NaaS Technology (NAAS) Risk Analysis

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our ordinary shares provides that, subject to the depositary's right to require a claim to be submitted to arbitration, the federal or state courts in the City of New York have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine claims arising under the deposit agreement and in that regard, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, our ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, we believe that a pre-dispute contractual waiver of jury trial is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or a state court in New York County, New York. In determining whether to enforce a pre-dispute contractual waiver of jury trial, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and our ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement. If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or our ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against either or both of us and the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiffs in any such action. Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not enforced, to the extent a court action proceeds, it would proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs shall relieve us or the depositary from our respective obligations to comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.

Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association contain provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of our ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares and our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

We cannot predict whether our multi-class share structure with different voting rights will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our ADSs, adverse publicity, or other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multi-class share structures in certain of their indices. For example, S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have changed their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. As a result, our multi-class voting structure may prevent the inclusion of the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares in such indices, which could adversely affect the trading price and liquidity of the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structure and our multi-class structure may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance, in which case the market price and liquidity of our ADSs could be adversely affected.

We qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, and exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including: - the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;- the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;- the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and - the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD promulgated by SEC. We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC are less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

As a Cayman Islands company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, we are subject to the Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards, which requires listed companies to have, among other things, a majority of their board members to be independent and independent director oversight of executive compensation and nomination of directors. However, Nasdaq Stock Market rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards. We are permitted to elect to rely on home country practice to be exempted from the corporate governance requirements. If we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they would otherwise enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards.

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

Most of our operations and records, and most of our senior management are located in China. Shareholders of companies such as us have limited ability to assert and collect on claims in litigation against our PRC subsidiaries and their principals. In addition, China has very restrictive secrecy laws that prohibit the delivery of many of the financial records maintained by a business located in China to third parties absent PRC government's approval. Since discovery is an important part of proving a claim in litigation, and since most if not all of our records will be in China, PRC secrecy laws could frustrate efforts to prove a claim against us or our management. In addition, in order to commence litigation in the United States against an individual such as an officer or director, that individual must be served. Generally, service requires the cooperation of the country in which a defendant resides. China has a history of failing to cooperate in efforts to affect such service upon PRC citizens in China.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with limited liability. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association as may be amended form time to time, the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against us and our directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the English common law, which are generally of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws than the United States, and provide significantly less protection to investors. In addition, with respect to Cayman Islands companies, plaintiffs may face special obstacles, including but not limited to those relating to jurisdiction and standing, in attempting to assert derivative claims in state or federal courts of the United States There is no statutory recognition 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 non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits. Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than our memorandum and articles of association, the register of mortgages and charges, and copies of any special resolutions passed by our shareholders) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder resolution or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the U.S. If we choose to follow our home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have greater difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by our management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States.

The initial exercise price for the 2025 Warrants is US$2.2 per ADS, and the initial exercise price for the 2026 Warrant is US$0.0006875 per Class A ordinary share. There can be no assurance that such warrants will be in the money following the time they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, and as such, these warrants may expire worthless.

Sales of our ordinary shares or ADSs, either in the public market or through private placement, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. It cannot be predicted what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of our ADSs.

As of the date of this annual report, 4,800,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of the Company are issuable upon exercise of the 2026 Warrants and 468,750 ADSs are issuable upon exercise of the 2025 Warrants. In accordance with a deed of settlement dated June 4, 2025 ("Settlement Deed") and entered into by and among the Company, LMR and certain other parties, the Company agreed to issue LMR a warrant exercisable at any time up to the 10th anniversary of the effective date of the Settlement Deed, entitling LMR to acquire up to 10% of the Company's issued share capital if its market capitalization reaches US$90 million, as calculated in accordance with the terms of the Deed ("LMR Warrant"). The warrants provide for a fluctuating conversion price, which is subject to anti-dilution adjustments (including for certain offerings of our ADSs and ordinary shares) and certain floor price. The exercise of the 2025 Warrants, the 2026 Warrant and the LMR Warrant will dilute the ownership interests of our shareholders and holders of our ADSs, and the lower the prevailing price of our ADSs is at the time of the relevant exercise or conversion, the larger dilution would result from such conversion. Furthermore, any sales in the public market of such additional ADSs issuable upon exercise of the 2025 Warrants, the 2026 Warrant and the LMR Warrant may create a downward pressure on the market price of our ADSs and/or may increase the opportunities to create short positions with respect to the ADSs, which could in turn further adversely affect the prevailing market price of our ADSs. In addition, the existence of the 2025 Warrants, the 2026 Warrant and the LMR Warrant, in itself, may encourage short selling by market participants because their exercise or conversion could trigger the market dynamic that would depress the price of our ADSs. We may also need additional capital in the future to finance our operations. We may sell ordinary shares, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. Furthermore, we may issue additional ADSs and ordinary shares in connection with the grant of equity awards to employees under our equity incentive plans. Any such issuance of additional share capital may cause shareholders to experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the value of our securities to decline.

The trading price of our ADSs has fluctuated significantly and will continue to be volatile and could fluctuate widely. Many factors that are beyond our control may materially adversely affect the market price and marketability of our ADSs and our ability to raise capital through equity financings. These factors include the following: - regulatory developments affecting us or our industries;- variations in our revenues, earnings, cash flow and data related to our operations;- changes in market condition, market potential and competitive landscape;- announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors;- fluctuations in global and Chinese economies;- changes in financial estimates by securities analysts;- adverse publicity about us or our industries;- additions or departures of key personnel and senior management;- release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities; and - potential litigation or regulatory investigations. In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management's attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, it may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our authorized and issued ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares, Class C ordinary shares and Class D ordinary shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of our shareholders, holders of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares vote together as one class, and holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share while holders of Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares are entitled to ten votes per share and two votes per share, respectively. Each Class B ordinary share and each Class C ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary shares at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary share or Class C ordinary shares under any circumstances. Holders of Class D ordinary shares are entitled to five hundred votes per share. Class D ordinary shares are not convertible into any other class of share issued by the Company, nor into any ADSs representing the Company's Class A ordinary shares. Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association prohibits any Class B ordinary shares held by NewLink from being disposed of or otherwise transferred to any person other than to Mr. Zhen Dai and persons affiliated with him. Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association also requires any Class B ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares to be automatically converted into Class A ordinary shares upon a transfer of such Class B ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares to any person other than to Mr. Zhen Dai and persons affiliated with him. As of the date of this annual report, NewLink beneficially owns 11,915,840,000 Class A ordinary shares, 195,969,844 Class B ordinary shares, 1,111,577,928 Class C ordinary shares and 16,000,000 Class D ordinary shares, held directly by NewLink or indirectly through Newlinks Envision Limited and Newlink Linkage Limited, which collectively account for an aggregate of 48.8% of the voting power represented by all our issued and outstanding shares.

On February 17, 2026, we received a deficiency letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff of Nasdaq notifying the Company that it is currently not in compliance with the minimum market value of listing securities (the "MVLS") of US$35 million for continued listing of the Company's Class A ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (the "MLVS Requirement"). Nasdaq calculates the MVLS based upon the most recent total shares outstanding multiplied by the closing bid price. The MVLS Notice indicated that the Company has 180 days, or until August 17, 2026 (the "Compliance Deadline"), to regain compliance with the MLVS Requirement by having its MVLS close at US$35 million or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days. If at any time prior to August 17, 2026, the Company's MVLS closes at US$35 million or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, Nasdaq will provide a written confirmation of compliance and the matter regarding the Company's MLVS will be closed. Receipt of the MVLS Notice does not result in the immediate delisting of the Company's Class A ordinary shares and has no immediate effect on the listing or the trading of the Company's Class A ordinary shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol "NAAS." The MVLS Notice will not have any immediate effect on the listing of the Company's ADSs, which continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "NAAS". The Company intends to monitor its market value of publicly held shares between now and August 17, 2026 and intends to cure the deficiency within the prescribed grace period. During this time, the Company expects that its ADSs will continue to be listed and traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market. If the Company does not regain compliance by the Compliance Deadline, the Company will receive further written notification from Nasdaq that its securities are subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may qualify for additional time or appeal the delisting determination to a hearings panel. We may fail to regain compliance with the MLVS Requirement during the compliance period or maintain compliance with the other Nasdaq listing requirements. Any non-compliance may be costly, divert management's time and attention, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financing, and results of operation. A delisting could substantially decrease trading in the ADSs, adversely affect the market liquidity of the ADSs as a result of the loss of market efficiencies associated with Nasdaq and the loss of federal preemption of state securities laws, materially adversely affect its ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms, if at all, and may result in the potential loss of confidence by investors, suppliers, customers and employees and fewer business development opportunities. Additionally, the market price of the ADSs may decline further and shareholders may lose some or all of their investment.

NaaS Technology Inc. is not an operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company and our operations are primarily conducted through our PRC subsidiaries. PRC regulatory authorities could disallow this holding company structure. We do not have any VIE and we conduct our operations in China through our subsidiaries . If in the future we were to amend our operating structure to use any VIE for our operations in China, the PRC government could disallow this structure or find the contractual arrangement that we may adopt to establish a VIE structure to be non-compliant with PRC regulations relating to the relevant industries and as a result we could be subject to severe penalties. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules relating to a VIE structure and it is uncertain whether any new PRC laws or regulations in this respect will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a consolidated variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law. If our current holding company structure is disallowed by PRC regulatory authorities or if we were to adopt a VIE structure in the future and if we or any VIE that we may establish were to be found in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, PRC governmental authorities would have broad discretion to take action in dealing with such violations or failures, including: - revoking lacing restrictions or onerous conditions on the operations of the relevant entities;- placing restrictions on the right to collect revenues of the relevant entities;- shutting down the servers or blocking the app/websites of the relevant entities; or - requiring the relevant entity to restructure its ownership structure or operations. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations, severely damage our reputation, and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, which, in turn, would likely result in a material change in our operations and in the value of our securities and could cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or become worthless. In addition, if we were to adopt a VIE structure for our operations in China in the future, we will have to rely on contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders for the conduct of such operations. These contractual arrangements, however, may not be as effective as direct ownership in the VIE. If we were to have direct ownership of the VIE, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of the VIE, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. On the other hand, under contractual arrangements, we will have to rely on the performance by the VIE and its shareholders of their contractual obligations in order to exercise control over the VIE. The VIE and its shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct the operations of the VIE in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests. To the extent there will be any dispute relating to these contracts, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements through the operations of PRC law and arbitration, litigation and other legal proceedings and therefore will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and contractual remedies, which we cannot assure you will be sufficient or effective under PRC law.

Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. The auditor is located in mainland China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB was historically unable to conduct inspections and investigations completely before 2022. As a result, we and investors in our ADSs were deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in mainland China in the past has made it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm's audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong, and we use an accounting firm headquartered in one of these jurisdictions to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, we and investors in our ADSs would be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections again, which could cause investors and potential investors in our ADSs to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

Until investors acquire our ADSs and underlying ordinary shares upon exercise of the 2025 Warrants and the ordinary shares upon exercise of our 2026 Warrant, they will have no rights with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares. Upon exercise of the 2025 Warrants, holders will be entitled to exercise the rights of a holder of our ADSs only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date. Upon exercise of the 2026 Warrant, holders will be entitled to exercise the rights of a holder of our ordinary shares only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.