Yuanbao, Inc. Unsponsored ADR (YB) Risk Analysis

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement. If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us or the depositary, lead to increased costs to bring a claim, limited access to information and other imbalances of resources between such holder and us, or limit such holder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that such holder finds favorable. If a lawsuit is brought against us or 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 had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action. Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation, or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs shall relieve us or the depositary from our respective obligations to comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act nor serve as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs of compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

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

Because we are a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including: - the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC;- the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; and - the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD. We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis through press releases, distributed pursuant to the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information, which would be made available to you, were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

Our 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. For example, our board of directors has the authority, subject to any resolution of the shareholders to the contrary, 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 Class A ordinary shares, in the form of ADS or otherwise. 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 the ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may be materially and adversely affected. However, under Cayman Islands law, our board of directors may only exercise the rights and powers granted to them under our memorandum and articles of association for a proper purpose and for what they believe in good faith to be in the best interest of our company.

Our founder, Mr. Rui Fang, beneficially owns 38.6% of our ordinary shares issued and outstanding, representing 90.6% of our total voting power. As a result, we are a "controlled company" as defined under the Nasdaq corporate governance rules because Mr. Rui Fang owns more than 50% of our total voting power. For so long as we remain a controlled company, we may rely on certain exemptions from the corporate governance rules, including the rule that we have to establish a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors. As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements. Even if we cease to be a controlled company, we may still rely on exemptions available to foreign private issuers, including being able to adopt home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters. See "-As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with such corporate governance listing standards."

Our founder, Mr. Rui Fang, beneficially owns 38.6% of our ordinary shares issued and outstanding, representing 90.6% of our total voting power. Mr. Rui Fang has more than 50% of our total voting power and considerable power to control over actions that require shareholder approval under Cayman Islands law, such as amendment of our memorandum and articles of association, liquidation, increase or subdivision of share capital, or change of name and approval of major corporate transactions, such as a Cayman Islands statutory merger or consolidation. This control potentially limits your ability to influence corporate matters and may prevent transactions that would be beneficial to you, including discouraging others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions, which could have the effect of depriving the holders of our Class A ordinary shares and the ADSs of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over the prevailing market price.

Our authorized share capital is divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Holders of Class A ordinary shares will be entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to 20 votes per share. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. As a result of the dual-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, holders of Class B ordinary shares will have considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets and businesses, appointment of directors and other significant corporate actions. Such holders may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of our ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

Certain shareholder advisory firms have announced changes to 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. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our ordinary shares may prevent the inclusion of the ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares in such indices and may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for the ADSs. Any actions or publications by shareholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of the ADSs.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with no business operations, and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. All of our current operations are conducted in Chinese mainland through our mainland subsidiary and the VIE. We and our shareholders do not and are not legally permitted to have any equity interests in the VIE as current laws and regulations of Chinese mainland restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in certain services. As a result, we operate businesses in Chinese mainland through certain contractual arrangements with the VIE. Investors in the ADSs are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity securities of our subsidiaries and the VIE. In addition, most of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, you may be unable to rely on the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China to enforce a judgment against us, our assets, our directors and officers or their assets.

We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies, including, but not limited to: - not being required to engage an auditor to report on our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;- not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor's report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis);- not being required to submit certain executive compensation matters to stockholder advisory votes, such as "say-on-pay," "say-on-frequency," and "say-on-golden-parachutes"; and - not being required to disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the chief executive officer's compensation to median employee compensation. In addition, the JOBS Act permits emerging growth companies to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards until the earlier of the date we (1) are no longer an emerging growth company or (2) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, our consolidated financial statements and the reported results of operations contained therein may not be directly comparable to those of other public companies. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors do find the ADSs less attractive, there may be a less active trading market for the ADSs and the price of the ADSs may be reduced or more volatile. We will remain an emerging growth company, and will be able to take advantage of the foregoing exemptions, until the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering or such earlier time that we otherwise cease to be an emerging growth company, which will occur upon the earliest of (1) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue is US$1.235 billion or more; (2) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities; and (3) the date that we become a "large accelerated filer" as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act.

As a Cayman Islands company listed on the Nasdaq, we are subject to the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards. However, Nasdaq 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 corporate governance listing standards. For example, we currently plan to follow our home country practice that: (i) does not require us to have the majority of our board of directors composed of independent directors, (ii) does not require that director nominees be either selected or recommended by independent directors, (iii) does not require us to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors, and (iv) does not require the independent directors must have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent director are present. If we choose to follow home country practices in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they would otherwise enjoy under the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

We and the depositary are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADSs holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADSs holders. We and the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment are disadvantageous to ADSs holders, ADSs holders will only receive 30 days' advance notice of the amendment, and no prior consent of the ADSs holders is required under the deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when we decide to list our shares on a non-U.S. securities exchange and determine not to continue to sponsor an ADS facility or when we become the subject of a takeover or a going-private transaction. If the ADS facility will terminate, ADSs holders will receive at least 30 days' prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that is disadvantageous to ADSs holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADSs holders may choose to sell their ADSs or surrender their ADSs and become direct holders of the underlying ordinary shares, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as our shareholders. As a holder of our ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to cast any votes at such meetings. As an ADS holder, you will only be able to exercise the voting rights carried by the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by your ADSs indirectly, by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try, as far as is practicable, to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs in accordance with your instructions. If we ask for your instructions, then upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with these instructions (pursuant to, and in accordance with, the terms set forth in the deposit agreement). If we do not instruct the depositary to ask for your instructions, the depositary may still vote in accordance with instructions you give, but it is not required to do so. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares unless you withdraw the Class A ordinary shares and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required to be given by our company to our registered shareholders to convene a general meeting will be ten calendar days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice of the meeting to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares to allow you to attend the general meeting and to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. In addition, under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs and becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We have agreed to give the depositary notice of shareholder meetings sufficiently in advance of such meetings. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are voted, and you may have no legal remedy if the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders' meeting. Except in limited circumstances, the depositary for our ADSs may give us a discretionary proxy to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs if you do not vote at shareholders' meetings, which could adversely affect your interests.

The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile and could fluctuate widely in response to factors beyond our control, including general market conditions of the securities markets in Chinese mainland, the United States and elsewhere in the world. In particular, the performances of and fluctuations in the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in Chinese mainland that have listed their securities in the U.S. may affect the volatilities in the price and trading volumes of our ADSs. The securities of some Chinese mainland-based companies that have listed their securities in the United States have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings in recent years, including, in some cases, substantial declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of these companies' securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies listed in the United States in general, which consequently may impact the trading performance of the ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or other matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have engaged in any inappropriate activities. In particular, the global financial crisis, the ensuing economic recessions and deterioration in the credit market in many countries have contributed and may continue to contribute to extreme volatility in the global stock markets. In addition to market and industry factors, the prices and trading volume for our securities may be highly volatile for factors specific to our operation, including the following: - actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating results and variations in our results of operations that are not in line with market or research analyst expectations or changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;- conditions in the insurance distribution industries;- announcements of studies and reports relating to the quality of our product and service offerings or those of our competitors;- changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other insurance distribution companies or other companies that primarily operate in China;- changes in major business terms between our ecosystem participants and us;- announcements made by us or our competitors of investments, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures, or capital commitments;- press and other reports, whether or not true, about our business, our directors, senior management, or other key employees, including negative reports published by short sellers, regardless of their veracity or materiality to us;- litigation and regulatory allegations, inspections, investigations, proceedings, penalties, suspensions or enforcements that involve us, our directors, our ecosystem participants, or any third-party service providers that we engage;- additions to or departures of our management;- sales or perceived potential sales or other dispositions of existing or additional shares and/or ADSs;- any actual or alleged illegal acts of our directors, senior management, or other key employees;- regulatory developments affecting us or our industry, insurance carriers, and other ecosystem participants; and - market and volume fluctuations in the stock market in general. Moreover, there have been recent instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines and strong stock price volatility with a number of recent public offerings, particularly among companies with relatively smaller public floats. As we expect to have a relatively small public float after the completion of our initial public offering, we may experience greater stock price volatility, including aggressive price run-ups and declines, lower trading volume and less liquidity, compared with companies with larger public floats. In particular, the ADSs may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility, low volumes of trades and large spreads in bid and ask prices. Such volatility, including any stock run-up, may be unrelated to actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, and industry, market or economic factors, which makes it difficult for prospective investors to assess such rapidly changing value of the ADSs. In addition, if the trading volumes of the ADSs are low, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence prices of the ADSs. This low volume of trades could also cause the price of the ADSs to fluctuate significantly, with large percentage changes in price occurring in any trading day session. Holders of the ADSs may also not be able to readily liquidate their investment or may be forced to sell at depressed prices due to such low-volume trading. As a result of such volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in the ADSs. Such volatility also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional ADSs or other securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future, as well as our ability to retain key employees. Furthermore, the potential extreme volatility may confuse the public investors' judgments of the value of the ADSs, distort the market perception of the price of the ADSs, and our financial performance and public image, and negatively affect the long-term liquidity of the ADSs, regardless of actual or expected operating performance. In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against 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 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, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We adopted our 2020 Share Option Plan for the purpose of granting share-based compensation awards to employees, directors and consultants to incentivize their performance and align their interests with ours. In September 2024, we adopted the 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (the "2024 Plan") for the same purpose. We recognize expenses in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Under our 2020 Share Option Plan and 2024 Equity Incentive Plan, we are authorized to grant options and other types of awards as determined by the plan administrator. We believe the granting of share-based compensation is important to attracting and retaining key personnel and employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future. As a result, any such issuances of additional shares underlying the incentive awards may cause shareholders to experience dilution of their ownership interests, and our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

If the VIE or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may incur substantial costs and expend substantial resources to enforce our rights. These contractual arrangements are governed by and interpreted in accordance with laws of Chinese mainland, and disputes arising from these contractual arrangements will be resolved through arbitration in Chinese mainland. However, it may be difficult to predict the outcome of arbitration proceedings. There are limited precedents as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under laws of Chinese mainland. The ultimate outcome of arbitration may be unpredictable should legal action become necessary. In addition, the arbitration may not grant such injunctive relief or order the winding-up of the VIE pursuant to current laws of Chinese mainland, and that interim remedies or enforcement orders granted by overseas courts such as those of the U.S. and the Cayman Islands may not be recognizable in other countries including China or enforceable under the local laws. These uncertainties could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In addition, arbitration awards are final and can only be enforced in Chinese mainland courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which could cause additional expenses and delays. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements or we experience significant delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may lose the rights to direct the activities of the VIE or the right to receive its economic benefits that may be significant to the VIE. As a result, we may be unable to consolidate the financial results of such entities in our consolidated financial statements, our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected, and our operations could be severely disrupted, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The shareholders of the VIE may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us. These shareholders may breach, or cause the VIE to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and the VIE, which would have a material adverse effect on our contractual rights over the VIE and receive economic benefits from them. For instance, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with the VIE to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise any shareholder will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the exclusive option agreement with the shareholder to purchase equity interests in the VIE, to the extent permitted under the law of Chinese mainland. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and these shareholders, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainties as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.