotes the plural also denotes the singular, and a reference to any gender also denotes the other genders.

 

(e)

A reference to a person includes, as appropriate, a company, trust, partnership, joint venture, association, body corporate or government agency.

 

(f)

Where a word or phrase is given a defined meaning another part of speech or grammatical form in respect to that word or phrase has a corresponding meaning.

 

(g)

All references to time are to be calculated by reference to time in the place where the Company’s registered office is located.

 

(h)

The words written and in writing include all modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form, but do not include an Electronic Record where the distinction between a document in writing and an Electronic Record is expressed or implied.

 

(i)

The words including, include and in particular or any similar expression are to be construed without limitation.

 

1.3

The headings in these Articles are intended for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of these Articles.

 

Exclusion of Table A Articles

 

1.4

The regulations contained in Table A in the First Schedule of the Act and any other regulations contained in any statute or subordinate legislation are expressly excluded and do not apply to the Company.

 

 

2

Shares

 

Power to issue Shares and options, with or without special rights

 

2.1

Subject to the provisions of the Act and these Articles about the redemption and purchase of the Shares, the Directors have general and unconditional authority to allot (with or without confirming rights of renunciation), grant options over or otherwise deal with any unissued Shares to such persons, at such times and on such terms and conditions as they may decide. No Share may be issued at a discount except in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

 

2.2

Without limitation to the preceding Article, the Directors may so deal with the unissued Shares:

 

(a)

either at a premium or at par; or

 

(b)

with or without preferred, deferred or other special rights or restrictions, whether in regard to dividend, voting, return of capital or otherwise.

 

2.3

Without limitation to the two preceding Articles,

 

(a)

the Company may issue rights, options, warrants or convertible securities or securities of similar nature conferring the right upon the holders thereof to subscribe for, purchase or receive any class of Shares or other securities in the Company at such times and on such terms and conditions as the Directors may decide;

 

(b)

the Directors may refuse to accept any application for Shares, and may accept any application in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason.

 

Power to issue fractions of a Share

 

2.4

Subject to the Act, the Company may issue fractions of a Share of any class. A fraction of a Share shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights and other attributes of a Share of that class of Shares.

 

Power to pay commissions and brokerage fees

 

2.5

The Company may pay a commission to any person in consideration of that person:

 

(a)

subscribing or agreeing to subscribe, whether absolutely or conditionally; or

 

(b)

procuring or agreeing to procure subscriptions, whether absolute or conditional,

 

for any Shares. That commission may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the allotment of Fully Paid Up or Partly Paid Up Shares or partly in one way and partly in another.

 

2.6

The Company may employ a broker in the issue of its capital and pay him any proper commission or brokerage.

 

 

Trusts not recognised

 

2.7

Except as required by Act:

 

(a)

no person shall be recognised by the Company as holding any Share on any trust; and

 

(b)

no person other than the Member shall be recognised by the Company as having any right in a Share.

 

Security interests

 

2.8

Notwithstanding the preceding Article, the Company may (but shall not be obliged to) recognise a security interest of which it has actual notice over shares. The Company shall not be treated as having recognised any such security interest unless it has so agreed in writing with the secured party.

 

Power to vary class rights

 

2.9

If the share capital is divided into different classes of Shares then, unless the terms on which a class of Shares was issued state otherwise, the rights attaching to a class of Shares may only be varied if one of the following applies:

 

(a)

the Members holding not less than two-thirds of the issued Shares of that class consent in writing to the variation; or

 

(b)

the variation is made with the sanction of a Special Resolution passed at a separate general meeting of the Members holding the issued Shares of that class.

 

2.10

For the purpose of Article 2.9(b), all the provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings apply, mutatis mutandis, to every such separate meeting except that:

 

(a)

the necessary quorum shall be one or more persons holding, or representing by proxy, not less than one third of the issued Shares of the class; and

 

(b)

any Member holding issued Shares of the class, present in person or by proxy or, in the case of a corporate Member, by its duly authorised representative, may demand a poll.

 

2.11

For the purposes of a separate class meeting, the Directors may treat two or more or all the classes of Shares as forming one class of Shares if the Directors consider that such classes of Shares would be affected in the same way by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate classes of Shares.

 

Effect of new Share issue on existing class rights

 

2.12

Unless the terms on which a class of Shares was issued state otherwise, the rights conferred on the Member holding Shares of any class shall not be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further Shares ranking pari passu with the existing Shares of that class.

 

 

No bearer Shares or warrants

 

2.13

The Company shall not issue Shares or warrants to bearers.

 

Treasury Shares

 

2.14

Shares that the Company purchases, redeems or acquires by way of surrender in accordance with the Act shall be held as Treasury Shares and not treated as cancelled if:

 

(a)

the Directors so determine prior to the purchase, redemption or surrender of those shares; and

 

(b)

the relevant provisions of the Memorandum and Articles and the Act are otherwise complied with.

 

Rights attaching to Treasury Shares and related matters

 

2.15

No dividend may be declared or paid, and no other distribution (whether in cash or otherwise) of the Company’s assets (including any distribution of assets to Members on a winding up) may be made to the Company in respect of a Treasury Share.

 

2.16

The Company shall be entered in the register of Members as the holder of the Treasury Shares. However:

 

(a)

the Company shall not be treated as a Member for any purpose and shall not exercise any right in respect of the Treasury Shares, and any purported exercise of such a right shall be void; and

 

(b)

a Treasury Share shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting of the Company and shall not be counted in determining the total number of issued shares at any given time, whether for the purposes of these Articles or the Act.

 

2.17

Nothing in Article 2.16 prevents an allotment of Shares as Fully Paid Up bonus shares in respect of a Treasury Share and Shares allotted as Fully Paid Up bonus shares in respect of a Treasury Share shall be treated as Treasury Shares.

 

2.18

Treasury Shares may be disposed of by the Company in accordance with the Act and otherwise on such terms and conditions as the Directors determine.

 

Register of Members

 

2.19

The Directors shall keep or cause to be kept a register of Members as required by the Act and may cause the Company to maintain one or more branch registers as contemplated by the Act, provided that where the Company is maintaining one or more branch registers, the Directors shall ensure that a duplicate of each branch register is kept with the Company’s principal register of Members and updated within such number of days of any amendment having been made to such branch register as may be required by the Act.

 

2.20

The title to Shares listed on a Designated Stock Exchange may be evidenced and transferred in accordance with the laws applicable to the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange and, for these purposes, the register of Members may be maintained in accordance with section 40B of the Act.

 

 

Annual Return

 

2.21

The Directors in each calendar year shall prepare or cause to be prepared an annual return and declaration setting forth the particulars required by the Act and shall deliver a copy thereof to the registrar of companies for the Cayman Islands.

 

3

Share certificates

 

Issue of share certificates

 

3.1

A Member shall only be entitled to a share certificate if the Directors resolve that share certificates shall be issued. Share certificates representing Shares, if any, shall be in such form as the Directors may determine. If the Directors resolve that share certificates shall be issued, upon being entered in the register of Members as the holder of a Share, the Directors may issue to any Member:

 

(a)

without payment, one certificate for all the Shares of each class held by that Member (and, upon transferring a part of the Member’s holding of Shares of any class, to a certificate for the balance of that holding); and

 

(b)

upon payment of such reasonable sum as the Directors may determine for every certificate after the first, several certificates each for one or more of that Member’s Shares.

 

3.2

Every certificate shall specify the number, class and distinguishing numbers (if any) of the Shares to which it relates and whether they are Fully Paid Up or Partly Paid Up. A certificate may be executed under seal or executed in such other manner as the Directors determine.

 

3.3

Every certificate shall bear legends required under the applicable laws, including the U.S. Securities Act (to the extent applicable).

 

3.4

The Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate for Shares held jointly by several persons and delivery of a certificate for a Share to one joint holder shall be a sufficient delivery to all of them.

 

Renewal of lost or damaged share certificates

 

3.5

If a share certificate is defaced, worn-out, lost or destroyed, it may be renewed on such terms (if any) as to:

 

(a)

evidence;

 

(b)

indemnity;

 

(c)

payment of the expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in investigating the evidence; and

 

(d)

payment of a reasonable fee, if any for issuing a replacement share certificate,

 

as the Directors may determine, and (in the case of defacement or wearing-out) on delivery to the Company of the old certificate.

 

 

4

Lien on Shares

 

Nature and scope of lien

 

4.1

The Company has a first and paramount lien on all Shares (whether Fully Paid Up or not) registered in the name of a Member (whether solely or jointly with others). The lien is for all monies payable to the Company by the Member or the Member’s estate:

 

(a)

either alone or jointly with any other person, whether or not that other person is a Member; and

 

(b)

whether or not those monies are presently payable.

 

4.2

At any time the Board may declare any Share to be wholly or partly exempt from the provisions of this Article.

 

Company may sell Shares to satisfy lien

 

4.3

The Company may sell any Shares over which it has a lien if all of the following conditions are met:

 

(a)

the sum in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable;

 

(b)

the Company gives notice to the Member holding the Share (or to the person entitled to it in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of that Member) demanding payment and stating that if the notice is not complied with the Shares may be sold; and

 

(c)

that sum is not paid within fourteen Clear Days after that notice is deemed to be given under these Articles,

 

and Shares to which this Article 4.3 applies shall be referred to as Lien Default Shares.

 

4.4

The Lien Default Shares may be sold in such manner as the Board determines.

 

4.5

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Directors shall incur no personal liability to the Member concerned in respect of the sale.

 

Authority to execute instrument of transfer

 

4.6

To give effect to a sale, the Directors may authorise any person to execute an instrument of transfer of the Lien Default Shares sold to, or in accordance with the directions of, the purchaser.

 

4.7

The title of the transferee of the Lien Default Shares shall not be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in respect of the sale.

 

 

Consequences of sale of Shares to satisfy lien

 

4.8

On a sale pursuant to the preceding Articles:

 

(a)

the name of the Member concerned shall be removed from the register of Members as the holder of those Lien Default Shares; and

 

(b)

that person shall deliver to the Company for cancellation the certificate (if any) for those Lien Default Shares.

 

4.9

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 4.8, such person shall remain liable to the Company for all monies which, at the date of sale, were presently payable by him to the Company in respect of those Lien Default Shares. That person shall also be liable to pay interest on those monies from the date of sale until payment at the rate at which interest was payable before that sale or, failing that, at the Default Rate. The Board may waive payment wholly or in part or enforce payment without any allowance for the value of the Lien Default Shares at the time of sale or for any consideration received on their disposal.

 

Application of proceeds of sale

 

4.10

The net proceeds of the sale, after payment of the costs, shall be applied in payment of so much of the sum for which the lien exists as is presently payable. Any residue shall be paid to the person whose Lien Default Shares have been sold:

 

(a)

if no certificate for the Lien Default Shares was issued, at the date of the sale; or

 

(b)

if a certificate for the Lien Default Shares was issued, upon surrender to the Company of that certificate for cancellation

 

but, in either case, subject to the Company retaining a like lien for all sums not presently payable as existed on the Lien Default Shares before the sale.

 

5

Calls on Shares and forfeiture

 

Power to make calls and effect of calls

 

5.1

Subject to the terms of allotment, the Board may make calls on the Members in respect of any monies unpaid on their Shares including any premium. The call may provide for payment to be by instalments. Subject to receiving at least 14 Clear Days’ notice specifying when and where payment is to be made, each Member shall pay to the Company the amount called on his Shares as required by the notice.

 

5.2

Before receipt by the Company of any sum due under a call, that call may be revoked in whole or in part and payment of a call may be postponed in whole or in part. Where a call is to be paid in instalments, the Company may revoke the call in respect of all or any remaining instalments in whole or in part and may postpone payment of all or any of the remaining instalments in whole or in part.

 

 

5.3

A Member on whom a call is made shall remain liable for that call notwithstanding the subsequent transfer of the Shares in respect of which the call was made. He shall not be liable for calls made after he is no longer registered as Member in respect of those Shares.

 

Time when call made

 

5.4

A call shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the resolution of the Directors authorising the call was passed.

 

Liability of joint holders

 

5.5

Members registered as the joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all calls in respect of the Share.

 

Interest on unpaid calls

 

5.6

If a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable the person from whom it is due and payable shall pay interest on the amount unpaid from the day it became due and payable until it is paid:

 

(a)

at the rate fixed by the terms of allotment of the Share or in the notice of the call; or

 

(b)

if no rate is fixed, at the Default Rate.

 

The Directors may waive payment of the interest wholly or in part.

 

Deemed calls

 

5.7

Any amount payable in respect of a Share, whether on allotment or on a fixed date or otherwise, shall be deemed to be payable as a call. If the amount is not paid when due the provisions of these Articles shall apply as if the amount had become due and payable by virtue of a call.

 

Power to accept early payment

 

5.8

The Company may accept from a Member the whole or a part of the amount remaining unpaid on Shares held by him although no part of that amount has been called up.

 

Power to make different arrangements at time of issue of Shares

 

5.9

Subject to the terms of allotment, the Directors may make arrangements on the issue of Shares to distinguish between Members in the amounts and times of payment of calls on their Shares.

 

Notice of default

 

5.10

If a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable the Directors may give to the person from whom it is due not less than 14 Clear Days’ notice requiring payment of:

 

(a)

the amount unpaid;

 

(b)

any interest which may have accrued;

 

(c)

any expenses which have been incurred by the Company due to that person’s default.

 

 

5.11

The notice shall state the following:

 

(a)

the place where payment is to be made; and

 

(b)

a warning that if the notice is not complied with the Shares in respect of which the call is made will be liable to be forfeited.

 

Forfeiture or surrender of Shares

 

5.12

If the notice given pursuant to Article 5.10 is not complied with, the Directors may, before the payment required by the notice has been received, resolve that any Share the subject of that notice be forfeited. The forfeiture shall include all dividends or other monies payable in respect of the forfeited Share and not paid before the forfeiture. Despite the foregoing, the Board may determine that any Share the subject of that notice be accepted by the Company as surrendered by the Member holding that Share in lieu of forfeiture.

 

Disposal of forfeited or surrendered Share and power to cancel forfeiture or surrender

 

5.13

A forfeited or surrendered Share may be sold, re-allotted or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Board determine either to the former Member who held that Share or to any other person. The forfeiture or surrender may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit at any time before a sale, re-allotment or other disposition. Where, for the purposes of its disposal, a forfeited or surrendered Share is to be transferred to any person, the Directors may authorise some person to execute an instrument of transfer of the Share to the transferee.

 

Effect of forfeiture or surrender on former Member

 

5.14

On forfeiture or surrender:

 

(a)

the name of the Member concerned shall be removed from the register of Members as the holder of those Shares and that person shall cease to be a Member in respect of those Shares; and

 

(b)

that person shall surrender to the Company for cancellation the certificate (if any) for the forfeited or surrendered Shares.

 

5.15

Despite the forfeiture or surrender of his Shares, that person shall remain liable to the Company for all monies which at the date of forfeiture or surrender were presently payable by him to the Company in respect of those Shares together with:

 

(a)

all expenses; and

 

(b)

interest from the date of forfeiture or surrender until payment:

 

(i)

at the rate of which interest was payable on those monies before forfeiture; or

 

(ii)

if no interest was so payable, at the Default Rate.

 

The Directors, however, may waive payment wholly or in part.

 

 

Evidence of forfeiture or surrender

 

5.16

A declaration, whether statutory or under oath, made by a Director or the Secretary shall be conclusive evidence of the following matters stated in it as against all persons claiming to be entitled to forfeited Shares:

 

(a)

that the person making the declaration is a Director or Secretary of the Company, and

 

(b)

that the particular Shares have been forfeited or surrendered on a particular date.

 

Subject to the execution of an instrument of transfer, if necessary, the declaration shall constitute good title to the Shares.

 

Sale of forfeited or surrendered Shares

 

5.17

Any person to whom the forfeited or surrendered Shares are disposed of shall not be bound to see to the application of the consideration, if any, of those Shares nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity in, or invalidity of the proceedings in respect of, the forfeiture, surrender or disposal of those Shares.

 

6

Transfer of Shares

 

Form of Transfer

 

6.1

Subject to the following Articles about the transfer of Shares, and provided that such transfer complies with applicable rules of the Designated Stock Exchange, a Member may freely transfer Shares to another person by completing an instrument of transfer in a common form or in a form prescribed by the Designated Stock Exchange (if such Shares are listed on the Designated Stock Exchange) or in any other form approved by the Directors, executed:

 

(a)

where the Shares are Fully Paid, by or on behalf of that Member; and

 

(b)

where the Shares are partly paid, by or on behalf of that Member and the transferee.

 

6.2

The transferor shall be deemed to remain a holder of a Share until the name of the transferee is entered into the register of Members.

 

Power to refuse registration for Shares not listed on a Designated Stock Exchange

 

6.3

Where the Shares of any class in question are not listed on or subject to the rules of any Designated Stock Exchange, the Directors may in their absolute discretion decline to register any transfer of such Shares which are not Fully Paid Up or on which the Company has a lien.

 

 

6.4

The Directors may also, but are not required to, decline to register any transfer of any such Share unless:

 

(a)

the instrument of transfer is lodged with the Company, accompanied by the certificate (if any) for the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Board may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer;

 

(b)

the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of Shares;

 

(c)

the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required;

 

(d)

in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the Share is to be transferred does not exceed four;

 

(e)

the Shares transferred are Fully Paid Up and free of any lien in favour of the Company; and

 

(f)

any applicable fee of such maximum sum as the Designated Stock Exchanges (to the extent applicable) may determine to be payable, or such lesser sum as the Board may from time to time require, related to the transfer is paid to the Company.

 

Suspension of transfers

 

6.5

The registration of transfers may, on 14 Clear Days’ notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers or by electronic means, be suspended and the register of Members closed at such times and for such periods as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, from time to time determine, provided always that such registration of transfer shall not be suspended nor the register of Members closed for more than 30 Clear Days in any year.

 

Company may retain instrument of transfer

 

6.6

All instruments of transfer that are registered shall be retained by the Company.

 

Notice of refusal to register

 

6.7

If the Directors refuse to register a transfer of any Shares of any class not listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, they shall within three months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged with the Company send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of the refusal.

 

7

Transmission of Shares

 

Persons entitled on death of a Member

 

7.1

If a Member dies, the only persons recognised by the Company as having any title to the deceased Members’ interest are the following:

 

(a)

where the deceased Member was a joint holder, the survivor or survivors; and

 

(b)

where the deceased Member was a sole holder, that Member’s personal representative or representatives.

 

7.2

Nothing in these Articles shall release the deceased Member’s estate from any liability in respect of any Share, whether the deceased was a sole holder or a joint holder.

 

 

Registration of transfer of a Share following death or bankruptcy

 

7.3

A person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member may elect to do either of the following:

 

(a)

to become the holder of the Share; or

 

(b)

to transfer the Share to another person.

 

7.4

That person must produce such evidence of his entitlement as the Directors may properly require.

 

7.5

If the person elects to become the holder of the Share, he must give notice to the Company to that effect. For the purposes of these Articles, that notice shall be treated as though it were an executed instrument of transfer.

 

7.6

If the person elects to transfer the Share to another person then:

 

(a)

if the Share is Fully Paid Up, the transferor must execute an instrument of transfer; and

 

(b)

if the Share is nil or Partly Paid Up, the transferor and the transferee must execute an instrument of transfer.

 

7.7

All the Articles relating to the transfer of Shares shall apply to the notice or, as appropriate, the instrument of transfer.

 

Indemnity

 

7.8

A person registered as a Member by reason of the death or bankruptcy of another Member shall indemnify the Company and the Directors against any loss or damage suffered by the Company or the Directors as a result of that registration.

 

Rights of person entitled to a Share following death or bankruptcy

 

7.9

A person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy of a Member shall have the rights to which he would be entitled if he were registered as the holder of the Share. But, until he is registered as Member in respect of the Share, he shall not be entitled to attend or vote at any meeting of the Company or at any separate meeting of the holders of that class of Shares.

 

 

8

Alteration of capital

 

Increasing, consolidating, converting, dividing and cancelling share capital

 

8.1

To the fullest extent permitted by the Act, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution do any of the following and amend its Memorandum for that purpose:

 

(a)

increase its share capital by new Shares of the amount fixed by that Ordinary Resolution and with the attached rights, priorities and privileges set out in that Ordinary Resolution;

 

(b)

consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of larger amount than its existing Shares;

 

(c)

convert all or any of its Paid Up Shares into stock, and reconvert that stock into Paid Up Shares of any denomination;

 

(d)

sub-divide its Shares or any of them into Shares of an amount smaller than that fixed by the Memorandum, so, however, that in the sub-division, the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced Share shall be the same as it was in case of the Share from which the reduced Share is derived; and

 

(e)

cancel Shares which, at the date of the passing of that Ordinary Resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person, and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled or, in the case of Shares without nominal par value, diminish the number of Shares into which its capital is divided.

 

Dealing with fractions resulting from consolidation of Shares

 

8.2

Whenever, as a result of a consolidation of Shares, any Members would become entitled to fractions of a Share the Directors may on behalf of those Members deal with the fractions as it thinks fit, including (without limitation):

 

(a)

either round up or down the fraction to the nearest whole number, such rounding to be determined by the Directors acting in their sole discretion;

 

(b)

sell the Shares representing the fractions for the best price reasonably obtainable to any person (including, subject to the provisions of the Act, the Company); and

 

(c)

distribute the net proceeds in due proportion among those Members.

 

8.3

For the purposes of Article 8.2, the Directors may authorise some person to execute an instrument of transfer of the Shares to, in accordance with the directions of, the purchaser. The transferee shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money nor shall the transferee’s title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity in, or invalidity of, the proceedings in respect of the sale.

 

 

Reducing share capital

 

8.4

Subject to the Act and to any rights for the time being conferred on the Members holding a particular class of Shares, the Company may, by Special Resolution, reduce its share capital in any way.

 

9

Conversion, redemption and purchase of own Shares

 

Power to issue redeemable Shares and to purchase own Shares

 

9.1

Subject to the Act and to any rights for the time being conferred on the Members holding a particular class of Shares, the Company may by its Directors:

 

(a)

issue Shares that are to be redeemed or liable to be redeemed, at the option of the Company or the Member holding those redeemable Shares, on the terms and in the manner its Directors determine before the issue of those Shares;

 

(b)

with the consent by Special Resolution of the Members holding Shares of a particular class, vary the rights attaching to that class of Shares so as to provide that those Shares are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Company on the terms and in the manner which the Directors determine at the time of such variation; and

 

(c)

purchase all or any of its own Shares of any class including any redeemable Shares on the terms and in the manner which the Directors determine at the time of such purchase.

 

The Company may make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner authorised by the Act, including out of any combination of the following: capital, its profits and the proceeds of a fresh issue of Shares.

 

Power to pay for redemption or purchase in cash or in specie

 

9.2

When making a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of Shares, the Directors may make the payment in cash or in specie (or partly in one and partly in the other) if so authorised by the terms of the allotment of those Shares or by the terms applying to those Shares in accordance with Article 9.1, or otherwise by agreement with the Member holding those Shares.

 

Effect of redemption or purchase of a Share

 

9.3

Upon the date of redemption or purchase of a Share:

 

(a)

the Member holding that Share shall cease to be entitled to any rights in respect of the Share other than the right to receive:

 

(i)

the price for the Share; and

 

(ii)

any dividend declared in respect of the Share prior to the date of redemption or purchase;

 

(b)

the Member’s name shall be removed from the register of Members with respect to the Share; and

 

(c)

the Share shall be cancelled or held as a Treasury Share, as the Directors may determine.

 

 

9.4

For the purpose of Article 9.3, the date of redemption or purchase is the date when the Member’s name is removed from the register of Members with respect to the Shares the subject of the redemption or purchase.

 

Conversion rights

 

9.5

Each Class B Ordinary Share shall be convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, at any time after the date of issuance of such Share, at the office of the Company or any transfer agent for such Shares, into one fully paid and non-assessable Class A Ordinary Share.

 

9.6

The Directors shall at all times reserve and keep available out of the Company’s authorised but unissued Class A Ordinary Shares, solely for the purpose of effecting the conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares, such number of its Class A Ordinary Shares as shall from time to time be sufficient to effect the conversion of all outstanding Class B Ordinary Shares; and if at any time the number of authorised but unissued Class A Ordinary Shares shall not be sufficient to effect the conversion of all then outstanding Class B Ordinary Shares, in addition to such other remedies as shall be available to the holders of such Class B Ordinary Shares, the Directors will take such action as may be necessary to increase its authorised but unissued Class A Ordinary Shares to such number of Shares as shall be sufficient for such purposes.

 

Share conversion

 

9.7

All conversions of Class B Ordinary Shares to Class A Ordinary Shares shall be effected by way of redemption or repurchase by the Company of the relevant Class B Ordinary Shares and the simultaneous issue of Class A Ordinary Shares in consideration for such redemption or repurchase. The Members and the Company will procure that any and all necessary corporate actions are taken to effect such conversion.

 

10

Meetings of Members

 

Annual and extraordinary general meetings

 

10.1

The Company may, but shall not (unless required by the applicable Designated Stock Exchange Rules) be obligated to, in each year hold a general meeting as an annual general meeting, which, if held, shall be convened by the Board, in accordance with these Articles.

 

10.2

All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings.

 

Power to call meetings

 

10.3

The Directors may call a general meeting at any time.

 

 

10.4

If there are insufficient Directors to constitute a quorum and the remaining Directors are unable to agree on the appointment of additional Directors, the Directors must call a general meeting for the purpose of appointing additional Directors.

 

10.5

The Directors must also call a general meeting if requisitioned in the manner set out in the next two Articles.

 

10.6

The requisition must be in writing and given by one or more Members who together hold not less than ten (10) per cent of the rights to vote at such general meeting.

 

10.7

The requisition must also:

 

(a)

specify the purpose of the meeting.

 

(b)

be signed by or on behalf of each requisitioner (and for this purpose each joint holder shall be obliged to sign). The requisition may consist of several documents in like form signed by one or more of the requisitioners; and

 

(c)

be delivered in accordance with the notice provisions.

 

10.8

Should the Directors fail to call a general meeting within 21 Clear Days’ from the date of receipt of a requisition, the requisitioners or any of them may call a general meeting within three months after the end of that period.

 

10.9

Without limitation to the foregoing, if there are insufficient Directors to constitute a quorum and the remaining Directors are unable to agree on the appointment of additional Directors, any one or more Members who together hold at least five per cent of the rights to vote at a general meeting may call a general meeting for the purpose of considering the business specified in the notice of meeting which shall include as an item of business the appointment of additional Directors.

 

10.10

If the Members call a meeting under the above provisions, the Company shall reimburse their reasonable expenses.

 

Content of notice

 

10.11

Notice of a general meeting shall specify each of the following:

 

(a)

the place, the date and the hour of the meeting;

 

(b)

if the meeting is to be held in two or more places, the technology that will be used to facilitate the meeting;

 

(c)

subject to paragraph (d) and (to the extent applicable) the requirements of the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, the general nature of the business to be transacted; and

 

(d)

if a resolution is proposed as a Special Resolution, the text of that resolution.

 

10.12

In each notice there shall appear with reasonable prominence the following statements:

 

(a)

that a Member who is entitled to attend and vote is entitled to appoint one or more proxies to attend and vote instead of that Member; and

 

(b)

that a proxyholder need not be a Member.

 

 

Period of notice

 

10.13

At least twenty-one Clear Days’ notice of an annual general meeting must be given to Members. For any other general meeting, at least fourteen Clear Days’ notice must be given to Members.

 

10.14

Subject to the Act, a meeting may be convened on shorter notice, subject to the Act with the consent of the Member or Members who, individually or collectively, hold at least ninety per cent of the voting rights of all those who have a right to vote at that meeting.

 

Persons entitled to receive notice

 

10.15

Subject to the provisions of these Articles and to any restrictions imposed on any Shares, the notice shall be given to the following people:

 

(a)

the Members;

 

(b)

persons entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member;

 

(c)

the Directors; and

 

(d)

the Auditors (if appointed).

 

10.16

The Board may determine that the Members entitled to receive notice of a meeting are those persons entered on the register of Members at the close of business on a day determined by the Board.

 

Accidental omission to give notice or non-receipt of notice

 

10.17

Proceedings at a meeting shall not be invalidated by the following:

 

(a)

an accidental failure to give notice of the meeting to any person entitled to notice; or

 

(b)

non-receipt of notice of the meeting by any person entitled to notice.

 

10.18

In addition, where a notice of meeting is published on a website proceedings at the meeting shall not be invalidated merely because it is accidentally published:

 

(a)

in a different place on the website; or

 

(b)

for part only of the period from the date of the notification until the conclusion of the meeting to which the notice relates.

 

 

11

Proceedings at meetings of Members

 

Quorum

 

11.1

Save as provided in the following Article, no business shall be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present in person or by proxy. A quorum is as follows:

 

(a)

if the Company has only one Member: that Member;

 

(b)

if the Company has more than one Member:

 

(i)

subject to Article 11.1(b)(ii) below, two or more Members holding Shares carrying the right to vote at such general meeting; or

 

(ii)

for so long as any Shares are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, one or more Members holding Shares that represent not less than one-third of the outstanding Shares carrying the right to vote at such general meeting.

 

Lack of quorum

 

11.2

If a quorum is not present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting, or if at any time during the meeting it becomes inquorate, then the following provisions apply:

 

(a)

If the meeting was requisitioned by Members, it shall be cancelled.

 

(b)

In any other case, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the same time and place seven days hence, or to such other time or place as is determined by the Directors. If a quorum is not present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the adjourned meeting, then the Members present in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum.

 

Chairman

 

11.3

The chairman of a general meeting shall be the chairman of the Board or such other Director as the Directors have nominated to chair Board meetings in the absence of the chairman of the Board. Absent any such person being present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting, the Directors present shall elect one of their number to chair the meeting.

 

11.4

If no Director is present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting, or if no Director is willing to act as chairman, the Members present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting.

 

Right of a Director to attend and speak

 

11.5

Even if a Director is not a Member, he shall be entitled to attend and speak at any general meeting and at any separate meeting of Members holding a particular class of Shares.

 

 

Accommodation of Members at meeting

 

11.6

lf it appears to the chairman of the meeting that the meeting place specified in the notice convening the meeting is inadequate to accommodate all Members entitled and wishing to attend, the meeting will be duly constituted and its proceedings valid if the chairman is satisfied that adequate facilities are available to ensure that a Member who is unable to be accommodated is able (whether at the meeting place or elsewhere):

 

(a)

to participate in the business for which the meeting has been convened;

 

(b)

to hear and see all persons present who speak (whether by the use of microphones, loud-speakers, audio-visual communications equipment or otherwise); and

 

(c)

to be heard and seen by all other persons present in the same way.

 

Security

 

11.7

In addition to any measures which the Board may be required to take due to the location or venue of the meeting, the Board may make any arrangement and impose any restriction it considers appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances to ensure the security of a meeting including, without limitation, the searching of any person attending the meeting and the imposing of restrictions on the items of personal property that may be taken into the meeting place. The Board may refuse entry to, or eject from, a meeting a person who refuses to comply with any such arrangements or restrictions.

 

Adjournment

 

11.8

The chairman may at any time adjourn a meeting with the consent of the Members constituting a quorum. The chairman must adjourn the meeting if so directed by the meeting. No business, however, can be transacted at an adjourned meeting other than business which might properly have been transacted at the original meeting.

 

11.9

Should a meeting be adjourned for more than 7 Clear Days, whether because of a lack of quorum or otherwise, Members shall be given at least seven Clear Days’ notice of the date, time and place of the adjourned meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted. Otherwise it shall not be necessary to give any notice of the adjournment.

 

Method of voting

 

11.10

A resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands unless before, or on, the declaration of the result of the show of hands, a poll is duly demanded. Subject to the Act, a poll may be demanded:

 

(a)

by the chairman of the meeting;

 

(b)

by at least two Members having the right to vote on the resolutions;

 

(c)

by any Member or Members present who, individually or collectively, hold at least ten per cent of the voting rights of all those who have a right to vote on the resolution.

 

 

Outcome of vote by show of hands

 

11.11

Unless a poll is duly demanded, a declaration by the chairman as to the result of a resolution and an entry to that effect in the minutes of the meeting shall be conclusive evidence of the outcome of a show of hands without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of or against the resolution.

 

Withdrawal of demand for a poll

 

11.12

The demand for a poll may be withdrawn before the poll is taken, but only with the consent of the chairman. The chairman shall announce any such withdrawal to the meeting and, unless another person forthwith demands a poll, any earlier show of hands on that resolution shall be treated as the vote on that resolution; if there has been no earlier show of hands, then the resolution shall be put to the vote of the meeting.

 

Taking of a poll

 

11.13

A poll demanded on the question of adjournment shall be taken immediately.

 

11.14

A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken either immediately or at an adjourned meeting at such time and place as the chairman directs, not being more than thirty Clear Days after the poll was demanded.

 

11.15

The demand for a poll shall not prevent the meeting continuing to transact any business other than the question on which the poll was demanded.

 

11.16

A poll shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs. He may appoint scrutineers (who need not be Members) and fix a place and time for declaring the result of the poll. If, through the aid of technology, the meeting is held in more than place, the chairman may appoint scrutineers in more than place; but if he considers that the poll cannot be effectively monitored at that meeting, the chairman shall adjourn the holding of the poll to a date, place and time when that can occur.

 

Chairman’s casting vote

 

11.17

In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the Chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place or at which the poll is demanded shall not be entitled to a second or casting vote.

 

Written resolutions

 

11.18

Without limitation to section 60(1) of the Act, Members may pass a Special Resolution in writing without holding a meeting if the following conditions are met:

 

(a)

all Members entitled to vote on the resolution are given notice of the resolution as if the same were being proposed at a meeting of Members;

 

(b)

all Members entitled so to vote:

 

(i)

sign a document; or

 

(ii)

sign several documents in the like form each signed by one or more of those Members; and

 

 

(c)

the signed document or documents is or are delivered to the Company, including, if the Company so nominates, by delivery of an Electronic Record by Electronic means to the address specified for that purpose.

 

Such written resolution, which shall be as effective as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Members entitled to vote duly convened and held, is passed when all such Members have so signified their agreement to the resolutions.

 

11.19

Members may pass an Ordinary Resolution in writing without holding a meeting if the following conditions are met:

 

(a)

all Members entitled to vote on the resolution are:

 

(i)

given notice of the resolution as if the same were being proposed at a meeting of Members; and

 

(ii)

notified in the same or an accompanying notice of the date by which the resolution must be passed if it is not to lapse, being a period of seven (7) days beginning with the date that the notice is first given;

 

(b)

the required majority of the Members entitled so to vote:

 

(i)

sign a document; or

 

(ii)

sign several documents in the like form each signed by one or more of those Members; and

 

(c)

the signed document or documents is or are delivered to the Company, including, if the Company so nominates, by delivery of an Electronic Record by Electronic means to the address specified for that purpose.

 

Such written resolution, which shall be as effective as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Members entitled to vote duly convened and held, is passed upon the later of these dates: (i) subject to the following Article, the date next immediately following the end of the period of three (3) days beginning with the date that notice of the resolution is first given and (ii) the date when the required majority have so signified their agreement to the resolution. However, the proposed written resolution lapses if it is not passed before the end of the period of seven (7) days beginning with the date that notice of it is first given.

 

11.20

If all Members entitled to be given notice of the Ordinary Resolution consent, a written resolution may be passed as soon as the required majority have signified their agreement to the resolution, without any minimum period of time having first elapsed. Save that the consent of the majority may be incorporated in the written resolution, each consent shall be in writing or given by Electronic Record and shall otherwise be given to the Company in accordance with Article 28 (Notices) prior to the written resolution taking effect.

 

 

11.21

The Directors may determine the manner in which written resolutions shall be put to Members. In particular, they may provide, in the form of any written resolution, for each Member to indicate, out of the number of votes the Member would have been entitled to cast at a meeting to consider the resolution, how many votes he wishes to cast in favour of the resolution and how many against the resolution or to be treated as abstentions. The result of any such written resolution shall be determined on the same basis as on a poll.

 

11.22

If a written resolution is described as a Special Resolution or as an Ordinary Resolution, it has effect accordingly.

 

Sole-Member Company

 

11.23

If the Company has only one Member, and the Member records in writing his decision on a question, that record shall constitute both the passing of a resolution and the minute of it.

 

12

Voting rights of Members

 

Right to vote

 

12.1

Unless their Shares carry no right to vote, or unless a call or other amount presently payable has not been paid, all Members are entitled to vote at a general meeting, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, and all Members holding Shares of a particular class of Shares are entitled to vote at a meeting of the holders of that class of Shares.

 

12.2

Members may vote in person or by proxy.

 

12.3

On a show of hands, every Class A Shareholder who is present in person and every person representing a Class A shareholder by proxy shall have one vote per Class A Ordinary Share whereas every Class B Shareholder who is present in person and every person representing a Class B Shareholder by proxy shall have 200 votes per Class B Ordinary Share. For the avoidance of doubt, an individual who represents two or more Members, including a Member in that individual’s own right, that individual shall be entitled to separate vote(s) for each Member.

 

12.4

On a poll a Class A Shareholder shall have one vote for each Class A Ordinary Share he holds whereas a Class B Shareholder shall have 200 votes for each Class B Ordinary Share he holds, unless any Share carries special voting rights.

 

12.5

No Member is bound to vote on his Shares or any of them; nor is he bound to vote each of his Shares in the same way.

 

Rights of joint holders

 

12.6

If Shares are held jointly, only one of the joint holders may vote. If more than one of the joint holders tenders a vote, the vote of the holder whose name in respect of those Shares appears first in the register of Members shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holder.

 

 

Representation of corporate Members

 

12.7

Save where otherwise provided, a corporate Member must act by a duly authorised representative.

 

12.8

A corporate Member wishing to act by a duly authorised representative must identify that person to the Company by notice in writing.

 

12.9

The authorisation may be for any period of time, and must be delivered to the Company before the commencement of the meeting at which it is first used.

 

12.10

The Directors of the Company may require the production of any evidence which they consider necessary to determine the validity of the notice.

 

12.11

Where a duly authorised representative is present at a meeting that Member is deemed to be present in person; and the acts of the duly authorised representative are personal acts of that Member.

 

12.12

A corporate Member may revoke the appointment of a duly authorised representative at any time by notice to the Company; but such revocation will not affect the validity of any acts carried out by the duly authorised representative before the Directors of the Company had actual notice of the revocation.

 

Member with mental disorder

 

12.13

A Member in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction (whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere) in matters concerning mental disorder may vote, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by that Member’s receiver, curator bonis or other person authorised in that behalf appointed by that court.

 

12.14

For the purpose of the preceding Article, evidence to the satisfaction of the Directors of the authority of the person claiming to exercise the right to vote must be received not less than 24 hours before holding the relevant meeting or the adjourned meeting in any manner specified for the delivery of forms of appointment of a proxy, whether in writing or by Electronic means. In default, the right to vote shall not be exercisable.

 

Objections to admissibility of votes

 

12.15

An objection to the validity of a person’s vote may only be raised at the meeting or at the adjourned meeting at which the vote is sought to be tendered. Any objection duly made shall be referred to the chairman whose decision shall be final and conclusive.

 

Form of proxy

 

12.16

An instrument appointing a proxy shall be in any common form or in any other form approved by the Directors.

 

12.17

The instrument must be in writing and signed in one of the following ways:

 

(a)

by the Member; or

 

 

(b)

by the Member’s authorised attorney; or

 

(c)

if the Member is a corporation or other body corporate, under seal or signed by an authorised officer, secretary or attorney.

 

If the Directors so resolve, the Company may accept an Electronic Record of that instrument delivered in the manner specified below and otherwise satisfying the Articles about authentication of Electronic Records.

 

12.18

The Directors may require the production of any evidence which they consider necessary to determine the validity of any appointment of a proxy.

 

12.19

A Member may revoke the appointment of a proxy at any time by notice to the Company duly signed in accordance with Article 12.17.

 

12.20

No revocation by a Member of the appointment of a proxy made in accordance with Article 12.19 will affect the validity of any acts carried out by the relevant proxy before the Directors of the Company had actual notice of the revocation.

 

How and when proxy is to be delivered

 

12.21

Subject to the following Articles, the Directors may, in the notice convening any meeting or adjourned meeting, or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, specify the manner by which the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited and the place and the time (being not later than the time appointed for the commencement of the meeting or adjourned meeting to which the proxy relates) at which the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited. In the absence of any such direction from the Directors in the notice convening any meeting or adjourned meeting or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, the form of appointment of a proxy and any authority under which it is signed (or a copy of the authority certified notarially or in any other way approved by the Directors) must be delivered so that it is received by the Company before the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the person named in the form of appointment of proxy proposes to vote. They must be delivered in either of the following ways:

 

(a)

In the case of an instrument in writing, it must be left at or sent by post:

 

(i)

to the registered office of the Company; or

 

(ii)

to such other place within the Cayman Islands specified in the notice convening the meeting or in any form of appointment of proxy sent out by the Company in relation to the meeting.

 

(b)

If, pursuant to the notice provisions, a notice may be given to the Company in an Electronic Record, an Electronic Record of an appointment of a proxy must be sent to the address specified pursuant to those provisions unless another address for that purpose is specified:

 

(i)

in the notice convening the meeting; or

 

 

(ii)

in any form of appointment of a proxy sent out by the Company in relation to the meeting; or

 

(iii)

in any invitation to appoint a proxy issued by the Company in relation to the meeting.

 

(c)

Notwithstanding Article 12.21(a) and Article 12.21(b), the chairman of the Company may, in any event at his discretion, direct that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed to have been duly deposited.

 

12.22

Where a poll is taken:

 

(a)

if it is taken more than seven Clear Days after it is demanded, the form of appointment of a proxy and any accompanying authority (or an Electronic Record of the same) must be delivered in accordance with Article 12.21 before the time appointed for the taking of the poll;

 

(b)

if it to be taken within seven Clear Days after it was demanded, the form of appointment of a proxy and any accompanying authority (or an Electronic Record of the same) must be delivered in accordance with Article 12.21 before the time appointed for the taking of the poll.

 

12.23

If the form of appointment of proxy is not delivered on time, it is invalid.

 

12.24

When two or more valid but differing appointments of proxy are delivered or received in respect of the same Share for use at the same meeting and in respect of the same matter, the one which is last validly delivered or received (regardless of its date or of the date of its execution) shall be treated as replacing and revoking the other or others as regards that Share. lf the Company is unable to determine which appointment was last validly delivered or received, none of them shall be treated as valid in respect of that Share.

 

12.25

The Board may at the expense of the Company send forms of appointment of proxy to the Members by post (that is to say, pre-paying and posting a letter), or by Electronic communication or otherwise (with or without provision for their return by pre-paid post) for use at any general meeting or at any separate meeting of the holders of any class of Shares, either blank or nominating as proxy in the alternative any one or more of the Directors or any other person. lf for the purpose of any meeting invitations to appoint as proxy a person or one of a number of persons specified in the invitations are issued at the Company’s expense, they shall be issued to all (and not to some only) of the Members entitled to be sent notice of the meeting and to vote at it. The accidental omission to send such a form of appointment or to give such an invitation to, or the non-receipt of such form of appointment by, any Member entitled to attend and vote at a meeting shall not invalidate the proceedings at that meeting.

 

Voting by proxy

 

12.26

A proxy shall have the same voting rights at a meeting or adjourned meeting as the Member would have had except to the extent that the instrument appointing him limits those rights. Notwithstanding the appointment of a proxy, a Member may attend and vote at a meeting or adjourned meeting. If a Member votes on any resolution a vote by his proxy on the same resolution, unless in respect of different Shares, shall be invalid.

 

 

12.27

The instrument appointing a proxy to vote at a meeting shall be deemed also to confer authority to demand or join in demanding a poll and, for the purposes of Article 11.11, a demand by a person as proxy for a Member shall be the same as a demand by a Member. Such appointment shall not confer any further right to speak at the meeting, except with the permission of the chairman of the meeting.

 

13

Number of Directors

 

13.1

There shall be a Board consisting of not less than one person provided however that the Company may by Ordinary Resolution increase or reduce the limits in the number of Directors. Unless fixed by Ordinary Resolution, the maximum number of Directors shall be unlimited.

 

14

Appointment, disqualification and removal of Directors

 

First Directors

 

14.1

The first Directors shall be appointed in writing by the subscriber or subscribers to the Memorandum, or a majority of them.

 

No age limit

 

14.2

There is no age limit for Directors save that they must be at least eighteen years of age.

 

Corporate Directors

 

14.3

Unless prohibited by law, a body corporate may be a Director. If a body corporate is a Director, the Articles about representation of corporate Members at general meetings apply, mutatis mutandis, to the Articles about Directors’ meetings.

 

No shareholding qualification

 

14.4

Unless a shareholding qualification for Directors is fixed by Ordinary Resolution, no Director shall be required to own Shares as a condition of his appointment.

 

Appointment of Directors

 

14.5

A Director may be appointed by Ordinary Resolution or by the Directors. Any appointment may be to fill a vacancy or as an additional Director.

 

14.6

The remaining Director(s) may appoint a Director even though there is not a quorum of Directors.

 

14.7

No appointment can cause the number of Directors to exceed the maximum (if one is set); and any such appointment shall be invalid.

 

14.8

For so long as Shares are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, the Directors shall include at least such number of Independent Directors as applicable law, rules or regulations or the Designated Stock Exchange Rules require as determined by the Board.

 

 

Board’s power to appoint Directors

 

14.9

Without prejudice to the Company’s power to appoint a person to be a Director pursuant to these Articles, the Board shall have power at any time to appoint any person who is willing to act as a Director, either to fill a vacancy or as an addition to the existing Board, subject to the total number of Directors not exceeding any maximum number fixed by or in accordance with these Articles.

 

14.10

An appointment of a Director may be on terms that the Director shall automatically retire from office (unless he has sooner vacated office) at the next or a subsequent annual general meeting or upon any specified event or after any specified period in a written agreement between the Company and the Director, if any; but no such term shall be implied in the absence of express provision. Each Director whose term of office expires shall be eligible for re-election at a meeting of the Members or re-appointment by the Board.

 

Removal of Directors

 

14.11

A Director may be removed by Ordinary Resolution.

 

Resignation of Directors

 

14.12

A Director may at any time resign office by giving to the Company notice in writing or, if permitted pursuant to the notice provisions, in an Electronic Record delivered in either case in accordance with those provisions.

 

14.13

Unless the notice specifies a different date, the Director shall be deemed to have resigned on the date that the notice is delivered to the Company.

 

Termination of the office of Director

 

14.14

A Director may retire from office as a Director by giving notice in writing to that effect to the Company at the registered office, which notice shall be effective upon such date as may be specified in the notice, failing which upon delivery to the registered office.

 

14.15

Without prejudice to the provisions in these Articles for retirement (by rotation or otherwise), a Director’s office shall be terminated forthwith if:

 

(a)

he is prohibited by the law of the Cayman Islands from acting as a Director; or

 

(b)

he is made bankrupt or makes an arrangement or composition with his creditors generally; or

 

(c)

he resigns his office by notice to the Company; or

 

(d)

he only held office as a Director for a fixed term and such term expires; or

 

 

(e)

in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner by whom he is being treated he becomes physically or mentally incapable of acting as a Director; or

 

(f)

he is given notice by the majority of the other Directors (not being less than two in number) to vacate office (without prejudice to any claim for damages for breach of any agreement relating to the provision of the services of such Director); or

 

(g)

he is made subject to any law relating to mental health or incompetence, whether by court order or otherwise; or

 

(h)

without the consent of the other Directors, he is absent from meetings of Directors for a continuous period of six months.

 

15

Alternate Directors

 

Appointment and removal

 

15.1

Any Director may appoint any other person, including another Director, to act in his place as an alternate Director. No appointment shall take effect until the Director has given notice of the appointment to the Board.

 

15.2

A Director may revoke his appointment of an alternate at any time. No revocation shall take effect until the Director has given notice of the revocation to the Board.

 

15.3

A notice of appointment or removal of an alternate Director shall be effective only if given to the Company by one or more of the following methods:

 

(a)

by notice in writing in accordance with the notice provisions contained in these Articles;

 

(b)

if the Company has a facsimile address for the time being, by sending by facsimile transmission to that facsimile address a facsimile copy or, otherwise, by sending by facsimile transmission to the facsimile address of the Company’s registered office a facsimile copy (in either case, the facsimile copy being deemed to be the notice unless Article 29.7 applies), in which event notice shall be taken to be given on the date of an error-free transmission report from the sender’s fax machine;

 

(c)

if the Company has an email address for the time being, by emailing to that email address a scanned copy of the notice as a PDF attachment or, otherwise, by emailing to the email address provided by the Company’s registered office a scanned copy of the notice as a PDF attachment (in either case, the PDF version being deemed to be the notice unless Article 29.7 applies), in which event notice shall be taken to be given on the date of receipt by the Company or the Company’s registered office (as appropriate) in readable form; or

 

(d)

if permitted pursuant to the notice provisions, in some other form of approved Electronic Record delivered in accordance with those provisions in writing.

 

 

Notices

 

15.4

All notices of meetings of Directors shall continue to be given to the appointing Director and not to the alternate.

 

Rights of alternate Director

 

15.5

An alternate Director shall be entitled to attend and vote at any Board meeting or meeting of a committee of the Directors at which the appointing Director is not personally present, and generally to perform all the functions of the appointing Director in his absence. An alternate Director, however, is not entitled to receive any remuneration from the Company for services rendered as an alternate Director.

 

Appointment ceases when the appointor ceases to be a Director

 

15.6

An alternate Director shall cease to be an alternate Director if:

 

(a)

the Director who appointed him ceases to be a Director; or

 

(b)

the Director who appointed him revokes his appointment by notice delivered to the Board or to the registered office of the Company or in any other manner approved by the Board; or

 

(c)

in any event happens in relation to him which, if he were a Director of the Company, would cause his office as Director to be vacated.

 

Status of alternate Director

 

15.7

An alternate Director shall carry out all functions of the Director who made the appointment.

 

15.8

Save where otherwise expressed, an alternate Director shall be treated as a Director under these Articles.

 

15.9

An alternate Director is not the agent of the Director appointing him.

 

15.10

An alternate Director is not entitled to any remuneration for acting as alternate Director.

 

Status of the Director making the appointment

 

15.11

A Director who has appointed an alternate is not thereby relieved from the duties which he owes the Company.

 

16

Powers of Directors

 

Powers of Directors

 

16.1

Subject to the provisions of the Act, the Memorandum and these Articles the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors who may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the Company.

 

16.2

No prior act of the Directors shall be invalidated by any subsequent alteration of the Memorandum or these Articles. However, to the extent allowed by the Act, Members may, by Special Resolution, validate any prior or future act of the Directors which would otherwise be in breach of their duties.

 

 

Directors below the minimum number

 

16.3

lf the number of Directors is less than the minimum prescribed in accordance with these Articles, the remaining Director or Directors shall act only for the purposes of appointing an additional Director or Directors to make up such minimum or of convening a general meeting of the Company for the purpose of making such appointment. lf there are no Director or Directors able or willing to act, any two Members may summon a general meeting for the purpose of appointing Directors. Any additional Director so appointed shall hold office (subject to these Articles) only until the dissolution of the annual general meeting next following such appointment unless he is re-elected during such meeting.

 

Appointments to office

 

16.4

The Directors may appoint a Director:

 

(a)

as chairman of the Board;

 

(b)

as managing Director;

 

(c)

to any other executive office,

 

for such period, and on such terms, including as to remuneration as they think fit.

 

16.5

The appointee must consent in writing to holding that office.

 

16.6

Where a chairman is appointed he shall, unless unable to do so, preside at every meeting of Directors.

 

16.7

If there is no chairman, or if the chairman is unable to preside at a meeting, that meeting may select its own chairman; or the Directors may nominate one of their number to act in place of the chairman should he ever not be available.

 

16.8

Subject to the provisions of the Act, the Directors may also appoint and remove any person, who need not be a Director:

 

(a)

as Secretary; and

 

(b)

to any office that may be required

 

for such period and on such terms, including as to remuneration, as they think fit. In the case of an Officer, that Officer may be given any title the Directors decide.

 

16.9

The Secretary or Officer must consent in writing to holding that office.

 

16.10

A Director, Secretary or other Officer of the Company may not the hold the office, or perform the services, of auditor.

 

 

Provisions for employees

 

16.11

The Board may make provision for the benefit of any persons employed or formerly employed by the Company or any of its subsidiary undertakings (or any member of his family or any person who is dependent on him) in connection with the cessation or the transfer to any person of the whole or part of the undertaking of the Company or any of its subsidiary undertakings.

 

Exercise of voting rights

 

16.12

The Board may exercise the voting power conferred by the Shares in any body corporate held or owned by the Company in such manner in all respects as it thinks fit (including, without limitation, the exercise of that power in favour of any resolution appointing any Director as a Director of such body corporate, or voting or providing for the payment of remuneration to the Directors of such body corporate).

 

Remuneration

 

16.13

Every Director may be remunerated by the Company for the services he provides for the benefit of the Company, whether as Director, employee or otherwise, and shall be entitled to be paid for the expenses incurred in the Company’s business including attendance at Directors’ meetings.

 

16.14

Until otherwise determined by the Company by Ordinary Resolution, the Directors (other than alternate Directors) shall be entitled to such remuneration by way of fees for their services in the office of Director as the Directors may determine.

 

16.15

Remuneration may take any form and may include arrangements to pay pensions, health insurance, death or sickness benefits, whether to the Director or to any other person connected to or related to him.

 

16.16

Unless his fellow Directors determine otherwise, a Director is not accountable to the Company for remuneration or other benefits received from any other company which is in the same group as the Company or which has common shareholdings.

 

Disclosure of information

 

16.17

The Directors may release or disclose to a third party any information regarding the affairs of the Company, including any information contained in the register of Members relating to a Member, (and they may authorise any Director, Officer or other authorised agent of the Company to release or disclose to a third party any such information in his possession) if:

 

(a)

the Company or that person, as the case may be, is lawfully required to do so under the laws of any jurisdiction to which the Company is subject; or

 

(b)

such disclosure is in compliance with the Designated Stock Exchange Rules (to the extent applicable); or

 

(c)

such disclosure is in accordance with any contract entered into by the Company; or

 

(d)

the Directors are of the opinion such disclosure would assist or facilitate the Company’s operations.

 

 

17

Delegation of powers

 

Power to delegate any of the Directors’ powers to a committee

 

17.1

The Directors may delegate any of their powers to any committee consisting of one or more persons who need not be Members. Persons on the committee may include non-Directors so long as the majority of those persons are Directors. For so long as Shares are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, any such committee shall be made up of such number of Independent Directors as required from time to time by the Designated Stock Exchange Rules or otherwise required by applicable law.

 

17.2

The delegation may be collateral with, or to the exclusion of, the Directors’ own powers.

 

17.3

The delegation may be on such terms as the Directors think fit, including provision for the committee itself to delegate to a sub-committee; save that any delegation must be capable of being revoked or altered by the Directors at will.

 

17.4

Unless otherwise permitted by the Directors, a committee must follow the procedures prescribed for the taking of decisions by Directors.

 

17.5

For so long as Shares are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, the Board shall establish an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of these committees shall be empowered to do all things necessary to exercise the rights of such committee set forth in these Articles. Each of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee shall consist of at least three Directors (or such larger minimum number as may be required from time to time by the Designated Stock Exchange Rules). The majority of the committee members on each of the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee shall be Independent Directors. The audit committee shall be made up of such number of Independent Directors as required from time to time by the Designated Stock Exchange Rules or otherwise required by applicable law.

 

Local boards

 

17.6

The Board may establish any local or divisional board or agency for managing any of the affairs of the Company whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere and may appoint any persons to be members of a local or divisional Board, or to be managers or agents, and may fix their remuneration.

 

17.7

The Board may delegate to any local or divisional board, manager or agent any of its powers and authorities (with power to sub-delegate) and may authorise the members of any local or divisional board or any of them to fill any vacancies and to act notwithstanding vacancies.

 

17.8

Any appointment or delegation under this Article 17.8 may be made on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Board thinks fit and the Board may remove any person so appointed, and may revoke or vary any delegation.

 

 

Power to appoint an agent of the Company

 

17.9

The Directors may appoint any person, either generally or in respect of any specific matter, to be the agent of the Company with or without authority for that person to delegate all or any of that person’s powers. The Directors may make that appointment:

 

(a)

by causing the Company to enter into a power of attorney or agreement; or

 

(b)

in any other manner they determine.

 

Power to appoint an attorney or authorised signatory of the Company

 

17.10

The Directors may appoint any person, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or the authorised signatory of the Company. The appointment may be:

 

(a)

for any purpose;

 

(b)

with the powers, authorities and discretions;

 

(c)

for the period; and

 

(d)

subject to such conditions

 

as they think fit. The powers, authorities and discretions, however, must not exceed those vested in, or exercisable, by the Directors under these Articles. The Directors may do so by power of attorney or any other manner they think fit.

 

17.11

Any power of attorney or other appointment may contain such provision for the protection and convenience for persons dealing with the attorney or authorised signatory as the Directors think fit. Any power of attorney or other appointment may also authorise the attorney or authorised signatory to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in that person.

 

17.12

The Board may remove any person appointed under Article 17.10 and may revoke or vary the delegation.

 

Borrowing Powers

 

17.13

The Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and assets both present and future and uncalled capital, or any part thereof, and to issue debentures and other securities, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or its parent undertaking (if any) or any subsidiary undertaking of the Company or of any third party.

 

Corporate Governance

 

17.14

The Board may, from time to time, and except as required by applicable law or (to the extent applicable) the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, adopt, institute, amend, modify or revoke the corporate governance policies or initiatives of the Company, which shall be intended to set forth the guiding principles and policies of the Company and the Board on various corporate governance related matters as the Board shall determine by resolution from time to time.

 

 

18

Meetings of Directors

 

Regulation of Directors’ meetings

 

18.1

Subject to the provisions of these Articles, the Directors may regulate their proceedings as they think fit.

 

Calling meetings

 

18.2

Any Director may call a meeting of Directors at any time. The Secretary must call a meeting of the Directors if requested to do so by a Director.

 

Notice of meetings

 

18.3

Notice of a Board meeting may be given to a Director personally or by word of mouth or given in writing or by Electronic communications at such address as he may from time to time specify for this purpose (or, if he does not specify an address, at his last known address). A Director may waive his right to receive notice of any meeting either prospectively or retrospectively.

 

Use of technology

 

18.4

A Director may participate in a meeting of Directors through the medium of conference telephone, video or any other form of communications equipment providing all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear and speak to each other throughout the meeting.

 

18.5

A Director participating in this way is deemed to be present in person at the meeting.

 

Quorum

 

18.6

The quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of Directors shall be two (except that if the Board is comprised of a single Director only, then the quorum shall be one) unless the Directors fix some other number.

 

Chairman or deputy to preside

 

18.7

The Board may appoint a chairman and one or more deputy chairman or chairmen and may at any time revoke any such appointment.

 

18.8

The chairman, or failing him any deputy chairman (the longest in office taking precedence if more than one is present), shall preside at all Board meetings. If no chairman or deputy chairman has been appointed, or if he is not present within five minutes after the time fixed for holding the meeting, or is unwilling to act as chairman of the meeting, the Directors present shall choose one of their number to act as chairman of the meeting.

 

 

Voting

 

18.9

A question which arises at a Board meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. If votes are equal the chairman may, if he wishes, exercise a casting vote.

 

Recording of dissent

 

18.10

A Director present at a meeting of Directors shall be presumed to have assented to any action taken at that meeting unless:

 

(a)

his dissent is entered in the minutes of the meeting; or

 

(b)

he has filed with the meeting before it is concluded signed dissent from that action; or

 

(c)

he has forwarded to the Company as soon as practical following the conclusion of that meeting signed dissent.

 

A Director who votes in favour of an action is not entitled to record his dissent to it.

 

Written resolutions

 

18.11

The Directors may pass a resolution in writing without holding a meeting if all Directors sign a document or sign several documents in the like form each signed by one or more of those Directors.

 

18.12

A written resolution signed by a validly appointed alternate Director need not also be signed by the appointing Director.

 

18.13

A written resolution signed personally by the appointing Director need not also be signed by his alternate.

 

18.14

A resolution in writing passed pursuant to Article 18.11, Article 18.12 and/or Article 18.13 shall be as effective as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Directors duly convened and held; and it shall be treated as having been passed on the day and at the time that the last Director signs (and for the avoidance of doubt, such day may or may not be a Business Day).

 

Validity of acts of Directors in spite of formal defect

 

18.15

All acts done by a meeting of the Board, or of a committee of the Board, or by any person acting as a Director or an alternate Director, shall, notwithstanding that it is afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any Director or alternate Director or member of the committee, or that any of them were disqualified or had vacated office or were not entitled to vote, be as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed and qualified and had continued to be a Director or alternate Director and had been entitled to vote.

 

 

19

Permissible Directors’ interests and disclosure

 

19.1

A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction with the Company shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Directors by any Director to the effect that he is a member of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract or transaction which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract so made or transaction so consummated. Subject to the Designated Stock Exchange Rules and disqualification by the chairman of the relevant Board meeting, a Director may vote in respect of any contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction notwithstanding that he may be interested therein provided the Director discloses to his fellow directors the nature and extent of any material interests in respect of any contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the Directors at which any such contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction shall come before the meeting for consideration.

 

20

Minutes

 

20.1

The Company shall cause minutes to be made in books of:

 

(a)

all appointments of Officers and committees made by the Board and of any such Officer’s remuneration; and

 

(b)

the names of Directors present at every meeting of the Directors, a committee of the Board, the Company or the holders of any class of shares or debentures, and all orders, resolutions and proceedings of such meetings.

 

20.2

Any such minutes, if purporting to be signed by the chairman of the meeting at which the proceedings were held or by the chairman of the next succeeding meeting or the Secretary, shall be prima facie evidence of the matters stated in them.

 

21

Accounts and audit

 

21.1

The Directors must ensure that proper accounting and other records are kept, and that accounts and associated reports are distributed in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

 

21.2

The books of account shall be kept at the registered office of the Company and shall always be open to inspection by the Directors. No Member (other than a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by the Act or as authorised by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution.

 

21.3

Unless the Directors otherwise prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on 30 September in each year and begin on 1 October in each year.

 

 

Auditors

 

21.4

The Directors may appoint an Auditor of the Company who shall hold office on such terms as the Directors determine.

 

21.5

At any general meeting convened and held at any time in accordance with these Articles, the Members may, by Ordinary Resolution, remove the Auditor before the expiration of his term of office. If they do so, the Members shall, by Ordinary Resolution, at that meeting appoint another Auditor in his stead for the remainder of his term.

 

21.6

The Auditors shall examine such books, accounts and vouchers; as may be necessary for the performance of their duties.

 

21.7

The Auditors shall, if so requested by the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company during their tenure of office at the next annual general meeting following their appointment, and at any time during their term of office, upon request of the Directors or any general meeting of the Company.

 

22

Record dates

 

22.1

Except to the extent of any conflicting rights attached to Shares, the resolution declaring a dividend on Shares of any class, whether it be an Ordinary Resolution of the Members or a Director’s resolution, may specify that the dividend is payable or distributable to the persons registered as the holders of those Shares at the close of business on a particular date, notwithstanding that the date may be a date prior to that on which the resolution is passed.

 

22.2

If the resolution does so specify, the dividend shall be payable or distributable to the persons registered as the holders of those Shares at the close of business on the specified date in accordance with their respective holdings so registered, but without prejudice to the rights inter se in respect of the dividend of transferors and transferees of any of those Shares.

 

22.3

The provisions of this Article apply, mutatis mutandis, to bonuses, capitalisation issues, distributions of realised capital profits or offers or grants made by the Company to the Members.

 

23

Dividends

 

Source of dividends

 

23.1

Dividends may be declared and paid out of any funds of the Company lawfully available for distribution.

 

23.2

Subject to the requirements of the Act regarding the application of a company’s Share premium account and with the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution, dividends may also be declared and paid out of any share premium account.

 

 

Declaration of dividends by Members

 

23.3

Subject to the provisions of the Act, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution declare dividends in accordance with the respective rights of the Members but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Directors.

 

Payment of interim dividends and declaration of final dividends by Directors

 

23.4

The Directors may declare and pay interim dividends or recommend final dividends in accordance with the respective rights of the Members if it appears to them that they are justified by the financial position of the Company and that such dividends may lawfully be paid.

 

23.5

Subject to the provisions of the Act, in relation to the distinction between interim dividends and final dividends, the following applies:

 

(a)

Upon determination to pay a dividend or dividends described as interim by the Directors in the dividend resolution, no debt shall be created by the declaration until such time as payment is made.

 

(b)

Upon declaration of a dividend or dividends described as final by the Directors in the dividend resolution, a debt shall be created immediately following the declaration, the due date to be the date the dividend is stated to be payable in the resolution.

 

If the resolution fails to specify whether a dividend is final or interim, it shall be assumed to be interim.

 

23.6

In relation to Shares carrying differing rights to dividends or rights to dividends at a fixed rate, the following applies:

 

(a)

If the share capital is divided into different classes, the Directors may pay dividends on Shares which confer deferred or non-preferred rights with regard to dividends as well as on Shares which confer preferential rights with regard to dividends but no dividend shall be paid on Shares carrying deferred or non-preferred rights if, at the time of payment, any preferential dividend is in arrears.

 

(b)

The Directors may also pay, at intervals settled by them, any dividend payable at a fixed rate if it appears to them that there are sufficient funds of the Company lawfully available for distribution to justify the payment.

 

(c)

If the Directors act in good faith, they shall not incur any liability to the Members holding Shares conferring preferred rights for any loss those Members may suffer by the lawful payment of the dividend on any Shares having deferred or non-preferred rights.

 

Apportionment of dividends

 

23.7

Except as otherwise provided by the rights attached to Shares all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts Paid Up on the Shares on which the dividend is paid. All dividends shall be apportioned and paid proportionately to the amount Paid Up on the Shares during the time or part of the time in respect of which the dividend is paid. But if a Share is issued on terms providing that it shall rank for dividend as from a particular date, that Share shall rank for dividend accordingly.

 

 

Right of set off

 

23.8

The Directors may deduct from a dividend or any other amount payable to a person in respect of a Share any amount due by that person to the Company on a call or otherwise in relation to a Share.

 

Power to pay other than in cash

 

23.9

If the Directors so determine, any resolution declaring a dividend may direct that it shall be satisfied wholly or partly by the distribution of assets. If a difficulty arises in relation to the distribution, the Directors may settle that difficulty in any way they consider appropriate. For example, they may do any one or more of the following:

 

(a)

issue fractional Shares;

 

(b)

fix the value of assets for distribution and make cash payments to some Members on the footing of the value so fixed in order to adjust the rights of Members; and

 

(c)

vest some assets in trustees.

 

How payments may be made

 

23.10

A dividend or other monies payable on or in respect of a Share may be paid in any of the following ways:

 

(a)

if the Member holding that Share or other person entitled to that Share nominates a bank account for that purpose - by wire transfer to that bank account; or

 

(b)

by cheque or warrant sent by post to the registered address of the Member holding that Share or other person entitled to that Share.

 

23.11

For the purposes of Article 23.10(a), the nomination may be in writing or in an Electronic Record and the bank account nominated may be the bank account of another person. For the purposes of Article 23.10(b), subject to any applicable law or regulation, the cheque or warrant shall be made to the order of the Member holding that Share or other person entitled to the Share or to his nominee, whether nominated in writing or in an Electronic Record, and payment of the cheque or warrant shall be a good discharge to the Company.

 

23.12

If two or more persons are registered as the holders of the Share or are jointly entitled to it by reason of the death or bankruptcy of the registered holder (Joint Holders), a dividend (or other amount) payable on or in respect of that Share may be paid as follows:

 

(a)

to the registered address of the Joint Holder of the Share who is named first on the register of Members or to the registered address of the deceased or bankrupt holder, as the case may be; or

 

(b)

to the address or bank account of another person nominated by the Joint Holders, whether that nomination is in writing or in an Electronic Record.

 

 

23.13

Any Joint Holder of a Share may give a valid receipt for a dividend (or other amount) payable in respect of that Share.

 

Dividends or other monies not to bear interest in absence of special rights

 

23.14

Unless provided for by the rights attached to a Share, no dividend or other monies payable by the Company in respect of a Share shall bear interest.

 

Dividends unable to be paid or unclaimed

 

23.15

If a dividend cannot be paid to a Member or remains unclaimed within six weeks after it was declared or both, the Directors may pay it into a separate account in the Company’s name. If a dividend is paid into a separate account, the Company shall not be constituted trustee in respect of that account and the dividend shall remain a debt due to the Member.

 

23.16

A dividend that remains unclaimed for a period of six years after it became due for payment shall be forfeited to, and shall cease to remain owing by, the Company.

 

24

Capitalisation of profits

 

Capitalisation of profits or of any share premium account or capital redemption reserve;

 

24.1

The Directors may resolve to capitalise:

 

(a)

any part of the Company’s profits not required for paying any preferential dividend (whether or not those profits are available for distribution); or

 

(b)

any sum standing to the credit of the Company’s share premium account or capital redemption reserve, if any.

 

24.2

The amount resolved to be capitalised must be appropriated to the Members who would have been entitled to it had it been distributed by way of dividend and in the same proportions. The benefit to each Member so entitled must be given in either or both of the following ways::

 

(a)

by paying up the amounts unpaid on that Member’s Shares;

 

(b)

by issuing Fully Paid Up Shares, debentures or other securities of the Company to that Member or as that Member directs. The Directors may resolve that any Shares issued to the Member in respect of Partly Paid Up Shares (Original Shares) rank for dividend only to the extent that the Original Shares rank for dividend while those Original Shares remain Partly Paid Up.

 

Applying an amount for the benefit of Members

 

24.3

The amount capitalised must be applied to the benefit of Members in the proportions to which the Members would have been entitled to dividends if the amount capitalised had been distributed as a dividend.

 

24.4

Subject to the Act, if a fraction of a Share, a debenture or other security is allocated to a Member, the Directors may issue a fractional certificate to that Member or pay him the cash equivalent of the fraction.

 

 

25

Share Premium Account

 

Directors to maintain share premium account

 

25.1

The Directors shall establish a share premium account in accordance with the Act. They shall carry the credit of that account from time to time to an amount equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share or capital contributed or such other amounts required by the Act.

 

Debits to share premium account

 

25.2

The following amounts shall be debited to any share premium account:

 

(a)

on the redemption or purchase of a Share, the difference between the nominal value of that Share and the redemption or purchase price; and

 

(b)

any other amount paid out of a share premium account as permitted by the Act.

 

25.3

Notwithstanding the preceding Article, on the redemption or purchase of a Share, the Directors may pay the difference between the nominal value of that Share and the redemption purchase price out of the profits of the Company or, as permitted by the Act, out of capital.

 

26

Seal

 

Company seal

 

26.1

The Company may have a seal if the Directors so determine.

 

Duplicate seal

 

26.2

Subject to the provisions of the Act, the Company may also have a duplicate seal or seals for use in any place or places outside the Cayman Islands. Each duplicate seal shall be a facsimile of the original seal of the Company. However, if the Directors so determine, a duplicate seal shall have added on its face the name of the place where it is to be used.

 

When and how seal is to be used

 

26.3

A seal may only be used by the authority of the Directors. Unless the Directors otherwise determine, a document to which a seal is affixed must be signed in one of the following ways:

 

(a)

by a Director (or his alternate) and the Secretary; or

 

(b)

by a single Director (or his alternate).

 

 

If no seal is adopted or used

 

26.4

If the Directors do not adopt a seal, or a seal is not used, a document may be executed in the following manner:

 

(a)

by a Director (or his alternate) and the Secretary; or

 

(b)

by a single Director (or his alternate); or

 

(c)

in any other manner permitted by the Act.

 

Power to allow non-manual signatures and facsimile printing of seal

 

26.5

The Directors may determine that either or both of the following applies:

 

(a)

that the seal or a duplicate seal need not be affixed manually but may be affixed by some other method or system of reproduction;

 

(b)

that a signature required by these Articles need not be manual but may be a mechanical or Electronic Signature.

 

Validity of execution

 

26.6

If a document is duly executed and delivered by or on behalf of the Company, it shall not be regarded as invalid merely because, at the date of the delivery, the Secretary, or the Director, or other Officer or person who signed the document or affixed the seal for and on behalf of the Company ceased to be the Secretary or hold that office and authority on behalf of the Company.

 

27

Indemnity

 

27.1

To the extent permitted by law, the Company shall indemnify each existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary and other Officer of the Company (including an investment adviser or an administrator or liquidator) and their personal representatives against:

 

(a)

all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by the existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or Officer in or about the conduct of the Company’s business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of the existing or former Director’s (including alternate Director’s), Secretary’s or Officer’s duties, powers, authorities or discretions; and

 

(b)

without limitation to paragraph (a), all costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by the existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or Officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings (whether threatened, pending or completed) concerning the Company or its affairs in any court or tribunal, whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.

 

No such existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or Officer, however, shall be indemnified in respect of any matter arising out of his own fraud, wilful default or wilful neglect.

 

 

27.2

To the extent permitted by Act, the Company may make a payment, or agree to make a payment, whether by way of advance, loan or otherwise, for any legal costs incurred by an existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or Officer of the Company in respect of any matter identified in Article 27.1 on condition that the Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or Officer must repay the amount paid by the Company to the extent that it is ultimately found not liable to indemnify the Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or that Officer for those legal costs.

 

Release

 

27.3

To the extent permitted by Act, the Company may by Special Resolution release any existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or other Officer of the Company from liability for any loss or damage or right to compensation which may arise out of or in connection with the execution or discharge of the duties, powers, authorities or discretions of his office; but there may be no release from liability arising out of or in connection with that person’s own fraud, wilful default or wilful neglect.

 

Insurance

 

27.4

To the extent permitted by Act, the Company may pay, or agree to pay, a premium in respect of a contract insuring each of the following persons against risks determined by the Directors, other than liability arising out of that person’s own fraud, wilful default or wilful neglect:

 

(a)

an existing or former Director (including alternate Director), Secretary or Officer or auditor of:

 

(i)

the Company;

 

(ii)

a company which is or was a subsidiary of the Company;

 

(iii)

a company in which the Company has or had an interest (whether direct or indirect); and

 

(b)

a trustee of an employee or retirement benefits scheme or other trust in which any of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) is or was interested.

 

28

Notices

 

Form of notices

 

28.1

Save where these Articles provide otherwise, and subject to the Designated Stock Exchange Rules (to the extent applicable), any notice to be given to or by any person pursuant to these Articles shall be:

 

(a)

in writing signed by or on behalf of the giver in the manner set out below for written notices; or

 

(b)

subject to the next Article, in an Electronic Record signed by or on behalf of the giver by Electronic Signature and authenticated in accordance with Articles about authentication of Electronic Records; or

 

(c)

where these Articles expressly permit, by the Company by means of a website.

 

 

Electronic communications

 

28.2

A notice may only be given to the Company in an Electronic Record if:

 

(a)

the Directors so resolve;

 

(b)

the resolution states how an Electronic Record may be given and, if applicable, specifies an email address for the Company; and

 

(c)

the terms of that resolution are notified to the Members for the time being and, if applicable, to those Directors who were absent from the meeting at which the resolution was passed.

 

If the resolution is revoked or varied, the revocation or variation shall only become effective when its terms have been similarly notified.

 

28.3

A notice may not be given by Electronic Record to a person other than the Company unless the recipient has notified the giver of an Electronic address to which notice may be sent.

 

28.4

Subject to the Act, (to the extent applicable) the Designated Stock Exchange Rules and to any other rules which the Company is bound to follow, the Company may also send any notice or other document pursuant to these Articles to a Member by publishing that notice or other document on a website where:

 

(a)

the Company and the Member have agreed to his having access to the notice or document on a website (instead of it being sent to him);

 

(b)

the notice or document is one to which that agreement applies;

 

(c)

the Member is notified (in accordance with any requirements laid down by the Act and, in a manner for the time being agreed between him and the Company for the purpose) of:

 

(i)

the publication of the notice or document on a website;

 

(ii)

the address of that website; and

 

(iii)

the place on that website where the notice or document may be accessed, and how it may be accessed; and

 

(d)

the notice or document is published on that website throughout the publication period, provided that, if the notice or document is published on that website for a part, but not all of, the publication period, the notice or document shall be treated as being published throughout that period if the failure to publish that notice of document throughout that period is wholly attributable to circumstances which it would not be reasonable to have expected the Company to prevent or avoid. For the purposes of this Article 28.4 “publication period” means a period of not less than twenty-one days, beginning on the day on which the notification referred to in Article 28.4(c) is deemed sent.

 

 

Persons entitled to notices

 

28.5

For so long as the Shares are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, any notice or other document to be given to a Member may be given by reference to the register of Members as it stands at any time within the period of twenty-one days before the day that the notice is given or (where and as applicable) within any other period permitted by, or in accordance with the requirements of, (to the extent applicable) the Designated Stock Exchange Rules and/or the Designated Stock Exchanges. No change in the register of Members after that time shall invalidate the giving of such notice or document or require the Company to give such item to any other person.

 

Persons authorised to give notices

 

28.6

A notice by either the Company or a Member pursuant to these Articles may be given on behalf of the Company or a Member by a Director or company secretary of the Company or a Member.

 

Delivery of written notices

 

28.7

Save where these Articles provide otherwise, a notice in writing may be given personally to the recipient, or left at (as appropriate) the Member’s or Director’s registered address or the Company’s registered office, or posted to that registered address or registered office.

 

Joint holders

 

28.8

Where Members are joint holders of a Share, all notices shall be given to the Member whose name first appears in the register of Members.

 

Signatures

 

28.9

A written notice shall be signed when it is autographed by or on behalf of the giver, or is marked in such a way as to indicate its execution or adoption by the giver.

 

28.10

An Electronic Record may be signed by an Electronic Signature.

 

Evidence of transmission

 

28.11

A notice given by Electronic Record shall be deemed sent if an Electronic Record is kept demonstrating the time, date and content of the transmission, and if no notification of failure to transmit is received by the giver.

 

 

28.12

A notice given in writing shall be deemed sent if the giver can provide proof that the envelope containing the notice was properly addressed, pre-paid and posted, or that the written notice was otherwise properly transmitted to the recipient.

 

28.13

A Member present, either in person or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company or of the holders of any class of Shares shall be deemed to have received due notice of the meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which it was called.

 

Giving notice to a deceased or bankrupt Member

 

28.14

A notice may be given by the Company to the persons entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member by sending or delivering it, in any manner authorised by these Articles for the giving of notice to a Member, addressed to them by name, or by the title of representatives of the deceased, or trustee of the bankrupt or by any like description, at the address, if any, supplied for that purpose by the persons claiming to be so entitled.

 

28.15

Until such an address has been supplied, a notice may be given in any manner in which it might have been given if the death or bankruptcy had not occurred.

 

Date of giving notices

 

28.16

A notice is given on the date identified in the following table

 

Method for giving notices		When taken to be given
(A) Personally		At the time and date of delivery
(B) By leaving it at the Member’s registered address		At the time and date it was left
(C) By posting it by prepaid post to the street or postal address of that recipient		48 hours after the date it was posted
(D) By Electronic Record (other than publication on a website), to recipient’s Electronic address		48 hours after the date it was sent
(E) By publication on a website		24 hours after the date on which the Member is deemed to have been notified of the publication of the notice or document on the website

 

Saving provision

 

28.17

None of the preceding notice provisions shall derogate from the Articles about the delivery of written resolutions of Directors and written resolutions of Members.

 

 

29

Authentication of Electronic Records

 

Application of Articles

 

29.1

Without limitation to any other provision of these Articles, any notice, written resolution or other document under these Articles that is sent by Electronic means by a Member, or by the Secretary, or by a Director or other Officer of the Company, shall be deemed to be authentic if either Article 29.2 or Article 29.4 applies.

 

Authentication of documents sent by Members by Electronic means

 

29.2

An Electronic Record of a notice, written resolution or other document sent by Electronic means by or on behalf of one or more Members shall be deemed to be authentic if the following conditions are satisfied:

 

(a)

the Member or each Member, as the case may be, signed the original document, and for this purpose Original Document includes several documents in like form signed by one or more of those Members; and

 

(b)

the Electronic Record of the Original Document was sent by Electronic means by, or at the direction of, that Member to an address specified in accordance with these Articles for the purpose for which it was sent; and

 

(c)

Article 29.7 does not apply.

 

29.3

For example, where a sole Member signs a resolution and sends the Electronic Record of the original resolution, or causes it to be sent, by facsimile transmission to the address in these Articles specified for that purpose, the facsimile copy shall be deemed to be the written resolution of that Member unless Article 28.7 applies.

 

Authentication of document sent by the Secretary or Officers of the Company by Electronic means

 

29.4

An Electronic Record of a notice, written resolution or other document sent by or on behalf of the Secretary or an Officer or Officers of the Company shall be deemed to be authentic if the following conditions are satisfied:

 

(a)

the Secretary or the Officer or each Officer, as the case may be, signed the original document, and for this purpose Original Document includes several documents in like form signed by the Secretary or one or more of those Officers; and

 

(b)

the Electronic Record of the Original Document was sent by Electronic means by, or at the direction of, the Secretary or that Officer to an address specified in accordance with these Articles for the purpose for which it was sent; and

 

(c)

Article 29.7 does not apply.

 

This Article 29.4 applies whether the document is sent by or on behalf of the Secretary or Officer in his own right or as a representative of the Company.

 

 

29.5

For example, where a sole Director signs a resolution and scans the resolution, or causes it to be scanned, as a PDF version which is attached to an email sent to the address in these Articles specified for that purpose, the PDF version shall be deemed to be the written resolution of that Director unless Article 29.7 applies.

 

Manner of signing

 

29.6

For the purposes of these Articles about the authentication of Electronic Records, a document will be taken to be signed if it is signed manually or in any other manner permitted by these Articles.

 

Saving provision

 

29.7

A notice, written resolution or other document under these Articles will not be deemed to be authentic if the recipient, acting reasonably:

 

(a)

believes that the signature of the signatory has been altered after the signatory had signed the original document; or

 

(b)

believes that the original document, or the Electronic Record of it, was altered, without the approval of the signatory, after the signatory signed the original document; or

 

(c)

otherwise doubts the authenticity of the Electronic Record of the document

 

and the recipient promptly gives notice to the sender setting the grounds of its objection. If the recipient invokes this Article, the sender may seek to establish the authenticity of the Electronic Record in any way the sender thinks fit.

 

30

Transfer by way of continuation

 

30.1

The Company may, by Special Resolution, resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside:

 

(a)

the Cayman Islands; or

 

(b)

such other jurisdiction in which it is, for the time being, incorporated, registered or existing.

 

30.2

To give effect to any resolution made pursuant to the preceding Article, the Directors may cause the following:

 

(a)

an application be made to the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or in the other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing; and

 

(b)

all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company.

 

 

31

Winding up

 

Distribution of assets in specie

 

31.1

If the Company is wound up the Members may, subject to these Articles and any other sanction required by the Act, pass a Special Resolution allowing the liquidator to do either or both of the following:

 

(a)

to divide in specie among the Members the whole or any part of the assets of the Company and, for that purpose, to value any assets and to determine how the division shall be carried out as between the Members or different classes of Members; and/or

 

(b)

to vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees for the benefit of Members and those liable to contribute to the winding up.

 

No obligation to accept liability

 

31.2

No Member shall be compelled to accept any assets if an obligation attaches to them.

 

31.3

The Directors are authorised to present a winding up petition

 

31.4

The Directors have the authority to present a petition for the winding up of the Company to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on behalf of the Company without the sanction of a resolution passed at a general meeting.

 

32

Amendment of Memorandum and Articles

 

Power to change name or amend Memorandum

 

32.1

Subject to the Act, the Company may, by Special Resolution:

 

(a)

change its name; or

 

(b)

change the provisions of its Memorandum with respect to its objects, powers or any other matter specified in the Memorandum.

 

Power to amend these Articles

 

32.2

Subject to the Act and as provided in these Articles, the Company may, by Special Resolution, amend these Articles in whole or in part.

 

 

52

 

Exhibit 5.1

 

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.	D +852 3656 6054 / +852 3656 6073
	E nathan.powell@ogier.com /    rachel.huang@ogier.com
	Reference: NMP/RYH/502469.00002

 

10 December 2024

 

Dear Sirs

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. (the Company)

 

We have acted as Cayman Islands counsel to the Company in connection with the Company’s registration statement on Form S-8, including all amendments and supplements thereto (the Registration Statement), as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended to date (the Act). The Registration Statement relates to the reservation for issuance of 5,000,000 class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.005 each (the Class A Ordinary Shares), upon granting of certain awards under the December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan effective on 9 December 2024 (the Plan).

 

We are furnishing this opinion as Exhibits 5.1 and 23.2 to the Registration Statement.

  

1

Documents examined

 

For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined copies or drafts of the following documents:

 

(a)

the certificate of incorporation of the Company dated 8 December 2021 issued by the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands (the Registrar);

 

(b)

the fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company adopted by a special resolution passed on 10 September 2024 and filed with the Registrar on 24 September 2024 (the Memorandum and the Articles);

 

(c)

a certificate of good standing dated 14 November 2024 (the Good Standing Certificate) issued by the Registrar in respect of the Company;

 

(d)

the register of directors and officers of the Company filed with the Registrar on 2 April 2024 (the Register);

 

(e)

a certificate from a director of the Company dated 10 December 2024 as to certain matters of facts (the Director’s Certificate);

 

Ogier Providing advice on British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Guernsey laws   Floor 11 Central Tower 28 Queen’s Road Central Central Hong Kong   T +852 3656 6000 F +852 3656 6001 ogier.com

Partners Nicholas Plowman Nathan Powell Anthony Oakes Oliver Payne Kate Hodson David Nelson Justin Davis Florence Chan*

Lin Han† Cecilia Li** Rachel Huang** Joanne Collett** Richard Bennett**‡ James Bergstrom‡ Marcus Leese‡

*    admitted in New Zealand †    admitted in New York ** admitted in England and Wales ‡    not ordinarily resident in Hong Kong

 

 

Page 2 of 5

 

(f)

the Register of Writs at the office of the Clerk of Courts in the Cayman Islands as inspected by us on 9 December 2024 (the Register of Writs);

 

(g)

a search on the Cayman Online Registry Information Service conducted against the Company at the Registrar on 9 December 2024 (the CORIS Search);

 

(h)

a copy of the minutes of a meeting of the board of directors of the Company held on 9 December 2024 approving, among other things, the Company’s filing of the Registration Statement, the adoption of the Plan and granting of awards pursuant to the Plan (the Board Minutes);

 

(i)

a copy of the minutes of a meeting of the compensation committee of the board of directors of the Company held on 9 December 2024 approving, among other things, the Company’s filing of the Registration Statement, the adoption of the Plan and granting of awards pursuant to the Plan (the Committee Minutes, together with the Board Minutes, the Minutes);

 

	(j)	the Plan; and
	(k)	the Registration Statement.

 

2

Assumptions

 

In giving this opinion we have relied upon the assumptions set forth in this paragraph 2 without having carried out any independent investigation or verification in respect of those assumptions:

 

(a)

all original documents examined by us are authentic and complete;

 

(b)

all copies of documents examined by us (whether in facsimile, electronic or other form) conform to the originals and those originals are authentic and complete;

 

(c)

all signatures, seals, dates, stamps and markings (whether on original or copy documents) are genuine;

 

(d)

each of the Good Standing Certificate, the Register and the Director’s Certificate is accurate and complete as at the date of this opinion;

 

(e)

the CORIS Search which we have examined is accurate and that the information disclosed by the CORIS Search is true and complete and that such information has not since been altered;

 

(f)

the Register of Writs constitutes a complete and accurate record of the proceedings affecting the Company before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands as at the time we conducted our investigation of such register;

 

(g)

all copies of the Registration Statement are true and correct copies and the Registration Statement conform in every material respect to the latest drafts of the same produced to us and, where the Registration Statement has been provided to us in successive drafts marked-up to indicate changes to such documents, all such changes have been so indicated;

 

 

Page 3 of 5

 

(h)

the Minutes remain in full force and effect and each of the directors of the Company has acted in good faith with a view to the best interests of the Company and has exercised the standard of care, diligence and skill that is required of him or her in approving the Plan and the Registration Statement and no director has a financial interest in or other relationship to a party of the transactions contemplated in the Plan and/or the Registration Statement which has not been properly disclosed in any of the Minutes;

 

(i)

each of the Plan and the Registration Statement has been duly authorised and duly executed and unconditionally delivered by or on behalf of the Company in accordance with all relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands);

 

(j)

each of the Plan and the Registration Statement is legal, valid and binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with its terms under relevant law (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands);

 

(k)

the Class A Ordinary Shares shall be issued at an issue price in excess of the par value thereof;

 

(l)

the capacity, power, authority and legal right of the Company under all relevant laws and regulations (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute, unconditionally deliver and perform its obligations under the Plan;

 

(m)

no monies paid to or for the account of any party under the Plan represent or will represent criminal property or terrorist property (as defined in the Proceeds of Crime Act (as revised) and the Terrorism Act (as revised), respectively);

 

(n)

the Company has received, or will receive, money or money’s worth (the Consideration) in consideration for the issue of the Class A Ordinary Shares, and none of the Class A Ordinary Shares have, or will be, issued for less than their par value;

 

(o)

neither the directors nor the shareholders of the Company have taken any steps to appoint a liquidator of the Company and no receiver or restructuring officer has been appointed over any of the Company’s property or assets; and

 

(p)

there is no provision of the law of any jurisdiction, other than the Cayman Islands, which would have any implication in relation to the opinions expressed herein.

  

3

Opinions

 

On the basis of the examinations and assumptions referred to above and subject to the limitations and qualifications set forth in paragraph 4 below, we are of the opinion that:

 

Valid Issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares

 

(a)

the Class A Ordinary Shares to be offered and issued by the Company pursuant to the provisions of the Plan, having been duly authorised and, when issued by the Company, subject to granting and acceptance of awards in accordance with the Plan and the Memorandum and Articles, upon:

 

(i)

payment in full of the Consideration as set out in the provisions of the Plan and in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, the Memorandum and Articles, the Minutes; and

 

(ii)

the entry of those Class A Ordinary Shares as fully paid on the register of members of the Company,

 

shall be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

  

 

Page 4 of 5

 

4

Limitations and Qualifications

 

4.1

We offer no opinion:

 

(a)

as to any laws other than the laws of the Cayman Islands, and we have not, for the purposes of this opinion, made any investigation of the laws of any other jurisdiction, and we express no opinion as to the meaning, validity, or effect of references in the Plan and/or the Registration Statement to statutes, rules, regulations, codes or judicial authority of any jurisdiction other than the Cayman Islands; or

 

(b)

except to the extent that this opinion expressly provides otherwise, as to the commercial terms of, or the validity, enforceability or effect of the Registration Statement, the accuracy of representations, the fulfilment of warranties or conditions, the occurrence of events of default or terminating events or the existence of any conflicts or inconsistencies among the Registration Statement and any other agreements into which the Company may have entered or any other documents.

 

4.2

Under the Companies Act (as revised) of the Cayman Islands (the Companies Act), the register of members of a Cayman Islands company is by statute regarded as prima facie evidence of any matters which the Companies Act directs or authorises to be inserted therein. A third party interest in the shares in question would not appear. An entry in the register of members may yield to a court order for rectification (for example, in the event of fraud or manifest error).

 

4.3

Under the Companies Act annual returns in respect of the Company must be filed with the Registrar, together with payment of annual filing fees. A failure to file annual returns and pay annual filing fees may result in the Company being struck off the Register of Companies, following which its assets will vest in the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands and will be subject to disposition or retention for the benefit of the public of the Cayman Islands.

 

	4.4	In good standing means only that as of the date of the Good Standing Certificate the Company is up-to-date with the filing of its annual returns and payment of annual fees with the Registrar. We have made no enquiries into the Company’s good standing with respect to any filings or payment of fees, or both, that it may be required to make under the laws of the Cayman Islands other than the Companies Act.
	4.5	In this opinion, the phrase “non-assessable” means, with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares in the Company, that a shareholder shall not, solely by virtue of its status as a shareholder, be liable for additional assessments or calls on the Class A Ordinary Shares by the Company or its creditors (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstance in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).

 

4.6

Our examination of the Register of Writs cannot conclusively reveal whether or not there is:

 

(a)

any current or pending litigation in the Cayman Islands against the Company; or

 

(b)

any application for the winding up or dissolution of the Company or the appointment of any liquidator, trustee in bankruptcy or restructuring officer in respect of the Company or any of its assets,

 

as notice of these matters might not be entered on the Register of Writs immediately or updated expeditiously or the court file associated with the matter or the matter itself may not be publicly available (for example, due to sealing orders having been made). Furthermore, we have not conducted a search of the summary court. Claims in the summary court are limited to a maximum of CI $20,000.

 

 

 

Page 5 of 5

 

5

Governing law of this opinion

 

5.1

This opinion is:

 

(a)

governed by, and shall be construed in accordance with, the laws of the Cayman Islands;

 

(b)

limited to the matters expressly stated in it; and

 

(c)

confined to, and given on the basis of, the laws and practice in the Cayman Islands at the date of this opinion.

 

5.2

Unless otherwise indicated, a reference to any specific Cayman Islands legislation is a reference to that legislation as amended to, and as in force at, the date of this opinion.

 

6

Reliance

 

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

This opinion may be used only in connection with the issuance of the Class A Ordinary Shares while the Registration Statement is effective.

 

Yours faithfully

 

/s/ Ogier

Ogier

 

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

GOLDEN HEAVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LTD.

DECEMBER 2024 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

1. Purposes of the Plan.

 

The purposes of the Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) is to attract and retain the best available personnel for positions of responsibility with the Company, to provide additional incentives to them and align their interests with those of the Company’s shareholders, and to thereby promote the Company’s long-term business success.

 

2. Definitions.

 

As used herein, the following definitions will apply:

 

(a) “162(m) Award” means an Award that is granted to a Covered Employee and is intended to qualify as “performance-based” under Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

(b) “Administrator” means the Board or any of its Committees as will be administering the Plan, in accordance with Section 4 of the Plan.

 

(c) “Affiliate” means any entity that is a Subsidiary of the Company.

 

(d) “Applicable Laws” means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of the corporate, securities, tax, and other laws, rules, regulations, and government orders, and the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein, including, but not limited to, applicable laws of the Cayman Islands and the memorandum and articles of association of the Company then effective.

 

(e) “Award” means, individually or collectively, a grant under the Plan of Options, SARs, Restricted Shares, Restricted Share Units, Performance Units, Performance Shares, or Other Share-Based Awards.

 

(f) “Award Agreement” means the written or electronic agreement setting forth the terms and provisions applicable to each Award granted under the Plan. The Award Agreement is subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

 

(g) “Awarded Shares” means the Class A Ordinary Shares subject to an Award.

 

(h) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

(i) “Cause” means what the term is expressly defined to mean in a then-effective written agreement (including an Award Agreement) between a Participant and the Company or any Affiliate, or in the absence of any such then-effective agreement or definition a Participant’s (i) material failure to perform Participant’s job duties competently as reasonably determined by the Committee (other than by reason of Disability); (ii) gross misconduct by participant, which the Committee determines is (or will be if continued) demonstrably and materially damaging to the Company; (iii) fraud, misappropriation, or embezzlement by Employee; (iv) conviction of a felony crime or crime of moral turpitude; and (v) material breach of the Company’s business conduct or ethics code or of any fiduciary duty or nondisclosure, non-solicitation, non-competition, or similar obligation owed to the Company or any Affiliate.

 

 

(j) “Change in Control” means the occurrence of any of the following events:

 

(i) An Exchange Act Person or Group becomes the beneficial owner (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of securities of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the total voting power represented by the Company’s then outstanding voting securities, except that the following will not constitute a Change in Control:

 

a) any acquisition of securities of the Company by an Exchange Act Person from the Company for the purpose of providing financing to the Company;

 

b) any formation of a Group consisting solely of beneficial owners of the Company’s voting securities as of the effective date of this Plan;

 

c) any repurchase or other acquisition by the Company of its voting securities that causes any Exchange Act Person to become the beneficial owner of 50% or more of the Company’s voting securities; or

 

d) with respect to any particular Participant, any acquisition of securities of the Company by the Participant, any Group including the Participant, or any entity controlled by the Participant or a Group including the Participant.

 

If, however, an Exchange Act Person or Group referenced in clause a), b), c), or d) above acquires beneficial ownership of additional Company voting securities after initially becoming the beneficial owner of 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s voting securities by one of the means described in those clauses, then a Change in Control will be deemed to have occurred. Furthermore, a Change in Control will occur if a Person becomes the beneficial owner of more than 50% of the Company’s voting securities as the result of a Corporate Transaction only if the Corporate Transaction is itself a Change in Control pursuant to Section 2(j)(ii).

 

(ii) The consummation of the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets;

 

(iii) A change in the composition of the Board occurring within a two-year period, as a result of which fewer than a majority of the directors are Incumbent Directors; or

 

(iv) The consummation of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or its parent) more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity or its parent outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation.

 

(k) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Any reference to a section of the Code herein will be a reference to any successor or amended section of the Code.

 

(l) “Committee” means a committee of Directors or other individuals satisfying Applicable Laws appointed by the Board in accordance with Section 4 of the Plan.

 

(m) “Company” means Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.

 

(n) “Consultant” means any person, including an advisor, engaged by the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary to render services to such entity.

 

(o) “Corporate Transaction” means (i) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or (ii) a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or similar transaction involving the Company, regardless of whether the Company is the surviving entity.

 

 

(p) “Covered Employees” means those persons who the Committee determines are subject to the limitations of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

(q) “Director” means a member of the Board.

 

(r) “Disability” means “total and permanent disability” as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, provided that in the case of Awards other than Incentive Share Options, the Administrator in its discretion may determine whether a permanent and total disability exists in accordance with uniform and non-discriminatory standards adopted by the Administrator from time to time.

 

(s) “Dividend Equivalent” means a credit, made at the discretion of the Administrator, to the account of a Participant in an amount equal to the value of dividends paid on one Share for each Share represented by an Award held by such Participant.

 

(t) “Employee” means any person, including Officers and Directors, employed by the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company.

 

(u) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

(v) “Exchange Act Person” means any natural person, entity, or Group other than (i) the Company or any Affiliate; (ii) any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or any Affiliate; (iii) an underwriter temporarily holding securities in connection with a registered public offering of such securities; or (iv) an entity whose voting securities are beneficially owned by the beneficial owners of the Company’s voting securities in substantially the same proportions as their beneficial ownership of the Company’s voting securities.

 

(w) “Exchange Program” means a program under which (i) outstanding Awards are surrendered or canceled in exchange for Awards of the same type (which may have lower exercise prices and different terms), Awards of a different type, and/or cash, and/or (ii) the exercise price of an outstanding Award is reduced. The terms and conditions of any Exchange Program will be determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion.

 

(x) “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of each Class A Ordinary Share, which shall be in any event not lower than the par value per Class A Ordinary Share and determined as follows:

 

(i) If the Class A Ordinary Shares are listed on any established stock exchange or a national market system, including, without limitation, the Nasdaq Capital Market, its Fair Market Value will be the closing sales price for such share (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on such exchange or system for the last market trading day on or prior to the date of determination, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable;

 

(ii) If the Class A Ordinary Shares are regularly quoted by a recognized securities dealer but selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value will be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for an Ordinary Share for the last market trading day on or prior to the date of determination, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable; or

 

(iii) In the absence of an established market for the Class A Ordinary Shares, the Fair Market Value will be determined in good faith by the Administrator.

 

Notwithstanding the preceding, for federal, state, and local income tax reporting purposes and for such other purposes as the Administrator deems appropriate, the Fair Market Value shall be determined by the Administrator in accordance with uniform and nondiscriminatory standards adopted by it from time to time.

 

(y) “Fiscal Year” means the fiscal year of the Company.

 

(z) “Grant Date” means the date on which the Administrator approves the grant of an Award under the Plan, or such later date as may be specified by the Administrator on the date the Administrator approves the Award.

 

 

(aa) “Group” means two or more persons who act, or agree to act together, as a partnership, limited partnership, syndicate, or other group for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting, or disposing of securities of the Company.

 

(bb) “Incentive Share Option” means an Option intended to qualify as an incentive share option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

(cc) “Incumbent Directors” means directors who either (i) are Directors as of the effective date of the Plan, or (ii) are elected, or nominated for election, to the Board with the affirmative votes of at least a majority of the Incumbent Directors at the time of such election or nomination (but will not include an individual whose election or nomination is in connection with an actual or threatened proxy contest relating to the election of directors to the Company).

 

(dd) “Non-statutory Share Option” means an Option that by its terms does not qualify or is not intended to qualify as an Incentive Share Option.

 

(ee) “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

(ff) “Option” means a right granted under the Plan to purchase a specified number of Class A Ordinary Shares at a specified price.

 

(gg) “Class A Ordinary Shares” or “Shares” means the Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.005 per share, as adjusted in accordance with Section 15 of the Plan; or in the case of Performance Units, Restricted Share Units, and certain Other Share-Based Awards, the cash equivalent thereof, as applicable.

 

(hh) “Other Share-Based Awards” means any other awards not specifically described in the Plan that are valued in whole or in part by reference to, or are otherwise based on, Shares and are created by the Administrator pursuant to Section 12 of this Plan.

 

(ii) “Outside Director” means a Director who is not an Employee.

 

(jj) “Parent” means a “parent corporation,” whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code.

 

(kk) “Participant” means a Service Provider to whom a then-outstanding Award has been granted under the Plan.

 

(ll) “Performance Goals” means one or more objective measurable performance goals established by the Committee with respect to a Performance Period based upon one or more of the following criteria: (i) operating income; (ii) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; (iii) earnings; (iv) cash flow; (v) market share; (vi) sales or revenue; (vii) expenses; (vii) profit/loss or profit margin; (ix) working capital; (x) return on equity or assets; (xi) earnings per share; (xii) total shareholder return; (xiii) price/earnings ratio; (xiv) debt or debt-to-equity; (xv) accounts receivable; (xvi) write-offs; (xvii) cash; (xviii) assets; (xix) liquidity; (xx) operations; (xxi) borrowers; (xxii) investors; (xxiii) strategic partners; (xxiv) mergers or acquisitions; (xxv) loans facilitated; (xxvi) product offerings; and/or (xxvii) share price. Any criteria used may be measured, as applicable, (a) in absolute terms, (b) in relative terms (including, but not limited to, the passage of time and/or against other companies or financial metrics), (c) on a per share and/or share per capita basis, (d) against the performance of the Company as a whole or against particular entities, segments, operating units or products of the Company and /or (e) on a pre-tax or after-tax basis. Awards issued to persons who are not Covered Employees may take into account any other factors deemed appropriate by the Committee.

 

 

(mm) “Performance Period” means any period not exceeding 120 months as determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion. The Committee may establish different Performance Periods for different Participants, and the Committee may establish concurrent or overlapping Performance Periods.

 

(nn) “Performance Share” means Class A Ordinary Shares granted to a Service Provider pursuant to Section 10 of the Plan.

 

(oo) “Performance Unit” means an Award granted to a Service Provider pursuant to Section 10 of the Plan.

 

(pp) “Period of Restriction” means the period during which the transfer of Restricted Shares is subject to restrictions and therefore, the Shares are subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. Such restrictions may be based on the passage of time, the achievement of target levels of performance, or the occurrence of other events as determined by the Administrator.

 

(qq) “Restricted Share” means Class A Ordinary Shares issued to a Participant that are subject to such restrictions on transfer, vesting conditions, and other restrictions or limitations as may be set forth in this Plan and the applicable Agreement.

 

(rr) “Restricted Share Unit” means an Award that the Administrator permits to be paid in installments or on a deferred basis pursuant to Sections 4 and 11 of the Plan.

 

(ss) “Service Provider” means an Employee, Director, or Consultant.

 

(tt) “Share Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means an Award that pursuant to Section 9 of the Plan is designated as a SAR.

 

(uu) “Subsidiary” means a “subsidiary corporation,” whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code, or a variable interest entity.

 

(vv) “Substitute Award” means an Award granted upon the assumption of, or in substitution or exchange for, outstanding awards granted by a company or other entity acquired by the Company or any Affiliate or with which the Company or any Affiliate combines. The terms and conditions of a Substitute Award may vary from the terms and conditions set forth in the Plan to the extent that the Committee at the time of the grant may deem appropriate to conform, in whole or in part, to the provisions of the award in substitution for which it has been granted.

 

3. Shares Available Under the Plan.

 

(a) Maximum Shares Available. Subject to adjustment as provided in the Section 15 of the Plan, the maximum aggregate number of Shares that may be issued under the Plan is 5,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares. Shares issued under the Plan may come from authorized and unissued shares.

 

In determining the number of Shares to be counted against this share reserve in connection with any Award, the following rules shall apply:

 

(i) Where the number of Shares subject to an Award is variable on the Grant Date, the number of Shares to be counted against the share reserve shall be the maximum number of Shares that could be received under that particular Award, until such time as it can be determined that only a lesser number of shares could be received.

 

(ii) Where two or more types of Awards are granted to a Participant in tandem with each other, such that the exercise of one type of Award with respect to a number of Shares cancels at least an equal number of Shares of the other, the number of Shares to be counted against the share reserve shall be the largest number of Shares that would be counted against the share reserve under either of the Awards.

 

 

(iii) Shares subject to Substitute Awards shall not be counted against the share reserve, nor shall they reduce the Shares authorized for grant to a Participant in any calendar year.

 

(iv) Awards that will be settled solely in cash shall not be counted against the share reserve, nor shall they reduce the Shares authorized for grant to a Participant in any calendar year.

 

(b) Counting Shares Again Available. Upon payment in Shares pursuant to the exercise of an Award, the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan shall be reduced only by the number of Shares actually issued in such payment. If a Participant pays the exercise price (or purchase price, if applicable) of an Award through the tender of Shares, or if Shares are tendered or withheld to satisfy any Company withholding obligations, the number of Shares so tendered or withheld shall again be available for issuance pursuant to future Awards under the Plan.

 

(c) Lapsed Awards. If any outstanding Award expires or is terminated or canceled without having been exercised or settled in full, or if Shares acquired pursuant to an Award subject to forfeiture or repurchase are forfeited or repurchased by the Company in accordance with requirements under the Applicable Laws, the Shares allocable to the terminated portion of such Award or such forfeited or repurchased Shares shall again be available for grant under the Plan.

 

(d) No Fractional Shares. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, the number of Shares subject to an Award shall always be a whole number. No fractional Shares may be issued under the Plan, but the Committee may, in its discretion, adopt any rounding convention it deems suitable or pay cash in lieu of any fractional Share in settlement of an Award.

 

(e) Share Reserve. The Company, during the term of the Plan, shall at all times reserve and keep available such number of Shares as will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Plan.

 

4. Administration of the Plan.

 

(a) Procedure.

 

(i) Multiple Administrative Bodies. Subject to the specific duties delegated by the Board to such Committee, different Committees with respect to different groups of Service Providers may administer the Plan, and the authority to control and manage the operations and administration of the Plan shall be vested in accordance with this Section 4.

 

(ii) Section 162(m). To the extent that the Administrator determines it to be desirable and necessary to qualify Awards granted hereunder as “performance-based compensation” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, the Plan will be administered by a Committee of two or more “outside directors” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

(iii) Rule 16b-3. To the extent desirable to qualify transactions hereunder as exempt under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, or any successor to Rule 16b-3 as in effect when discretion is being exercised with respect to the Plan, the transactions contemplated hereunder will be structured to satisfy the requirements for such exemption.

 

(iv) Other Administration. Other than as provided above, the Plan will be administered by (A) the Board or (B) a Committee, which committee will be constituted to satisfy Applicable Laws.

 

(v) Delegation of Authority for Day-to-Day Administration. Except to the extent prohibited by Applicable Law, the Administrator may delegate to one or more individuals the day-to-day administration of the Plan and any of the functions assigned to it in this Plan. Such delegation may be revoked at any time.

 

(b) Powers of the Administrator. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, and in the case of a Committee, subject to the specific duties delegated by the Board to such Committee, the Administrator will have the authority, in its discretion:

 

(i) to select the Service Providers to whom Awards may be granted hereunder;

 

 

(ii) to determine the type of Award and the number of Shares to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

 

(iii) to determine the Fair Market Value;

 

(iv) to approve forms of agreement for use under the Plan;

 

(v) to determine the terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, of any Award granted hereunder. Such terms and conditions include, but are not limited to, the exercise price, the time or times when Awards may be exercised (which may be based on performance criteria), any vesting acceleration or waiver of forfeiture or repurchase restrictions, and any restriction or limitation regarding any Award or the Shares relating thereto, based in each case on such factors as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine;

 

(vi) to institute an Exchange Program;

 

(vii) to construe and interpret the terms of the Plan and Awards granted pursuant to the Plan;

 

(viii) to prescribe, amend, and rescind rules and regulations relating to the Plan, including rules and regulations relating to sub-plans established for the purpose of satisfying applicable foreign laws and/or qualifying for preferred tax treatment under applicable foreign tax laws;

 

(ix) to modify or amend each Award (subject to Section 16(d) of the Plan), including (A) the discretionary authority to extend the post-termination exercisability period of Awards longer than is otherwise provided for in the Plan and (B) accelerate the satisfaction of any vesting criteria or waiver of forfeiture or repurchase restrictions;

 

(x) to allow Participants to satisfy withholding tax obligations by electing to have the Company withhold from the Shares or cash to be issued upon exercise or vesting of an Award that number of Shares or cash having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum amount required to be withheld. The Fair Market Value of any Shares to be withheld will be determined on the date that the amount of tax to be withheld is to be determined. All elections by a Participant to have Shares or cash withheld for this purpose will be made in such form and under such conditions as the Administrator may deem necessary or advisable;

 

(xi) to authorize any person to execute on behalf of the Company any instrument required to effect the grant of an Award previously granted by the Administrator,

 

(xii) to allow a Participant to defer the receipt of the payment of cash or the delivery of Shares that would otherwise be due to such Participant under an Award;

 

(xiii) to determine whether Awards will be settled in Shares, cash, or any combination thereof;

 

(xiv) to determine whether Awards will be adjusted for Dividend Equivalents;

 

(xv) to create Other Share-Based Awards for issuance under the Plan;

 

(xvi) to establish a program whereby Service Providers designated by the Administrator can reduce compensation otherwise payable in cash in exchange for Awards under the Plan;

 

(xvii) to impose such restrictions, conditions, or limitations as it determines appropriate as to the timing and manner of any resales by a Participant or other subsequent transfers by the Participant of any Shares issued as a result of or under an Award, including without limitation, (A) restrictions under an insider trading policy, and (B) restrictions as to the use of a specified brokerage firm for such resales or other transfers; and

 

(xviii) to make all other determinations deemed necessary or advisable for administering the Plan.

 

 

(c) Finality of Decisions. The Administrator’s interpretation of the Plan and of any Award or Award Agreement made under the Plan and all related decisions or resolutions of the Board or Committee shall be final and binding on all parties with an interest therein.

 

(d) Indemnification. Each person who is or has been an Administrator, a member of the Committee or of the Board, and any other person to whom the Administrator delegates authority under the Plan, shall be indemnified by the Company, to the maximum extent permitted by law, against liabilities and expenses imposed upon or reasonably incurred by such person in connection with or resulting from any claims against such person by reason of the performance of the individual’s duties under the Plan. However, no such person shall be indemnified in respect of any matter arising out of his or her own fraud, willful default or willful neglect. This right to indemnification is conditioned upon such person providing the Company an opportunity, at the Company’s expense, to handle and defend the claims before such person undertakes to handle and defend them on such person’s own behalf. The Company will not be required to indemnify any person for any amount paid in settlement of a claim unless the Company has first consented in writing to the settlement. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such person or persons may be entitled under the Company’s memorandum and articles of association then effective, as a matter of law, or otherwise.

 

5. Eligibility.

 

Non-statutory Share Options, Restricted Shares, Share Appreciation Rights, Performance Units, Performance Shares, Restricted Share Units, and Other Share-Based Awards may be granted to Service Providers. Incentive Share Options may be granted only to Employees.

 

6. General Terms of Awards.

 

(a) Award Agreement. Each Award shall be evidenced by an Agreement setting forth the amount of the Award together with such other terms and conditions applicable to the Award (and not inconsistent with the Plan) as determined by the Administrator. If an Agreement calls for acceptance by the Participant, the Award evidenced by the Agreement will not become effective unless acceptance of the Agreement in a manner permitted by the Administrator is received by the Company within 60 days of the date the Agreement is delivered to the Participant. An Award to a Participant may be made singly or in combination with any form of Award. Two types of Awards may be made in tandem with each other such that the exercise of one type of Award with respect to a number of Class A Ordinary Shares reduces the number of Shares subject to the related Award by at least an equal amount.

 

(b) Vesting and Term. Each Agreement shall set forth the period until the applicable Award is scheduled to vest and, if applicable, expire (which shall not be more than 10 years from the Grant Date), and, consistent with the requirements of this Section 6, the applicable vesting conditions and any applicable Performance Period.

 

(c) Designation of Beneficiary. To the extent permitted by the Administrator, a Participant may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to exercise any Award or receive a payment under any Award that is exercisable or payable on or after the Participant’s death. Any such designation shall be on a form approved by the Company and shall be effective upon its receipt by the Company.

 

(d) Rights as Shareholder. No Participant shall have any rights as a shareholder with respect to any Class A Ordinary Shares covered by an Award unless and until the date the Participant becomes the holder of record of the Awarded Shares, if any, to which the Award relates.

 

(e) Performance-Based Awards. Any Award may be granted based on Performance Goals if the Administrator establishes one or more measures of corporate, business unit, or individual performance which must be attained, and the Performance Period over which the specified performance is to be attained, as a condition to the grant, vesting, exercisability, lapse of restrictions, and/or settlement in cash or Class A Ordinary Shares of such Award. In connection with any such Award, the Administrator shall determine the extent to which performance measures have been attained and other applicable terms and conditions have been satisfied, and the degree to which the grant, vesting, exercisability, lapse of restrictions, and/or settlement of such Award has been earned. The Administrator shall also have the authority to provide, in an Agreement or otherwise, for the modification of a Performance Period and/or adjustments to or waivers of the achievement of Performance Goals.

 

 

(f) Dividends and Dividend Equivalents. No dividends, dividend equivalents, or distributions will be paid with respect to Shares subject to an Option or SAR Award unless and until the respective Option or SAR has been exercised. Any dividends or distributions payable with respect to Shares that are subject to the unvested portion of a Restricted Share Award will be subject to the same restrictions and risk of forfeiture as the Shares to which such dividends or distributions relate. In its discretion, the Administrator may provide in an Award Agreement for a Share Unit Award or an Other Share-Based Award that the Participant will be entitled to receive dividend equivalents, based on dividends actually declared and paid on outstanding Shares, on the units or other Share equivalents subject to the Share Unit Award or Other Share-Based Award, and such dividend equivalents will be subject to the same restrictions and risk of forfeiture as the units or other Share equivalents to which such dividend equivalents relate. The additional terms of any such dividend equivalents will be as set forth in the applicable Agreement, including the time and form of payment and whether such dividend equivalents will be credited with interest or deemed to be reinvested in additional units or Share equivalents. Dividends and dividend equivalents on Performance Goal-based Awards will be subject to the same terms and conditions, including vesting conditions and the achievement of any applicable performance goals, as the original Award. Any Shares issued or issuable during the term of this Plan as the result of the reinvestment of dividends or the deemed reinvestment of dividend equivalents in connection with an Award shall be counted against, and replenish upon any subsequent forfeiture, the Plan’s share reserve as provided in Section 3.

 

(g) No Rights as a Service Provider. Neither the Plan nor any Award shall confer upon a Participant any right with respect to continuing his or her relationship as a Service Provider, nor shall they interfere in any way with the right of the Participant or the right of the Company or its Parent or Subsidiaries to terminate such relationship at any time, with or without cause.

 

7. Share Options.

 

(a) Term of Option. The term of each Option will be stated in the Award Agreement and will not exceed 10 years from the date of grant. Moreover, in the case of an Incentive Share Option granted to a Participant who, at the time the Incentive Share Option is granted, owns ordinary shares representing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of shares of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary, the term of the Incentive Share Option will be five years from the date of grant or such shorter term as may be provided in the Award Agreement.

 

(b) Option Exercise Price and Consideration.

 

(i) Exercise Price. The per Share exercise price for the Shares to be issued pursuant to exercise of an Option will be determined by the Administrator, which shall not in any event be less than the par value per Share and subject to the following:

 

(1) In the case of an Incentive Share Option

 

(A) granted to an Employee who, at the time the Incentive Share Option is granted, owns ordinary shares representing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of shares of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary, the per Share exercise price will be no less than 110% of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant.

 

(B) granted to any Employee other than an Employee described in paragraph (A) immediately above, the per Share exercise price will be no less than 100% of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant.

 

(2) In the case of a Non-statutory Share Option, the per Share exercise price will be determined by the Administrator. In the case of a Non-statutory Share Option intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” within the meaning of Section 162 (m) of the Code, or in the event of the grant of a Non-statutory Share Option to an Employee, Director, or Consultant who is a U.S. taxpayer, the per Share exercise price will be no less than 100% of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant.

 

 

(3) Notwithstanding the foregoing, Incentive Share Options may be granted with a per Share exercise price of less than 100% of the Fair Market Value per Share but no less than the par value per Share on the date of grant pursuant to a transaction described in, and in a manner consistent with, Section 424(a) of the Code.

 

(ii) Waiting Period and Exercise Dates. At the time an Option is granted, the Administrator will fix the period within which the Option may be exercised and will determine any conditions that must be satisfied before the Option may be exercised. The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may accelerate the satisfaction of such conditions at any time.

 

(c) Form of Consideration. The Administrator will determine the acceptable form of consideration for exercising an Option, including the method of payment. In the case of an Incentive Share Option, the Administrator shall determine the acceptable form of consideration at the time of grant. Such consideration, to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, may consist entirely of:

 

(i) cash;

 

(ii) check;

 

(iii) promissory note;

 

(iv) other Shares which meet conditions established by the Administrator;

 

(v) consideration received by the Company under a cashless exercise program implemented by the Company in connection with the Plan;

 

(vi) a reduction in the amount of any Company liability to the Participant, including any liability attributable to the Participant’s participation in any Company-sponsored deferred compensation program or arrangement;

 

(vii) any combination of the foregoing methods of payment; or

 

(viii) such other consideration and method of payment for the issuance of Shares to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws.

 

(d) Limitations.

 

(i) ISO $100,000 Rule. Each Option will be designated in the Award Agreement as either an Incentive Share Option or a Non-statutory Share Option. However, notwithstanding such designation, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value of the Shares with respect to which Incentive Share Options are exercisable for the first time by the Participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any Parent or Subsidiary) exceeds $100,000, such Options will be treated as Non-statutory Share Options. For purposes of this Section 5(d)(i), Incentive Share Options will be taken into account in the order in which they were granted. The Fair Market Value of the Shares will be determined as of the time the Option with respect to such Shares is granted.

 

(ii) Special Limit for Grants of Options. Subject to Section 15 of the Plan, the maximum number of Shares that may be subject to Options granted to any Service Provider in any calendar year shall equal 200,000 Shares.

 

(e) Exercise of Option.

 

(i) Procedure for Exercise; Rights as a Shareholder. Any Option granted hereunder will be exercisable according to the terms of the Plan and at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Administrator and set forth in the Award Agreement. An Option may not be exercised for a fraction of a Share.

 

 

An Option will be deemed exercised when the Company receives: (x) written or electronic notice of exercise (in accordance with the Award Agreement) from the person entitled to exercise the Option, and (y) full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Option is exercised (including provision for any applicable tax withholding). Full payment may consist of any consideration and method of payment authorized by the Administrator and permitted by the Award Agreement and the Plan. Shares issued upon exercise of an Option will be issued in the name of the Participant or, if requested by the Participant, in the name of the Participant and his or her spouse. Until the Shares are issued (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company), no right to vote or receive dividends or any other rights as a shareholder will exist with respect to the Awarded Shares, notwithstanding the exercise of the Option. The Company will issue (or cause to be issued) such Shares promptly after the Option is exercised. No adjustment will be made for a dividend or other right for which the record date is prior to the date the Shares are issued, except as provided in Section 15 of the Plan or the applicable Award Agreement.

 

Exercising an Option in any manner will decrease the number of Shares thereafter available for sale under the Option, by the number of Shares as to which the Option is exercised.

 

(ii) Termination of Relationship as a Service Provider. If a Participant ceases to be a Service Provider, other than upon the Participant’s death or Disability, the Participant may exercise his or her Option within such period of time as is specified in the Award Agreement to the extent that the Option is vested on the date of termination (but in no event later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement). In the absence of a specified time in the Award Agreement, the Option will remain exercisable for three months following the Participant’s termination. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if on the date of termination the Participant is not vested as to his or her entire Option, the Shares covered by the unvested portion of the Option will revert to the Plan. If after termination the Participant does not exercise his or her Option as to all of the vested Shares within the time specified by the Administrator, the Option will terminate, and the remaining Shares covered by such Option will revert to the Plan.

 

(iii) Disability of Participant. If a Participant ceases to be a Service Provider as a result of the Participant’s Disability, the Participant may exercise his or her Option within such period of time as is specified in the Award Agreement to the extent the Option is vested on the date of termination (but in no event later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement). In the absence of a specified time in the Award Agreement, the Option will remain exercisable for 12 months following the Participant’s termination. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if on the date of termination the Participant is not vested as to his or her entire Option, the Shares covered by the unvested portion of the Option will revert to the Plan. If after termination the Participant does not exercise his or her Option as to all of the vested Shares within the time specified by the Administrator, the Option will terminate, and the remaining Shares covered by such Option will revert to the Plan.

 

(iv) Death of Participant. If a Participant dies while being a Service Provider, the Option may be exercised following the Participant’s death within such period of time as is specified in the Award Agreement to the extent that the Option is vested on the date of death (but in no event may the Option be exercised later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement) by the Participant’s designated beneficiary, provided such beneficiary has been designated prior to the Participant’s death in a form acceptable to the Administrator. If no such beneficiary has been designated by the Participant, then such Option may be exercised by the personal representative of the Participant’s estate or by the persons) to whom the Option is transferred pursuant to the Participant’s will or in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution. In the absence of a specified time in the Award Agreement, the Option will remain exercisable for 12 months following the Participant’s death. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if at the time of death the Participant is not vested as to his or her entire Option, the Shares covered by the unvested portion of the Option will immediately revert to the Plan. If the Option is not exercised as to all of the vested Shares within the time specified by the Administrator, the Option will terminate, and the remaining Shares covered by such Option will revert to the Plan.

 

 

8. Restricted Shares.

 

(a) Grant of Restricted Shares. Subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan, the Administrator, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Shares to Service Providers in such amounts as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine.

 

(b) Restricted Shares Agreement. Each Award of Restricted Shares will be evidenced by an Award Agreement that will specify the Period of Restriction, the number of Shares granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine. Unless the Administrator determines otherwise, Restricted Shares will be held by the Company as escrow agent until the restrictions on such Shares have lapsed.

 

(c) Transferability. Except as provided in this Section 8, Restricted Shares may not be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned, or otherwise alienated or hypothecated until the end of the applicable Period of Restriction.

 

(d) Other Restrictions. The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may impose such other restrictions on Restricted Shares as it may deem advisable or appropriate.

 

(e) Removal of Restrictions. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 8, Restricted Shares covered by each Award grant made under the Plan will be released from escrow as soon as practicable after the last day of the Period of Restriction. The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed.

 

(f) Voting Rights. During the Period of Restriction, Service Providers holding Restricted Shares granted hereunder may exercise full voting rights with respect to those Shares, unless the Administrator determines otherwise.

 

(g) Dividends and Other Distributions. During the Period of Restriction, Service Providers holding Restricted Shares will be entitled to receive all dividends and other distributions paid with respect to such Shares unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement. If any such dividends or distributions are paid in Shares, the Shares will be subject to the same restrictions on transferability and forfeitability as the Restricted Shares with respect to which they were paid.

 

(h) Return of Restricted Shares to Company. On the date set forth in the Award Agreement, the Restricted Shares for which restrictions have not lapsed will revert to the Company and again will become available for grant under the Plan.

 

9. Share Appreciation Rights.

 

(a) Grant of SARs. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, a SAR may be granted to Service Providers at any time and from time to time as will be determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion.

 

(b) Number of Shares. The Administrator will have complete discretion to determine the number of SARs granted to any Service Provider.

 

(c) Exercise Price and Other Terms. The Administrator, subject to the provisions of the Plan and the Applicable Laws, will have complete discretion to determine the terms and conditions of SARs granted under the Plan, except that the exercise price per Share subject to each SAR shall be no less than the par value per Share.

 

(d) Exercise of SARs. SARs will be exercisable on such terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine. The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may accelerate exercisability at any time.

 

(e) SAR Agreement. Each SAR grant will be evidenced by an Award Agreement that will specify the exercise price, the term of the SAR, the conditions of exercise, and such other terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine.

 

(f) Expiration of SARs. An SAR granted under the Plan will expire upon the date determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion, and set forth in the Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the rules of Sections 7(e)(ii), 7(e)(iii), and 7(e)(iv) also will apply to SARs.

 

 

(g) Payment of SAR Amount. Upon exercise of an SAR, a Participant will be entitled to receive payment from the Company in an amount determined by multiplying:

 

(i) The difference between the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise over the exercise price; and

 

(ii) The number of Shares with respect to which the SAR is exercised.

 

At the discretion of the Administrator, the payment upon SAR exercise may be in cash, in Shares of equivalent value, or in some combination thereof.

 

10. Performance Units and Performance Shares.

 

(a) Grant of Performance Units/Shares. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, Performance Units and Performance Shares may be granted to Service Providers at any time and from time to time, as will be determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion. The Administrator will have complete discretion in determining the number of Performance Units and Performance Shares granted to each Participant.

 

(b) Value of Performance Units/Shares. Each Performance Unit will have an initial value that is established by the Administrator on or before the date of grant. Each Performance Share and each underlying share to the Performance Unit will have an initial value equal to the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant.

 

(c) Performance Objectives and Other Terms. The Administrator will set performance objectives in its discretion which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Performance Units/Shares that will be paid out to the Participant. Each Award of Performance Units/Shares will be evidenced by an Award Agreement that will specify the Performance Period, and such other terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine. The Administrator may set performance objectives based upon the achievement of Company-wide, divisional, or individual goals (including solely continued service), applicable federal or state securities laws, or any other basis determined by the Administrator in its discretion; provided, however, that if the Award is a 162(m) Award, then the Award will be subject to achievement of Performance Goals with respect to a Performance Period established by the Committee and the Award shall be granted and administered in accordance with the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

(d) Earning of Performance Units/Shares. After the applicable Performance Period has ended, the holder of Performance Units/Shares will be entitled to receive a payout of the number of Performance Units/Shares earned by the Participant over the Performance Period, to be determined as a function of the extent to which the corresponding performance objectives have been achieved. After the grant of a Performance Unit/Share, the Administrator, in its sole discretion, may reduce or waive any performance objectives for such Performance Unit/Share unless such Award is a 162(m) Award.

 

(e) Form and Timing of Payment of Performance Units/Shares. Payment of earned Performance Units/Shares will be made after the expiration of the applicable Performance Period at the time determined by the Administrator. The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may pay earned Performance Units/Shares in the form of cash, in Shares (which have an aggregate Fair Market Value equal to the value of the earned Performance Units/Shares at the close of the applicable Performance Period and the issuance of which shall not be at a price per Share lower than the par value of such Share), or in a combination of cash and Shares.

 

(f) Cancellation of Performance Units/Shares. On the date set forth in the Award Agreement, all unearned or unvested Performance Units/Shares will be forfeited to the Company, and again will be available for grant under the Plan.

 

11. Restricted Share Units.

 

Restricted Share Units shall consist of a Restricted Share, Performance Share, or Performance Unit Award that the Administrator, in its sole discretion permits to be paid out in installments or on a deferred basis, in accordance with rules and procedures established by the Administrator.

 

 

12. Other Share-Based Awards.

 

Other Share-Based Awards may be granted either alone, in addition to, or in tandem with, other Awards granted under the Plan and/or cash awards made outside of the Plan. The Administrator shall have authority to determine the Service Providers to whom and the time or times at which Other Share-Based Awards shall be made, the amount of such Other Share-Based Awards, and all other conditions of the Other Share-Based Awards including any dividend and/or voting rights.

 

13. Leaves of Absence.

 

Unless the Administrator provides otherwise, vesting of Awards granted hereunder will be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence and will resume on the date the Participant returns to work on a regular schedule as determined by the Company; provided, however, that no vesting credit will be awarded for the time vesting has been suspended during such leave of absence. A Service Provider will not cease to be an Employee in the case of (i) any leave of absence approved by the Company or (ii) transfers between locations of the Company or between the Company, its Parent, or any Subsidiary. For purposes of Incentive Share Options, no leave of absence may exceed 90 days, unless reemployment upon expiration of such leave is guaranteed by statute or contract. If reemployment upon expiration of a leave of absence approved by the Company is not so guaranteed, then three months following the 91^st day of such leave any Incentive Share Option held by the Participant will cease to be treated as an Incentive Share Option and will be treated for tax purposes as a Non-statutory Share Option.

 

14. Non-Transferability of Awards.

 

Unless determined otherwise by the Administrator, an Award may not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred, or disposed of in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent or distribution and may be exercised, during the lifetime of the Participant, only by the Participant. If the Administrator makes an Award transferable, such Award will contain such additional terms and conditions as the Administrator deems appropriate.

 

15. Adjustments; Dissolution or Liquidation; Change in Control.

 

(a) Adjustments. In the event that equity restructuring (within the meaning of FASB ASC Topic 718) that causes the per share value of Shares to change, such as a share split, reverse share split, spin-off, combination, repurchase, or exchange of Shares or other securities of the Company, the Administrator shall make such adjustments as it deems equitable and appropriate to (i) the aggregate number and kind of Shares or other securities issued or reserved for issuance under the Plan, (ii) the number and kind of Shares or other securities subject to outstanding Awards, (iii) the exercise price of outstanding Options and SARs, and (iv) any maximum limitations prescribed by the Plan with respect to certain types of Awards or the grants to individuals of certain types of Awards. In the event of any other change in corporate capitalization, including a merger, consolidation, or reorganization, such equitable adjustments described in the foregoing sentence may be made as determined to be appropriate and equitable by the Administrator to prevent dilution or enlargement of rights of Participants. In either case, the Administrator shall adjust the number and class of Shares which may be delivered under the Plan, the number, class and price of Shares subject to outstanding Awards, and the numerical limits in Section 7(d). Notwithstanding the preceding, the number of Shares subject to any Award always shall be a whole number. Any such adjustment shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes of the Plan. No adjustment shall be made pursuant to this Section 15(a) in connection with the conversion of any convertible securities of the Company, or in a manner that would cause Incentive Share Options to violate Section 422(b) of the Code or cause an Award to be subject to adverse tax consequences under Code Section 409A.

 

(b) Dissolution or Liquidation. In the event of the proposed dissolution or liquidation of the Company, the Administrator will notify each Participant as soon as practicable prior to the effective date of such proposed transaction. The Administrator in its discretion may provide for a Participant to have the right to exercise his or her Award, to the extent applicable, until 10 days prior to such transaction as to all of the Awarded Shares covered thereby, including Shares as to which the Award would not otherwise be exercisable. In addition, the Administrator may provide that any Company repurchase option or forfeiture rights applicable to any Award shall lapse 100%, and that any Award vesting shall accelerate 100%, provided the proposed dissolution or liquidation takes place at the time and in the manner contemplated. To the extent it has not been previously exercised or vested, an Award will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed action.

 

 

(c) Change in Control.

 

(i) Share Options and SARs. In the event of a Change in Control, each outstanding Option and SAR shall be assumed or an equivalent option or SAR substituted by the successor corporation or a Parent or Subsidiary of the successor corporation. Unless determined otherwise by the Administrator, in the event that the successor corporation refuses to assume or substitute for the Option or SAR, the Participant shall fully vest in and have the right to exercise the Option or SAR as to all of the Awarded Shares, including Shares as to which it would not otherwise be vested or exercisable. If an Option or SAR is not assumed or substituted in the event of a Change in Control, the Administrator shall notify the Participant in writing or electronically that the Option or SAR shall be exercisable, to the extent vested, for a period of up to 15 days from the date of such notice, and the Option or SAR shall terminate upon the expiration of such period. For the purposes of this paragraph, the Option or SAR shall be considered assumed if, following the Change in Control, the option or SAR confers the right to purchase or receive, for each Share of Awarded Shares subject to the Option or SAR immediately prior to the Change in Control, the consideration (whether shares, cash, or other securities or property) received in the Change in Control by holders of Class A Ordinary Shares for each Share held on the effective date of the transaction (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares); provided, however, that if such consideration received in the Change in Control is not solely ordinary shares of the successor corporation or its Parent, the Administrator may, with the consent of the successor corporation, provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise of the Option or SAR, for each share of Awarded Shares subject to the Option or SAR, to be solely ordinary shares of the successor corporation or its Parent equal in Fair Market Value to the per share consideration received by holders of Class A Ordinary Shares in the Change in Control. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, an Award that vests, is earned, or is paid-out upon the satisfaction of one or more performance goals will not be considered assumed if the Company or its successor modifies any of such performance goals without the Participant’s consent; provided, however, a modification to such performance goals only to reflect the successor corporation’s post-Change in Control corporate structure will not be deemed to invalidate an otherwise valid Award assumption.

 

(ii) Restricted Shares, Performance Shares, Performance Units, Restricted Share Units, and Other Share-Based Awards. In the event of a Change in Control, each outstanding Award of Restricted Shares, Performance Share, Performance Unit, Other Share-Based Award and Restricted Share Unit shall be assumed or an equivalent Restricted Shares, Performance Share, Performance Unit, Other Share-Based Award, and Restricted Share Unit award substituted by the successor corporation or a Parent or Subsidiary of the successor corporation. Unless determined otherwise by the Administrator, in the event that the successor corporation refuses to assume or substitute for the Award, the Participant shall fully vest in the Award, including as to Shares/Units that would not otherwise be vested, all applicable restrictions will lapse, and all performance objectives and other vesting criteria will be deemed achieved at targeted levels. For the purposes of this paragraph, an Award of Restricted Shares, Performance Shares, Performance Units, Other Share-Based Awards and Restricted Share Units shall be considered assumed if, following the Change in Control, the award confers the right to purchase or receive, for each Share subject to the Award immediately prior to the Change in Control (and if a Restricted Share Unit or Performance Unit, for each Share as determined based on the then current value of the unit), the consideration (whether shares, cash, or other securities or property) received in the Change in Control by holders of Class A Ordinary Shares for each Share held on the effective date of the transaction (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares); provided, however, that if such consideration received in the Change in Control is not solely ordinary shares of the successor corporation or its Parent, the Administrator may, with the consent of the successor corporation, provide that the consideration to be received for each Share (and if a Restricted Share Unit or Performance Unit, for each Share as determined based on the then current value of the unit) be solely ordinary shares of the successor corporation or its Parent equal in fair market value to the per share consideration received by holders of Class A Ordinary Shares in the Change in Control. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, an Award that vests, is earned, or is paid-out upon the satisfaction of one or more performance goals will not be considered assumed if the Company or its successor modifies any of the performance goals without the Participant’s consent; provided, however, a modification to the performance goals only to reflect the successor corporation’s post-Change in Control corporate structure will not be deemed to invalidate an otherwise valid Award assumption.

 

 

(iii) Outside Director Awards. Notwithstanding any provision of Section 15(c)(i) or 15(c)(ii) to the contrary, with respect to Awards granted to an Outside Director that are assumed or substituted for, if on the date of or following the assumption or substitution the Participant’s status as a Director or a director of the successor corporation, as applicable, is terminated other than upon a voluntary resignation by the Participant, then the Participant shall fully vest in and have the right to exercise his or her Options and Share Appreciation Rights as to all of the Awarded Shares, including Shares as to which such Awards would not otherwise be vested or exercisable, all restrictions on Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units, as applicable, will lapse, and, with respect to Performance Shares, Performance Units, and Other Share-Based Awards, all performance goals and other vesting criteria will be deemed achieved at target levels and all other terms and conditions met.

 

(iv) Administrator Discretion. Notwithstanding any provision of Section 15(c)(i), 15(c)(ii), or 15(c)(iii) to the contrary, the Administrator (or in the case of 162(m) Awards, the Committee) may determine alternative treatment that shall apply to the Award in the event of a Change in Control by specifying such alternative treatment in the Award Agreement. In the event of such alternative treatment, the treatment specified in Sections 15(c)(i), 15(c)(ii), and 15(c)(iii), as applicable, shall not apply.

 

16. Effective Date, Duration, Amendment, and Termination of the Plan.

 

(a) Effective Date. The Plan shall become effective on the date it is approved by the Board. No Awards shall be made under the Plan prior to its effective date.

 

(b) Duration of the Plan. The Plan shall remain in effect until all Shares subject to it are distributed, all Awards have expired or terminated, the Plan is terminated pursuant to Section 16(c), or the 10th anniversary of the effective date of the Plan, whichever occurs first (the “Termination Date”). Any Awards that are outstanding on the Termination Date shall remain in force according to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Agreement.

 

(c) Amendment and Termination of the Plan. The Board may at any time terminate, suspend, or amend the Plan. The Company shall submit any amendment of the Plan to its shareholders for approval only to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or the rules of any securities exchange on which the Shares may then be listed. No termination, suspension, or amendment of the Plan may materially impair the rights of any Participant under a previously granted Award without the Participant’s consent, unless such action is necessary to comply with applicable law or stock exchange rules.

 

(d) Amendment of Awards. The Administrator may unilaterally amend the terms of any Agreement evidencing an Award previously granted, except that no such amendment may materially impair the rights of any Participant under the applicable Award without the Participant’s consent, unless such amendment is necessary to comply with applicable law or stock exchange rules or any compensation recovery policy as provided in Section 18(g). Notwithstanding the foregoing, no amendment, alteration, suspension, or termination of the Plan will impair the rights of any Participant, unless mutually agreed otherwise between the Participant and the Administrator, which agreement must be in writing and signed by the Participant and the Company. Termination of the Plan will not affect the Administrator’s ability to exercise the powers granted to it hereunder with respect to Awards granted under the Plan prior to the date of such termination.

 

17. Tax Withholding.

 

The Company or any Affiliate, as applicable, shall have the right to (i) withhold from any cash payment under the Plan or any other compensation owed to a Participant an amount sufficient to cover any required withholding taxes related to the grant, vesting, exercise or settlement of an Award, and (ii) require a Participant or other person receiving Shares under the Plan to pay a cash amount sufficient to cover any required withholding taxes before actual receipt of those Shares. In lieu of all or any part of a cash payment from a person receiving Shares under the Plan, the Committee may permit the Participant to satisfy all or any part of the required tax withholding obligations (but not to exceed the maximum individual statutory tax rate in each applicable jurisdiction) by authorizing the Company to withhold a number of the Shares that would otherwise be delivered to the Participant pursuant to the Award, or by transferring to the Company Shares already owned by the Participant, with the Shares so withheld or delivered having a Fair Market Value on the date the taxes are required to be withheld equal to the amount of taxes to be withheld.

 

 

18. Other Provisions.

 

(a) Legal Compliance. Shares will not be issued pursuant to the exercise of an Award unless the exercise of such Award and the issuance and delivery of such Shares will comply with Applicable Laws and will be further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such compliance.

 

(b) Investment Representations. As a condition to the exercise or receipt of an Award, the Company may require the person exercising or receiving such Award to represent and warrant at the time of any such exercise or receipt that the Shares are being purchased only for investment and without any present intention to sell or distribute such Shares if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such a representation is required.

 

(c) Severability. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Plan or an Award to the contrary, if any one or more of the provisions (or any part thereof) of this Plan or the Awards shall be held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, such provision shall be modified so as to make it valid, legal, and enforceable, and the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions (or any part thereof) of the Plan or Award, as applicable, shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

 

(d) Inability to Obtain Authority. The inability of the Company to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which authority is deemed by the Company’s counsel to be necessary to the lawful issuance and sale of any Shares hereunder, will relieve the Company of any liability in respect of the failure to issue or sell such Shares as to which such requisite authority will not have been obtained.

 

(e) Governing Law. The Plan and all actions taken thereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands (Company’s home country), without reference to the principles of conflict of laws thereof. Any titles and headings herein are for reference purposes only, and shall in no way limit, define or otherwise affect the meaning, construction or interpretation of any provisions of the Plan.

 

(f) Forfeiture and Compensation Recovery.

 

(i) The Administrator may specify in an Agreement that the Participant’s rights, payments, and benefits with respect to an Award will be subject to reduction, cancellation, forfeiture, or recovery by the Company upon the occurrence of certain specified events, in addition to any otherwise applicable vesting or performance conditions of an Award. Such events may include termination of Service for Cause; violation of any material Company or Affiliate policy; breach of non-competition, non-solicitation, or confidentiality provisions that apply to the Participant; a determination that the payment of the Award was based on an incorrect determination that financial or other criteria were met; or other conduct by the Participant that is detrimental to the business or reputation of the Company or its Affiliates.

 

(ii) Awards and any compensation associated therewith are subject to forfeiture, recovery by the Company, or other action pursuant to any compensation recovery policy adopted by the Board or the Committee at any time, as amended from time to time, which includes but is not limited to any compensation recovery policy adopted by the Board or the Committee including in response to the requirements of Section 10D of the Exchange Act, the SEC’s final rules thereunder (Listing Standards for Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation, 87 Fed. Reg. 73076-73142), and any applicable listing rules or other rules and regulations implementing the foregoing or as otherwise required by law. Any Agreement will be unilaterally amended to comply with any such compensation recovery policy.

 

(g) Foreign Currency. A Participant may be required to provide evidence that any currency used to pay the exercise or purchase price of any Award was acquired and taken out of the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides in accordance with Applicable Laws, including foreign exchange control laws and regulations. In the event the Company permits payment of the exercise or purchase price for an Award in currency other than as provided by the applicable Award Agreement, the amount payable will be determined by conversion from the currency provided by the applicable Award Agreement to the other currency based on the exchange rate selected by the Company, in its sole discretion, on the date of exercise. Notwithstanding anything stated herein, the Company shall not be responsible for any fluctuation in applicable exchange rates, or by the selection of any exchange rate, that in either case may affect the value of the Award or any taxes or other amounts related thereto.

 

*****

 

 

17

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated February 15, 2024, relating to the consolidated financial statements of Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd and subsidiaries (the “Company”), appearing in the Annual Report on Form 20-F of the Company for the year ended September 30, 2023.

  

/s/ Assentsure PAC

 

Singapore

December 10, 2024

  

 

Exhibit 23.3

 

 

福建省福州市台江区望龙二路1号国际金融中心（IFC）37层（350005）

 

电话：+86-591-87850803 传真：+86-591-87816904

 

37/F, IFC, No.1, Wanglong 2nd Avenue, Taijiang District, Fuzhou, Fujian 350005 P.R.China

 

Tel：+86-591-87850803       Fax：+86-591-87816904

 

www.allbrightlaw.com

  

December 10, 2024

 

To: Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd

Fourth Floor, Harbour Place,

103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 10240,

Grand Cayman KY1-1002,

Cayman Islands.

  

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

We hereby consent to the references to our firm’s name under the headings “Prospectus Summary”, “Risk Factors” and “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities” in Form S-8, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on the date hereof. We also consent to the filing of this consent letter with the SEC as an exhibit to the Form S-8.

 

In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, or under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in each case, as amended, or the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

Yours sincerely,
/s/ Zhang Biwang
Zhang Biwang
Partner Lawyer
/s/ AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou)
AllBright Law Offices (Fuzhou)

 

Exhibit 107

 

Filing Fee Table

 

S-8

(Form Type)

 

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

Table 1: Newly Registered Securities

 

		Security Type		Security Class Title		Fee Calculation Rule		Amount Registered  (1)				Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit (2)				Maximum Aggregate Offering Price				Fee Rate				Amount of Registration Fee
Fees To Be Paid		Equity		Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.005 per share (2)		Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h)			5,000,000			$	1.705			$	8,525,000				0.00015310			$	1,305.18
		Total Offering Amounts														$	8,525,000							$	1,305.18
		Total Fees Previously Paid																							0
		Total Fee Offset																							0
		Net Fee Due																						$	1,305.18

 

(1)

This registration statement on Form S-8 (this “Registration Statement”) registers Class A Ordinary Shares, par value of US$0.005 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), of Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. (the “Registrant”) issuable pursuant to the Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. December 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (the “December 2024 Plan”). In accordance with Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement also covers an indeterminate number of additional securities which may be offered and issued under the December 2024 Plan to prevent dilution from share splits, share dividends, or similar transactions as provided in the December 2024 Plan.

(2)

Estimated for the sole purpose of computing the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act. The price per share and aggregate offering price are based on the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant’s Class A Ordinary Shares on December 6, 2024, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market.