As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 18, 2017

Registration No. 333-            

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Qudian Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Cayman Islands	6199	Not Applicable
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

15/F Lvge Industrial Building

1 Datun

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012

People’s Republic of China

+86-10-59485220

(Address and Telephone Number of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc.

400 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor

New York, NY 10017, United States

+1-212-750-6474

(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)

Copies to:

Chris K.H. Lin, Esq. Daniel Fertig, Esq. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 35th Floor, ICBC Tower 3 Garden Road Central, Hong Kong +852-2514-7600 David Zhang, Esq. Benjamin Su, Esq. Steve Lin, Esq. Kirkland & Ellis International LLP c/o 26th Floor, Gloucester Tower The Landmark 5 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong +852-3761-3300

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:

As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.    ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    ☒

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.    ☒

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered(1)	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(2)(3)	Amount of Registration Fee
Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share	US$750,000,000	US$86,925

(1) American depositary shares, or ADSs, issuable upon deposit of the Class A ordinary shares registered hereby will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (Registration No. 333-            ). Each ADS represents                 Class A ordinary shares.

(2) Includes (a)                 Class A ordinary shares represented by                ADSs that may be purchased by the underwriters pursuant to their over-allotment option and (b) all Class A ordinary shares represented by ADSs initially offered and sold outside the United States that may be resold from time to time in the United States either as part of the distribution or within 40 days after the later of the effective date of this registration statement and the date the securities are first bona fide offered to the public.

(3) Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion. Dated                     , 2017.

American Depositary Shares

Qudian Inc.

Representing                Class A Ordinary Shares

This is an initial public offering of shares of American depositary shares, or ADSs, each representing                  Class A ordinary shares of Qudian Inc., or Qudian.

Qudian is offering                ADSs to be sold in this offering.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the ADSs or our shares. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per ADS will be between US$                and US$                . We will apply to list the ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “QD.”

We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable United States federal securities laws and are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements.

See “Risk Factors” on page 22 to read about factors you should consider before buying the ADSs.

Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

	Per share	Total
Initial public offering price	US$	US$
Underwriting discounts and commissions	US$	US$
Proceeds, before expenses, to us	US$	US$

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than                ADSs, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an aggregate of                 additional ADSs from Qudian at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment in New York, New York on                , 2017.

Upon the completion of this offering,                  Class A ordinary shares and 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares will be issued and outstanding. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class A ordinary share will be entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share will be entitled to ten votes and will be convertible into one Class A ordinary share. Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, will beneficially own all the Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, representing         % of our aggregate voting power.

MORGAN STANLEY CREDIT SUISSE CITIGROUP CICC UBS INVESTMENT BANK

STIFEL NEEDHAM & COMPANY

Prospectus dated                      , 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Summary	1
The Offering	14
Summary Consolidated Financial and Operating Data	17
Risk Factors	22
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Industry Data	77
Use of Proceeds	78
Dividend Policy	79
Capitalization	80
Dilution	81
Exchange Rate Information	83
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities	84
Our History and Corporate Structure	86
Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data	94
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	99
Industry Overview	147
Business	151
Regulations	184
Management	200
Principal Shareholders	209
Related Party Transactions	213
Description of Share Capital	215
Description of American Depositary Shares	228
Shares Eligible for Future Sale	238
Taxation	240
Underwriting	247
Expenses Related to this Offering	257
Legal Matters	258
Experts	258
Where You Can Find More Information	259
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements	F-1

No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent as to anything not contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell, and we are seeking offers to buy, only the ADSs offered hereby, and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the ADSs.

Neither we nor the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or the possession or distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where other action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the ADSs and the distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus outside of the United States.

Until            , 2017 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade ADSs, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

i

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information contained in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our ADSs. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, including “Risk Factors” and the financial statements, before making an investment decision. This prospectus contains information from an industry report commissioned by us and prepared by Oliver Wyman Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, or Oliver Wyman, an independent management consulting firm, to provide information regarding our industry and our market position in China. We refer to this report as the Oliver Wyman Report.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to use technology to make personalized credit accessible.

OVERVIEW

As a provider of online credit products, we use big data-enabled technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to transform the consumer finance experience in China. We target hundreds of millions of quality, unserved or underserved consumers in China. They are young, mobile-active consumers who need access to small credit for their discretionary spending but are underserved by traditional financial institutions due to their lack of traditional credit data and the operational inefficiency of traditional financial institutions. We believe our operating efficiency and big data analytics capability to understand our prospective borrowers from different behavioral and transactional perspectives, assess their credit profiles and offer them instantaneous and affordable credit products with customized terms distinguishes our business and offerings.

We currently offer cash credit products, which provide funds in digital form, and merchandise credit products. We mainly generate financing income from cash credit products and both financing income and sales commission fees from merchandise credit products.

We are the largest online provider of small cash credit products in China in terms of the number of active borrowers and the amount of transactions in the six months ended June 30, 2017, according to the Oliver Wyman Report. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, we facilitated approximately RMB38.2 billion (US$5.6 billion) in transactions to 7.0 million active borrowers. Small credit products serve consumers’ immediate needs for discretionary consumption. They typically have short durations, enabling us to quickly understand a borrower’s behavior and further refine our data analytics and credit assessment model upon the completion of transaction cycles. On average, an active borrower drew down credit approximately six times in the six months ended June 30, 2017. As of June 30, 2017, borrowers with outstanding credit drawdowns utilized approximately 51.3% of their credit limits on average. We believe borrowers who did not utilize the maximum amounts available for drawdowns under their respective credit limits tend to be those who utilize credit responsibly.

We operate a pure online platform, with nearly all of the transactions facilitated through mobile devices, providing consumers with a convenient experience. Prospective borrowers can apply for credit on their mobile phones and receive approval within a few seconds. Approved borrowers are then able to draw down on their cash credit with cash disbursed immediately into their Alipay accounts in digital form. Borrowers also repay the credit drawdowns through their Alipay accounts. To complement our cash credit products, we offer merchandise credit products to finance borrowers’ direct purchase of merchandise offered on our marketplace on installment basis. Through collaborating with more than 480 merchandise suppliers, we offer an expanding range of product categories ranging from consumer electronics products to watches and sports and outdoor products to capture approved borrowers’ growing consumption demand and enhance their online shopping experience.

1

We aggregate our borrowers’ behavioral data with data and credit analyses from various partners as inputs for our credit assessment model. As an innovator in the application of artificial intelligence to financial services, we utilize machine learning to accurately assess borrowers’ credit profiles. We focus on data analyses that not only reflect borrowers’ ability to repay but also their willingness to do so. These analyses are based on the prospective borrowers’ social and shopping behavioral data, among others, in addition to the characteristic metrics such as locations and demographics. We have increased the number of variables analyzed by our credit assessment system from a few to several hundred for each transaction, and we assign each borrower a personalized credit limit based on his or her credit profile. As borrowers repay, they build credit histories with us. Based on the credit histories, our artificial intelligence-based credit assessment model enables us to continually re-evaluate borrowers’ credit profiles and provide more personalized credit limits. We offer borrowers with stronger credit profiles higher credit limits and longer repayment durations, thereby driving higher engagement with them.

We offer small-sized cash credit products and merchandise credit products. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, our cash credit products had an average size of approximately RMB920 (US$136) and weighted average term of approximately two months, and our merchandise credit products had an average size of approximately RMB1,250 (US$184) and weighted average term of approximately eight months. Small credit products enjoy favorable risk characteristics compared to larger credit products. A borrower is more likely to repay a smaller amount timely to maintain the quality of his or her credit profile, which may impact future borrowing activities. Benefits to fraudulent borrowers are also limited given the small amount of money borrowed. The short-term nature of our credit products contributes to frequent repayments and repeat borrowing activities, which drive the volume and comprehensiveness of the data we collect and analyze. During the three months ended June 30, 2017, we processed an average of 9,521 credit drawdowns and 21,482 repayments per hour. Our machine learning-based approach enables us to continuously refine our credit assessment model based on insights from the high volume of transaction data that we collect.

We have experienced robust credit performance. Our M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage for transactions in 2016 and the first quarter in 2017 has remained at a level of 0.5% or less up to June 30, 2017. M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage is defined as the total balance of outstanding principal of a vintage for which any installment payment is over 30 calendar days past due as of a particular date (adjusted to reflect total amount of recovered past due payments for principal and without taking into account charge-offs), divided by the total initial principal in such vintage.

We have established a strategic partnership with Ant Financial, one of our principal shareholders, and have in-depth cooperation in multiple areas of our business. Alipay, operated by Ant Financial, is a leading online and mobile third-party payment service provider in China. We engage the majority of our active borrowers through the Alipay consumer interface, which has significantly contributed to our rapid growth. We also collaborate with Zhima Credit, a credit assessment service provider operated by Ant Financial. Zhima Credit provides us with credit analysis information of prospective borrowers, which enhances our credit analysis capabilities. We also provide Zhima Credit with our credit analysis of borrowers to reflect repayment and other credit attributes and work with Zhima Credit to further develop more robust credit analysis capabilities. In addition, we are in ongoing discussions with Ant Financial to explore other collaboration opportunities, including various approaches to engage and serve prospective borrowers.

To provide a good user experience, we have technology and funding arrangements in place to enable instant drawdown of credit by consumers. We collaborate with a variety of institutional funding partners such as banks, a consumer finance company and other institutions, to secure sufficient amounts of funding for credit drawdowns. Institutional funding partners are interested in working with us because of the short duration of our credit products, our technology-driven credit assessment capabilities and the diversified credit portfolio with attractive risk-adjusted returns. Our strong technological capabilities enable us to seamlessly integrate our system with those of our institutional funding partners, rapidly facilitate transactions and repayment settlements at a

2

massive scale and forecast our funding needs on a real-time basis. We do not directly source funding from retail investors. Currently, we retain most of the credit risk with respect to the cooperation with institutional funding partners. We also utilize our own capital to fund the credit drawdowns to enhance user experience so that they can instantly receive funds after drawdown requests. Our longer-term objectives are to primarily leverage external institutional funding and to transfer credit risk to or share it with a diversified group of institutional funding partners.

Since inception in 2014, our business has witnessed significant growth and increased borrower activities, as illustrated by the charts below:

As we accumulate more data and enhance the capability of our model, we strive to better engage, re-evaluate and serve prospective borrowers who had applied for credits in the past. As of June 30, 2017, only approximately 17.6 million out of our approximately 47.9 million registered users had been approved with credit.

3

We have achieved significant scale and experienced strong growth in our results of operations. Our total revenues increased from RMB24.1 million in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 to RMB235.0 million in 2015. Our total revenues further reached RMB1,442.8 million (US$212.8 million) in 2016, which was 514.0% higher than our total revenues in 2015. Our total revenues increased by 393.3% from RMB371.6 million in the six months ended June 30, 2016 to RMB1,833.1 million (US$270.4 million) in the same period in 2017. Our net losses were RMB40.8 million in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 and RMB233.2 million in 2015. In 2016, we recorded net income of RMB576.7 million (US$85.1 million). Our net income increased by 695.2% from RMB122.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2016 to RMB973.7 million (US$143.6 million) in the same period in 2017.

Our Strengths

We believe the following strengths contribute to our success and reinforce our market leading position:

• our market leadership;

• small credit, big data;

• effective data-driven analytics and credit assessment model;

• Ant Financial partnership;

• collaboration with institutional funding partners;

• highly competitive operating efficiency; and

• visionary and experienced management team.

Our Strategies

We seek to continue to transform consumer finance experience in China by using technology to make credit accessible and personalized. We plan to pursue the following strategies to achieve our goal:

• invest in technology;

• increase the diversity and depth of funding sources;

• broaden user reach;

• expand and enhance our product offerings; and

• attract and retain exceptional employees.

Our Challenges

Our business and successful execution of our strategies are subject to certain challenges, risks and uncertainties, including:

• our limited operating history in a new and evolving market;

• our ability to increase the utilization of our credit products by existing borrowers as well as new borrowers;

• our ability to maintain and enhance our relationship and business collaboration with Ant Financial;

• the effectiveness of our proprietary credit assessment model and risk management system;

4

• our ability to maintain low delinquency rates for transactions facilitated by us;

• the ability to ensure sufficient funding from our institutional funding partners and the ability of our online small credit companies and trusts established in collaboration with trust companies to provide sufficient amount to fund credit drawdowns;

• the possibility that the financing service fees we charge borrowers may decline in the future; and

• our limited experience in managing our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables.

In addition, we face risks and uncertainties related to our corporate structure and regulatory environment in China, including:

• uncertainties associated with the interpretation and application of laws and regulations governing the online consumer finance industry in the PRC;

• risks associated with our control over our consolidated variable interest entities, or VIEs, in China, which is based on contractual arrangements rather than equity ownership; and

• changes in the political and economic policies of the PRC government.

We also face other risks and uncertainties that may materially affect our business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects. You should consider the risks discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus before investing in our ADSs.

Our Corporate Structure

We were founded in April 2014 and operated our business through Beijing Happy Time Technology Development Co., Ltd., or Beijing Happy Time. We initially operated our business by facilitating merchandise credit and cash credit to college students on campuses across China. Such efforts have empowered us to gain significant insights into behavioral patterns of young consumers in China, as well as obtain a large amount of data that has empowered us to refine our credit assessment model and risk management system. Based on the data that we have aggregated and analyzed and the enhancement of our credit assessment model and risk management system, we subsequently shifted our focus to a broader base of young consumers in China starting from November 2015. As a result, we have terminated our initial business of facilitating credit to college students on campuses across China. In addition, our borrower engagement efforts have shifted from offline to online since November 2015. Since July 2016, all of our borrowers were engaged through online channels.

In September 2016, Qufenqi (Ganzhou) Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Ganzhou Qufenqi, was incorporated as a wholly foreign owned entity in China. In November 2016, we incorporated Qudian Inc. under the laws of the Cayman Islands as our offshore holding company, and subsequently, we established a wholly-owned subsidiary in the British Virgin Islands, QD Technologies Limited, in November 2016, and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong, QD Data Limited, to be our intermediate holding company in December 2016, to facilitate our initial public offering in the United States. The entire equity interest of Ganzhou Qufenqi was transferred from its former holding company to QD Data Limited. As a result of the restructuring in 2016, we hold equity interest in Ganzhou Qufenqi through our current offshore structure. At the same time, Ganzhou Qufenqi entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Beijing Happy Time and its shareholders. In addition, pursuant to the resolutions of all shareholders of Qudian Inc. and the resolutions of the board of directors of Qudian Inc., the board of directors of Qudian Inc. or any officer authorized by such board shall cause Ganzhou Qufenqi to exercise Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the power of attorney agreements entered into among Ganzhou Qufenqi, Beijing Happy Time and the nominee shareholders of Beijing Happy Time and

5

Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the exclusive call option agreement between Ganzhou Qufenqi and Beijing Happy Time. As a result of these resolutions and the provision of unlimited financial support from the Company to Beijing Happy Time, Qudian Inc. has been determined to be most closely associated with Beijing Happy Time within the group of related parties and was considered to be the primary beneficiary of Beijing Happy Time and its subsidiaries.

We currently conduct our business in China mainly through our consolidated VIE Beijing Happy Time and its subsidiaries. We fund credit directly to our borrowers through Fuzhou High-tech Zone Microcredit Co., Ltd., or Fuzhou Microcredit, and Ganzhou Happy Life Network Microcredit Co., Ltd., or Ganzhou Microcredit, both of which have obtained approval of the relevant competent local authorities to provide credit.

Ganzhou Qudian Technology Co., Ltd., or Ganzhou Qudian, Hunan Qudian Technology Development Co., Ltd., or Hunan Qudian, and Xiamen Qudian Technology Co., Ltd., or Xiamen Qudian, became our consolidated VIEs in 2017. We have entered into a series of contractual arrangements with each new consolidated VIE and its shareholders, which allows us to exercise effective control over each new consolidated VIE and realize substantially all of the economic risks and benefits arising from such new consolidated VIE. Such contractual arrangements are comprised of equity pledge agreements, power of attorney agreements, exclusive business cooperation agreements, exclusive call option agreements and financial support undertaking letters. The contractual arrangements for each consolidated VIE, including those as to the new consolidated VIEs, contain substantively identical provisions that afford us, through our wholly-owned subsidiary Qufenqi (Ganzhou) Information Technology Co., Ltd., the right to control all consolidated VIEs in the same manner and degree. We intend to utilize our new consolidated VIEs to continue to conduct our existing business of providing small cash and merchandise credit products and to also undertake new business opportunities, including leveraging our risk management model to help other financial services providers assess the credit profiles of their own customers according to their credit standards. We plan to transfer our credit business under the Laifenqi brand to Ganzhou Qudian and our credit business under the Qudian brand to Xiamen Qudian over the next five years. As of the date of this prospectus, Ganzhou Qudian and Xiamen Qudian have both commenced operations. We do not expect to transfer any existing business to Hunan Qudian, but we may conduct new businesses through such entity in the future. Such plans may be changed due to future developments, including the availability of government incentives in the cities where the new consolidated VIEs are located.

6

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of the date of this prospectus. It omits certain entities that are immaterial to our results of operations, business and financial condition. Except as otherwise specified, equity interests depicted in this diagram are held as to 100%. The relationships between each of Ganzhou Qudian, Hunan Qudian, Xiamen Qudian and Beijing Happy Time and Ganzhou Qufenqi as illustrated in this diagram are governed by contractual arrangements and do not constitute equity ownership.

(1) The following table sets forth the shareholders of Qudian Inc. and their respective equity interests in Qudian Inc. as of the date of this prospectus. The total number of ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus is 294,238,070, assuming conversion of all convertible redeemable preferred shares into ordinary shares and excluding 5,578,807 ordinary shares underlying unvested options that are issued but deemed to be not outstanding and held by Ark Trust (Hong Kong) Limited, or Ark Trust, in its capacity as trustee of the Qudian Inc. Equity Incentive Trust, or the Equity Incentive Trust, which is a trust established to hold awards granted pursuant to our equity incentive plans.

Shareholders	Shares	Percentage of Equity Interests
Qufenqi Holding Limited	63,491,172 ordinary shares		21.6
Phoenix Auspicious FinTech Investment L.P. and Wa Sung Investment Limited, collectively referred to as Phoenix Entities	58,072,514 Series C-5 preferred shares		19.7

7

Shareholders	Shares	Percentage of Equity Interests
Kunlun Group Limited	38,487,004 Series B-1 preferred shares and 19,469,603 Series C-2 preferred shares		19.7
Source Code Accelerate L.P.	4,779,796 Series A-2 preferred shares, 31,865,304 Series B-3 preferred shares and 10,823,841 Series C-4 preferred shares		16.1
API (Hong Kong) Investment Limited	37,720,709 Series C-1 preferred shares		12.8
Ever Bliss Fund, L.P. and Joyful Bliss Limited, collectively referred to as Zhu Entities	2,616,641 Series A-1 preferred shares, 5,233,281 Series B-2 preferred shares and 13,391,793 Series C-3 preferred shares		7.2
Ark Trust	8,286,412 ordinary shares (comprised of ordinary shares underlying vested options as of the date of this prospectus)		2.8

(2) Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Mr. Lianzhu Lv, our director and head of user experience department, respectively hold 99.0% and 1.0% of equity interests in Ganzhou Qudian.

(3) Mr. Min Luo and Mr. Hongjia He, our vice president, respectively hold 99.0% and 1.0% of equity interests in Hunan Qudian.

8

(4) The following table sets forth the shareholders of Beijing Happy Time, their respective equity interests in Beijing Happy Time and their respective relationships with shareholders of Qudian Inc. as of the date of this prospectus.

Shareholders	Relationship with shareholders of Qudian Inc.	Amount of Registered Capital		Percentage of Equity Interests
		RMB
Mr. Min Luo	Holds 100% equity interests in Qufenqi Holding Limited		5,025,579		21.0
Phoenix Auspicious Internet Investment L.P. and Shenzhen Huasheng Qianhai Investment Co., Ltd.	Affiliates of Phoenix Entities		4,596,670		19.2
Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd.	Affiliate of Kunlun Group Limited		4,587,496		19.2
Ningbo Yuanfeng Venture Capital L.P.	Affiliate of Source Code Accelerate L.P.		3,757,355		15.7
Shanghai Yunxin Venture Capital Co., Ltd.	Affiliate of API (Hong Kong) Investment Limited		2,985,744		12.5
Jiaxing Blue Run Quchuan Investment L.P. and Tianjin Blue Run Xinhe Investment Center L.P.	Affiliates of Zhu Entities		1,681,366		7.0
Tianjin Happy Share Asset Management L.P., referred to as Tianjin Happy Share(a)	Not applicable		1,251,742		5.2

(a) Tianjin Happy Share was established in connection with the share incentive plan of Beijing Happy Time. For more information, see “Management — Share Incentive Plans — 2015 Share Incentive Plan.”

(5) We plan to transfer our credit business under the Qudian brand to Xiamen Qudian.

(6) We plan to transfer our credit business under the Laifenqi brand to a subsidiary of Ganzhou Qudian.

(7) QuCampus is owned approximately 45.9% by us, 44.1% by Ant Financial and 10.0% by Ganzhou Happy Share, a limited partnership established in connection with the share incentive plan to be established by QuCampus. Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, is the general partner of Ganzhou Happy Share. We do not consolidate the financial results of QuCampus in our consolidated financial statements.

9

The following diagram illustrates the subsidiaries of Beijing Happy Time. It omits certain entities that are immaterial to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

(1) Operate our websites and mobile apps under the Qudian brand and engage in all aspects of our businesses other than funding of credit drawdowns to borrowers, which is provided by our online small credit companies, including facilitating transactions, credit approval and servicing, risk management, marketing and borrower engagement, facilitating funding with institutional funding partners and managing merchandise suppliers.

(2) Operate our websites and mobile apps under the Laifenqi brand and engage in all aspects of our businesses other than funding of credit drawdowns to borrowers, which is provided by our online small credit companies, including facilitating transactions, credit approval and servicing, risk management, marketing and borrower engagement, facilitating funding with institutional funding partners and managing merchandise suppliers.

(3) Online small credit companies, each of which has obtained the approval to operate online small credit businesses.

The following diagram illustrates the subsidiaries of Ganzhou Qudian.

(1) We expect to utilize such subsidiaries to explore new business opportunities.

(2) We plan to transfer our credit business under the Laifenqi brand to such subsidiaries.

Our Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 15/F Lvge Industrial Building, 1 Datun, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86-10-59485220. Our

10

registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of Conyers Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman, KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. Our telephone number at this address is +1 (345) 949 1040. Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices set forth above.

Our main website is www.qudian.com, and the information contained on this website is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc., located at 400 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

As a company with less than US$1,070,000,000 in revenue for the last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. However, we have elected to “opt out” of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (a) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least US$1,070,000,000; (b) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering; (c) the date on which we have, during the previous three year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (d) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.

Conventions That Apply to This Prospectus

Except where the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to:

• “active borrowers” are to borrowers who have drawn down credit in the specified period;

• “ADSs” are to our American depositary shares, each of which represents             Class A ordinary shares, and “ADRs” are to the American depositary receipts that evidence our ADSs;

• “Allowance ratio” are to the amount of allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables incurred as of a date as a percentage of the total amount of loan principal and financing service fee receivables as of such date;

• “amount of transactions” are to the aggregate principal amount of credit drawdowns that are provided to borrowers in the specified period, which are comprised of (i) credit drawdowns that are funded by us, including those that are subsequently transferred to our institutional partners, and (ii) credit drawdowns that are funded directly by our institutional partners, which are off-balance sheet;

11

• “Ant Financial” are to Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group Co., Ltd., a company organized under the laws of the PRC, and its affiliates; API (Hong Kong) Investment Limited, which is wholly owned by Ant Financial, is one of our principal shareholders;

• “average MAU” are to the average number of monthly active users during a specified period; monthly active users comprise (i) users who use our Laifenqi mobile app or the Alipay consumer interface to access our Laifenqi interface at least once during a specified month and (ii) users who use our Qudian mobile app or the Alipay consumer interface to access our Qudian interface at least once during a specified month; an individual who uses both our mobile app and the Alipay consumer interface to access only one of our Laifenqi or Qudian interfaces during a specified month is counted as one monthly active user; an individual who accesses both of our Laifenqi and Qudian interfaces during a specified month is counted as two monthly active users; a monthly active user may not have borrowed on our platform;

• “China” and the “PRC” are to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purposes of this prospectus only, Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region;

• “CQGR” are to compound quarterly growth rate;

• “M1+ Delinquency Coverage Ratio” are to the balance of allowance for principal and financing service fee receivables at the end of a period, divided by the total balance of outstanding principal for on-balance sheet transactions for which any installment payment was more than 30 calendar days past due as of the end of such period;

• “M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage” are to the total balance of outstanding principal of a vintage for which any installment payment is over 30 calendar days past due as of a particular date (adjusted to reflect total amount of recovered past due payments for principal and without taking into account charge-offs), divided by the total initial principal in such vintage;

• “new borrowers” are to borrowers who drew down credit for the first time using credit products offered by us; new borrowers who have made at least two drawdowns in the relevant period are also counted as repeat borrowers;

• “number of transactions” are to the number of credit drawdowns facilitated by us to borrowers, which are comprised of (i) credit drawdowns that are funded by us, including those that are subsequently transferred to our institutional partners, and (ii) credit drawdowns that are funded directly by our institutional partners, which are off-balance sheet;

• “off-balance sheet transactions” are to credit drawdowns that are not recorded on our balance sheets;

• “on-balance sheet transactions” are to credit drawdowns that are recorded on our balance sheets;

• “outstanding principal” are to the aggregate principal amount of credit drawdowns that have not been repaid as of the specified date, which are comprised of (i) credit drawdowns that are funded by us, including those that are subsequently transferred to our institutional partners, and (ii) credit drawdowns that are funded directly by our institutional partners, which are off-balance sheet;

• “principal turnover ratio” are to the amount of on-balance sheet transactions facilitated during a period divided by outstanding principal of on-balance sheet transactions at the period end;

• “Provision Ratio” are to the amount of provision for principal and financing service fee receivables incurred during a period as a percentage of the total amount of on-balance sheet transactions facilitated during such period;

• “P2P platforms” are to financial information intermediaries that are engaged in lending information business and directly provide peers, which can be natural persons, legal persons or other organizations, with lending information services;

12

• “registered users” are to individuals who have registered with us;

• “repeat borrowers” are to active borrowers in the specified period who have made at least two drawdowns since such borrowers’ registration with us until the end of the specified period;

• “RMB” or “Renminbi” are to the legal currency of China;

• “small credit products” are to cash or merchandise credit products that are less than RMB5,000 in amount;

• “transactions” are to borrowers’ credit drawdowns from our platform;

• “US$,” “U.S. dollars,” or “dollars” are to the legal currency of the United States;

• “vintage” are to transactions we facilitated during a specified time period; and

• “we,” “us,” “our company” and “our” are to Qudian Inc., its consolidated VIEs and/or their respective subsidiaries, as the context requires.

Unless specifically indicated otherwise or unless the context otherwise requires, all references to our ordinary shares include ordinary shares underlying vested options that are held by Ark Trust and exclude (i) ordinary shares underlying unvested options that are issued but deemed to be not outstanding and held by Ark Trust, (ii) ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options with respect to our ordinary shares under our share incentive plan and (iii) assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option to purchase additional ADSs.

The translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this prospectus were made at a rate of RMB6.7793 to US$1.00, the exchange rates set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on June 30, 2017. We make no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this prospectus could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. On September 8, 2017, the noon buying rate for Renminbi was RMB6.4773 to US$1.00.

13

THE OFFERING

Price per ADS We estimate that the initial public offering price will be between US$                and US$                per ADS.

ADSs Offered by Us              ADSs

ADSs Outstanding Immediately After This Offering             ADSs (or              ADSs if the underwriters exercise in full the over-allotment option).

Ordinary Shares Outstanding Immediately After This Offering              Class A ordinary shares and 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares (or              Class A ordinary shares and 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise in full the over-allotment option), excluding ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding under our share incentive plan as of the date of this prospectus.

The ADSs Each ADS represents              Class A ordinary shares.

The depositary will be the holder of the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs and you will have the rights of an ADR holder as provided in the deposit agreement among us, the depositary and holders and beneficial owners of ADSs from time to time.

You may surrender your ADSs to the depositary to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. The depositary will charge you a fee for such an exchange.

We may amend or terminate the deposit agreement for any reason without your consent. Any amendment that imposes or increases fees or charges or which materially prejudices any substantial existing right you have as an ADS holder will not become effective as to outstanding ADSs until 30 days after notice of the amendment is given to ADS holders. If an amendment becomes effective, you will be bound by the deposit agreement as amended if you continue to hold your ADSs.

To better understand the terms of the ADSs, you should carefully read the section in this prospectus entitled “Description of American Depositary Shares.” We also encourage you to read the deposit agreement, which is an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.

Ordinary Shares Our ordinary shares will be divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares upon the completion of this offering. In respect of all matters subject to a shareholders’ vote, each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to ten votes, voting together as one class. Each Class B

14

ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any transfer of Class B ordinary shares by a holder to any person or entity which is not an affiliate of such holder, such Class B ordinary shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into the equivalent number of Class A ordinary shares. See “Description of Share Capital” for more information.

Over-Allotment Option We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an aggregate of              additional ADSs at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions, solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments.

Use of Proceeds We estimate that we will receive net proceeds of approximately US$             million from this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of US$              per ADS, the mid-point of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, after deducting estimated underwriter discounts, commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We anticipate using the net proceeds of this offering for:

• marketing and borrower engagement activities;

• strategic acquisitions; and

• general corporate purposes.

See “Use of Proceeds” for more information.

Lock-up We, our directors, executive officers, existing shareholders and certain of our option holders have agreed with the underwriters not to sell, transfer or dispose of any ADSs, ordinary shares or similar securities for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for more information.

Risk Factors See “Risk Factors” and other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of the risks relating to investing in our ADSs. You should carefully consider these risks before deciding to invest in our ADSs.

Directed ADS Program At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to 10% of the ADSs being offered by this prospectus for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, employees and other individuals associated with us and members of their families. The sales will be made by UBS Financial Services Inc., a selected dealer affiliated with UBS Securities LLC, an underwriter of this offering, through a directed share program. We do not know if these persons will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved ADSs, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of ADSs available to

15

the general public. Any reserved ADSs not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other ADSs. Any ADSs sold in the directed share program to our directors, executive officers shall be subject to the lock-up agreements described elsewhere in this prospectus.

Listing We have applied to list our ADSs on the NYSE. Our ordinary shares will not be listed on any exchange or quoted for trading on any over-the-counter trading system.

Proposed NYSE Trading Symbol QD

Payment and settlement The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment on             , 2017, through the facilities of the Depositary Trust Company, or DTC.

Depositary Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas.

The total number of ordinary shares outstanding after completion of this offering will be              Class A ordinary shares and 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares, which is based upon (i) the designation of all ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, into 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one-basis upon the completion of this offering; (ii) the designation of all of the remaining outstanding ordinary shares and the automatic conversion of all our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into 230,746,898 Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one-basis upon the completion of this offering; and (iii)              Class A ordinary shares issued in connection with this offering (assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs), but excludes:

• 5,578,807 ordinary shares underlying unvested options that are issued but deemed to be not outstanding as of the date of this prospectus held by Ark Trust in its capacity as trustee of the Equity Incentive Trust;

• 1,504,854 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding share options under our share incentive plan; and

• 443,946 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our share incentive plan.

16

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA

The following summary consolidated statements of operations in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 and the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, and summary consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The following summary consolidated statements of operations in the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017 and the summary consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2017 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements.

Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period. The following summary consolidated financial data for the periods and as of the dates indicated are qualified by reference to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and related notes and the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” both of which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,									Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016						2016			2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB			US$			RMB			RMB			US$
	(in thousands, except for share and per share data)
													(unaudited)
Summary Consolidated Statements of Operations:
Revenues:
Financing income		21,094			153,554			1,271,456			187,550			323,964			1,527,426			225,307
Sales commission fees		2,926			62,182			126,693			18,688			27,710			251,169			37,049
Penalty fees		114			19,271			22,943			3,384			19,931			2,836			418
Loan facilitation income and others		—			—			21,754			3,209			—			51,705			7,627
Total revenues		24,133			235,007			1,442,846			212,831			371,605			1,833,135			270,402
Operating cost and expenses(1):
Cost of revenue		(9,014	)		(148,417	)		(267,862	)		(39,512	)		(87,751	)		(316,565	)		(46,696	)
Sales and marketing		(46,368	)		(192,603	)		(182,458	)		(26,914	)		(75,746	)		(149,505	)		(22,053	)
General and administrative		(3,503	)		(42,426	)		(108,786	)		(16,047	)		(11,266	)		(68,267	)		(10,070	)
Research and development		(4,360	)		(37,530	)		(52,275	)		(7,711	)		(13,096	)		(63,489	)		(9,365	)
Loss of guarantee liability		—			—			(861	)		(127	)		—			(7,526	)		(1,110	)
Provision for loan principal, financing service fee receivables and other receivables		(1,667	)		(45,111	)		(132,177	)		(19,497	)		(34,692	)		(99,028	)		(14,607	)
Total operating cost and expenses		(64,911	)		(466,086	)		(744,418	)		(109,808	)		(222,550	)		(704,381	)		(103,902	)
Other operating income		—			—			14,646			2,160			2,531			37,523			5,535

17

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,									Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016						2016			2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB			US$			RMB			RMB			US$
	(in thousands, except for share and per share data)
													(unaudited)
(Loss)/income from operations		(40,778	)		(231,078	)		713,074			105,184			151,586			1,166,277			172,035
Interest and investment income, net		8			2,889			1,857			274			4,685			(2,070	)		(305	)
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net		—			752			(9,651	)		(1,424	)		(9,651	)		—			—
Other income		0			779			47			7			9			309			46
Other expenses		(5	)		(6,505	)		(1,834	)		(271	)		(281	)		(1	)		(0	)
Net (loss)/income before income taxes		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		703,493			103,771			146,348			1,164,516			171,775
Income tax expenses		—			—			(126,840	)		(18,710	)		(23,913	)		(190,854	)		(28,152	)
Net (loss)/income		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		576,653			85,061			122,435			973,662			143,623
Net (loss)/income per share — basic		(0.51	)		(2.94	)		7.27			1.07			1.54			12.67			1.87
Net (loss)/income per share — diluted		(0.51	)		(2.94	)		1.90			0.28			0.41			3.23			0.48
Weighted average number of shares outstanding — basic		79,305,191			79,305,191			79,305,191			79,305,191			79,305,191			76,872,235			76,872,235
Weighted average number of shares outstanding — diluted		79,305,191			79,305,191			303,778,745			303,778,745			301,765,677			301,050,872			301,050,872
Pro forma basic income per share attributable to Class A and Class B ordinary shareholders (unaudited)								1.96			0.29						3.25			0.48
Pro forma diluted income per share attributable to Class A and Class B ordinary shareholders (unaudited)								1.95			0.29						3.23			0.48
Class A and Class B ordinary shares used in pro forma basic income per share computation (unaudited)								294,238,070			294,238,070						299,332,721			299,332,721
Class A and Class B ordinary shares used in pro forma diluted income per share computation (unaudited)								296,251,138			296,251,138						301,050,872			301,050,872
Total comprehensive (loss)/income		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		576,653			85,061			122,435			973,662			143,623

18

(1) Share-based compensation expenses are allocated in operating cost and expenses as follows:

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014		Year Ended December 31,						Six Months Ended June 30,
			2015		2016				2016		2017
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
									(unaudited)
Sales and marketing		952		23,691		690		102		—		1,581		233
General and administrative		742		11,425		18,986		2,801		—		24,184		3,567
Research and development		1,024		20,492		2,457		362		—		6,412		946
Total share-based compensation expenses		2,717		55,607		22,134		3,265		—		32,177		4,746

	As of December 31,									As of June 30, 2017
	2015			2016
	RMB			RMB			US$			RMB			US$
	(in thousands)
										(unaudited)
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Cash and cash equivalents		210,114			785,770			115,907			645,034			95,148
Short-term amounts due from related parties(1)		34,930			585,906			86,426			478,402			70,568
Short-term loan principal and financing service fee receivables		2,060,768			4,826,791			711,990			9,434,431			1,391,653
Long-term loan principal and financing service fee receivables		177,582			87,822			12,954			15,566			2,296
Total assets		2,675,596			7,117,599			1,049,902			11,371,640			1,677,406
Short-term borrowings and interest payables		1,562,883			4,183,231			617,059			6,466,502			953,860
Long-term borrowings and interest payables		89,358			76,052			11,218			11,823			1,744
Total liabilities		3,306,965			4,604,010			679,128			7,852,211			1,158,263
Total mezzanine equity		5,943,978			5,943,978			876,783			5,943,978			876,783
Total shareholders’ deficit		(6,575,347	)		(3,430,389	)		(506,009	)		(2,424,549	)		(357,640	)

(1) Includes RMB33.8 million, RMB404.6 million (US$59.7 million) and RMB473.2 million (US$69.8 million) deposited in our Alipay accounts as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, respectively. Such amount is unrestricted as to withdrawal and use and readily available to us on demand.

19

Non-GAAP Measure

Adjusted Net (Loss)/Income

We use adjusted net (loss)/income, a non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe that adjusted net (loss)/income help identify underlying trends in our business by excluding the impact of share-based compensation expenses, which are non-cash charges. We believe that adjusted net (loss)/income provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making.

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,							Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016				2016		2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Adjusted net (loss)/income(1)		(38,058	)		(177,557	)		598,786		88,326		122,435		1,005,840		148,369

(1) Adjusted net (loss)/income is defined as net (loss)/income excluding share-based compensation expenses.

Adjusted net (loss)/income is not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, cash flows or our liquidity, investors should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for net (loss)/income, cash flows provided by operating activities or other consolidated statements of operation and cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We mitigate these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance.

The following table reconciles our adjusted net (loss)/income in the years presented to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is net (loss)/income:

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,							Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016				2016		2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Net (loss)/income		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		576,653		85,061		122,435		973,662		143,623
Add: share-based compensation expenses		2,717			55,607			22,134		3,265		—		32,177		4,746
Adjusted net (loss)/income		(38,058	)		(177,557	)		598,786		88,326		122,435		1,005,840		148,369

20

Our Key Metrics

We regularly review a number of metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions.

	Year Ended December 31,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2015		2016		2016		2017
	(in thousands)
Number of average MAU		214		2,492		14,332		10,682		26,089
Number of active borrowers		166		1,230		6,115		2,488		7,023
Number of new borrowers		166		1,138		5,451		1,893		3,354
Number of transactions		199		2,687		40,599		11,128		40,509

	Year Ended December 31,								Six Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2015		2016				2016		2017
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Amount of transactions		578,241		4,253,846		32,230,638		4,754,272		9,382,735		38,206,484		5,635,757
On-balance sheet transactions		578,241		4,253,846		30,221,678		4,457,935		9,382,735		35,391,699		5,220,554
Off-balance sheet transactions		—		—		2,008,961		296,337		—		2,814,785		415,203

	As of December 31,								As of June 30, 2017
	2014		2015		2016
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Outstanding principal		513,283		2,262,602		6,331,739		933,981		10,670,804		1,574,027
On-balance sheet transactions		513,283		2,262,602		4,971,119		733,279		9,457,246		1,395,018
Off-balance sheet transactions		—		—		1,360,620		200,702		1,213,558		179,009

	As of December 31,								As of June 30, 2017
	2014		2015		2016
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Amount of approved credit		4,865,435		11,000,469		43,335,881		6,392,383		68,988,739		10,176,381
Amount (outstanding) available for drawdown		4,352,152		8,725,845		36,946,167		5,449,850		58,194,789		8,584,189

21

RISK FACTORS

You should consider carefully all of the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making an investment in our ADSs. Any of the following risks and uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The market price of our ADSs could decline significantly as a result of any of these risks and uncertainties, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

We have a limited operating history in a new and evolving market, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.

The online consumer finance market in the PRC is new and may not develop as expected. The regulatory framework for this market is also evolving and may remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. See “— The laws and regulations governing the online consumer finance industry in the PRC are still at a nascent stage and subject to further change and interpretation. If our business practices or the business practices of our institutional funding partners are deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.” Prospective borrowers may not be familiar with this market and may have difficulty distinguishing our credit products from those of our competitors, both online and offline. Convincing prospective borrowers of the value of our credit products is critical to increasing the amount of transactions to borrowers and to the success of our business.

We launched our business in 2014 and have a limited operating history. We have limited experience in most aspects of our business operation, such as credit product offerings, data-driven credit assessment and the development of long-term relationships with borrowers, institutional funding partners and merchandise suppliers. In addition, we have limited experience in serving our current target borrower base. In November 2015, we shifted our focus from college students to young consumers in general, a more diverse customer base for whom traditional credit data is often unavailable. We also have limited experience in online borrower engagement, as we only started to engage prospective borrowers through the Alipay consumer interface in November 2015. We currently offer two principal types of online credit products in China, which are cash credit products and merchandise credit products. We evaluate and approve prospective borrowers’ credit applications submitted online, and we rely on institutional funding partners, our online small credit companies and trusts established in collaboration with trust companies to fund such credit drawdowns. As our business develops or in response to competition, we may continue to introduce new credit products, make adjustments to our existing credit products and our proprietary credit assessment model, or make adjustments to our business operation in general. For example, we may implement more stringent borrower qualifications to reduce the delinquency rates of transactions facilitated by us, which may negatively affect the growth of our business. We will also seek to expand the base of prospective borrowers that we serve, which may result in higher delinquency rates of transactions facilitated by us. In addition, we rely on our institutional funding partners to fund the credit that we facilitate. Our ability to continuously attract low-cost funding sources is also critical to our business. Any significant change to our business model not achieving expected results may have a material and adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. It is therefore difficult to effectively assess our future prospects.

You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and challenges we encounter or may encounter given the rapidly-evolving market in which we operate and our limited operating history. These risks and challenges include our ability to, among other things:

• offer personalized and competitive credit products;

• increase the utilization of our credit products by existing borrowers as well as new borrowers;

• maintain and enhance our relationship and business collaboration with Ant Financial;

22

• offer attractive financing service fees while driving the growth and profitability of our business;

• maintain low delinquency rates of transactions facilitated by us;

• develop sufficient, diversified, cost-efficient and reputable institutional funding sources;

• maintain and enhance our relationships with our other business partners, including merchandise suppliers and data providers;

• broaden our prospective borrower base to include those outside of the Alipay consumer interface;

• navigate a complex and evolving regulatory environment;

• improve our operational efficiency;

• attract, retain and motivate talented employees to support our business growth;

• enhance our technology infrastructure to support the growth of our business and maintain the security of our system and the confidentiality of the information provided and utilized across our system;

• navigate economic condition and fluctuation; and

• defend ourselves against legal and regulatory actions, such as actions involving intellectual property or privacy claims.

If we are unable to maintain or increase the amount of transactions or if we are unable to retain existing borrowers or attract new borrowers, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

The amount of transactions that we have facilitated to borrowers has grown rapidly since inception. To maintain and increase the amount of transactions facilitated to borrowers, we must continue to increase the amount of transactions facilitated to existing borrowers and attract additional prospective borrowers, which may be affected by several factors, including our brand recognition and reputation, the financing service fees charged, installment plans offered, our efficiency in engaging prospective borrowers, our ability to convert registered users to borrowers, utilization of the credit we approve, the effectiveness of our credit assessment model and risk management system, our ability to secure sufficient and cost-efficient funding, borrower experience, the PRC regulatory environment governing our industry and the macroeconomic environment. In connection with the introduction of new products or in response to general economic conditions, we may also impose more stringent borrower qualifications to ensure the quality of the transactions we facilitate, which may negatively affect the growth of transactions facilitated to borrowers. Furthermore, we engage the majority of our active borrowers through different channels on the Alipay consumer interface. If such borrower engagement channels become less effective, if we are unable to continue to use such channels, or if the cost of borrower engagement from such channels become less efficient, and we are unable to attract borrowers through new channels, we may not be able to engage new borrowers in a cost-efficient manner or convert prospective borrowers into active borrowers, and may even lose existing borrowers to our competitors. If we are unable to attract quality borrowers or if borrowers do not continue to utilize our credit products, we might be unable to increase the amount of transactions facilitated to borrowers and our total revenues as expected, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Ant Financial provides services to us as to various aspects of our operations and if such services provided by Ant Financial are limited, restricted, curtailed or less effective or more expensive in any way or become unavailable to us or the borrowers for any reason, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

We have established a strategic partnership with Ant Financial, one of our principal shareholders, and have in-depth cooperation in multiple areas of our business. See “Business — Our Partnership with Ant Financial.” This strategic partnership has contributed to the significant growth of our total revenues and improvement of our profitability in the past and we believe that it will continue to contribute to the growth of our total revenues. However, although we have entered into a series of agreements relating to our ongoing business cooperation and

23

service arrangements with Ant Financial, we cannot assure you that we will continue to receive the same level of services from Ant Financial on the same or more favorable terms and conditions, or renew such agreements at all, upon expiration of their respective agreement terms. Furthermore, certain of these agreements provide either party the right to terminate with 30 days’ prior notice. If our agreements with Ant Financial were terminated prior to expiration, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

We engage the majority of our active borrowers through different channels on the Alipay consumer interface. If such channels were to change or become ineffective, costly or unavailable, our business, future prospects and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. For example, we promote our products and launch campaigns through the public service window on the Alipay consumer interface, a borrower engagement channel which is free of charge and generally available to third parties. We have been able to engage the majority of our active borrowers, particularly repeat borrowers, through such channel since 2016. If such channel becomes unavailable in the future, or if we engage more borrowers through channels that charge us fees, our borrower engagement fees could increase significantly. In addition, we historically engaged a substantial portion of our users through Alipay’s dedicated channel for online consumer credit products. Such arrangement was terminated in February 2017. Although we subsequently entered into agreements to engage users through Alipay’s other channels, such change to borrower engagement channels, along with reduced borrowing activities during the Chinese New Year holiday, may have contributed to a decrease in the number of new borrowers in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. Furthermore, the fee rates for borrower engagement may change over time. For example, we engage Alipay users through Alipay’s dedicated channel for online third-party service providers. Pursuant to the amended and restatement agreement for such arrangement, which we entered into in August 2017, we pay a fee consistent with fees that Alipay would charge other similar third-party service providers on this channel as determined by Alipay from time to time. If it becomes more costly for us to engage borrowers through this channel, our future prospects and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Our collaboration with Ant Financial may also affect the terms of transactions that we facilitate through Alipay’s consumer interface, including the financing service fees we charge.

In March 2017, we entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Ant Financial which operates the Jiebei consumer credit business and began to engage borrowers through the Jiebei platform. For more information, see “Business — Our Partnership with Ant Financial — Borrower Engagement.” Pursuant to the relevant agreement, we pay certain fees to Ant Financial based on a percentage of financing service fees we receive from borrowers. We may enter into other similar arrangements with Ant Financial in the future. While we believe such arrangements enable us to further expand our borrower base, they may have a negative impact on our margin.

In addition, we cannot assure you that Zhima Credit will continue to provide us, even with the authorization of the relevant users, credit analysis information of prospective borrowers, including Zhima Credit Scores (which serves as one of the many inputs for our credit assessment model) on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. The denial of access to such credit analysis may materially and adversely impact our ability to assess the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers in the future. Any deterioration in our risk assessment capabilities may adversely affect the quality of transactions that we facilitate and we may experience higher delinquency rates. Moreover, certain analyses and results that were the products of our collaboration with Zhima Credit are maintained by Zhima Credit. Any significant disruption in the systems of Zhima Credit in which such analyses and results are maintained could impede our risk assessment capabilities, which may materially and adversely affect our business operations.

If any of the foregoing occurs, our ability to engage a large number of quality borrowers may be significantly weakened, which will materially and adversely affect both our credit performance and operational efficiency. In addition, we engage in other collaborations with Ant Financial, such as the joint venture QuCampus formed with Ant Financial, and are in ongoing discussions with Ant Financial to explore other collaboration opportunities. If there are any adverse developments as to our existing and future collaborations with Ant Financial, including those as to QuCampus, our ability to engage borrowers through different channels

24

on the Alipay consumer interface will be harmed and our ability to receive credit analysis information from Zhima Credit may also be adversely impacted. For example, Alipay has the contractual right to adjust or terminate our access to Alipay’s dedicated channel for online third-party service providers at any time based on Alipay’s campus life business strategy and QuCampus meeting the relevant performance targets as set forth by Alipay. In addition, Alipay may not renew the relevant agreement upon the expiration of its one-year term in August 2018. If our access to such channel is restricted or terminated, our ability to engage new borrowers could be materially and adversely affected.

We also benefit from Alipay’s strong brand recognition and wide adoption in China. If Alipay loses its market position, the effectiveness of our cooperation with Ant Financial may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, any negative publicity associated with Ant Financial and its affiliates and services provided by Ant Financial and its affiliates, including Alipay and Zhima Credit, or any negative development in respect of their market position or compliance with legal or regulatory requirements in China, may have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of our cooperation with Ant Financial as well as our business, results of operations, brands, reputation and prospects.

We may compete with the consumer credit business of Ant Financial.

Ant Financial operates consumer credit businesses, such as Ant Credit Pay, or Huabei, and Ant Cash Now, or Jiebei. Similar to a credit card, Huabei allows its users to purchase goods and services on credit and charges them no interest if full repayments are made before the first due dates. Jiebei offers cash credit products of various amounts, including those that are significantly larger than amounts offered under our credit products. As such, Ant Financial’s consumer credit businesses may target similar potential borrowers as ours and compete with us directly. There has not been any material impact of such competition on our strategic partnership with Ant Financial, and we are in ongoing discussions with Ant Financial to explore other collaboration opportunities. In March 2017, we entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Ant Financial which operates the Jiebei consumer credit business and began to engage borrowers through the Jiebei platform. For more information, see “Business—Our Partnership with Ant Financial—Borrower Engagement.” However, there can be no assurance that potential competition with Ant Financial’s consumer credit business will not harm our strategic partnership with Ant Financial or that we will continue to be able to enter into additional collaboration with Ant Financial. We cannot rule out the possibility that the various services currently provided by Ant Financial to us will be limited, restricted, curtailed or less effective or more expensive in any way or become unavailable. Such changes could materially and adversely affect borrower engagement, availability of credit analysis information and other aspects of our business. We may also compete with other companies that collaborate with Ant Financial, and such companies may enjoy similar or greater collaboration with Ant Financial than we do, or may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. Competition with such parties may also adversely affect our business. See “—We face intense competition and, if we do not compete effectively, our results of operations could be harmed.”

We rely on our proprietary credit assessment model and risk management system in the determination of credit approval and credit limit assignment. If our proprietary credit assessment model and risk management system fail to perform effectively, such failure may materially and adversely impact our operating results.

Credit limits for our borrowers are determined and approved based on risk assessment conducted by our proprietary credit assessment model and risk management system. Such model and system use big data-enabled technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, that takes into account transactions that we have processed as well as credit analysis and data from multiple external sources. While we rely on big data analytics to refine our model and system, there can be no assurance that our application of such technology will continue to deliver the expected benefits. In addition, as we have a limited operating history, we may not have accumulated sufficient credit analysis and data to optimize our model and system. Even if we have sufficient credit analysis and data and our credit assessment model and risk management system has been tailored for

25

prospective borrowers on the Alipay consumer interface for our current operation, such data and credit assessment model and risk management system might not be effective as we continue to increase the amount of transactions, expand the borrower base and broaden our borrower engagement efforts through different channels in the future. If our system contains programming or other errors, if our model and system is ineffective or if the credit analysis and data we obtained are incorrect or outdated, our credit assessment abilities could be negatively affected, resulting in incorrect approvals or denials of credit applications or mispriced credit products. If we are unable to effectively and accurately assess the credit profiles of borrowers or price credit products appropriately, we may either be unable to offer attractive financing service fee and credit limits to borrowers, or be unable to maintain low delinquency rates of transactions facilitated by us. Our risk and credit assessment may not be able to provide more predictive assessments of future borrower behavior and result in better evaluation of our borrower base when compared to our competitors. If our proprietary credit assessment model and risk management system fail to perform effectively, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

If we are unable to maintain low delinquency rates for transactions facilitated by us, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Further, historical delinquency rates may not be indicative of future results.

We may not be able to maintain low delinquency rates for transactions facilitated by us, or such delinquency rates may be significantly affected by economic downturns or general economic conditions beyond our control and beyond the control of individual borrowers. We shifted our focus of target borrower base from college students to young consumers in general starting from November 2015, and we may not be able to accurately assess the credit profiles of our current target borrower base. Increase in credit utilization by borrowers from existing levels, including increase in the use of our credit products from users that were approved for credit but have not previously drawn down on their credit, may also potentially have a material adverse effect as to the delinquency rates for transactions facilitated by us. Introduction of new credit products or the wider utilization by borrowers of certain of our existing credit products that has longer durations, including merchandise credit products, may also have a material adverse impact as to the delinquency rates for transactions facilitated by us. Furthermore, although certain credit facilitated by us are funded directly or indirectly by institutional funding partners or transferred to institutional funding partners, if borrowers default on their payment obligations, we are generally obligated to repay our institutional funding partners all or a percentage of loan principals and fees payable in respect of such credit drawdowns. As of June 30, 2017, our loan principal was RMB9,457.2 million (US$1,395.0 million), of which RMB5,827.5 million (US$859.6 million) represented credit drawdowns that were transferred to or indirectly funded by institutional funding partners, which were recorded as short-term and long-term borrowings and interest payables on our balance sheets. As of June 30, 2017, outstanding principal of off-balance sheet transactions, which represent credit drawdowns directly funded by institutional funding partners, was RMB1,213.6 million (US$179.0 million). As such, if we were to experience a significant increase in delinquency rate, we may not have sufficient capital resources to pay defaulted principals and fees to our institutional funding partners, and if this were to occur, our results of operations, financial position and liquidity will be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we plan to broaden our prospective borrower base as we enhance our credit assessment model to include those with different credit profiles than borrowers that we currently provide credit to as well as prospective borrowers that we have not reached out to previously. Therefore, we may be unable to maintain low delinquency rates for transactions facilitated by us in the future.

In addition, we reserve any estimated loss for on-balance sheet transactions due to the borrowers’ default as allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. When evaluating the loan principal receivables on a pooled basis, we apply a roll rate model based on historical loss rates, while also taking into consideration macroeconomic conditions in order to calculate the pooled allowance. Accordingly, any increase in the delinquency rates of on-balance sheet transactions would increase our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial positions. Furthermore, if the actual delinquency rates for on-balance sheet transactions were higher than predicted, our cash flow would be reduced and our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee

26

receivables may not be able to cover the actual losses as expected, which could have a material adverse effect on our working capital, financial condition, results of operations and business operations. As of December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, our M1+ Delinquency Coverage Ratio, defined as the balance of allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables at the end of a period, divided by the total balance of outstanding principal for on-balance sheet transactions for which any installment payment was more than 30 calendar days past due as of the end of such period, was 6.7x, 1.6x, 1.6x and 1.3x, respectively. With respect to on-balance sheet transactions, principal for which any installment payment was more than 30 calendar days past due accounted for 0.05%, 0.92%, 1.29% and 1.14% of total outstanding principal as of December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, our loan principal and financing service fee receivables for on-balance sheet transactions for which any installment payment was more than 90 calendar days past due were approximately RMB0.1 million, RMB11.6 million, RMB29.8 million (US$4.4 million) and RMB55.7 million (US$8.2 million), respectively. As of December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables were approximately RMB1.7 million, RMB34.2 million, RMB105.1 million (US$15.1 million) and RMB136.9 million (US$20.2 million), respectively.

We do not accrue financing income on principal that is considered impaired or on credit drawdowns for which any installment payment is more than 90 calendar days past due. Financing income previously accrued but subsequently placed on nonaccrual status will be netted from our financing income for the current period. Therefore, an increase in delinquency rates of on-balance sheet transactions will lead to an increase in such adjustments of financing income.

We have entered into off-balance sheet funding arrangements with certain institutional funding partners, which directly fund credit drawdowns by borrowers. Borrowers directly repay principal and financing service fees to the relevant institutional funding partners, who will in turn deduct the principal and fees due to them from the repayments and remit the remainder to us as our loan facilitation fees. At the inception of each off-balance sheet transaction, we record the fair value of guarantee liability, which represents the present value of our expected payout based on the estimated delinquency rate and the applicable discount rate for time value. The loan facilitation fees payable to us, net of guarantee liability which was allocated from the consideration in connection with such transaction, are recognized as loan facilitation income and others. Accordingly, an increase in the expected delinquency rates of off-balance sheet transactions would result in an increase in the fair value of guarantee liability, which is recognized as loss of guarantee liability and could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Furthermore, if the actual delinquency rates for off-balance sheet transactions were higher than expected, our guarantee liabilities may not be able to cover the actual losses as expected, which could have a material adverse impact on our working capital, financial condition, results of operations and business operations. Our guarantee liabilities were RMB9.6 million (US$1.4 million) in the six months ended June 30, 2017, and we incurred payment obligation of RMB11.4 million (US$1.7 million) due to borrowers’ defaults for off-balance sheet transactions in the six months ended June 30, 2017.

Our business may be adversely affected if we are unable to secure funding on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

We collaborate with institutional funding partners to fund certain credit drawdowns we facilitate. Our current institutional funding partners include banks, a consumer finance company and other institutions. For credit drawdowns currently funded by institutional funding partners, such credit drawdowns are typically either facilitated to borrowers directly from institutional funding partners or indirectly from institutional funding partners through trusts we established in collaboration with trust companies. We also currently collaborate with private financial assets trading platforms in China to which we transfer our rights to receive payments under certain credit drawdowns funded by our own capital, and such trading platforms offer investment products backed by such payment rights to investors. Our amount of transactions has increased from approximately RMB578.2 million in 2014 to RMB32,230.6 million (US$4,754.3 million) in 2016. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, our amount of transactions was RMB38,206.5 million (US$5,635.8 million), 55.4% of which was funded by our institutional funding partners. As the demand for credit facilitated by us have significantly

27

increased since inception, our funding arrangements have also changed significantly. For example, we historically transferred a significant amount of credit drawdowns to P2P platforms. In 2016 and the six months ended June 30, 2017, the amount of credit drawdowns transferred to P2P platforms was RMB8,099.5 million (US$1,194.7 million) and RMB275.1 million (US$40.6 million), respectively, representing 63.7% and 1.3% of the total amount of transactions funded by institutional funding partners during the respective periods. We have ceased transferring credit drawdowns to P2P platforms in April 2017. We expect that our funding arrangements will continue to evolve as we explore additional or new sources of funding as well as new risk sharing or transfer mechanisms. There can be no assurance that our cooperation with new institutional funding partners will meet our expectations or the expectations of borrowers.

The availability of funding from institutional funding partners depends on many factors, some of which are out of our control. Some of our institutional funding partners have limited operating history, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to rely on their funding in the future. Our ability to cooperate with new institutional funding partners may be subject to regulatory or other limitations. In addition, regardless of our risk management efforts, credit facilitated by us may nevertheless be considered riskier and may have a higher delinquency rate than loans made by borrowers with more established credit histories by traditional financial institutions. In the event there is a sudden or unexpected shortage of funds from our institutional funding partners or if our institutional funding partners have determined not to continue to collaborate with us, we may not be able to maintain necessary levels of funding without incurring high costs of capital, or at all. Furthermore, we had historically relied on one institutional funding partner to fund a substantial portion of credit facilitated by us. While we have since managed to diversify our funding sources, there can be no assurance that our funding sources will remain or become increasingly diversified in the future. If we become dependent on a small number of institutional funding partners and any such institutional funding partner determines not to collaborate with us or limits the funding that is available, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow may be materially and adversely affected. Since inception, we have from time to time experienced, and may continue to experience, constraints as to the availability of funds from our institutional funding partners. Such constraints have affected and may continue to affect user experience, including by limiting our ability to approve new credit applications or resulting in us having to curtail the amount that can be drawn down by borrowers under their existing credit limits. Such limitations have in turn restrained, and may continue to restrain, the growth of our business. Any prolonged constraint as to the availability of funds from our institutional funding partners may also harm our reputation or result in negative perception of the credit products we offer, thereby decreasing the willingness of prospective or existing borrowers to seek credit products from us or to draw down on their existing credit.

Our online small credit companies and trusts may not be able to provide sufficient amount to fund the growth of our business. In addition, the regulatory regime and practice with respect to online small credit companies are evolving and subject to uncertainty.

In May 2016, we established an online small credit company, Fuzhou Microcredit, which has obtained approval of the relevant competent local authorities to provide up to RMB3.0 billion in credit drawdowns, and in December 2016, we established a second online small credit company, Ganzhou Microcredit, which has obtained approval of the relevant competent local authorities to provide up to RMB2.7 billion in credit drawdowns. The authorized amounts are currently insufficient to meet our funding needs for on-balance sheet transactions. We may not be able to obtain the regulatory approvals to increase the authorized amounts or to establish additional online small credit companies. To complement our online small credit companies, we also fund credit drawdowns through trusts established in collaboration with trust companies. The amount of funds that our online small credit companies and these trusts are able to provide may be insufficient to meet the growth in the amount of transactions drawdowns we facilitate. The funding of credit drawdowns by us without utilizing online small credit companies or trusts may render us to be deemed as a lender or a provider of financial services by the PRC regulatory authorities, and we may become subject to supervision and restrictions on lending under applicable laws and regulations.

Government authorities have issued certain rules, laws and regulations to regulate the organization and business activities of online small credit companies. However, due to the lack of the detailed rules on

28

interpretation and implementation of such rules, laws and regulations and the fact that the rules, laws and regulations are expected to continue to evolve with respect to the online small credit companies, there are uncertainties as to how such rules, laws and regulations will be interpreted and implemented and whether there will be new rules, laws or regulations issued which would set further requirements and restrictions on online small credit companies. We cannot assure you that our existing practice of the online small credit companies will be deemed to be in full compliance with all rules, laws and regulations that are applicable, or may become applicable to us in the future. For example, on November 9, 2016, Fuzhou Microcredit received a rectification notice from the Finance Office of Fuzhou Municipal Government, the competent regulator for administration and supervision on the small credit business of Fuzhou Microcredit, which requires Fuzhou Microcredit to conduct certain improvements and corrections in accordance with the Measures of Jiangxi Province for Supervision on Online Small Credit Companies (Pilot Scheme), as promulgated by the Jiangxi Provincial Finance Office on September 5, 2016. The rectification notice mainly focused on Fuzhou Microcredit’s lack of a separate operating system and internal control system from those of Beijing Happy Time and required Fuzhou Microcredit to establish its own operating system and internal control system. We have carried out such improvements and corrections as required and have submitted to the Finance Office of Fuzhou Municipal Government the rectification report. We have not received any further notification from the regulator. We cannot assure you that there will not be any other rectification requirements when any new rules on online small credit companies come into effect in the future.

We may be deemed as a lender or a provider of financial services by the PRC regulatory authorities.

We commenced our business in early 2014. We have established two online small credit companies in May 2016 and December 2016, respectively, and we have established trusts in collaboration with trust companies starting in December 2016. The maximum amount of credit that each of our online small credit companies is authorized to lend is limited and associated with its respective capital level pursuant to the requirements of the competent local authorities, and the authorized amounts are currently insufficient to meet our funding needs for on-balance sheet transactions. We may not be able to obtain the regulatory approvals to increase the authorized amounts or to establish additional online small credit companies. To complement our online small credit companies, we also fund credit drawdowns through trusts. Such trusts are funded by funds from institutional funding partners and our own capital. Since the trust companies administering such trusts have been licensed by financial regulatory authorities to lend, credit drawdowns funded under this arrangement are not private lending transactions within the meaning of the Private Lending Judicial Interpretation issued by the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC in August 2015. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, RMB8,832.7 million (US$1,302.9 million) of credit drawdowns initially funded by us were funded through our online small credit companies, representing approximately 23.1% of the total amount of transactions facilitated during such period. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, the amount of transactions facilitated through trusts was RMB13,763.1 million (US$2,030.2 million), representing approximately 36.0% of the total amount of transactions facilitated during such period. We currently fund all credit drawdowns initially disbursed by us through online small credit companies or trusts.

We disbursed funds to borrowers without utilizing online small credit companies or trusts in the past, which may be considered to involve the use of our own capital in lending, as a result of which we may be deemed as a lender or a provider of financial services by the PRC regulatory authorities, and we may become subject to supervision and restrictions on lending under applicable laws and regulations. For example, the Measures for the Banning of Illegal Financial Institutions and Illegal Financial Business Operations, promulgated by the PRC State Council, or the State Council, in July 1998 and revised in 2011, prohibits financial business activity, including fund raising and facilitating loans to the public, to be conducted without the approval of the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC. The General Rules on Loans issued by the PBOC in June 1996 provides that a financial institution shall conduct the business with the approval of the PBOC. Otherwise, it will be subject to a fine from one time to five times of the illegal revenues, and the PBOC has the authority to order such business to suspend its operations. Such existing PRC laws and regulations with respect to the supervision and restrictions on

29

lending to the public were primarily aimed to regulate traditional banking and financial institutions at the time of their respective promulgations, and the regulatory environment in the PRC has evolved since then. With the rapid development and evolving nature of the consumer finance industry and other new forms of Internet finance business in China, there are uncertainties as to the interpretation of the laws and regulations mentioned above as well as whether such laws and regulations are applicable to our business. In the event that we are considered by the relevant authorities to be subject to such PRC laws and regulations, and our past business operations are deemed to be in violation of such laws and regulations, we may be exposed to certain administrative penalties, including the confiscation of illegal revenue and fines up to five times the amount of the illegal revenue as mentioned above. Furthermore, our financing service fees received from borrowers might be fully or partially deemed as interest, such fees may be subject to the restrictions on interest rate as specified in applicable rules on private lending. For example, in accordance with the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Laws Applicable to Trials of Private Lending Cases issued by the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC on August 6, 2015, or the Private Lending Judicial Interpretations, which came into effect on September 1, 2015, if the annual interest rate of a private loan is higher than 36%, the excess will be void and will not be enforced by the courts. See “Regulations — Regulations related to Loans and Intermediation.”

In August 2015, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Counsel of the PRC published a consultation paper seeking public comments on the Regulations on Non-Deposit-Taking Lending Organizations (Draft for Comment), or the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit-Taking Lending, with a Note on the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit-Taking Lending published by the PBOC, or the PBOC Note on the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit-Taking Lending. According to the PBOC Note on the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit-Taking Lending, rather than generally categorizing activities like lending to public without the approval of PBOC as illegal, PBOC recognizes that, with the continuous development of the financial industry, the credit market in the PRC has developed into multiple segments, in addition to the traditional lending by financial institutions, and non-deposit-taking lending organizations of various types have formed an important part of, and enriched the tiers of, the credit market of the PRC. The PBOC also states that the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit-Taking Lending seeks to regulate small credit companies and other non-deposit-taking lending organizations that are not covered by the current regulatory framework in the PRC, which we believe may include companies such as ours. It is uncertain when or whether the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit Lending-Taking will be officially promulgated and take effect and whether the promulgated version would be substantially revised. Therefore, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the final framework, scope and applicability to us of the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit Lending-Taking to us. We cannot assure you that our past or existing practices would not be deemed to violate any existing or future laws, regulations and governmental policies. If the Draft Regulations on Non-Deposit Lending-Taking is enacted as proposed, we may have to obtain the requisite business permit and operate in accordance with relevant requirements provided therein.

The laws and regulations governing the online consumer finance industry in the PRC are still at a nascent stage and subject to further change and interpretation. If our business practices or the business practices of our institutional funding partners are deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

The PRC government has not adopted a clear regulatory framework governing the new and rapidly-evolving online consumer finance industry in which we operate, and our business may be subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the PRC that involve financial services, including consumer finance, small credit, and private lending. The application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are ambiguous, particularly in the new and rapidly-evolving online consumer finance industry in which we operate, and may be interpreted and applied inconsistently between the different government authorities. As of June 30, 2017, we have not been subject to any material fines or other penalties under any PRC laws or regulations as to our business operations. However, if the PRC government adopts a stringent regulatory framework for the online consumer finance industry in the future, and subject market participants such as our company to specific requirements (including without limitation, capital requirements, reserve requirements and licensing requirements), our business, financial condition and prospects would be materially and adversely affected. The existing and future rules, laws and

30

regulations can be costly to comply with and if our practice is deemed to violate any existing or future rules, laws and regulations, we may face injunctions, including orders to cease illegal activities, and may be exposed to other penalties as determined by the relevant government authorities as well.

In July 2015, the Guidelines on Promoting the Healthy Development of Internet Finance, or the Internet Finance Guidelines, were jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies. The Internet Finance Guidelines set out the regulatory framework and some basic principles on regulating the online consumer finance business in the PRC. The Internet Finance Guidelines specify that the China Banking Regulatory Commission, or the CBRC, will have primary regulatory responsibility for the online consumer finance businesses in China, which as currently used in the Internet Finance Guidelines is interpreted as businesses conducted via the Internet by consumer finance companies. Pursuant to the Pilot Measures for the Administration of Consumer Finance Companies released by the CBRC in November 2013, or the Pilot Consumer Finance Measures, consumer finance companies in the PRC refer to non-banking financial institutions as approved by the CBRC that do not engage in taking public deposits from individual lenders and provide individual borrowers with consumer loans pursuant to the principles that such loans be small amount in nature and widely dispersed to various borrowers. However, the Internet Finance Guidelines and the Pilot Consumer Finance Measures do not explicitly provide guidance or requirements on other forms of online consumer finance business conducted by participants other than the CBRC-approved consumer finance companies as defined in the Pilot Consumer Finance Measures, including, for example, our business. Therefore, it is currently uncertain whether our business practice is subject to the relevant rules regarding online consumer finance companies provided under the Internet Finance Guidelines and consumer finance companies provided under the Pilot Consumer Finance Measures. Given the evolving regulatory environment of the consumer finance industry, we cannot rule out the possibility that the CBRC or other government authorities will issue new regulatory requirements to institute a new licensing regime covering our industry. If such a license regime is introduced or new regulatory rules are promulgated, we cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain any new licenses or other regulatory approvals in a timely manner, or at all, which would materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

In addition, in August 2016, the CBRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, the Ministry of Public Security of China and the Office for Cyberspace Affairs jointly promulgated the Interim Measures for Administration of the Business Activities of Online Lending Information Intermediary Institutions, or the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures, which set out certain rules to regulate the business activities of online lending information intermediary institutions. The Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures define “online lending” as direct lending between peers, which can be natural persons, legal persons or other organizations, through Internet platforms, and “online lending information intermediary institutions” as financial information intermediaries that are engaged in lending information business and directly provide peers with lending information services, such as information collection and publication, credit rating, information interaction and loan facilitation between borrowers and lenders for them to form direct peer-to-peer lending relationships. The Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures are only applicable to private lending transactions according to relevant interpretations by the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Loans funded by financial institutions which are licensed by financial regulatory authorities are not private lending transactions within the meaning of the Private Lending Judicial Interpretation issued by the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC in August 2015. Therefore, facilitation of loans funded directly by such licensed financial institutions is not subject to the regulation set forth in the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures.

We do not engage in direct loan facilitation between peers. While we facilitate transactions that are directly funded by certain institutional funding partners, such companies are financial institutions licensed by financial regulatory authorities to lend. As such, we do not consider ourselves as an “online information intermediary institution” regulated under the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures. However, we cannot assure you that the CBRC or other PRC governmental agencies would not expand the applicability of the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures and/or otherwise regard us as an online lending information

31

intermediary institution. As a provider of online credit products, our business share certain similarities with those of P2P platforms. In March 2017, Beijing Happy Time received a rectification notice from the Beijing Branch of the Office of Leading Group on Special Rectification of Risks in the Internet Finance Sector, which was also the Office of Leading Group on Special Rectification of Risks in the Online Lending of Beijing, or the Beijing Rectification Office, the regulator of the Internet finance and online lending industry in Beijing. The rectification notice required Beijing Happy Time to conduct certain improvements and corrections to its business operation to be in compliance with the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures and the Implementing Scheme of Special Rectification of Risks in the Internet Finance Sector. We do not believe we are subject to the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures and have discussed with the Beijing Rectification Office about the difference between our business and those of “online information intermediary institution” as defined in the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures and that certain correction requirements in the notice were not actually related to our business. Nevertheless, the Beijing Rectification Office still required us to comply with certain requirements under the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures regardless of whether we are a P2P platform due to the fact that some of our institutional funding partners are P2P platforms, which are identified as online lending information intermediary institutions in accordance with the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures and other PRC laws and regulations. As such, we were deemed to be participating in a certain part of the “online lending” process as defined in the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures. We have since carried out certain improvements and corrections as required by the Beijing Rectification Office and are maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the Beijing Rectification Office. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not received final clearance from the Beijing Rectification Office that our rectification efforts were sufficient, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to receive such final clearance. We also cannot assure you that the Beijing Rectification Office will agree with our position that we are not an “online information intermediary institution.” In the event that we are deemed as an online lending information intermediary institution by the PRC regulatory authorities in the future, we may have to register with local financial regulatory authorities and apply for telecommunication business operation licenses if required by the competent authorities, and our current business practices may be considered to be in violation of the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures. Accordingly, we may face administrative orders to make rectification, receive administrative warnings or criticism notice, monetary penalties up to RMB30,000 and other penalties, and our business, results of operations and financial position could be materially and adversely affected.

We have cooperated with our institutional funding partners, whose compliance with PRC laws and regulations may affect our business. Our collaboration with institutional funding partners have exposed us to and may continue to expose us to additional regulatory uncertainties faced by such institutional funding partners. In addition, we have ceased transferring credit drawdowns to P2P platforms in April 2017. Nonetheless, we cannot assure you that the business operations of our institutional funding partners currently are or will be in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, and in the event that our institutional funding partners do not operate their businesses in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, they will be exposed to various regulatory risks and accordingly, our business, financial condition and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

In April 2017, the Office of Leading Group on Special Rectification of Risks in the Online Lending, the regulator for administration and supervision on the nationwide Internet finance and online lending, or the National Rectification Office, issued an Notice on the Conduction of Check and Rectification of Cash Loan Business Activities and a supplementary notice, or the Notice on Cash Loan. The Notice on Cash Loan requires the local counterparts of the National Rectification Office to conduct a full-scale and comprehensive inspection of cash loan business conducted by online platforms and require such platforms to conduct necessary improvements and corrections within a designated period to comply with the relevant requirements under the Private Lending Judicial Interpretation issued by the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC in August 2015, the Measures for the Banning of Illegal Financial Institutions and Illegal Financial Business Operations, the Guiding Opinions on Small Credit Companies, the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures and the Implementing Scheme of Special Rectification of Risks in the Internet Finance Sector. The Notice on Cash Loan focuses on preventing malicious fraudulent activities, loans that are offered at extortionate interest rates and violence in the loan collection processes in the cash loan business operation of online platforms. The National

32

Rectification Office issued a list of cash loan business that are to be examined, which includes Laifenqi, one of the brands in which we use to market our credit products. In light of the Notice on Cash Loan, we have taken measures, including re-evaluting and adjusting the amount of financing service fees we charge on all credit drawdowns in an effort to comply with applicable regulations. Due to the uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and application of the laws and regulations as stated in the Notice on Cash Loan, we cannot assure you our business practice will be deemed to be in full compliance with all such laws and regulations, and we may face injunctions, including orders to change our current business activities, and may be exposed to other penalties as determined by the relevant government authorities after such examination according to the Notice on Cash Loan. Furthermore, we may be required to conduct certain other improvements or corrections which could be costly, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

We focus on complying with relevant laws, regulations and government policies applicable to our business practice in the PRC and have implemented various measures, including the following: (i) in May 2016, we have established an online small credit company, Fuzhou Microcredit, which has obtained approval of the relevant competent local authorities to provide up to RMB3.0 billion in lending; and (ii) in December 2016, we have established an online small credit company, Ganzhou Microcredit, which has obtained approval of the relevant competent local authorities to provide up to RMB2.7 billion in lending. We have established trusts in collaboration with trust companies starting in December 2016. In addition, we continuously seek to work with additional institutional funding partners, including more traditional banking institutions, in light of the regulatory uncertainties faced by certain of our institutional funding partners, such as P2P platforms. In April 2017, we ceased transferring credit drawdowns to P2P platforms and certain other institutional funding partners. However, due to the lack of clarity in the potential interpretation of the relevant rules and the fact that the rules, laws and regulations are expected to continue to evolve in this newly emerging industry in which we operate, we cannot assure you that our measures would effectively prevent us from violating any existing or future rules, laws and regulations. See “— Our online small credit companies and trusts may not be able to provide sufficient amount to fund the growth of our business. In addition, the regulatory regime and practice with respect to online small credit companies are evolving and subject to uncertainty.”

As part of our efforts to obtain funding at competitive costs, we may from time to time explore alternative funding initiatives to support our rapid business growth, including through standardized capital instruments such as the issuance of asset-backed securities and other debt and equity offerings. The current PRC regulatory framework does not impose many restrictions and obligations on us as the credit originator of any potential asset-backed securities offering. Pursuant to the relevant PRC laws and regulations, an institution, such as our online small credit companies, is entitled to establish an asset-backed securities scheme as a credit originator for such scheme on the condition that it has legitimate ownership to the underlying transferred assets that are able to generate independent and predictable cash flow in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. However, the initiators of any potential asset-backed securities scheme with whom we work with are required to be financial institutions and they are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the PRC, such as Administrative Provisions on the Asset Securitization Business of Securities Companies and the Subsidiaries of Fund Management Companies and Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Pilot Projects of Credit Asset Securitization of Financial Institutions. Since we will not operate as an initiator of any asset-backed securities scheme, we will not be subject to these laws and regulations governing financial institutions as initiators. However, as the laws and regulations applicable to asset-backed securities are still developing, it remains uncertain as to the application and interpretation of such laws and regulations, particularly relating to the new and rapidly evolving online consumer finance industry in which we operate.

To the extent we issue asset-backed securities in the future, we do not plan to issue such securities to investors located in the United States or otherwise meeting the definition of “U.S. persons” as defined under Rule 902 under the Securities Act. As such, we do not believe that any such potential issuances will be subject to the requirements in Regulation AB under the Securities Act and the related rules. Nonetheless, if we issue asset-backed securities in the future that are required to be registered under the Securities Act, we may need to

33

comply with Regulation AB and related rules, which may make the issuance of such asset-backed securities impracticable.

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

The State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Administration of Financing Guarantee Companies, or the Financing Guarantee Rules, on August 2, 2017 which will become effective on October 1, 2017. Pursuant to the Financing Guarantee Rules, “financing guarantee” refers to the activities in which guarantors provide guarantee to the guaranteed parties as to loans, bonds or other types of debt financing, and “financing guarantee companies” refer to companies legally established and operating financing guarantee business. According to The Financing Guarantee Rules, the establishment of financing guarantee companies shall be subject to the approval by the competent government department, and unless otherwise stipulated by the state, no entity may operate financing guarantee business without such approval. If any entity violates these regulations and operates financing guarantee business without approval, the entity may be subject to penalties including ban or suspension of business, fines of RMB500,000 to RMB1,000,000, confiscation of illegally gains if any, and if the violation constitutes a criminal offense, criminal liability shall be imposed in accordance with the law. We have entered into cooperative arrangements with banks and a consumer finance company in which they are identified as the lender under the agreements with borrowers and the borrowers are required to repay the principal and financing service fees directly to them. See “Business — Funding — Funding Provided Directly by Institutional Funding Partners.” However, when borrowers under arrangements with banks fail to repay, we are obligated to repay the relevant bank the full overdue amount. In addition, pursuant to our agreement with the consumer finance company, we will make cash payments to the consumer finance company based on the delinquency rate on the portfolio of loans that we have facilitated in which the consumer finance company originates pursuant to a pre-agreed formula. For the six months ended June 30, 2017, such transactions, which are off-balance sheet transactions, represented 7.4% of the total amount of transactions facilitated. Due to the lack of further interpretations, the exact definition and scope of “operating financing guarantee business” under the Financing Guarantee Rules is unclear. It is uncertain whether we would be deemed to operate financing guarantee business because of our current arrangements with banks and the consumer finance company. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been subject to any fines or other penalties under any PRC laws or regulations related to financing guarantee business. Given the evolving regulatory environment of the financing guarantee business, we cannot assure you that we will not be required in the future by the relevant governmental authorities to obtain approval or license for financing guarantee business to continue our collaboration with banks and the consumer finance company. If we are no longer able to collaborate with banks and the consumer finance company at all, or become subject to penalties, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

The financing service fees we charge borrowers may decline in the future and any material decrease in such financing service fees could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We generate a substantial majority of our total revenues from financing service fees we charge borrowers. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, financing income, which we recognize for our on-balance sheet transactions, comprised 83.3% of our total revenues. In addition, we recognize loan facilitation income and others for our off-balance sheet transactions, as the relevant institutional funding partners deduct the principal and fees due to them from the repayments and remit the remainder to us as our loan facilitation fees. As such, the amount of financing service fees charged under such arrangements may affect the amount of loan facilitation fees that we collect. Any material decrease in our financing service fees would have a substantial impact on our margin. In the event that the amount of financing service fees we charge for credit drawdowns we facilitated decrease significantly in the future and we are not able to reduce our cost of capital for funds from institutional funding partners or to adopt any cost control initiatives, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed. To compete effectively, the financing service fees we charge borrowers could be affected by a variety of factors, including the creditworthiness and ability to repay of the borrowers, the competitive landscape of our industry, our access to capital and regulatory requirements. Our financing service fees may also be affected by a change over time in the

34

mix of the types of products we offer and a change to our borrower engagement initiatives. Our competitors may also offer more attractive fees, which may require us to reduce our financing service fees to compete effectively. Certain consumer financing solutions offered by traditional financial institutions may provide lower fees than our financing service fees. Although we do not believe such consumer financing solutions currently compete with our products or target the same unserved or underserved consumers in China, such traditional financial institutions may decide to do so in the future, which may have a material adverse effect as to the financing service fees that we will be able to charge. Furthermore, as our borrowers establish their credit profile over time, they may qualify for and seek out other consumer financing solutions with lower fees, including those offered by traditional financial institutions offline, and we may need to adjust our financing service fees to retain such borrowers.

In addition, our financing service fees are sensitive to many macroeconomic factors beyond our control, such as inflation, recession, the state of the credit markets, changes in market interest rates, global economic disruptions, unemployment and fiscal and monetary policies. Our financing service fees, to the extent they are fully or partially deemed as interest, may also be subject to the restrictions on interest rate as specified in applicable rules on private lending. Our online small credit companies are required by the applicable laws to comply with the 36% limit on annualized interest rate set forth in the Private Lending Judicial Interpretations. Loans funded under arrangements involving licensed financial institutions, such as banks, the consumer finance company and the trust companies, are not private lending transactions within the meaning of the Private Lending Judicial Interpretations. In April 2017, the National Rectification Office issued the Notice on Cash Loan which requires the local counterparts of the National Rectification Office to conduct a full-scale and comprehensive inspection of cash loan business conducted by online platforms and require such platforms to conduct necessary improvements and corrections within a designated period to comply with the relevant requirements specified in the Notice on Cash Loan. The Notice on Cash Loan focuses on preventing malicious fraudulent activities, loans that are offered at extortionate interest rates and violence in the loan collection processes in the cash loan business operation of online platforms. The National Rectification Office issued a list of cash loan businesses that are to be examined, which includes Laifenqi, one of the brands we use to market our credit products. There are uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and application of the laws and regulations as stated in the Notice on Cash Loan and their applicability to our business practices, and there is no law or regulation explicitly providing that the financing service fees we charge are to be deemed as interest. The annualized fee rates charged by us on a significant number of transactions facilitated were in excess of 36% historically. Among the number of transactions we facilitated in 2016, 59.5% of their annualized fee rates exceeded 36%. Had all such credit drawdowns reduced their annualized fee rates to 36%, our revenue would have been reduced by approximately RMB307 million, representing 21% of our total revenues in 2016.

In an effort to comply with potentially applicable laws and regulations, we adjusted the pricing of all our credit products in April 2017 to ensure that the annualized fee rates charged on all credit drawdowns do not exceed 36%. As financing service fees historically accounted for a substantial majority of our revenue, any material reduction in the amount of financing service fees we charge borrowers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See “— The laws and regulations governing the online consumer finance industry in the PRC are still at a nascent stage and subject to further change and interpretation. If our business practices or the business practices of our institutional funding partners are deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.”

We have limited experience managing our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. In addition, our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables is determined based on both objective and subjective factors and may not be adequate to absorb loan losses if we fail to accurately forecast the expected loss.

We face the risk that borrowers fail to repay their principals and financing service fees in full. Although we transfer certain credit drawdowns facilitated by us to our institutional funding partners, if borrowers default on their payment obligations for such credit drawdowns, we are generally obligated to repay our institutional funding partners all loan principals and fees payable in respect of credit drawdowns funded by them. Estimated

35

loss as a result of the borrower’s default is recorded as allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources.” We have established an evaluation process designed to determine the adequacy of our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. While this evaluation process uses historical and other objective information, it is also dependent on our subjective assessment based upon our experience and judgment. Actual losses are difficult to forecast, especially if such losses stem from factors beyond our historical experience. We have limited experience managing our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables, especially given the fact that we only commenced our business in early 2014. Furthermore, we shifted our focus of target borrower base from college students to young consumers in general starting from November 2015, and we may not be able to accurately forecast delinquencies of our current target borrower base. Given these challenges, it is possible that we will underestimate or overestimate the allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. In addition, we are not subject to periodic review by bank regulatory agencies of our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. As a result, if we underestimate the allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables, there can be no assurance that our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables will be sufficient to absorb losses or prevent a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Conversely, if we overestimate the allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables, we will record higher provision for loan principal and financing service fee receivables, which will adversely affect our results of operations.

We face intense competition and, if we do not compete effectively, our results of operations could be harmed.

The online consumer finance industry in China is highly competitive and we compete with other consumer finance service providers, including online consumer finance service providers, such as JD Finance, WeBank, Huabei and Jiebei, as well as traditional financial institutions, such as banks and consumer finance companies. In particular, we and Jiebei both engage borrowers through the Alipay consumer interface and may compete for borrower engagement. Our competitors may operate different business models, have different cost structures or participate selectively in different market segments. They may ultimately prove more successful or more adaptable to consumer demand and new regulatory, technological and other developments. Some of our current and potential competitors have significantly more financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their offerings. Our competitors may also have longer operating history, more extensive borrower bases or funding sources, greater brand recognition and brand loyalty and broader relationships with funding partners or merchandise suppliers than us. Additionally, a current or potential competitor may acquire, or form a strategic alliance with, one or more of our competitors. Our competitors may be better at developing new products, offering more attractive fees, responding more quickly to new technologies and undertaking more extensive and effective marketing campaigns. Furthermore, in light of the low barriers to entry in the online consumer finance industry, more players may enter this market and increase the level of competition. We anticipate that more established Internet, technology and financial services companies that possess large, existing user bases, substantial financial resources and established distribution channels may also enter the market in the future. In response to competition and in order to grow or maintain the amount of transactions facilitated to borrowers, we may have to offer lower amount of financing service fees, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. If we are unable to compete with such companies and meet the need for innovation in our industry, the demand for our credit products could stagnate or substantially decline, which could harm our business and results of operations.

With respect to institutional funding partners, we compete with other investment products and asset classes, such as equities, bonds, investment trust products, insurance products, bank savings accounts and real estate. If a substantial number of our institutional funding partners choose other investment alternatives, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

36

We may be required to obtain additional value-added telecommunication business licenses.

PRC regulations impose sanctions for engaging in Internet information services of a commercial nature without having obtained an Internet content provider license, or the ICP license, and sanctions for engaging in the operation of online data processing and transaction processing without having obtained a VATS license for online data processing and transaction processing, or ODPTP license (ICP and ODPTP are both sub-sets of value-added telecommunication business). These sanctions include corrective orders and warnings from the PRC communication administration authority, fines and confiscation of illegal gains and, in the case of significant infringements, the websites and mobile apps may be ordered to cease operation. Nevertheless, the interpretation of such regulations and PRC regulatory authorities’ enforcement of such regulations in the context of online consumer finance industry remains uncertain, it is unclear whether online consumer finance service provider like us are required to obtain ICP license or ODPTP license, or any other kind of value-added telecommunication business licenses. Beijing Happy Time and Qufenqi Beijing both have obtained ICP licenses. We have not obtained any ODPTP license to date. Given the evolving regulatory environment of the consumer finance industry and value-added telecommunication business, we cannot rule out the possibility that the PRC communication administration authority or other government authorities will explicitly require any of our consolidated VIEs or subsidiaries of our consolidated VIEs to obtain ICP licenses, ODPTP licenses or other value-added telecommunication business licenses, or issue new regulatory requirements to institute a new licensing regime for our industry. If such value-added telecommunication business licenses are clearly required in the future, or a new license regime is introduced or new regulatory rules are promulgated, we cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain any required license or other regulatory approvals in a timely manner, or at all, which would subject us to the sanctions described above or other sanctions as stipulated in the new regulatory rules, and materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may restrict or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated VIEs, or to make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries.

In utilizing the proceeds of this offering, we, as an offshore holding company, are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC laws, through loans or capital contributions. However, loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of SAFE and capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries are subject to the requirement of making necessary filings in the Foreign Investment Comprehensive Management Information System, and registration with other governmental authorities in China.

SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, effective on June 1, 2015, in replacement of the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, the Notice from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 59, and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 45. According to Circular 19, the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that RMB capital may not be used for the issuance of RMB entrusted loans, the repayment of inter-enterprise loans or the repayment of banks loans that have been transferred to a third party. Although Circular 19 allows RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise to be used for equity investments within the PRC, it also reiterates the principle that RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital of a foreign-invested company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope. Thus, it is unclear whether SAFE will permit such capital

37

to be used for equity investments in the PRC in actual practice. SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue RMB entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to issue loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. Circular 19 and Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer any foreign currency we hold, including the net proceeds from this offering, to our PRC subsidiaries, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in the PRC.

Due to the restrictions imposed on loans in foreign currencies extended to any PRC domestic companies, we are not likely to make such loans to any of our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries, each a PRC domestic company. Meanwhile, we are not likely to finance the activities of our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries by means of capital contributions given the restrictions on foreign investment in the businesses that are currently conducted by our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries.

In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans to our PRC subsidiaries or any consolidated variable interest entity or future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. As a result, uncertainties exist as to our ability to provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries when needed. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use foreign currency, including the proceeds we received from this offering, and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

We may need additional capital to pursue business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

Since inception, we have issued equity securities to support the growth of our business. As we intend to continue to make investments to support the growth of our business, we may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances, including developing new products and services, increasing the amount of transactions that our online small credit companies are able to fund to support the increasing amount of transactions we facilitate, further enhance our risk management capabilities, increasing our marketing expenditures to improve brand awareness and diversify our borrower engagement channels by collaborating with other leading Internet companies, enhancing our operating infrastructure and acquiring complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. However, additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Repayment of the debts may divert a substantial portion of cash flow to pay principal and interest on such debt, which would reduce the funds available for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; and we may suffer default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating cash flow is insufficient to repay debt obligations, which could in turn result in acceleration of obligations to repay the indebtedness and limit our sources of financing.

Volatility in the credit markets may also have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain debt financing. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to pursue our business objectives and to respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances could be significantly limited, and our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.

38

We incurred net losses in the past and may incur net losses in the future.

We had net losses of RMB40.8 million and RMB233.2 million in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 and in 2015, respectively. We had accumulated deficits of RMB5,984.8 million and RMB6,633.7 million as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2015, respectively. Although we had net income of RMB576.7 million (US$85.1 million) in 2016 and RMB973.7 million (US$143.6 million) in the six months ended June 30, 2017, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to generate net income in the future. We anticipate that our operating cost and expenses will increase in the foreseeable future as we continue to grow our business, attract borrowers, institutional funding partners and merchandise suppliers and further enhance and develop our credit products, enhance our risk management capabilities and increase brand recognition. These efforts may prove more costly than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. There are other factors that could negatively affect our financial condition. For example, the delinquency rates of the transactions facilitated may be higher than expected, which may lead to lower than expected revenue, additional expenses and higher provision for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. Furthermore, we have adopted share incentive plans in the past and may adopt new share incentive plans in the future, which have caused, and will result in, significant share-based compensation expenses to us. We generate a substantial majority of our total revenues from financing service fees we charge borrowers. Any material decrease in our financing service fees would have a substantial impact on our margin. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, our net income margins may decline or we may incur additional net losses in the future and may not be able to maintain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.

If our credit products do not achieve sufficient market acceptance or if we are unable to manage the growth of our credit products, our financial condition, results of operations and competitive position will be materially and adversely affected.

We currently offer cash credit products and merchandise credit products. Historically, we had explored and offered other types of credit products to users in China which were discontinued due to limited demand in the market. While we intend to eventually broaden the scope of products that we offer, there can be no assurance that we will be successful. New products must achieve high levels of market acceptance in order for us to balance the default risks associated with such products and to recoup our investment in developing and bringing them to market. Our existing or new products could fail to attain sufficient market acceptance for many reasons, including:

• our failure to predict market demand accurately and supply attractive and increasingly personalized credit products at appropriate pricing and amount that meet this demand in a timely fashion;

• borrowers may not like, find useful or agree with any changes made to our credit products;

• our existing credit products may cease to be popular among current borrowers or prove to be less attractive to prospective borrowers;

• our failure to offer attractive merchandise on our marketplace that can be purchased by borrowers through merchandise credit products at competitive amount of financing service fees to meet consumer needs and preferences;

• our failure to assess risk associated with new products and to properly price new and existing products;

• negative publicity about our credit products or our websites or mobile apps’ performance or effectiveness;

• views taken by regulatory authorities that the launch of new credit products and changes to our existing credit products do not comply with PRC laws, rules or regulations applicable to us; and

• the introduction or anticipated introduction of competing offerings by competitors.

If our existing and new products do not achieve adequate acceptance in the market, our competitive position, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.

39

Furthermore, the introduction of new credit products or the increased utilization of certain credit products over other products may result in material adverse change to our results of operations. For example, borrowers may increase their preference and utilization of our merchandise credit products, which are typically larger in amount with longer terms, over our cash credit products. As small credit products enjoy favorable risk characteristics compared to larger credit products, an increase in the utilization of merchandise credit products over cash credit products by borrowers may result in an increase in delinquency rate for the transactions facilitated by us. Credit products with longer durations may also lead to reduced frequency of transactions by borrowers, which may have a material adverse effect as to the volume and comprehensiveness of the data we collect and analyze and our risk management capabilities.

Credit analysis and other information that we receive from other parties concerning a prospective borrower may be inaccurate or may not accurately reflect such prospective borrower’s creditworthiness, which may compromise the accuracy of our credit assessment.

For the purpose of credit assessment and pricing, we obtain prospective borrower’s credit analysis and other information from them as well as, with their authorization, from external parties, and assess applicants’ creditworthiness based on such information. Such external party’s credit assessment system may still be at a development stage and therefore have limitations in measuring borrowers’ creditworthiness. We have experienced instances where credit analysis information provided by an external party was not fully predictive of actual delinquency rates. Therefore, we do not rely on inputs from one or only a few external parties. Instead, we use inputs from many external parties, including Zhima Credit Score, for our credit assessment model to enhance our risk management capabilities. As the credit assessment methodologies of external parties are not disclosed to us, we may not have adequate knowledge of the assumptions behind their credit analysis, which could cause our model to produce inaccurate results. In addition, if there is an adverse change in the economic condition, credit analysis information provided by external parties may not be a reliable reference to assess an applicant’s creditworthiness, which may compromise our risk management capabilities. As a result, our assessment of a borrower’s credit profile may not reflect that particular borrower’s actual creditworthiness because assessment may be based on outdated, incomplete or inaccurate information. In addition, the completeness and reliability of information on borrower’s credit risk available in the PRC is relatively limited. The PBOC has developed and put into use a national personal and corporate credit information database which remains relatively underdeveloped. The information available to us and external parties from whom we obtain information for our credit assessment model is limited. We also currently do not have a comprehensive way to determine whether prospective borrowers have obtained loans through other consumer finance platforms, creating the risk whereby a borrower may utilize our credit products in order to pay off loans from other sources. Additionally, we allow a borrower to make multiple drawdowns under his or her credit, and such borrower may use proceeds from one drawdown to repay a separate credit drawdown facilitated by us. There is also a risk that, following our obtaining a borrower’s information, the borrower may have:

• become delinquent in the payment of an outstanding obligation;

• defaulted on a pre-existing debt obligation;

• taken on additional debt; or

• sustained other adverse financial events.

Such inaccurate or incomplete borrower credit analysis and other information could compromise the accuracy of our credit assessment and adversely affect the effectiveness of our control over our delinquency rates. We may not be able to recoup funds underlying transactions made in connection with inaccurate or incomplete borrower credit information, in which case our results of operations will be harmed.

40

Any harm to our brands or reputation or any damage to the reputation of the online consumer finance industry may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Enhancing the recognition and reputation of our brands is critical to our business and competitiveness, since this initiative affects our ability to attract and better serve borrowers and institutional funding partners as well as merchandise suppliers. Factors that are vital to this objective include our ability to:

• maintain the effectiveness, quality and reliability of our systems;

• provide borrowers with a superior experience;

• engage a large number of quality borrowers with low delinquency rate;

• enhance and improve our credit assessment model and risk management system;

• enhance the quality of our funding sources;

• effectively manage and resolve borrower complaints; and

• effectively protect personal information and privacy of borrowers.

Any malicious or otherwise negative allegation made by the media or other parties about the foregoing or other aspects of our company, including our management, business, compliance with law, financial condition, prospects or our historical business operations on campuses, whether with merit or not, could severely hurt our reputation and harm our business and results of operations. In addition, certain factors that may adversely affect our reputation are beyond our control. Negative publicity about parties that we collaborate with in the operation of our business, such as Ant Financial or institutional funding partners, including negative publicity about any failure by them to adequately protect the information of their users, to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to otherwise meet required quality and service standards, could also harm our reputation or result in negative perception of the products we offer. Furthermore, any negative development in the online consumer finance industry, such as bankruptcies or failures of other consumer finance service providers, and especially a large number of such bankruptcies or failures, or negative perception of the industry as a whole, such as that arises from any failure of other consumer finance platforms to detect or prevent money laundering or other illegal activities, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, could compromise our image, undermine the trust and credibility we have established and impose a negative impact on our ability to attract new borrowers and to collaborate with and retain institutional funding partners. Negative developments in our industry, such as widespread borrower defaults, fraudulent behavior and/or the closure of other online consumer finance service providers, may also lead to tightened regulatory scrutiny of the sector and limit the scope of permissible business activities that may be conducted. If any of the foregoing takes place, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We are subject to risks associated with other parties with which we collaborate. If such other parties fail to perform or provide reliable or satisfactory services, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We collaborate with certain other parties in providing our credit products to borrowers. Such other parties include Ant Financial, institutional funding partners, other institutions from which we obtain information for our credit assessment model and risk management system, our cloud computing service provider and merchandise suppliers. These parties may not be able to provide accurate data analyses, sufficiently or timely fund credit that we facilitate or provide satisfactory merchandise and services to us and/or borrowers on commercially acceptable terms or at all. Any failure by these parties to continue with good business operations, comply with applicable laws and regulations or any negative publicity on these parties could damage our reputation, expose us to significant penalties and decrease our total revenues and profitability. Also, if we fail to retain existing or attract new quality parties to collaborate with, our ability to retain existing borrowers, engage prospective borrowers may be severely limited, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, certain of these other parties that we collaborate with have access to our user

41

data to a limited extent in order to provide their services. If these other parties engage in activities that are negligent, illegal or otherwise harmful to the trustworthiness and security of our products or system, including the leak or negligent use of data, or users are otherwise dissatisfied with their service quality, we could suffer reputational harm, even if these activities are not related to, attributable to or caused by us.

Fraudulent activity could negatively impact our results of operations, brand and reputation and cause the use of our credit products and services to decrease.

We are subject to the risk of fraudulent activity associated with borrowers and parties handling user information. Our resources, technologies and fraud detection tools may be insufficient to accurately detect and prevent fraud. For example, we currently do not have a comprehensive way to determine whether prospective borrowers have obtained loans through other consumer finance platforms, creating the risk whereby a borrower may borrow money through us in order to pay off loans from other sources. Even if we identify a fraudulent borrower and reject his or her credit application, such borrower may re-apply by using fraudulent information. We may fail to identify such behavior, despite our measures to verify personal identification information provided by borrowers. Furthermore, we may not be able to recoup funds underlying transactions made in connection with fraudulent activities. A significant increase in fraudulent activities could negatively impact our brands and reputation, discourage institutional funding partners from collaborating with us, reduce the amount of transactions facilitated to borrowers and lead us to take additional steps to reduce fraud risk, which could increase our costs. High profile fraudulent activity could even lead to regulatory intervention, and may divert our management’s attention and cause us to incur additional expenses and costs. Although we have not experienced any material business or reputational harm as a result of fraudulent activities in the past, we cannot rule out the possibility that fraudulent activities may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in the future.

We rely on institutional funding partners to fund credit drawdowns to borrowers, which may constitute provision of intermediary service, and our agreements with these institutional funding partners and borrowers may be deemed as intermediation contracts under the PRC Contract Law.

Under the PRC Contract Law, if an intermediary conceals any material fact intentionally or provides false information in connection with the conclusion of the proposed contract, which results in harm to the client’s interests, the intermediary may not claim for service fees and is liable for the damages caused. See “Regulations — Regulations Related to Loans and Intermediation.” Therefore, if we fail to provide material information to institutional funding partners, or if we fail to identify false information received from borrowers or others and in turn provide such information to institutional funding partners, and in either case if we are also found to be at fault, due to failure or deemed failure to exercise proper care, such as to conduct adequate information verification or supervision of our employees, or to accurately detect and prevent fraud due to ineffectiveness of our fraud detection tools, we could be held liable for damages caused to institutional funding partners as an intermediary pursuant to the PRC Contract Law. In addition, if we fail to complete our obligations under the agreements with institutional funding partners and borrowers, we could also be held liable for damages caused to borrowers or institutional funding partners pursuant to the PRC Contract Law. On the other hand, we do not assume any liability solely on the basis of failure to correctly assign a credit limit to a particular borrower in the process of facilitating transactions, as long as we do not conceal any material fact intentionally or provide false information, and are not found to be at fault otherwise. However, due to the lack of detailed regulations and guidance in the area of online consumer finance platforms and the possibility that the PRC government authority may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating online consumer finance platforms in the future, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations for the online consumer finance industry, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government authority will ultimately take a view that is consistent with ours.

42

Our business depends on our ability to collect payment on and service the transactions we facilitate.

We have implemented payment and collection policies and practices designed to optimize regulatory compliant repayment, while also providing superior borrower experience. Our collection process is divided into distinct stages based on the severity of delinquency, which dictates the level of collection steps taken. For example, automatic reminders through text, voice and instant messages are sent to a delinquent borrower as soon as the collections process commences. Our collection team will also make phone calls to borrowers following the first missed payment and periodically thereafter. Our collection team also disclose such delinquency to Zhima Credit if a payment is more than 20 calendar days past due. Despite our servicing and collection efforts, we cannot assure you that we will be able to collect payments on the transactions we facilitate as expected. If borrowers default on their payment obligations, we are generally obligated to repay our institutional funding partners all or a percentage of loan principals and fees payable in respect of credit funded by them. Therefore, our failure to collect payment on the transactions will have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial positions. In addition, we aim to control bad debts by utilizing and enhancing our credit assessment system rather than relying on collection efforts to maintain healthy credit performances. As such, our collection team may not possess adequate resource and manpower to collect payment on and service the transactions we facilitated. If we fail to adequately collect amounts owed, then payments of principals and financing service fees to us may be delayed or reduced and our results of operations will be adversely affected. As the amount of transactions facilitated by us increases in the future, we may devote additional resources into our collection efforts. However, there can be no assurance that we would be able to utilize such additional resources in a cost-efficient manner.

Moreover, the current regulatory regime for debt collection in the PRC remains unclear. Although we aim to ensure our collection efforts comply with the relevant laws and regulations in the PRC and we have established strict internal policies that our collections personnel do not engage in aggressive practices, we cannot assure you that such personnel will not engage in any misconduct as part of their collection efforts. Any such misconduct by our collection personnel or the perception that our collection practices are considered to be aggressive and not compliant with the relevant laws and regulations in the PRC may result in harm to our reputation and business, which could further reduce our ability to collect payments from borrowers, lead to decrease in the willingness of prospective borrowers to apply for and utilize our credit or fines and penalties imposed by the relevant regulatory authorities, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Fluctuations in interest rates could negatively affect the amount of transactions facilitated by us and cost of capital for funds provided to borrowers.

All credit facilitated by us have fixed financing service fees. If prevailing market interest rates rise, our cost of capital for funds will increase, which may force us to increase the financing service fees we charge. If our borrowers decide not to utilize our credit products because of such an increase in financing service fees, our ability to retain existing borrowers, attract or engage prospective borrowers as well as our competitive position may be severely limited. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively manage such interest risk at all times or pass on any increase in interest rate to our borrowers. If we are unable to effectively manage such an increase, our business, profitability, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. If prevailing market interest rates decrease and we fail to adjust the amount of financing service fees we charge accordingly, prospective borrowers may take advantage of the lower funding cost offered by other parties. As a result, any fluctuation in the interest rate environment may discourage borrowers from making credit applications from us or utilize their approved credit, which may adversely affect our business.

If we are unable to provide a high quality borrower experience, our business and reputation may be materially and adversely affected.

The success of our business largely depends on our ability to provide high quality borrower experience, which in turn depends on a variety of factors. These factors include our ability to continue to offer credit products

43

at competitive amount of financing service fees and adequate credit limits, reliable and user-friendly website interface and mobile apps for borrowers to browse, apply for credit, and purchase merchandise, and further improve our online credit approval process, source merchandise sold on our marketplace to respond to borrower’s demands and preferences. If borrowers are not satisfied with our credit products, the merchandise sold on our marketplace or our services, or our system is severely interrupted or otherwise fail to meet the borrowers’ requests, our reputation and borrower loyalty could be adversely affected.

In addition, we depend on our in-house call center to provide certain services to our users. If our user service representatives fail to provide satisfactory service, or if waiting time is too long due to the high volume of calls from users and borrowers at peak times, our brands and borrower loyalty may be adversely affected. In addition, any negative publicity or poor feedback regarding our borrower service may harm our brands and reputation and in turn cause us to lose borrowers and market share. As a result, if we are unable to continue to maintain or enhance our borrower experience and provide a high quality borrower service, we may not be able to retain borrowers or attract prospective borrowers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.

Our quarterly results of operations, including the levels of our total revenues, operating cost and expenses, net (loss)/income and other key metrics, may vary significantly in the future due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control, and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful, especially given our limited operating history. Accordingly, the results for any one quarter are not necessarily an indication of future performance. Fluctuations in quarterly results may adversely affect the price of our ADSs. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly financial results include:

• our ability to attract new borrowers and maintain relationships with existing borrowers;

• the amount of transactions;

• the mix of products we offer;

• delinquency rates of transactions we facilitate;

• the amount and timing of operating cost and expenses related to acquiring borrowers and the maintenance and expansion of our business, operations and infrastructure;

• our ability to establish relationship with additional institutional funding partners and maintain relationships with existing institutional funding partners;

• our ability to secure funding for credit we facilitate on reasonable terms;

• our emphasis on borrower experience instead of near-term growth;

• the timing of expenses related to the development or acquisition of technologies or businesses;

• proper and sufficient allowance and charge-off policies and implementation;

• network outages or security breaches;

• general economic, industry and market conditions; and

• changes in applicable laws and regulations.

In addition, we experience seasonality in our business, reflecting a combination of seasonality patterns of the retail market and our promotional activities. In recent years, many online and offline retailers in China hold promotions on November 11 and December 12 of each year, which drives significant increase in retail sales. Higher retail sales during the shopping seasons may generate greater demand for our credit products. As a result,

44

we typically record higher total revenues during the fourth quarter of each year compared to other quarters. On the other hand, our total revenues for the first quarter tend to be lower due to the Chinese New Year holiday that generally reduces borrowing activities. In addition, we hold promotional campaigns on March 21 (our anniversary), November 11 and December 12 by offering lower amount of financing service fees, which may also increase the number of borrowers who utilize our credit products and thus increase our total revenues for the relevant periods. On the other hand, lower financing service fee amount may decrease our margin for the relevant periods. Due to our limited operating history, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not apply to, or be indicative of, our future operating results.

Uncertainties relating to the growth of the retail industry in China in general, and the online retail industry in particular, could adversely affect revenues from our cash and merchandise credit products and our business prospects.

We generate our revenue from the provision of both cash and merchandise credit products which we believe are mainly used for day-to-day discretionary consumption purposes. As a result, our cash and merchandise credit products businesses are affected by the development of the retail industry, and in particular the online retail industry, in China. The long-term viability and prospects of various online retail business models in China remain relatively untested. As such, demand for our credit products and our future results of operations will depend on numerous factors affecting the development of the online retail industry in China, which may be beyond our control. These factors include:

• the growth of Internet, broadband, personal computer and mobile penetration and usage in China, and the rate of any such growth;

• the trust and confidence level of online retail and mobile commerce consumers, including our users, in China, as well as changes in borrower demographics and consumer tastes and preferences;

• the selection, price and popularity of merchandise that we and our competitors offer online;

• whether alternative retail channels or business models that better address the needs of consumers emerge in China; and

• the development of fulfillment, payment and other ancillary services associated with retail and mobile commerce purchases.

A decline in the popularity of online shopping in general, especially through the use of credit products, or any failure by us to adapt our marketplace and improve the online shopping experience of our users in response to trends and user requirements, may adversely affect our results of operations and business prospects.

Our success and future growth depend significantly on our successful marketing efforts, and if we are unable to promote and maintain our brands in an effective and cost-efficient way, our business and financial results may be harmed.

We believe that developing and maintaining awareness of our brands effectively is critical to attracting new and retaining existing borrowers. Successful promotion of our brands and our ability to attract quality borrowers depend largely on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts and the success of the channels we use to promote our brands and credit products. Our efforts to build our brands may cause us to incur significant expenses. These efforts may not result in increased revenue in the immediate future or at all and, even if they do, any increases in revenue may not offset the expenses incurred. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brands while incurring substantial expenses, our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected, which may impair our ability to grow our business.

45

Our business and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical, and if it contains undetected errors, our business could be adversely affected.

Our business and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical and complex. In addition, our business and internal systems depend on the ability of such software to store, retrieve, process and manage large amounts of data. The software on which we rely has contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Some errors may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Errors or other design defects within the software on which we rely may result in a negative experience for users, delay introductions of new features or enhancements, result in errors or compromise our ability to protect user data or our intellectual property, or affect the accuracy of our operating data. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in the software on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, loss of users, liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any significant disruption in our information technology systems, including events beyond our control, could prevent us from offering our products, thereby reduce the attractiveness of our products and result in a loss of borrowers or institutional funding partners.

In the event of a system outage and physical data loss, our ability to provide credit products would be materially and adversely affected. The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our technology and our underlying network infrastructure are critical to our operations, user service, reputation and our ability to attract new and retain existing borrowers and institutional funding partners. Our information technology systems infrastructure is currently deployed and our data is currently maintained on customized cloud computing services in China. Our operations depend on the service provider’s ability to protect its and our systems in its facilities against damage or interruption from natural disasters, power or telecommunications failures, air quality issues, environmental conditions, computer viruses or attempts to harm our systems, criminal acts and similar events. Since the launch of our business, we had experienced one system outage during the holiday seasons in China due to competition for available cloud computing services provided by our service provider and we cannot assure you that such incidents will not occur in the future. Moreover, if our arrangement with this service provider is terminated or if there is a lapse of service or damage to their facilities, we could experience interruptions in our service as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new credit for borrowers.

Any interruptions or delays in our service, whether as a result of third-party error, our error, natural disasters or security breaches, whether accidental or willful, could harm our relationships with borrowers and institutional funding partners and our reputation. Additionally, in the event of damage or interruption, our insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for any losses that we may incur. We also may not have sufficient capacity to recover all data and services in the event of an outage. These factors could prevent us from processing credit applications and other business operations, damage our brands and reputation, divert our employees’ attention, reduce our revenue, subject us to liability and cause borrowers and institutional funding partners to abandon our credit products, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Misconduct and errors by our employees and parties we collaborate with could harm our business and reputation.

We are exposed to many types of operational risks, including the risk of misconduct and errors by our employees and parties that we collaborate with. Our business depends on our employees and/or business partners to interact with users, process large numbers of transactions, deliver merchandise purchased by borrowers, providing user and after-sale product services and support the collection process, all of which involve the use and disclosure of personal information. We could be materially and adversely affected if transactions were redirected, misappropriated or otherwise improperly executed, if personal information was disclosed to unintended recipients or if an operational breakdown or failure in the processing of transactions occurred, whether as a result of human error, purposeful sabotage or fraudulent manipulation of our operations or systems. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct or errors by employees or business partners, and the precautions we

46

take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses. If any of our employees or business partners take, convert or misuse funds, documents or data or fail to follow our rules and procedures when interacting with users, we could be liable for damages and subject to regulatory actions and penalties. We could also be perceived to have facilitated or participated in the illegal misappropriation of funds, documents or data, or the failure to follow our rules and procedures, and therefore be subject to civil or criminal liability. Any of these occurrences could result in our diminished ability to operate our business, potential liability to users, inability to attract users, reputational damage, regulatory intervention and financial harm, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to protect the confidential information of our users and adapt to the relevant regulatory framework as to protection of such information, our business and operations may be adversely affected.

We collect, store and process certain personal and other sensitive data from our users, which makes us an attractive target and potentially vulnerable to cyber-attacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or similar disruptions. While we have taken steps to protect the confidential information that we have access to, our security measures could be breached. Because techniques used to sabotage or obtain unauthorized access to systems change frequently and generally are not recognized until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Any accidental or willful security breaches or other unauthorized access to our system could cause confidential user information to be stolen and used for criminal purposes. Security breaches or unauthorized access to confidential information could also expose us to liability related to the loss of the information, time-consuming and expensive litigation and negative publicity. If security measures are breached because of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, or if design flaws in our technology infrastructure are exposed and exploited, our relationships with users could be severely damaged, we could incur significant liability and our business and operations could be adversely affected.

In addition, PRC government authorities have enacted a series of laws and regulations in regard of the protection of personal information, under which internet service providers and other network operators are required to comply with the principles of legality, justification and necessity, to clearly indicate the purposes, methods and scope of any information collection and usage, and to obtain the consent of users, as well as to establish user information protection system with appropriate remedial measures. We have obtained the consents from our users to use their personal information within the scope of authorization and we have taken technical measures to ensure the security of such personal information and prevent the personal information from being divulged, damaged or lost. However, there is uncertainty as to the interpretation and application of such laws which may be interpreted and applied in a manner inconsistent with our current policies and practices or require changes to the features of our system. We cannot assure you that our existing user information protection system and technical measures will be considered sufficient under applicable laws and regulations. If we are unable to address any information protection concerns, or to comply with the then applicable laws and regulations, we may incur additional costs and liability and our reputation, business and operations might be adversely affected. See “Regulations — Regulations Related to Internet Information Security and Privacy Protection” for more details.

If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired.

We will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the NYSE after the completion of this offering. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. Commencing with our fiscal year ending December 31, 2018, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Form 20-F filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as the

47

term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. This will require that we incur substantial additional professional fees and internal costs to expand our accounting and finance functions and that we expend significant management efforts. Prior to this offering, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures, and we were never required to test our internal controls within a specified period, and, as a result, we may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner. Our management has not completed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting.

In addition, our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.

If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If that were to happen, the market price of our ADSs could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the NYSE, SEC or other regulatory authorities.

We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.

We regard our trademarks, domain names, copyrights, know-how, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark and trade secret law and confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. See “Business — Intellectual Property” and “Regulations — Regulations Related to Intellectual Property Rights.” However, we cannot assure you that any of our intellectual property rights would not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, or such intellectual property will be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. In addition, other parties may misappropriate our intellectual property rights, which would cause us to suffer economic or reputational damages. Because of the rapid pace of technological change, nor can we assure you that all of our proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property will be patented in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all. Furthermore, parts of our business rely on technologies developed or licensed by other parties, or co-developed with other parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these other parties on reasonable terms, or at all.

It is often difficult to register, maintain and enforce intellectual property rights in China. Statutory laws and regulations are subject to judicial interpretation and enforcement and may not be applied consistently due to the lack of clear guidance on statutory interpretation. Confidentiality, invention assignment and non-compete agreements may be breached by counterparties, and there may not be adequate remedies available to us for any such breach. Accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights or to enforce our contractual rights in China. Preventing any unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly and the steps we take may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property. In the event that we resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources. We can provide no assurance that we will prevail in such litigation. In addition, our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be

48

independently discovered by, our competitors. To the extent that our employees or consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related know-how and inventions. Any failure in protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations.

We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon or otherwise violate trademarks, copyrights, know-how, proprietary technologies or other intellectual property rights held by other parties. We may be from time to time in the future subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there may be other parties’ trademarks, copyrights, know-how, proprietary technologies or other intellectual property rights that are infringed by our credit products or other aspects of our business without our awareness. Holders of such intellectual property rights may seek to enforce such intellectual property rights against us in China, the United States or other jurisdictions. If any infringement claims are brought against us, we may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these claims, regardless of their merits.

Additionally, the application and interpretation of China’s intellectual property right laws and the procedures and standards for granting trademarks, copyrights, know-how, proprietary technologies or other intellectual property rights in China are still evolving and are uncertain, and we cannot assure you that PRC courts or regulatory authorities would agree with our analysis. If we were found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We may incur liability for merchandise sold on our marketplace that are without or have yet to receive proper authorization, infringe on other parties’ intellectual property rights, or fail to comply with related permits or filing requirements.

We currently collaborate with more than 480 merchandise suppliers, including leading brands and their authorized distributors for our merchandise credit product business. Although we have adopted measures to verify the authenticity and authorization of merchandise offered on our marketplace and avoid potential infringement of any rights of other parties in the course of sourcing these merchandise, we may not always be successful. In the event that counterfeit, unauthorized or infringing merchandise is sold on our mobile apps or infringing content is posted on our websites, we could face claims that we should be held liable. We had in the past received a few claims alleging that merchandise sold on our marketplace infringed on other parties’ rights and had worked with the relevant merchandise suppliers for product return and exchange of such merchandise. Although these claims have been immaterial to our business, results of operations and financial condition, if any material claim occurs in the future, irrespective of the validity of such claims, we may incur significant costs and efforts in either defending against or settling such claims. If there is a successful claim against us, we might be required to pay substantial damages or refrain from further sale of the relevant merchandise. Potential liability under PRC law if we negligently participated or assisted in infringement activities associated with counterfeit goods includes injunctions to cease infringing activities, rectification, compensation, administrative penalties and even criminal liability. Moreover, such claims or administrative penalties could result in negative publicity and our reputation could be severely damaged. Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We may be required to segregate our own assets from those assets of the institutional funding partners and borrowers.

Pursuant to the Internet Finance Guidelines and the Implementing Scheme of Special Rectification of Risks in the Internet Finance Sector adopted in April 2016, online finance institutions are required to segregate assets

49

of the institutional funding partners and borrowers in a custodian bank from their own assets. However, there is uncertainty as to the implementation of such regulations, and the scope of online finance institutions which are subject to such assets segregation liabilities remains unclear. In addition, commercial banks in the PRC currently only provide custodian services to online lending information intermediary institutions as defined under the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures. We do not consider ourselves as an online lending information intermediary institution as defined under the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures, and we currently do not engage commercial banks in the PRC to provide such custodian services to us. We use our best efforts to separate our own assets from those assets of the institutional funding partners to whom we transfer credit drawdowns by setting up separate bank accounts to monitor the assets of such institutional funding partners. However, since such bank accounts are still under our names and all the assets are therefore considered be owned by us from a PRC legal perspective, if any person enforces a judgment against our assets, the assets of the institutional funding partners and borrowers will be enforced against as well. In addition, if we are deemed as an online lending information intermediary institution by the applicable regulatory authorities under the Interim Online Lending Information Intermediary Measures in the future, we may be subject to regulatory measures, such as warnings, fines and other measures permitted under the law, for our current practices.

Any failure by us, institutional funding partners or payment processors to comply with applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws and regulations could damage our reputation, expose us to significant penalties, and decrease our revenues and profitability.

We have implemented various policies and procedures in compliance with all applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws and regulations, including internal controls and “know-your-customer” procedures, for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, we rely on our institutional funding partners and payment processors, in particular online payment companies that handle the transfer of funds from institutional funding partners to us and the borrowers, to have their own appropriate anti-money laundering policies and procedures. Certain of our institutional funding partners and online payment companies are subject to anti-money laundering obligations under applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations and are regulated in that respect by the PBOC. We have adopted commercially reasonable procedures for monitoring our institutional funding partners and payment processors.

We have not been subject to fines or other penalties, or suffered business or other reputational harm, as a result of actual or alleged money laundering or terrorist financing activities in the past. However, our policies and procedures may not be completely effective in preventing other parties from using us, any of our institutional funding partners, or payment processors as a conduit for money laundering (including illegal cash operations) or terrorist financing without our knowledge. If we were to be associated with money laundering (including illegal cash operations) or terrorist financing, our reputation could suffer and we could become subject to regulatory fines, sanctions, or legal enforcement, including being added to any “blacklists” that would prohibit certain parties from engaging in transactions with us, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Even if we, our institutional funding partners and payment processors comply with the applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations, we, institutional funding partners and payment processors may not be able to fully eliminate money laundering and other illegal or improper activities in light of the complexity and the secrecy of these activities. Any negative perception of the industry, such as that arises from any failure of other online consumer finance service providers to detect or prevent money laundering activities, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, could compromise our image, undermine the trust and credibility we have established, and negatively impact our financial condition and results of operation.

The Internet Finance Guidelines purport, among other things, to require internet finance service providers to comply with certain anti-money laundering requirements, including the establishment of a customer identification program, the monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions, the preservation of customer information and transaction records, and the provision of assistance to the public security department and judicial authority in investigations and proceedings in relation to anti-money laundering matters. The PBOC will

50

formulate implementing rules to further specify the anti-money laundering obligations of Internet finance service providers. We cannot assure you that the anti-money laundering policies and procedures we have adopted will be deemed to be in compliance with applicable anti-money laundering implementing rules if and when adopted.

From time to time we may evaluate and potentially consummate strategic investments or acquisitions, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business and adversely affect our financial results.

We may evaluate and consider strategic investments, combinations, acquisitions or alliances to further increase the value of our credit products and better serve borrowers and enhance our competitive position. For example, to further enhance user engagement efforts, in October 2016 we formed a joint venture with Ant Financial. The joint venture provides services covering various aspects of the daily life of college students, including those related to academia, social connection, networking and other campus life related services.

These transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations if consummated. If we are able to identify an appropriate business opportunity, we may not be able to successfully consummate the transaction and, even if we do consummate such a transaction, we may be unable to obtain the benefits or avoid the difficulties and risks of such transaction, which may result in investment losses.

Strategic investments or acquisitions will involve risks commonly encountered in business relationships, including:

• difficulties in assimilating and integrating the operations, personnel, systems, data, technologies, products and services of the acquired business;

• inability of the acquired technologies, products or businesses to achieve expected levels of revenue, profitability, productivity or other benefits including the failure to successfully further develop the acquired technology;

• difficulties in retaining, training, motivating and integrating key personnel;

• diversion of management’s time and resources from our normal daily operations and potential disruptions to our ongoing businesses;

• difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies within the combined organizations;

• difficulties in retaining relationships with borrowers, institutional funding partners, merchandise suppliers, employees and other partners of the acquired business;

• risks of entering markets in which we have limited or no prior experience;

• regulatory risks, including remaining in good standing with existing regulatory bodies or receiving any necessary pre-closing or post-closing approvals, as well as being subject to new regulators with oversight over an acquired business;

• assumption of contractual obligations that contain terms that are not beneficial to us, require us to license or waive intellectual property rights or increase our risk for liability;

• liability for activities of the acquired business before the acquisition, including intellectual property infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities; and

• unexpected costs and unknown risks and liabilities associated with strategic investments or acquisitions.

We may not make any investments or acquisitions, or any future investments or acquisitions may not be successful, may not benefit our business strategy, may not generate sufficient revenues to offset the associated acquisition costs or may not otherwise result in the intended benefits.

51

Our business depends on the continued efforts of our senior management. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, our business may be severely disrupted.

Our business operations depend on the continued services of our senior management, particularly the executive officers named in this prospectus. In particular, Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, is critical to the management of our business and operations and the development of our strategic direction. While we have provided different incentives to our management, we cannot assure you that we can continue to retain their services. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all, our future growth may be constrained, our business may be severely disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. In addition, although we have entered into confidentiality and non-competition agreements with our management, there is no assurance that any member of our management team will not join our competitors or form a competing business. If any dispute arises between our current or former officers and us, we may have to incur substantial costs and expenses in order to enforce such agreements in China or we may be unable to enforce them at all.

Competition for employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the qualified and skilled employees needed to support our business.

We believe our success depends on the efforts and talent of our employees, including technology and product development, risk management, operation management and finance personnel. Our future success depends on our continued ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain qualified and skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled technical, risk management, operation management and financial personnel is extremely intense. We may not be able to hire and retain these personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure. Some of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment.

In addition, we invest significant time and expenses in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we fail to retain our employees, we could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements, and the quality of our services and our ability to serve borrowers and investors could diminish, resulting in a material adverse effect to our business.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal controls as of December 31, 2016, and if we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results or prevent fraud may be adversely affected, and investor confidence and the market price of the ADSs may be adversely affected.

Prior to this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls. In the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal controls, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. One material weakness relates to our lack of sufficient number of financial reporting personnel with appropriate level of knowledge and experience in application of U.S. GAAP and SEC rules and regulations commensurate with our reporting requirements. Although we have begun to implement measures to address the material weakness, implementation of those measures may not fully remediate the material weakness in a timely manner. In the future we may determine that we have additional material weaknesses, or our independent registered public accounting firm may disagree with our management assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls.

52

If we fail to establish and maintain adequate internal controls, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could limit our access to capital markets, adversely affect our results of operations and lead to a decline in the trading price of the ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal controls could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list or to other regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We could also be required to restate our historical financial statements.

Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The economy in China has experienced increases in inflation and labor costs in recent years. As a result, average wages in the PRC are expected to continue to increase. In addition, we are required by PRC laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pension, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments to the statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to control our labor costs or pass on these increased labor costs, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We may be subject to claims under consumer protection laws, including health and safety claims and product liability claims, if property or people are harmed by the merchandise and services offered on our marketplace.

Our marketplace allows consumers to buy merchandise from third-party merchandise suppliers, and some of such merchandise may be defectively designed or manufactured. Operators of online marketplaces in the PRC are subject to certain provisions of consumer protection laws even where the operator is not the supplier of the product or service purchased by the consumer. As a result, sales of defective merchandise could expose us to product liability claims relating to personal injury or property damage or other actions. In addition, if we do not take appropriate remedial action against merchandise suppliers for actions they engage in that we know, or should have known, would infringe upon the rights and interests of consumers, we may be held jointly liable with the merchandise suppliers for such infringement. Moreover, applicable consumer protection laws in China provide that trading platforms will be held liable for failing to meet any undertakings that the platforms make to consumers with regard to merchandise listed on their websites or mobile apps. Furthermore, we are required to report to the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, or the SAIC, or its local branches any violation of applicable laws, regulations or SAIC rules by merchandise suppliers or service providers, such as sales of goods without proper license or authorization, and to take appropriate remedial measures, including ceasing to provide services to the relevant merchandise suppliers. We may also be held jointly liable with merchandise suppliers who do not possess the proper licenses or authorizations to sell goods or sell goods that do not meet product standards. In addition, we may face activist litigation in China by plaintiffs claiming damages based on consumer protection laws, which may result in increased costs in defending such suits and damages should we not prevail, which could materially and adversely affect our reputation and brands and our results of operations. We do not maintain product liability insurance for merchandise offered on our marketplace, and our rights of indemnity from our merchandise suppliers may not adequately cover us for any liability we may incur. Even unsuccessful claims could result in the expenditure of funds and management time and resources and could materially reduce our net income and profitability.

Under our standard form agreements, we require merchandise suppliers to indemnify us for any losses we suffer or any costs that we incur due to any merchandise offered by these merchandise suppliers. However, not all of our agreements with merchandise suppliers include such terms, and for those agreements that include such terms, we may not be able to successfully enforce our contractual rights and may need to initiate costly and lengthy legal proceedings in China to protect our rights.

53

If we cannot maintain our corporate culture as we grow, we could lose the innovation, collaboration and focus that contribute to the success of our business.

We believe that a critical component of our success is our corporate culture, which we believe cultivates efficiency, fosters innovation, encourages teamwork and embraces changes and development. As we develop the infrastructure of a public company and continue to grow, we may find it difficult to maintain these valuable aspects of our corporate culture. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively impact our future success, including our ability to attract and retain employees, encourage innovation and teamwork and effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives.

We do not have any business insurance coverage.

Insurance companies in China currently do not offer as extensive an array of insurance products as insurance companies in more developed economies. Currently, we do not have any business liability or disruption insurance to cover our operations. We have determined that the costs of insuring for these risks and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance on commercially reasonable terms make it impractical for us to have such insurance. Any uninsured business disruptions may result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

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

Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese or global economy may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In particular, general economic factors and conditions in China or worldwide, including the general interest rate environment and unemployment rates, may affect borrowers’ willingness to seek credit and institutional funding partners’ ability and desire to fund credit drawdowns facilitated by us. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. The global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions since 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies have experienced periods of recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and there are new challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis from 2011 and the slowdown of China’s economic growth since 2012, which may continue. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have also been concerns over unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in financial and other markets. There have also been concerns over the expected withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union as well as the outcome of the United States presidential election in November 2016. There have also been concerns about the economic effect of the tensions in the relationship between China and surrounding Asian countries. If present Chinese and global economic uncertainties persist, we may have difficulty in obtaining funding sources to fund the credit utilized by borrowers. Adverse economic conditions could also reduce the number of quality borrowers seeking credit from us, as well as their ability to make payments. Should any of these situations occur, the amount of transactions facilitated to borrowers and our revenue will decline, and our business and financial condition will be negatively impacted. Additionally, continued turbulence in the international markets may adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs.

Borrower growth and activity on mobile devices depends upon effective use of mobile operating system, networks and standards, which we do not control.

Our credit products are offered through mobile apps. As new mobile devices and platforms are released, it is difficult to predict the problems we may encounter in developing applications for these new devices and platforms, and we may need to devote significant resources to the development, support and maintenance of such applications. In addition, our future growth and our results of operations could suffer if we experience difficulties

54

in the future in integrating our credit products into mobile devices or if problems arise with our relationships with providers of mobile operating systems or mobile app stores, or if we face increased costs to distribute or have users utilize our credit products on mobile devices. We are further dependent on the interoperability of providing our credit products on popular mobile operating systems that we do not control, such as iOS and Android, and any changes in such systems that degrade the accessibility of our credit products or give preferential treatment to competing products could adversely affect the usability of our credit products on mobile devices. In the event that it is more difficult for our users to access and utilize our credit products on their mobile devices, or if our users choose not to access or utilize our credit products on their mobile devices or to use mobile operating systems that do not offer access to our credit products, our user growth could be harmed and our business, financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.

Our operations depend on the performance of the Internet infrastructure and fixed telecommunications networks in China.

Almost all access to the Internet in China is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the MIIT. Our systems infrastructure is currently deployed and our data is currently maintained on customized cloud computing services. Our cloud computing service provider may rely on a limited number of telecommunication service providers to provide it with data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines and Internet data centers to host its servers. Such service provider may have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s Internet infrastructure or the fixed telecommunications networks provided by telecommunication service providers. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with increasing traffic. We cannot assure you that our cloud computing service provider and the underlying Internet infrastructure and the fixed telecommunications networks in China will be able to support the demands associated with the continued growth in Internet usage.

In addition, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunication service providers which in turn, may affect our costs of utilizing customized cloud computing services. If the prices we pay for customized cloud computing services rise significantly, our results of operations may be adversely affected. Furthermore, if Internet access fees or other charges to Internet users increase, our user traffic may decline and our business may be harmed.

We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations.

We are vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities. Fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins, war, riots, terrorist attacks or similar events may give rise to server interruptions, breakdowns, system failures or Internet failures, which could cause the loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware as well as adversely affect our ability to provide our credit products.

Our business could also be adversely affected by the effects of Ebola virus disease, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, or other epidemics. Our business operations could be disrupted if any of our employees is suspected of having Ebola virus disease, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, SARS or other epidemic, since it could require our employees to be quarantined and/or our offices to be disinfected. In addition, our results of operations could be adversely affected to the extent that any of these epidemics harms the Chinese economy in general.

55

Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our consolidated VIEs do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

The PRC government regulates telecommunications-related businesses through strict business licensing requirements and other government regulations. These laws and regulations also include limitations on foreign ownership of PRC companies that engage in telecommunications-related businesses. Specifically, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than a 50% equity interest in any PRC company engaging in value-added telecommunications businesses, with certain exceptions relating to online retail and mobile commerce which does not apply to us. The primary foreign investor must also have experience and a good track record in providing value-added telecommunications services, or VATS, overseas.

Because we are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are classified as a foreign enterprise under PRC laws and regulations, and our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary, Ganzhou Qufenqi, is a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct our business in China through our consolidated VIEs and their affiliates. Ganzhou Qufenqi has entered into a series of contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders. In addition, pursuant to the resolutions of all shareholders of Qudian Inc. and the resolutions of the board of directors of Qudian Inc., the board of directors of Qudian Inc. or any officer authorized by such board shall cause Ganzhou Qufenqi to exercise Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the power of attorney agreements entered into among Ganzhou Qufenqi, Beijing Happy Time and the nominee shareholders of Beijing Happy Time and Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the exclusive call option agreement between Ganzhou Qufenqi and Beijing Happy Time. As a result of these resolutions and the provision of unlimited financial support from the Company to Beijing Happy Time, Qudian Inc. has been determined to be most closely associated with Beijing Happy Time within the group of related parties and was considered to be the primary beneficiary of Beijing Happy Time and its subsidiaries. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Our History and Corporate Structure — Contractual Arrangements with Consolidated VIEs and Their Shareholders.”

We believe that our corporate structure and contractual arrangements comply with the current applicable PRC laws and regulations. Our PRC legal counsel, based on its understanding of the relevant laws and regulations, is of the opinion that each of the contracts among our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary, our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders is valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with its terms. However, as there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, including the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules and the Telecommunications Regulations and the relevant regulatory measures concerning the telecommunications industry, there can be no assurance that the PRC government authorities, such as the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, or the MIIT, or other authorities that regulate online consumer finance platforms and other participants in the telecommunications industry, would agree that our corporate structure or any of the above contractual arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or policies that may be adopted in the future. PRC laws and regulations governing the validity of these contractual arrangements are uncertain and the relevant government authorities have broad discretion in interpreting these laws and regulations.

If our corporate structure and contractual arrangements are deemed by the MIIT or the MOFCOM or other regulators having competent authority to be illegal, either in whole or in part, we may lose control of our consolidated VIEs and have to modify such structure to comply with regulatory requirements. However, there can be no assurance that we can achieve this without material disruption to our business. Further, if our corporate structure and contractual arrangements are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or

56

regulations, the relevant regulatory authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

• revoking our business and operating licenses;

• levying fines on us;

• confiscating any of our income that they deem to be obtained through illegal operations;

• shutting down our services;

• discontinuing or restricting our operations in China;

• imposing conditions or requirements with which we may not be able to comply;

• requiring us to change our corporate structure and contractual arrangements;

• restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds from overseas offering to finance our PRC consolidated VIEs’ business and operations; and

• taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business.

Furthermore, new PRC laws, rules and regulations may be introduced to impose additional requirements that may be applicable to our corporate structure and contractual arrangements. See “— Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the draft PRC Foreign Investment Law, and its enactment may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.” Occurrence of any of these events could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if the imposition of any of these penalties or requirement to restructure our corporate structure causes us to lose the rights to direct the activities of our consolidated VIEs or our right to receive their economic benefits, we would no longer be able to consolidate the financial results of such VIEs in our consolidated financial statements. However, we do not believe that such actions would result in the liquidation or dissolution of our company, our wholly-owned subsidiaries in China or our consolidated VIEs or their subsidiaries. See “Our History and Corporate Structure — Contractual Arrangements with Consolidated VIEs and Their Shareholders.”

Our contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs may result in adverse tax consequences to us.

We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that our contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs were not made on an arm’s length basis and adjust our income and expenses for PRC tax purposes by requiring a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could adversely affect us by (i) increasing the tax liabilities of our consolidated VIEs without reducing the tax liability of our subsidiaries, which could further result in late payment fees and other penalties to our consolidated VIEs for underpaid taxes; or (ii) limiting the ability of our consolidated VIEs to obtain or maintain preferential tax treatments and other financial incentives.

We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders to operate our business, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control and otherwise have a material adverse effect as to our business.    

We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders to operate our business. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Our History and Corporate Structure — Contractual Arrangements with Consolidated VIEs and Their Shareholders.” All of our revenue are attributed to our consolidated VIEs. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our consolidated VIEs. If our consolidated VIEs or their shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under these contractual arrangements, our recourse to the assets held by our consolidated VIEs is indirect and we may have to incur substantial costs and expend significant resources to enforce such

57

arrangements in reliance on legal remedies under PRC law. These remedies may not always be effective, particularly in light of uncertainties in the PRC legal system. Furthermore, in connection with litigation, arbitration or other judicial or dispute resolution proceedings, assets under the name of any of record holder of equity interest in our consolidated VIEs, including such equity interest, may be put under court custody. As a consequence, we cannot be certain that the equity interest will be disposed pursuant to the contractual arrangement or ownership by the record holder of the equity interest.

All of these contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant time delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, it would be very difficult to exert effective control over our consolidated VIEs, and our ability to conduct our business and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. See “— Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations.”

Ganzhou Qudian, Hunan Qudian and Xiamen Qudian became our consolidated VIEs in 2017. Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Mr. Lianzhu Lv, our director and head of user experience department, are the only shareholders of Ganzhou Qudian, and Mr. Min Luo and Mr. Hongjia He, our vice president, are the only shareholders of Hunan Qudian. Mr. Min Luo is the only shareholder of Xiamen Qudian. We believe such shareholding structure will enhance our administrative efficiency and reduce uncertainties associated with the enforcement of the relevant contractual arrangements entered into with the new consolidated VIEs and their respective shareholder(s). Instead of relying on several shareholders’ compliance with their respective contractual obligations, we will only rely on one or two shareholders’ compliance for each new consolidated VIE and would only need to enforce against such shareholder(s) in the event of a breach. However, there can be no assurance that the shareholding structure of the new consolidated VIEs will deliver the expected benefits. If any of the shareholders of the new consolidated VIEs breaches his obligations under the applicable contractual arrangements, our business, financial condition and results and operations could be materially and adversely affected.

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

In connection with our operations in China, we rely on the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs to abide by the obligations under such contractual arrangements. The interests of these shareholders in their individual capacities as the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs may differ from the interests of our company as a whole, as what is in the best interests of our consolidated VIEs, including matters such as whether to distribute dividends or to make other distributions to fund our offshore requirement, may not be in the best interests of our company. There can be no assurance that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these individuals will act in the best interests of our company or those conflicts of interest will be resolved in our favor. In addition, these individuals may breach or cause our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries to breach or refuse to renew the existing contractual arrangements with us.

Currently, we do not have arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs may encounter, on one hand, and as a beneficial owner of our company, on the other hand. We, however, could, at all times, exercise our option under the exclusive call option agreement to cause them to transfer all of their equity ownership in our consolidated VIEs to a PRC entity or individual designated by us as permitted by the then applicable PRC laws. In addition, if such conflicts of interest arise, we could also, in the capacity of attorney-in-fact of the then existing shareholders of our consolidated VIEs as provided under the power of attorney agreements, directly appoint new directors of our consolidated VIEs. We rely on the

58

shareholders of our consolidated VIEs to comply with PRC laws and regulations, which protect contracts and provide that directors and executive officers owe a duty of loyalty to our company and require them to avoid conflicts of interest and not to take advantage of their positions for personal gains, and the laws of the Cayman Islands, which provide that directors have a duty of care and a duty of loyalty to act honestly in good faith with a view to our best interests. However, the legal frameworks of China and the Cayman Islands do not provide guidance on resolving conflicts in the event of a conflict with another corporate governance regime. If we cannot resolve any conflicts of interest or disputes between us and the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

Our corporate actions will be substantially controlled by our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Min Luo, who will have the ability to control or exert significant influence over important corporate matters that require approval of shareholders, which may deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your ADSs and materially reduce the value of your investment.    

Our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in respect of all matters subject to a shareholders’ vote, each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to ten votes, voting together as one class. Upon the completion of this offering, Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, will beneficially own all the Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, representing             % of our aggregate voting power. As a result, Mr. Min Luo will have the ability to control or exert significant influence over important corporate matters, investors may be prevented from affecting important corporate matters involving our company that require approval of shareholders, including:

• the composition of our board of directors and, through it, any determinations with respect to our operations, business direction and policies, including the appointment and removal of officers;

• any determinations with respect to mergers or other business combinations;

• our disposition of substantially all of our assets; and

• any change in control.

These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders, including the holders of the ADSs. Furthermore, this concentration of ownership may also discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the dual effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and reducing the price of the ADSs. As a result of the foregoing, the value of your investment could be materially reduced.

If the custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets, our business and operations may be materially and adversely affected.    

Under PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts such as the leases and sales contracts that our business relies on, are executed using the chop or seal of the signing entity or with the signature of a legal representative whose designation is registered and filed with the relevant local branch of the SAIC. We generally execute legal documents by affixing chops or seals, rather than having the designated legal representatives sign the documents.

We have three major types of chops — corporate chops, contract chops and finance chops. We use corporate chops generally for documents to be submitted to government agencies, such as applications for changing business scope, directors or company name, and for legal letters. We use contract chops for executing leases and commercial contracts. We use finance chops generally for making and collecting payments, including issuing

59

invoices. Use of corporate chops and contract chops must be approved by our legal department and administrative department, and use of finance chops must be approved by our finance department. The chops of our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs are generally held by the relevant entities so that documents can be executed locally. Although we usually utilize chops to execute contracts, the registered legal representatives of our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs have the apparent authority to enter into contracts on behalf of such entities without chops, unless such contracts set forth otherwise.

In order to maintain the physical security of our chops, we generally have them stored in secured locations accessible only to the designated key employees of our legal, administrative or finance departments. Our designated legal representatives generally do not have access to the chops. Although we have approval procedures in place and monitor our key employees, including the designated legal representatives of our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs, the procedures may not be sufficient to prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. There is a risk that our key employees or designated legal representatives could abuse their authority, for example, by binding our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs with contracts against our interests, as we would be obligated to honor these contracts if the other contracting party acts in good faith in reliance on the apparent authority of our chops or signatures of our legal representatives. If any designated legal representative obtains control of the chop in an effort to obtain control over the relevant entity, we would need to have a shareholder or board resolution to designate a new legal representative and to take legal action to seek the return of the chop, apply for a new chop with the relevant authorities, or otherwise seek legal remedies for the legal representative’s misconduct. If any of the designated legal representatives obtains and misuses or misappropriates our chops and seals or other controlling intangible assets for whatever reason, we could experience disruption to our normal business operations. We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve while distracting management from our operations, and our business and operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the draft PRC Foreign Investment Law, and its enactment may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.    

The MOFCOM published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015 aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the major existing laws and regulations governing foreign investment in China. While the MOFCOM solicited comments on this draft, substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the proposed legislation and the extent of revision to the currently proposed draft. The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may materially impact the entire legal framework regulating foreign investments in China.

Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law purports to introduce the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign invested enterprise, or an FIE. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but “controlled” by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs, whereas an entity organized in a foreign jurisdiction, but cleared by the MOFCOM as “controlled” by PRC entities and/or citizens, would nonetheless be treated as a PRC domestic entity for investment in the “restriction category” that could appear on any such “negative list.” In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover any of the following summarized categories:

• holding 50% or more of the voting rights or similar rights and interests of the subject entity;

• holding less than 50% of the voting rights or similar rights and interests of the subject entity but having the power to directly or indirectly appoint or otherwise secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to materially influence the board, the shareholders’ meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or

• having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial, staffing and technology matters.

60

Once an entity is determined to be an FIE, and its investment amount exceeds certain thresholds or its business operation falls within a “negative list” purported to be separately issued by the State Council in the future, market entry clearance by the MOFCOM or its local counterparts would be required.

The VIE structure has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to conduct business in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, VIEs that are controlled via contractual arrangements would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. For any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is in the “restriction category” that could appear on any such “negative list,” the existing VIE structure may be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC state owned enterprises or agencies, or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, then the VIEs will be treated as FIEs, in which case, the existing VIE structures will likely to be scrutinized and subject to foreign investment restrictions and approval from the MOFCOM and other supervising authorities such as MIIT. Any operation in the industry category on the “negative list” without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

However, there are significant uncertainties as to how the control status of our consolidated VIEs would be determined under the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law. In addition, it is uncertain whether any of the businesses that we currently operate or plan to operate in the future through our consolidated VIEs would be on the to-be-issued “negative list” and therefore be subject to any foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions. If our consolidated VIEs were deemed as an FIE under the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law, and any of the businesses that we operate were in the “restricted” category on the to-be-issued “negative list,” such determination would materially and adversely affect the value of our ADSs. We also face uncertainties as to whether the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law and the final “negative list” would mandate further actions, such as MOFCOM market entry clearance, to be completed by companies with existing VIE structure and whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all. If we were not considered as ultimately controlled by PRC domestic investors under the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law, further actions required to be taken by us under the enacted Foreign Investment Law may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

In addition, our corporate governance practice may be materially impacted and our compliance costs could increase if we were not considered as ultimately controlled by PRC domestic investors under the Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as currently proposed. For instance, the draft Foreign Investment Law as proposed purports to impose stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. Aside from investment implementation report and investment amendment report that would be required for each investment and alteration of investment specifics, an annual report would be mandatory, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria would be required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these information reporting obligations could potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible could be subject to criminal liabilities.

Risks Relating to Doing Business in China

Changes in the political and economic policies of the PRC government may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and may result in our inability to sustain our growth and expansion strategies.    

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in the PRC and all of our revenue is sourced from the PRC. Accordingly, our financial condition and results of operations are affected to a significant extent by economic, political and legal developments in the PRC.

The PRC economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the extent of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, and control of foreign exchange and

61

allocation of resources. Although the PRC government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth by allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, regulating financial services and institutions and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past three decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall PRC economy, but may also have a negative effect on us. Our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us. In addition, the PRC government has implemented in the past certain measures to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity, which in turn could lead to a reduction in demand for our services and consequently have a material adverse effect on our businesses, financial condition and results of operations.

There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in the PRC, and are governed by PRC laws, rules and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs are subject to laws, rules and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China. The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value.

In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws, rules and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past three decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investment in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws, rules and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China or may be subject to significant degrees of interpretation by PRC regulatory agencies. In particular, because these laws, rules and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited number of published decisions and the nonbinding nature of such decisions, and because the laws, rules and regulations often give the relevant regulator significant discretion in how to enforce them, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws, rules and regulations involve uncertainties and can be inconsistent and unpredictable. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all, and which may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until after the occurrence of the violation.

Any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. These uncertainties may impede our ability to enforce the contracts we have entered into and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

62

The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, may be required in connection with this offering under a PRC regulation. The regulation also establishes more complex procedures for acquisitions conducted by foreign investors that could make it more difficult for us to grow through acquisitions.    

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the MOFCOM, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, or the SASAC, the State Administration of Taxation, the SAIC, the CSRC, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which came into effect on September 8, 2006 and were amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules include, among other things, provisions that purport to require that an offshore special purpose vehicle that is controlled by PRC domestic companies or individuals and that has been formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of securities through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies or assets to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published on its official website procedures regarding its approval of overseas listings by special purpose vehicles. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the scope and applicability of the M&A Rules to offshore special purpose vehicles.

While the application of the M&A Rules remains unclear, we believe, based on the advice of our PRC counsel, Fangda Partners, that the CSRC approval is not required in the context of this offering given that (i) the PRC subsidiary was established by means of direct investment rather than by merge with or acquisition of any PRC domestic companies as defined under the M&A Rules, and was not a PRC domestic company as defined under the M&A Rules, so the acquisition by QD Data Limited of all the equity interest in the PRC Subsidiary was not subject to the M&A Rules, and (ii) no explicit provision in the M&A Rules classifies the respective contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiary, the VIEs and their shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules. There can be no assurance that the relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as our PRC counsel. If the CSRC or other PRC regulatory body subsequently determines that we need to obtain the CSRC’s approval for this offering or if the CSRC or any other PRC government authorities promulgates any interpretation or implements rules before our listing that would require us to obtain CSRC or other governmental approvals for this offering, we may face adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. In any such event, these regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in China, limit our operating privileges in China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as our ability to complete this offering. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before settlement and delivery of the ADSs offered by this prospectus. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, you do so at the risk that such settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring us to obtain their approvals for this offering, we may be unable to obtain waivers of such approval requirements. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding such approval requirements could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs.

The new regulations also established additional procedures and requirements that are expected to make merger and acquisition activities in China by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. For example, the M&A rules require that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise if (i) any important industry is concerned, (ii) such transaction involves factors that have or may have impact on the national economic security, or (iii) such transaction will lead to a change in control of a domestic enterprise which holds a famous trademark or PRC time-honored brand. The approval from the MOFCOM shall be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire affiliated domestic companies. Mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert

63

decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the MOFCOM when the threshold under the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, or the Prior Notification Rules, issued by the State Council in August 2008 is triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. We may grow our business in part by acquiring other companies operating in our industry. Complying with the requirements of the new regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including approval from the MOFCOM, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share. See “Regulations — Regulations Related to M&A and Overseas Listings.”

PRC regulations relating to investments in offshore companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC-resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries or limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits.    

The SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014, which replaced the former circular commonly known as “SAFE Circular 75” promulgated by the SAFE on October 21, 2005. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of the SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. In the event that a PRC shareholder holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to fulfill the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls. According to the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Policies for the Foreign Exchange Administration of Direct Investment released on February 13, 2015 by the SAFE, local banks will examine and handle foreign exchange registration for overseas direct investment, including the initial foreign exchange registration and amendment registration, under SAFE Circular 37 from June 1, 2015.

Mr. Min Luo has completed the SAFE registration pursuant to SAFE Circular 75 in 2014. We have notified substantial beneficial owners of ordinary shares who we know are PRC residents of their filing obligation. Nevertheless, we may not be aware of the identities of all of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents. We do not have control over our beneficial owners and there can be no assurance that all of our PRC-resident beneficial owners will comply with SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, and there is no assurance that the registration under SAFE Circular 37 and any amendment will be completed in a timely manner, or will be completed at all. The failure of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents to register or amend their foreign exchange registrations in a timely manner pursuant to SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, or the failure of future beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, may subject such beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to fines and legal sanctions. Failure to register or comply with relevant requirements may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC

64

subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to our company. These risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding our employee share incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.    

Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas non-publicly-listed companies due to their position as director, senior management or employees of the PRC subsidiaries of the overseas companies may submit applications to SAFE or its local branches for the foreign exchange registration with respect to offshore special purpose companies. Our directors, executive officers and other employees who are PRC residents and who have been granted options may follow SAFE Circular 37 to apply for the foreign exchange registration before our company becomes an overseas listed company. After our company becomes an overseas listed company upon completion of this offering, we and our directors, executive officers and other employees who are PRC residents and who have been granted options will be subject to the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, issued by SAFE in February 2012, according to which, employees, directors, supervisors and other management members participating in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company who are PRC residents are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. We will make efforts to comply with these requirements upon completion of our initial public offering. However, there can be no assurance that they can successfully register with SAFE in full compliance with the rules. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit the ability to make payment under our share incentive plans or receive dividends or sales proceeds related thereto, or our ability to contribute additional capital into our wholly-foreign owned enterprises in China and limit our wholly-foreign owned enterprises’ ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional share incentive plans for our directors and employees under PRC law.

We rely to a significant extent on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our principal operating subsidiaries to fund offshore cash and financing requirements.    

We are a holding company and rely to a significant extent on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our principal operating subsidiaries and on remittances from the consolidated VIEs, for our offshore cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, fund inter-company loans, service any debt we may incur outside of China and pay our expenses. When our principal operating subsidiaries or the consolidated VIEs incur additional debt, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions or remittances to us. Furthermore, the laws, rules and regulations applicable to our PRC subsidiaries and certain other subsidiaries permit payments of dividends only out of their retained earnings, if any, determined in accordance with applicable accounting standards and regulations.

Under PRC laws, rules and regulations, each of our subsidiaries incorporated in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its net income each year to fund certain statutory reserves until the cumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserves, together with the registered capital, are not distributable as cash dividends. As a result of these laws, rules and regulations, our subsidiaries incorporated in China are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their respective net assets to their shareholders as dividends, loans or advances. Certain of our subsidiaries did not have any retained earnings available for distribution in the form of dividends as of June 30, 2017. In addition, registered share capital and capital reserve accounts are also restricted from withdrawal in the PRC, up to the amount of net assets held in each operating subsidiary.

Limitations on the ability of our consolidated VIEs to make remittance to the wholly-foreign owned enterprise and on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could limit our ability to access cash

65

generated by the operations of those entities, including to make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends to our shareholders or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

We may be treated as a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, and we may therefore be subject to PRC income tax on our global income.    

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementing rules, enterprises established under the laws of jurisdictions outside of China with “de facto management bodies” located in China may be considered PRC tax resident enterprises for tax purposes and may be subject to the PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on their global income. “De facto management body” refers to a managing body that exercises substantive and overall management and control over the production and business, personnel, accounting books and assets of an enterprise. The State Administration of Taxation issued the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Offshore-Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or Circular 82, on April 22, 2009. Circular 82 provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a Chinese-controlled offshore-incorporated enterprise is located in China. Although Circular 82 only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises, not those controlled by foreign enterprises or individuals, the determining criteria set forth in Circular 82 may reflect the State Administration of Taxation’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises. If we were to be considered a PRC resident enterprise, we would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on our global income. In such case, our profitability and cash flow may be materially reduced as a result of our global income being taxed under the Enterprise Income Tax Law. We believe that none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.”

Dividends payable to our foreign investors and gains on the sale of our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by our foreign investors may become subject to PRC tax.    

Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation regulations issued by the State Council, a 10% PRC withholding tax is applicable to dividends payable to investors that are non-resident enterprises, which do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC or which have such establishment or place of business but the dividends are not effectively connected with such establishment or place of business, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. Similarly, any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such investors is also subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 10%, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties or under applicable tax arrangements between jurisdictions, if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC. If we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends paid on our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs, and any gain realized from the transfer of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs, would be treated as income derived from sources within the PRC and would as a result be subject to PRC taxation. Furthermore, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends payable to individual investors who are non-PRC residents and any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such investors may be subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 20%, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties or under applicable tax arrangements between jurisdictions. If we or any of our subsidiaries established outside China are considered a PRC resident enterprise, it is unclear whether holders of our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares would be able to claim the benefit of income tax treaties or agreements entered into between China and other countries or areas. If dividends payable to our non-PRC investors, or gains from the transfer of our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such investors, are deemed as income derived from sources within the PRC and thus are subject to PRC tax, the value of your investment in our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares may decline significantly.

66

We and our shareholders face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises or other assets attributed to a Chinese establishment of a non-Chinese company, or immovable properties located in China owned by non-Chinese companies.    

On February 3, 2015, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Bulletin 7, which partially replaced and supplemented previous rules under the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Circular 698, issued by the State Administration of Taxation, on December 10, 2009. Pursuant to this Bulletin, an “indirect transfer” of assets, including equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of PRC taxable assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax. According to Bulletin 7, “PRC taxable assets” include assets attributed to an establishment in China, immoveable properties located in China, and equity investments in PRC resident enterprises, in respect of which gains from their transfer by a direct holder, being a non-PRC resident enterprise, would be subject to PRC enterprise income taxes. When determining whether there is a “reasonable commercial purpose” of the transaction arrangement, features to be taken into consideration include: whether the main value of the equity interest of the relevant offshore enterprise derives from PRC taxable assets; whether the assets of the relevant offshore enterprise mainly consists of direct or indirect investment in China or if its income mainly derives from China; whether the offshore enterprise and its subsidiaries directly or indirectly holding PRC taxable assets have real commercial nature which is evidenced by their actual function and risk exposure; the duration of existence of the business model and organizational structure; the replicability of the transaction by direct transfer of PRC taxable assets; and the tax situation of such indirect transfer and applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements. In respect of an indirect offshore transfer of assets of a PRC establishment, the resulting gain is to be included with the enterprise income tax filing of the PRC establishment or place of business being transferred, and would consequently be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Where the underlying transfer relates to the immovable properties located in China or to equity investments in a PRC resident enterprise, which is not related to a PRC establishment or place of business of a non-resident enterprise, a PRC enterprise income tax of 10% would apply, subject to available preferential tax treatment under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, and the party who is obligated to make the transfer payments has the withholding obligation. Where the payor fails to withhold any or sufficient tax, the transferor is required to declare and pay such tax to the tax authority by itself within the statutory time limit. Late payment of applicable tax will subject the transferor to default interest. Bulletin 7 does not apply to transactions of sale of shares by investors through a public stock exchange where such shares were acquired from a transaction through a public stock exchange.

There is uncertainty as to the application of Bulletin 7, or previous rules under Circular 698. We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where PRC taxable assets are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries or investments. Our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxed if our company is transferor in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is transferee in such transactions, under Circular 698 and Bulletin 7. For transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiaries may be requested to assist in the filing under Circular 698 and Bulletin 7. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 698 and Bulletin 7 or to request the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with these circulars, or to establish that our company should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to restrictions on currency exchange.

All of our net income is denominated in Renminbi. The Renminbi is currently convertible under the “current account,” which includes dividends, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not under the

67

“capital account,” which includes foreign direct investment and loans, including loans we may secure from our onshore subsidiaries or consolidated VIEs. Currently, certain of our PRC subsidiaries, may purchase foreign currency for settlement of “current account transactions,” including payment of dividends to us, without the approval of the SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, the relevant PRC governmental authorities may limit or eliminate our ability to purchase foreign currencies in the future for current account transactions. Foreign exchange transactions under the capital account remain subject to limitations and require approvals from, or registration with, the SAFE and other relevant PRC governmental authorities. Since a significant amount of our future net income and cash flow will be denominated in Renminbi, any existing and future restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to utilize cash generated in Renminbi to fund our business activities outside of the PRC or pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs, and may limit our ability to obtain foreign currency through debt or equity financing for our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could result in foreign currency exchange losses and could materially reduce the value of your investment.    

The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions and the foreign exchange policy adopted by the PRC government. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its policy of pegging the value of the Renminbi to the U.S. dollar. Following the removal of the U.S. dollar peg, the Renminbi appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the Renminbi has started to appreciate slowly against the U.S. dollar, though there have been periods when the U.S. dollar has appreciated against the RMB. On August 11, 2015, the PBOC allowed the Renminbi to depreciate by approximately 2% against the U.S. dollar. Since then and until the end of 2016, the Renminbi has depreciated against the U.S. dollar by approximately 10%. It is difficult to predict how long such depreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar may last and when and how the relationship between the RMB and the U.S. dollar may change again.

All of our revenue and substantially all of our costs are denominated in Renminbi. We are a holding company and we rely on dividends paid by our operating subsidiaries in China for our cash needs. Any significant revaluation of Renminbi may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial position reported in Renminbi when translated into U.S. dollars, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, the ADSs in U.S. dollars. To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from this offering into Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we would receive. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount.

The audit report included in this prospectus is prepared by an auditor who is not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, our investors are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in our prospectus filed with the SEC, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditors are located in the People’s Republic of China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process

68

to improve future audit quality. This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor’s audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

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

If additional remedial measures are imposed on the “big four” PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging such firms’ failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC with respect to requests for the production of documents, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

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

In late 2012, this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. In January 2014, the administrative law judge reached an initial decision to impose penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC. The accounting firms filed a petition for review of the initial decision. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the commissioners of the SEC had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepts that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms will receive matching Section 106 requests, and are required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they fail to meet specified criteria, the SEC retains authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure. Remedies for any future noncompliance could include, as appropriate, an automatic six-month bar on a single firm’s performance of certain audit work, commencement of a new proceeding against a firm, or in extreme cases the resumption of the current proceeding against all four firms.

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

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

69

Risks Relating to This Offering

There has been no public market for our shares or ADSs prior to this offering, and you may not be able to resell our ADSs at or above the price you paid, or at all.    

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our shares or ADSs. We have applied to list our ADSs on the NYSE. Our Class A ordinary shares will not be listed on any exchange or quoted for trading on any over-the-counter trading system. If an active trading market for our ADSs does not develop after this offering, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs will be materially and adversely affected.

Negotiations with the underwriters determined the initial public offering price for our ADSs which may bear no relationship to their market price after the initial public offering. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for our ADSs will develop or that the market price of our ADSs will not decline below the initial public offering price.

The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to you.

The trading prices of our ADSs are likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation in the market prices or the underperformance or deteriorating financial results of other listed companies based in China. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial price declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of other Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings, including Internet companies, online retail and mobile commerce platforms and consumer finance service providers, may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. Furthermore, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, such as the large decline in share prices in the United States, China and other jurisdictions in late 2008, early 2009, the second half of 2011 and in 2015, which may have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs.

In addition to the above factors, the price and trading volume of our ADSs may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including the following:

• regulatory developments affecting us or our industry;

• announcements of studies and reports relating to the quality of our credit offerings or those of our competitors;

• changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other consumer finance service providers;

• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and changes or revisions of our expected results;

• changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

• conditions in the market for consumer finance services;

• announcements by us or our competitors of new product and service offerings, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures, capital raisings or capital commitments;

• additions to or departures of our senior management;

• fluctuations of exchange rates between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar;

70

• release or expiry of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding shares or ADSs; and

• sales or perceived potential sales of additional Class A ordinary shares or ADSs.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.    

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

As our initial public offering price is substantially higher than our net tangible book value per share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.    

If you purchase ADSs in this offering, you will pay more for your ADSs than the amount paid by our existing shareholders for their Class A ordinary shares on a per ADS basis. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of approximately US$             per ADS (assuming no exercise of outstanding options to acquire ordinary shares and no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ADSs), representing the difference between our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per ADS of US$            , as of             , 2017, after giving effect to this offering, and the assumed public offering price of US$             per ADS, the mid-point of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus. In addition, you will experience further dilution to the extent that our Class A ordinary shares are issued upon the vesting of restrictive shares or exercise of share options under our then share incentive plans. All of the Class A ordinary shares issuable under our then share incentive plans will be issued at a purchase price on a per ADS basis that is less than the public offering price per ADS in this offering. See “Dilution” for a more complete description of how the value of your investment in our ADSs will be diluted upon completion of this offering.

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

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

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

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

Sales of our ADSs in the public market after this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline significantly. Upon completion of this offering, we will have

71

             Class A ordinary shares and 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares outstanding, including              Class A ordinary shares represented by ADSs newly issued in connection with this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. All ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering will be freely transferable by persons other than our “affiliates” without restriction or additional registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. All of the other ordinary shares outstanding after this offering will be available for sale, upon the expiration of the lock-up periods described elsewhere in this prospectus beginning from the date of this prospectus (if applicable to such holder), subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. Any or all of these ordinary shares may be released prior to the expiration of the applicable lock-up period at the discretion of the designated representatives. To the extent shares are released before the expiration of the applicable lock-up period and sold into the market, the market price of our ADSs could decline significantly. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale — Lock-up Agreements.”

Certain major holders of our ordinary shares after completion of this offering will have the right to cause us to register under the Securities Act the sale of their shares, subject to the applicable lock-up periods in connection with this offering. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in ADSs representing these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the form of ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline significantly.

You, as holders of ADSs, may have fewer rights than holders of our ordinary shares and must act through the depositary to exercise those rights.    

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights of our shareholders and may only exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under our second amended and restated articles of association, the minimum notice period required to convene a general meeting will be 10 days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting to permit you to withdraw your Class A ordinary shares to allow you to cast your vote with respect to any specific matter. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to you or carry out your voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but there can be no assurance that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your ADSs. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if your ADSs are not voted as you requested. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting.

Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

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

72

You may not receive cash dividends if the depositary decides it is impractical to make them available to you.

The depositary will pay cash dividends on the ADSs only to the extent that we decide to distribute dividends on our Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities, and we do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. See “Dividend Policy.” To the extent that there is a distribution, the depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class A ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property to you.

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

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

Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct our operations outside the United States and substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, substantially all of our directors and executive officers and the experts named in this prospectus reside outside the United States, and most of their assets 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 them 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, the laws of the Cayman Islands, China or other relevant jurisdiction may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and China, see “Enforcement of Civil Liabilities.”

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law, Cap. 22 (Law 3 of 1961, as consolidated and revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

73

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors will have discretion under the second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association expected to be effective immediately prior to completion of this offering, to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder resolution or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Law, Cap. 22 (Law 3 of 1961, as consolidated and revised) of the Cayman Islands and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see “Description of Share Capital — Differences in Corporate Law.”

Our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us, which could limit our shareholders’ opportunity to sell their shares, including Class A ordinary shares represented by our ADSs, at a premium.

We have adopted the second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering that 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, 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 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 our 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. In addition, our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain other provisions that could limit the ability of third parties to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in a transaction resulting in a change of control, including a provision that entitles each Class B ordinary share to 10 votes in respect of all matters subject to a shareholders’ vote.

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.

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.    

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

• the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;

74

• the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;

• the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and

• the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.

We 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 as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the NYSE. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the NYSE corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the NYSE corporate governance listing standards.    

As a Cayman Islands company listed on the NYSE, we are subject to the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. However, the NYSE 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 NYSE corporate governance listing standards.

For instance, we are not required to:

• have a majority of the board be independent (although all of the members of the audit committee must be independent under the Exchange Act);

• have a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee consisting entirely of independent directors; or

• have regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors each year.

We have relied on and intend to continue to rely on some of these exemptions. As a result, you may not be provided with the benefits of certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.

There is a significant risk that we will be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, which could result in adverse United States tax consequences to United States investors.    

The determination of whether or not we are a PFIC is made on an annual basis and will depend on the composition of our income and assets from time to time. Specifically, for any taxable year, we will be classified as a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes if either (i) 75% or more of our gross income in that taxable year is passive income or (ii) the average percentage of our assets (which includes cash) by value in that taxable year which produce, or are held for the production of, passive income is at least 50%. The calculation of the value of our assets will be based, in part, on the quarterly market value of our ADSs, which is subject to change. See “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company.”

In addition, there is uncertainty as to the treatment of our corporate structure and ownership of our consolidated VIEs for United States federal income tax purposes. For United States federal income tax purposes, we consider ourselves to own the stock of our consolidated VIEs. If it is determined, contrary to our view, that we do not own the stock of our consolidated VIEs for United States federal income tax purposes (for instance, because the relevant PRC authorities do not respect these arrangements), we may be treated as a PFIC.

We consider ourselves as a service provider with the primary business purpose of focusing on our data technology. We aim to facilitate credit to borrowers that are funded by institutional funding partners rather than

75

by using our own capital. As such, fees received from borrowers are recorded as financing income or loan facilitation income and others on our consolidated statements of operations. However, we have historically funded, and may continue to fund, credit drawdowns with our own capital. In such case, the fees received from borrowers may be treated as interest for purposes of the PFIC rules. Given the foregoing and based on the projected composition and classification of our income and assets, we believe that there is a significant risk that we will be classified as a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes for 2017, and we may be classified as a PFIC in future taxable years. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you hold our ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, our PFIC status could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to you if you are a United States Holder, as defined under “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations.” For example, if we are or become a PFIC, you may become subject to increased tax liabilities under United States federal income tax laws and regulations, and will become subject to burdensome reporting requirements. See “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company.” There can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for 2017 or any future taxable year.

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an “emerging growth company.”    

Upon completion of this offering, we will become a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the NYSE, imposes various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1,070,000,000 in total revenues for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting and permission to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we have elected to “opt out” of the provision that allow us to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. After we are no longer an “emerging growth company”, we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC. For example, as a result of becoming a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

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

76

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INDUSTRY DATA

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Industry” and “Business.” These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus relate to, among others:

• our goal and strategies;

• our expansion plans;

• our future business development, financial condition and results of operations;

• our expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, our credit products;

• our expectations regarding keeping and strengthening our relationships with borrowers, institutional funding partners, merchandise suppliers and other parties we collaborate with; and

• general economic and business conditions.

This prospectus also contains market data relating to the online consumer finance industry in China, including market position, market size, and growth rates of the markets in which we participate, that are based on industry publications and reports. This prospectus contains statistical data and estimates published by Oliver Wyman Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, or Oliver Wyman, including a report which we commissioned Oliver Wyman to prepare and for which we paid a fee. This information involves a number of assumptions, estimates and limitations. These industry publications, surveys and forecasts generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. Nothing in such data should be construed as advice. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data contained in these industry publications and reports. The online consumer finance industry in China may not grow at the rates projected by market data, or at all. The failure of these markets to grow at the projected rates may have a material adverse effect on our business and the market price of our ADSs. If any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data turns out to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the industry in which we operate is necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents that we have referred to in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

77

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately US$             , or approximately US$            if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us and based upon an assumed initial offering price of US$            per ADS (the mid-point of the estimated public offering price range shown on the front cover of this prospectus). A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of US$            per ADS would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by US$            , after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us and assuming no change to the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering for:

• marketing and borrower engagement activities;

• strategic acquisitions; and

• general corporate purposes.

The foregoing represents our intentions as of the date of this prospectus with respect of the use and allocation of the net proceeds of this offering based upon our present plans and business conditions, but our management will have significant flexibility and discretion in applying the net proceeds of the offering. The occurrence of unforeseen events or changed business conditions may result in application of the proceeds of this offering in a manner other than as described in this prospectus.

To the extent that the net proceeds we receive from this offering are not immediately applied for the above purposes, we intend to invest our net proceeds in short-term, interest bearing, debt instruments or bank deposits.

In utilizing the proceeds of this offering, we, as an offshore holding company, are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions and to our consolidated VIEs only through loans. Subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements, we may extend inter-company loans to our PRC subsidiaries or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries to fund their capital expenditures or working capital. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. For further information, see “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry — PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may restrict or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated VIEs, or to make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries.”

78

DIVIDEND POLICY

Since inception, we have not declared or paid any dividends on our shares. We do not have any present plan to pay any dividends on our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

Any other future determination to pay dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and may be based on a number of factors, including our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant. If we pay any dividends, we will pay our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See “Description of American Depositary Shares.” Cash dividends on our Class A ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. In order for us to distribute any dividends to our shareholders and ADS holders, we may rely on dividends distributed by our PRC subsidiaries. Certain payments from our PRC subsidiaries to us may be subject to PRC withholding income tax. In addition, regulations in the PRC currently permit payment of dividends of a PRC company only out of accumulated distributable after-tax profits as determined in accordance with its articles of association and the accounting standards and regulations in China. Each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profit based on PRC accounting standards every year to a statutory common reserve fund until the aggregate amount of such reserve fund reaches 50% of the registered capital of such subsidiary. Such statutory reserves are not distributable as loans, advances or cash dividends.

79

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of June 30, 2017 presented on:

• an actual basis;

• a pro forma basis to reflect (i) the designation of all ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, into 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one-basis upon the completion of this offering; (ii) the designation of all of the remaining outstanding ordinary shares and the automatic conversion of all our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into 230,746,898 Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one-basis upon the completion of this offering; and

• a pro forma as adjusted basis to give effect to (i) the designation of all ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, into 63,491,172 Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one-basis upon the completion of this offering; (ii) the designation of all of the remaining outstanding ordinary shares and the automatic conversion of all our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into 230,746,898 Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one-basis upon the completion of this offering; and (iii) the issuance and sale of the Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs offered hereby at an assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS, the mid-point of the estimated public offering price range shown on the front cover of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ADSs.

The pro forma and pro forma as adjusted information below is illustrative only and our capitalization following the closing of this offering is subject to adjustment based on the initial public offering price of our ADSs and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. You should read this table in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

	As of June 30, 2017
	Actual						Pro Forma				Pro Forma as Adjusted
	RMB			US$			RMB		US$		RMB	US$
	(in thousands)
	(unaudited)
Long-term borrowings and interest payables		11,823			1,744			11,823		1,744
Convertible preferred shares		5,943,978			876,783			—		—
Shareholders’ (deficit) equity:
Ordinary shares		50			7			—		—
Class A ordinary shares		—			—			157		23
Class B ordinary shares		—			—			44		6
Additional paid-in capital		112,635			16,615			2,242,520		330,789
Accumulated (deficit) equity		(2,537,234	)		(374,263	)		1,276,704		188,324
Total shareholders’ (deficit) equity		(2,424,549	)		(357,640	)		3,519,424		519,143
Total		3,531,252			520,887			3,531,247		520,887

80

DILUTION

If you invest in our ADSs, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per ADS and our net tangible book value per ADS after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per Class A ordinary share is substantially in excess of the book value per ordinary share attributable to the existing shareholders for our presently outstanding ordinary shares and holders of our convertible redeemable preferred shares which will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of this offering.

Our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2017 was approximately US$518.4 million, or US$             per ordinary share as of that date, and US$             per ADS. Net tangible book value represents the amount of our total consolidated assets, less the amount of our intangible assets, goodwill and total consolidated liabilities. Dilution is determined by subtracting net tangible book value per ordinary share from our consolidated total assets, after giving effect to (i) the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares immediately upon the completion of this offering and (ii) the issuance and sale by us of shares in the form of ADSs in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus) after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Without taking into account any other changes in net tangible book value after June 30, 2017, other than to give effect to (i) the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares immediately upon the completion of this offering and (ii) the issuance and sale by us of              Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of US$             per ADS (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus) after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2017 would have been US$             million, or US$             per outstanding ordinary share and US$             per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS to the existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS to investors purchasing ADSs in this offering.

The following table illustrates such dilution:

	Per Ordinary Share	Per ADS
Actual net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2017
Pro forma net tangible book value per share after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares
Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to (i) the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into Class A ordinary shares and (ii) this offering
Assumed initial public offering price
Dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors in the offering

The amount of dilution in net tangible book value to new investors in this offering set forth above is calculated by deducting (i) the pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the automatic conversion of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares from (ii) the pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the automatic conversion of our convertible redeemable preferred shares and this offering.

The following table summarizes, on a pro forma basis as of June 30, 2017, the differences between existing shareholders, including holders of our convertible redeemable preferred shares, and the new investors with

81

respect to the number of ordinary shares (in the form of ADSs or shares) purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share and per ADS paid before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The total number of ordinary shares does not include Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs issuable upon the exercise of the option to purchase additional ADSs granted to the underwriters.

	Ordinary Shares Total			Total Consideration			US$ Average Price per Ordinary Share Equivalent	Average Price per ADS Equivalent
	Number	Percent		Amount	Percent
Existing shareholders			%	US$		%	US$	US$
New investors			%	US$		%	US$	US$
Total			%	US$		%

If the underwriters were to fully exercise the over-allotment option to purchase              additional shares of our Class A ordinary shares from us, the percentage of shares of our ordinary shares held by existing shareholders who are directors, officers or affiliated persons would be         %, and the percentage of shares of our ordinary shares held by new investors would be         %.

A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of US$             per ADS (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus) would increase (decrease) our pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the offering by US$             million, the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS after giving effect to this offering by US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS and the dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS to new investors in this offering by US$             per ordinary share and US$             per ADS, assuming no change to the number of ADS offered by us as set forth on the front cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses.

The pro forma information discussed above is illustrative only. Our net tangible book value following the completion of this offering is subject to adjustment based on the actual initial public offering price of our ADSs and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

The discussion and tables above take into consideration the automatic conversions of all of our outstanding convertible preferred shares immediately upon the completion of this offering, and they do not take into consideration of any outstanding share options. As of the date of this prospectus, there are also (i)              Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding share options at an exercise price that ranges from US$             to US$             per share and (ii)              Class A ordinary shares available for future issuance upon the exercise of future grants under our share incentive plan. If any of these options are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors.

82

EXCHANGE RATE INFORMATION

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China and all of our revenues is denominated in Renminbi. This prospectus contains translations of Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specific rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this prospectus were made at a rate of RMB6.7793 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on June 30, 2017. We make no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this prospectus could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of Renminbi into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On September 8, 2017, the noon buying rate for Renminbi was RMB6.4773 to US$1.00.

The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar for the periods presented. These rates are provided solely for your convenience and are not necessarily the exchange rates that we used in this prospectus or will use in the preparation of our periodic reports or any other information to be provided to you. For all dates and periods, the exchange rate refers to the exchange rate as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board.

	Noon Buying Rate
Period	Period End		Average(1)		Low		High
	(RMB per US$1.00)
2012		6.2301		6.2990		6.3879		6.2221
2013		6.0537		6.1412		6.2438		6.0537
2014		6.2046		6.1704		6.2591		6.0402
2015		6.4778		6.2869		6.4896		6.1870
2016		6.9430		6.6549		6.9430		6.4480
2017
March		6.8832		6.8940		6.9132		6.8687
April		6.8900		6.8876		6.8988		6.8778
May		6.8098		6.8843		6.9060		6.8098
June		6.7793		6.8066		6.8382		6.7793
July		6.7240		6.7694		6.8039		6.7240
August		6.5888		6.6670		6.7272		6.5888
September (through September 8, 2017)		6.4773		6.5144		6.5552		6.4773

Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release

(1) Annual averages are calculated using the average of the rates on the last business day of each month during the relevant year. Monthly averages are calculated using the average of the daily rates during the relevant month.

83

ENFORCEMENT 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 because of certain benefits associated with being a Cayman Islands company, such as political and economic stability, an effective judicial system, a favorable tax system, the absence of foreign exchange control or currency restrictions and the availability of professional and support services. However, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides protections for investors to a lesser extent. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China, and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, most of our directors and officers are residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and all or a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors 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 you to enforce in United States courts judgments obtained in United States courts based on the civil liability provisions of the United States federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors.

We have appointed Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc. as our agent to receive service of process with respect to any action brought against us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the federal securities laws of the United States or of any state in the United States or any action brought against us in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York under the securities laws of the State of New York.

Conyers Dill & Pearman, our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, and Fangda Partners, our counsel as to PRC law, have advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would, respectively, (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 and (ii) entertain original actions brought in the Cayman Islands or the PRC against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.

Conyers Dill & Pearman has informed us that the uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law relates to whether a judgment obtained from the United States courts under the civil liability provisions of the securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such a determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman company. Because the courts of the Cayman 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 Cayman Islands. Conyers Dill & Pearman has further advised us that a final and conclusive judgment in the federal or state courts of the United States under which a sum of money is payable, other than a sum payable in respect of taxes, fines, penalties or similar charges, may be subject to enforcement proceedings as a debt in the courts of the Cayman Islands under the common law doctrine of obligation.

In addition, Conyers Dill & Pearman has advised us that there is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the Cayman Islands will generally recognize as a valid judgment, a final and conclusive judgment in personam obtained in the federal or state courts in the United States under which a sum of money is payable (other than a sum of money payable in respect of multiple damages, taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty) and would give a judgment based thereon provided that (i) such courts had proper jurisdiction over the parties subject to such judgment; (ii) such courts did not contravene the rules of natural justice of the Cayman Islands; (iii) such judgment was not obtained by fraud; (iv) the enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to the public

84

policy of the Cayman Islands; (v) no new admissible evidence relevant to the action is submitted prior to the rendering of the judgment by the courts of the Cayman Islands; and (vi) there is due compliance with the correct procedures under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

Fangda Partners has advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedure Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedure Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. Fangda Partners has advised us further that under PRC law, a foreign judgment, which does not otherwise violate basic legal principles, state sovereignty, safety or social public interest, may be recognized and enforced by a PRC court, based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. As there existed no treaty or other form of reciprocity between China and the United States governing the recognition and enforcement of judgments as of the date of this prospectus, including those predicated upon the liability provisions of the United States federal securities laws, there is uncertainty whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce judgments rendered by United States courts.

85

OUR HISTORY AND CORPORATE STRUCTURE

We were founded in April 2014 and operated our business through Beijing Happy Time. We initially operated our business by facilitating merchandise credit and cash credit to college students on campuses across China. Such efforts have empowered us to gain significant insights into behavioral patterns of young consumers in China, as well as obtain a large amount of data that has empowered us to refine our credit assessment model and risk management system. Based on the data that we have aggregated and analyzed and the enhancement of our credit assessment model and risk management system, we subsequently shifted our focus to a broader base of young consumers in China starting from November 2015. As a result, we have terminated our initial business of facilitating credit to college students on campuses across China. In addition, our borrower engagement efforts have shifted from offline to online since November 2015. Since July 2016, all of our borrowers were engaged through online channels.

In September 2016, Ganzhou Qufenqi was incorporated as a wholly foreign owned entity in China. In November 2016, we incorporated Qudian Inc. under the laws of the Cayman Islands as our offshore holding company, and subsequently, we established a wholly-owned subsidiary in the British Virgin Islands, QD Technologies Limited, in November 2016, and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong, QD Data Limited, to be our intermediate holding company in December 2016, to facilitate our initial public offering in the United States. The entire equity interest of Ganzhou Qufenqi was transferred from its former holding company to QD Data Limited. As a result of the restructuring in 2016, we hold equity interest in Ganzhou Qufenqi through our current offshore structure. At the same time, Ganzhou Qufenqi entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Beijing Happy Time and its shareholders. In addition, pursuant to the resolutions of all shareholders of Qudian Inc. and the resolutions of the board of directors of Qudian Inc., the board of directors of Qudian Inc. or any officer authorized by such board shall cause Ganzhou Qufenqi to exercise Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the power of attorney agreements entered into among Ganzhou Qufenqi, Beijing Happy Time and the nominee shareholders of Beijing Happy Time and Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the exclusive call option agreement between Ganzhou Qufenqi and Beijing Happy Time. As a result of these resolutions and the provision of unlimited financial support from the Company to Beijing Happy Time, Qudian Inc. has been determined to be most closely associated with Beijing Happy Time within the group of related parties and was considered to be the primary beneficiary of Beijing Happy Time and its subsidiaries.

We currently conduct our business in China mainly through our consolidated VIE Beijing Happy Time and its subsidiaries. Beijing Happy Time operates our website www.qufenqi.com and holds the ICP license as an Internet content provider. Tianjin Qufenqi operates our website www.laifenqi.com. Qufenqi (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing Happy Time, or Qufenqi Beijing, operates our website www.qudian.com and holds the ICP license as an Internet content provider. Currently, our website www.qudian.com redirects visitor traffic to our website www.qufenqi.com. www.qufenqi.com and www.laifenqi.com serve as portals to redirect visitor traffic to our mobile apps. Our credit products are offered through mobile apps. We fund credit directly to our borrowers through Fuzhou Microcredit and Ganzhou Microcredit, both of which have obtained approval of the relevant competent local authorities to provide credit.

Ganzhou Qudian, Hunan Qudian and Xiamen Qudian became our consolidated VIEs in 2017. We have entered into a series of contractual arrangements with each new consolidated VIE and its shareholders, which allows us to exercise effective control over each new consolidated VIE and realize substantially all of the economic risks and benefits arising from such new consolidated VIE. Such contractual arrangements are comprised of equity pledge agreements, power of attorney agreements, exclusive business cooperation agreements, exclusive call option agreements and financial support undertaking letters. The contractual arrangements for each consolidated VIE, including those as to the new consolidated VIEs, contain substantively identical provisions that afford us, through our wholly-owned subsidiary Ganzhou Qufenqi, the right to control all consolidated VIEs in the same manner and degree. Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Mr. Lianzhu Lv, our director and head of user experience department, are the only shareholders of

86

Ganzhou Qudian, and Mr. Min Luo and Mr. Hongjia He, our vice president, are the only shareholders of Hunan Qudian. Mr. Min Luo is the only shareholder of Xiamen Qudian. We believe such shareholding structure will enhance our administrative efficiency and reduce uncertainties associated with the enforcement of the relevant contractual arrangements entered into with the new consolidated VIEs and their respective shareholder(s). Instead of relying on several shareholders’ compliance with their respective contractual obligations, we will only rely on one or two shareholders’ compliance for each new consolidated VIE and would only need to enforce against such shareholder(s) in the event of a breach. The establishment of any of these new consolidated VIEs is not intended to, and will not, have an adverse impact on the rights of our ADS holders. In addition, Beijing Happy Time’s shareholders support our entry into the relevant contractual arrangements with the new consolidated VIEs and their respective shareholders. By written resolutions, our shareholders have unanimously approved such contractual arrangements. All of Beijing Happy Time’s shareholders are affiliates of our shareholders, except for Tianjin Happy Share, a limited partnership established in connection with the share incentive plan of Beijing Happy Time, which has been terminated. For more information, see “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure — We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders to operate our business, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control and otherwise have a material adverse effect as to our business.” We intend to utilize our new consolidated VIEs to continue to conduct our existing business of providing small cash and merchandise credit products and to also undertake new business opportunities, including leveraging our risk management model to help other financial services providers assess the credit profiles of their own customers according to their credit standards. We plan to transfer our credit business under the Laifenqi brand to Ganzhou Qudian and our credit business under the Qudian brand to Xiamen Qudian over the next five years. As of the date of this prospectus, Ganzhou Qudian and Xiamen Qudian have both commenced operations. We do not expect to transfer any existing business to Hunan Qudian, but we may conduct new businesses through such entity in the future. Such plans may be changed due to future developments, including the availability of government incentives in the cities where the new consolidated VIEs are located.

87

Our Corporate Structure

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of the date of this prospectus. It omits certain entities that are immaterial to our results of operations, business and financial condition. Except as otherwise specified, equity interests depicted in this diagram are held as to 100%. The relationships between each of Ganzhou Qudian, Hunan Qudian, Xiamen Qudian and Beijing Happy Time and Ganzhou Qufenqi as illustrated in this diagram are governed by contractual arrangements and do not constitute equity ownership.

(1) The following table sets forth the shareholders of Qudian Inc. and their respective equity interests in Qudian Inc. as of the date of this prospectus. The total number of ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus is 294,238,070, assuming conversion of all convertible redeemable preferred shares into ordinary shares and excluding 5,578,807 ordinary shares underlying unvested options that are issued but deemed to be not outstanding and held by Ark Trust in its capacity as trustee of the Equity Incentive Trust.

Shareholders	Shares	Percentage of Equity Interests
Qufenqi Holding Limited	63,491,172 ordinary shares		21.6
Phoenix Entities	58,072,514 Series C-5 preferred shares		19.7
Kunlun Group Limited	38,487,004 Series B-1 preferred shares and 19,469,603 Series C-2 preferred shares		19.7

88

Shareholders	Shares	Percentage of Equity Interests
Source Code Accelerate L.P.	4,779,796 Series A-2 preferred shares, 31,865,304 Series B-3 preferred shares and 10,823,841 Series C-4 preferred shares		16.1
API (Hong Kong) Investment Limited	37,720,709 Series C-1 preferred shares		12.8
Zhu Entities	2,616,641 Series A-1 preferred shares, 5,233,281 Series B-2 preferred shares and 13,391,793 Series C-3 preferred shares		7.2
Ark Trust	8,286,412 ordinary shares (comprised of ordinary shares underlying vested options as of the date of this prospectus)		2.8

(2) Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Mr. Lianzhu Lv, our director and head of user experience department, respectively hold 99.0% and 1.0% of equity interests in Ganzhou Qudian.

(3) Mr. Min Luo and Mr. Hongjia He, our vice president, respectively hold 99.0% and 1.0% of equity interests in Hunan Qudian.

(4) The following table sets forth the shareholders of Beijing Happy Time, their respective equity interests in Beijing Happy Time and their respective relationships with shareholders of Qudian Inc. as of the date of this prospectus.

Shareholders	Relationship with shareholders of Qudian Inc.	Amount of Registered Capital		Percentage of Equity Interests
		RMB
Mr. Min Luo	Holds 100% equity interests in Qufenqi Holding Limited		5,025,579		21.0
Phoenix Auspicious Internet Investment L.P. and Shenzhen Huasheng Qianhai Investment Co., Ltd.	Affiliates of Phoenix Entities		4,596,670		19.2
Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd.	Affiliate of Kunlun Group Limited		4,587,496		19.2
Ningbo Yuanfeng Venture Capital L.P.	Affiliate of Source Code Accelerate L.P.		3,757,355		15.7
Shanghai Yunxin Venture Capital Co., Ltd.	Affiliate of API (Hong Kong) Investment Limited		2,985,744		12.5
Jiaxing Blue Run Quchuan Investment L.P. and Tianjin Blue Run Xinhe Investment Center L.P.	Affiliates of Zhu Entities		1,681,366		7.0
Tianjin Happy Share(a)	Not applicable		1,251,742		5.2

(a) Tianjin Happy Share was established in connection with the share incentive plan of Beijing Happy Time. For more information, see “Management — Share Incentive Plans — 2015 Share Incentive Plan.”

(5) We plan to transfer our credit business under the Qudian brand to Xiamen Qudian.

89

(6) We plan to transfer our credit business under the Laifenqi brand to a subsidiary of Ganzhou Qudian.

(7) QuCampus is owned approximately 45.9% by us, 44.1% by Ant Financial and 10.0% by Ganzhou Happy Share, a limited partnership established in connection with the share incentive plan to be established by QuCampus. Mr. Min Luo, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, is the general partner of Ganzhou Happy Share. We do not consolidate the financial results of QuCampus in our consolidated financial statements.

The following diagram illustrates the subsidiaries of Beijing Happy Time. It omits certain entities that are immaterial to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

(1) Operate our websites and mobile apps under the Qudian brand and engage in all aspects of our businesses other than funding of credit drawdowns to borrowers, which is provided by our online small credit companies, including facilitating transactions, credit approval and servicing, risk management, marketing and borrower engagement, facilitating funding with institutional funding partners and managing merchandise suppliers.

(2) Operate our websites and mobile apps under the Laifenqi brand and engage in all aspects of our businesses other than funding of credit drawdowns to borrowers, which is provided by our online small credit companies, including facilitating transactions, credit approval and servicing, risk management, marketing and borrower engagement, facilitating funding with institutional funding partners and managing merchandise suppliers.

(3) Online small credit companies, each of which has obtained the approval to operate online small credit businesses.

The following diagram illustrates the subsidiaries of Ganzhou Qudian.

(1) We expect to utilize such subsidiaries to explore new business opportunities.

(2) We plan to transfer our credit business under the Laifenqi brand to such subsidiaries.

90

Contractual Arrangements with Consolidated VIEs and Their Shareholders

Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in, among other areas, VATS, which include the operations of Internet content providers, or ICPs, we, similar to all other entities with foreign-incorporated holding company structures operating in our industry in China, currently conduct these activities mainly through Beijing Happy Time and its subsidiaries. We established three new consolidated VIEs, Ganzhou Qudian, Hunan Qudian and Ganzhou Qudian, in 2017. We effectively control each consolidated VIE through a series of contractual arrangements with such VIE, its shareholders and Ganzhou Qufenqi, as described in more detail below, which collectively enables us to:

• exercise effective control over each of our consolidated VIEs and its subsidiaries;

• receive substantially all the economic benefits of each of our consolidated VIEs; and

• have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the equity interest in or all or part of the assets of each of our consolidated VIEs when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

In addition, pursuant to the resolutions of all shareholders of Qudian Inc. and the resolutions of the board of directors of Qudian Inc., the board of directors of Qudian Inc. or any officer authorized by such board shall cause Ganzhou Qufenqi to exercise Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the power of attorney agreements entered into among Ganzhou Qufenqi, each of our consolidated VIEs and the nominee shareholders of each of our consolidated VIEs and Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights under the exclusive call option agreement between Ganzhou Qufenqi and each of our consolidated VIEs. As a result of these resolutions and the provision of unlimited financial support from the Company to each of our consolidated VIEs, Qudian Inc. has been determined to be most closely associated with each of our consolidated VIEs within the group of related parties and was considered to be the primary beneficiary of each of our consolidated VIEs. We have consolidated their financial results in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

In the opinion of Fangda Partners, our PRC legal counsel:

• the ownership structures of Ganzhou Qufenqi and our consolidated VIEs in China, both currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, do not and will not violate any applicable PRC law, regulation, or rule currently in effect; and

• the contractual arrangements among Ganzhou Qufenqi, each of our consolidated VIEs and its shareholders governed by PRC laws are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms and applicable PRC laws, rules, and regulations currently in effect, and will not violate any applicable PRC law, regulation, or rule currently in effect, except that the pledge on Mr. Hongjia He’s equity interest in Hunan Qudian would not be deemed validly created until they are registered with the competent administration of industry and commerce.

However, we have been further advised by our PRC legal counsel, Fangda Partners, that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, rules and regulations. In particular, in January 2015, the MOFCOM published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, VIEs would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors, and be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft law has not arrived at a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing companies with the “variable interest entity” structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. It is uncertain when the draft may be signed into law, if at all, and whether any final version would have substantial changes from the draft. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may in the future take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC legal counsel. We have been further advised by our PRC legal counsel that if the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our business do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in the aforesaid business we engage in, we could be subject to severe penalties including being prohibited from continuing operations. See “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure.”

91

The following is a summary of the currently effective contractual arrangements by and among our wholly-owned subsidiary, Ganzhou Qufenqi, each of our consolidated VIEs, and its shareholders.

Agreements that Provide Us with Effective Control over Our Consolidated VIEs and Their Subsidiaries

Equity Interest Pledge Agreements. Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreements, the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs have pledged all of their equity interest in our consolidated VIEs as a continuing first priority security interest, as applicable, to respectively guarantee our consolidated VIEs and their shareholders’ performance of their obligations under the relevant contractual arrangements, which include the exclusive business cooperation agreements, exclusive call option agreements and power of attorney agreements. If our consolidated VIEs or any of their shareholders breach their contractual obligations under these agreements, Ganzhou Qufenqi, as pledgee, will be entitled to certain rights regarding the pledged equity interests. In the event of such breaches, Ganzhou Qufenqi’s rights include forcing the auction or sale of all or part of the pledged equity interests of the applicable consolidated VIE and receiving proceeds from such auction or sale in accordance with PRC law. Upon purchase of equity interests in the applicable consolidated VIE by other persons, Ganzhou Qufenqi and such persons will need to enter into contractual arrangements that are similar to existing ones in order for Ganzhou Qufenqi to effectively control such consolidated VIE. Each of the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs agrees that, during the term of the applicable equity interest pledge agreement, such shareholder will not dispose of the pledged equity interests or create or allow creation of any encumbrance on the pledged equity interests without the prior written consent of Ganzhou Qufenqi. Ganzhou Qufenqi is entitled to all dividends and other distributions declared by our consolidated VIEs except as it agrees otherwise in writing. Each equity interest pledge agreement will remain effective until the applicable consolidated VIE and its shareholders discharge all their obligations under the contractual arrangements. We have registered pledges of equity interest in Beijing Happy Time, Ganzhou Qudian and Mr. Min Luo’s equity interest in Hunan Qudian with the relevant offices of the administration for industry and commerce in accordance with the PRC Property Rights Law, and are in the process of registering pledge of Mr. Hongjia He’s equity interest in Hunan Qudian.

Power of Attorney Agreements. Pursuant to the power of attorney agreements, each shareholder of our consolidated VIEs has irrevocably appointed the Ganzhou Qufenqi to act as such shareholder’s exclusive attorney-in-fact to exercise all shareholder rights, including the right to attend and vote on shareholder’s meetings and appoint directors and executive officers. In the absence of contrary written instructions of Ganzhou Qufenqi, each power of attorney agreement will remain in force for so long as the shareholder remains a shareholder of the applicable consolidated VIE.

Agreements that Allow Us to Receive Economic Benefits from our Consolidated VIEs and Their Subsidiaries

Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements. Under the exclusive business cooperation agreements, Ganzhou Qufenqi has the exclusive right to provide the consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries that generate substantial income, including Ganzhou Happy Fenqi, Ganzhou Network, and Fuzhou Microcredit, or the profitable consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries, with technical support, consulting services and other services. In exchange, Ganzhou Qufenqi is entitled to receive a service fee from each of the profitable consolidated VIEs on a monthly basis and at an amount equivalent to all of its net income as confirmed by Ganzhou Qufenqi. Ganzhou Qufenqi owns the intellectual property rights arising out of the performance of the exclusive business cooperation agreement. In addition, each of the consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries has granted Ganzhou Qufenqi an exclusive right to purchase any or all of the business or assets of each of the profitable consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries at the lowest price permitted under PRC law. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, this agreement will continue remaining effective.

Agreements that Provide Us with the Option to Purchase the Equity Interest in Beijing Happy Time

Exclusive Call Option Agreements. Pursuant to the exclusive call option agreements, our consolidated VIEs and each of their shareholders have irrevocably granted Ganzhou Qufenqi an exclusive option to purchase, or

92

have its designated person or persons to purchase, at its discretion at any time, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or part of such shareholder’s equity interests in the applicable, or any or all or the assets of such consolidated VIE. For reasons discussed in this section, there may be PRC legal restrictions on Ganzhou Qufenqi’s ability to directly purchase such equity interests or assets. In the event such equity interests or assets are sold to persons designated by Ganzhou Qufenqi, Ganzhou Qufenqi and such persons will need to enter into contractual arrangements that are similar to the existing ones in order for Ganzhou Qufenqi to exercise effective control over and receive substantially all the economic benefits of such equity interests or assets. As for the equity interests in a consolidated VIE, the purchase price should be equal to the minimum price as permitted by PRC law. As for the assets of a consolidated VIE, the purchase price should be equal to the book value of the assets or the minimum price as permitted by applicable PRC law, whichever is higher. Without Ganzhou Qufenqi’s prior written consent, each consolidated VIE and its shareholders have agreed that such consolidated VIE shall not amend its articles of association, increase or decrease the registered capital, sell or otherwise dispose of its assets or beneficial interest, create or allow any encumbrance on its assets or other beneficial interests, provide any loans or guarantees and etc. Ganzhou Qufenqi is entitled to all dividends and other distributions declared by each consolidated VIE except as it agrees otherwise in writing, and the shareholders of each consolidated VIE have agreed to pay any such dividends or distributions to Ganzhou Qufenqi. Each agreement will remain effective until all equity interests of the applicable consolidated VIE held by its shareholders and all assets of such consolidated VIE have been transferred or assigned to Ganzhou Qufenqi or its designated person(s).

Financial Support Undertaking Letters

We executed a financial support undertaking letter addressed to each consolidated VIE, pursuant to which we irrevocably undertake to provide unlimited financial support to such consolidated VIE to the extent permissible under the applicable PRC laws and regulations, regardless of whether such consolidated VIE has incurred an operational loss. The form of financial support includes but is not limited to cash, entrusted loans and borrowings. We will not request repayment of any outstanding loans or borrowings from a consolidated VIE if it or its shareholders do not have sufficient funds or are unable to repay such loans or borrowings. Each letter is effective from the date of the other agreements entered into among Ganzhou Qufenqi, the applicable consolidated VIE and its shareholders until the earlier of (i) the date on which all of the equity interests of such consolidated VIE have been acquired by or its designated representative(s), and (ii) the date on which we in our sole and absolute discretion unilaterally terminates the applicable financial support undertaking letter.

We expect to provide the financial support if and when required with a portion of the proceeds from this offering and proceeds from the issuance of equity or debt securities in the future.

93

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA

The following selected consolidated statements of operations in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 and the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, and selected consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The following selected consolidated statements of operations in the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017 and the selected consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2017 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements.

Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period. The following selected consolidated financial data for the periods and as of the dates indicated are qualified by reference to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and related notes and the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” both of which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,									Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016						2016			2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB			US$			RMB			RMB			US$
	(in thousands, except for share and per share data)
													(unaudited)
Selected Consolidated Statements of Operations:
Revenues:
Financing income		21,094			153,554			1,271,456			187,550			323,964			1,527,426			225,307
Sales commission fees		2,926			62,182			126,693			18,688			27,710			251,169			37,049
Penalty fees		114			19,271			22,943			3,384			19,931			2,836			418
Loan facilitation income and others		—			—			21,754			3,209			—			51,705			7,627
Total revenues		24,133			235,007			1,442,846			212,831			371,605			1,833,135			270,402
Operating cost and expenses(1):
Cost of revenue		(9,014	)		(148,417	)		(267,862	)		(39,512	)		(87,751	)		(316,565	)		(46,696	)
Sales and marketing		(46,368	)		(192,603	)		(182,458	)		(26,914	)		(75,746	)		(149,505	)		(22,053	)
General and administrative		(3,503	)		(42,426	)		(108,786	)		(16,047	)		(11,266	)		(68,267	)		(10,070	)
Research and development		(4,360	)		(37,530	)		(52,275	)		(7,711	)		(13,096	)		(63,489	)		(9,365	)
Loss of guarantee liability		—			—			(861	)		(127	)		—			(7,526	)		(1,110	)
Provision for loan principal, financing service fee receivables and other receivables		(1,667	)		(45,111	)		(132,177	)		(19,497	)		(34,692	)		(99,028	)		(14,607	)
Total operating cost and expenses		64,911			466,086			744,418			(109,808	)		(222,550	)		(704,381	)		(103,902	)
Other operating income		—			—			14,646			2,160			2,531			37,523			5,535
(Loss)/income from operations		(40,778	)		(231,078	)		713,074			105,184			151,586			1,166,277			172,035

94

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,									Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016						2016			2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB			US$			RMB			RMB			US$
	(in thousands, except for share and per share data)
													(unaudited)
Interest and investment income, net		8			2,889			1,857			274			4,685			(2,070	)		(305	)
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net		—			752			(9,651	)		(1,424	)		(9,651	)		—			—
Other income		0			779			47			7			9			309			46
Other expenses		(5	)		(6,505	)		(1,834	)		(271	)		(281	)		(1	)		(0	)
Net (loss)/income before income taxes		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		703,493			103,771			146,348			1,164,516			171,775
Income tax expenses		—			—			(126,840	)		(18,710	)		(23,913	)		(190,854	)		(28,152	)
Net (loss)/income		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		576,653			85,061			122,435			973,662			143,623
Net (loss)/income per share – basic		(0.51	)		(2.94	)		7.27			1.07			1.54			12.67			1.87
Net (loss)/income per share – diluted		(0.51	)		(2.94	)		1.90			0.28			0.41			3.23			0.48
Weighted average number of shares outstanding — basic		79,305,191			79,305,191			79,305,191			79,305,191			79,305,191			76,872,235			76,872,235
Weighted average number of shares outstanding — diluted		79,305,191			79,305,191			303,778,745			303,778,745			301,765,677			301,050,872			301,050,872
Pro forma basic income per share attributable to Class A and Class B ordinary shareholders (unaudited)								1.96			0.29						3.25			0.48
Pro forma diluted income per share attributable to Class A and Class B ordinary shareholders (unaudited)								1.95			0.29						3.23			0.48
Class A and Class B ordinary shares used in pro forma basic income per share computation (unaudited)								294,238,070			294,238,070						299,332,721			299,332,721
Class A and Class B ordinary shares used in pro forma diluted income per share computation (unaudited)								296,251,138			296,251,138						301,050,872			301,050,872
Total comprehensive (loss)/income		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		576,653			85,061			122,435			973,662			143,623

95

(1) Share-based compensation expenses are allocated in operating cost and expenses as follows:

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014		Year Ended December 31,						Six Months Ended June 30,
			2015		2016				2016		2017
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
									(unaudited)
Sales and marketing		952		23,691		690		102		—		1,581		233
General and administrative		742		11,425		18,986		2,801		—		24,184		3,567
Research and development		1,024		20,492		2,457		362		—		6,412		946
Total share-based compensation expenses		2,717		55,607		22,134		3,265		—		32,177		4,746

	As of December 31,									As of June 30, 2017
	2015			2016
	RMB			RMB			US$			RMB			US$
	(in thousands)
										(unaudited)
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Cash and cash equivalents		210,114			785,770			115,907			645,034			95,148
Restricted cash		—			—			—			314,134			46,337
Short-term amounts due from related parties(1)		34,930			585,906			86,426			478,402			70,568
Short-term loan principal and financing service fee receivables		2,060,768			4,826,791			711,990			9,434,431			1,391,653
Long-term loan principal and financing service fee receivables		177,582			87,822			12,954			15,566			2,296
Total assets		2,675,596			7,117,599			1,049,902			11,371,640			1,677,406
Short-term borrowings and interest payables		1,562,883			4,183,231			617,059			6,466,502			953,860
Long-term borrowings and interest payables		89,358			76,052			11,218			11,823			1,744
Total liabilities		3,306,965			4,604,010			679,128			7,852,211			1,158,263
Total mezzanine equity		5,943,978			5,943,978			876,783			5,943,978			876,783
Total shareholders’ deficit		(6,575,347	)		(3,430,389	)		(506,009	)		(2,424,549	)		(357,640	)

(1) Includes RMB33.8 million and RMB404.6 million (US$59.7 million) and RMB473.2 million (US$69.8 million) deposited in our Alipay accounts as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, respectively. Such amount is unrestricted as to withdrawal and use and readily available to us on demand.

96

Non-GAAP Measure

Adjusted Net (Loss)/Income

We use adjusted net (loss)/income, a non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe that adjusted net (loss)/income help identify underlying trends in our business by excluding the impact of share-based compensation expenses, which are non-cash charges. We believe that adjusted net (loss)/income provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making.

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,							Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016				2016		2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Adjusted net (loss)/income(1)		(38,058	)		(177,557	)		598,786		88,326		122,435		1,005,840		148,369

(1) Adjusted net (loss)/income is defined as net (loss)/income excluding share-based compensation expenses.

Adjusted net (loss)/income is not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, cash flows or our liquidity, investors should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for net (loss)/income, cash flows provided by operating activities or other consolidated statements of operation and cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We mitigate these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance.

The following table reconciles our adjusted net (loss)/income in the years presented to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is net (loss)/income:

	Period from April 9, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014			Year Ended December 31,							Six Months Ended June 30,
				2015			2016				2016		2017
	RMB			RMB			RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Net (loss)/income		(40,775	)		(233,164	)		576,653		85,061		122,435		973,662		143,623
Add: share-based compensation expenses		2,717			55,607			22,134		3,265		—		32,177		4,746
Adjusted net (loss)/income		(38,058	)		(177,557	)		598,786		88,326		122,435		1,005,840		148,369

97

Our Key Metrics

We regularly review a number of metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions.

	Year Ended December 31,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2015		2016		2016		2017
	(in thousands)
Number of average MAU		214		2,492		14,332		10,682		26,089
Number of active borrowers		166		1,230		6,115		2,488		7,023
Number of new borrowers		166		1,138		5,451		1,893		3,354
Number of transactions		199		2,687		40,599		11,128		40,509

	Year Ended December 31,								Six Months Ended June 30,
	2014		2015		2016				2016		2017
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Amount of transactions		578,241		4,253,846		32,230,638		4,754,272		9,382,735		38,206,484		5,635,757
On-balance sheet transactions		578,241		4,253,846		30,221,678		4,457,935		9,382,735		35,391,699		5,220,554
Off-balance sheet transactions		—		—		2,008,961		296,337		—		2,814,785		415,203

	As of December 31,								As of June 30, 2017
	2014		2015		2016
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Outstanding principal		513,283		2,262,602		6,331,739		933,981		10,670,804		1,574,027
On-balance sheet transactions		513,283		2,262,602		4,971,119		733,279		9,457,246		1,395,018
Off-balance sheet transactions		—		—		1,360,620		200,702		1,213,558		179,009

	As of December 31,								As of June 30, 2017
	2014		2015		2016
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
Amount of approved credit		4,865,435		11,000,469		43,335,881		6,392,383		68,988,739		10,176,381
Amount (outstanding) available for drawdown		4,352,152		8,725,845		36,946,167		5,449,850		58,194,789		8,584,189

98

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL

CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes that appear in this prospectus. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and in this prospectus, particularly in the section titled “Risk Factors.”

Overview

As a provider of online credit products, we use big data-enabled technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to transform the consumer finance experience in China. We target hundreds of millions of quality, unserved or underserved consumers in China. They are young, mobile-active consumers who need access to small credit for their discretionary spending but are underserved by traditional financial institutions due to their lack of traditional credit data and the operational inefficiency of traditional financial institutions. We believe our operating efficiency and big data analytics capability to understand our prospective borrowers from different behavioral and transactional perspectives, assess their credit profiles and offer them instantaneous and affordable credit products with customized terms distinguishes our business and offerings.

We are the largest online provider of small cash credit products in China in terms of the number of active borrowers and the amount of transactions in the six months ended June 30, 2017, according to the Oliver Wyman Report. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, we facilitated approximately RMB38.2 billion (US$5.6 billion) in transactions to 7.0 million active borrowers.

We operate a pure online platform, with nearly all of the credit facilitated through mobile devices, providing consumers with a convenient experience. Prospective borrowers can apply for credit drawdowns on their mobile phones and receive approval within a few seconds. Approved borrowers are then able to draw down on their cash credit with cash disbursed immediately into their Alipay accounts in digital form. Borrowers also repay the credit drawdowns through their Alipay accounts. To complement our cash credit products, we offer merchandise credit products to finance borrowers’ direct purchase of merchandise offered on our marketplace on installment basis. Through collaborating with more than 480 merchandise suppliers, we offer an expanding range of product categories ranging from consumer electronics products to watches and sports and outdoor products to capture approved borrowers’ growing consumption demand and enhance their online shopping experience.

We currently offer cash credit products, which provide funds in digital form, and merchandise credit products. In the six months ended June 30, 2017, our cash credit products had an average size of approximately RMB920 (US$136) and weighted average term of approximately two months, and our merchandise credit products had an average size of approximately RMB1,250 (US$184) and weighted average term of approximately eight months. Small credit products typically have short durations, enabling us to quickly understand a borrower’s behavior and further refine our data analytics and credit assessment model upon the completion of transaction cycles. Small credit products also enjoy favorable risk characteristics compared to larger credit products.

We aggregate our borrowers’ behavioral data with data and credit analyses from various partners as inputs for our credit assessment model. As an innovator in the application of artificial intelligence to financial services, we utilize machine learning to accurately assess borrowers’ credit profiles. We focus on data analyses that not only reflect borrowers’ ability to repay but also their willingness to do so. These analyses are based on the prospective borrowers’ social and shopping behavioral data, among others, in addition to the characteristic metrics such as locations and demographics. As borrowers repay, they build credit histories with us. Based on the credit histories, our artificial intelligence-based credit assessment model enables us to continually re-evaluate borrowers’ credit profiles and provide more personalized credit limits. We offer borrowers with stronger credit profiles higher credit limits and longer repayment durations, thereby driving higher engagement with them.

99

On average, an active borrower drew down credit approximately six times in the six months ended June 30, 2017. As of June 30, 2017, borrowers with outstanding credit drawdowns utilized approximately 51.3% of their credit limits on average. We believe borrowers who did not utilize the maximum amounts available for drawdowns under their respective credit limits tend to be those who utilize credit responsibly. As we accumulate more data and enhance the capability of our model, we strive to better engage, re-evaluate and serve prospective borrowers who had applied for credits in the past. As of June 30, 2017, only approximately 17.6 million out of our approximately 47.9 million registered users had been approved with credit.

We have experienced robust credit performance. Our M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage for transactions in 2016 and the first quarter in 2017 has remained at a level of 0.5% or less up to June 30, 2017. M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage is defined as the total balance of outstanding principal of a vintage for which any installment payment is over 30 calendar days past due as of a particular date (adjusted to reflect total amount of recovered past due payments for principal and without taking into account charge-offs), divided by the total initial principal of the credit drawdowns in such vintage.

We have established a strategic partnership with Ant Financial and have in-depth cooperation in multiple areas of our business. We engage the majority of our active borrowers through the Alipay consumer interface. Zhima Credit provides us with credit analysis information of prospective borrowers, which enhances our credit analysis capabilities. We also provide Zhima Credit with our credit analysis of borrowers to reflect repayment and other credit attributes and work with Zhima Credit to further develop more robust credit analysis capabilities. In addition, we are in ongoing discussions with Ant Financial to explore other collaboration opportunities, including various approaches to engage and serve prospective borrowers.

To provide a good user experience, we have technology and funding arrangements in place to enable instant drawdown of credit by consumers. We collaborate with a variety of institutional funding partners such as banks, a consumer finance company and other institutions, to secure sufficient amounts of funding for credit drawdowns. Institutional funding partners are interested in working with us because of the short duration of our credit products, our technology-driven credit assessment capabilities and the diversified credit portfolio with attractive risk-adjusted returns. Our strong technological capabilities enable us to seamlessly integrate our system with those of our institutional funding partners, rapidly facilitate transactions and repayment settlements at a massive scale and forecast our funding needs on a real-time basis. We do not directly source funding from retail investors. Currently, we retain most of the credit risk with respect to the cooperation with institutional funding partners. We also utilize our own capital to fund the credit drawdowns to enhance user experience so that they can instantly receive funds after drawdown requests. Our historical funding arrangements involve the transfer of such credit drawdowns to institutional funding partners. We have established new funding arrangements as we diversify our funding sources. Such new arrangements include indirect funding of credit drawdowns by institutional funding partners through trusts that we established with trust companies as well as direct funding of credit drawdowns by institutional funding partners. Our longer-term objectives are to primarily leverage external institutional funding and to transfer credit risk to or share it with a diversified group of institutional funding partners.

100

Since inception in 2014, our business has witnessed significant growth and increased borrower activities, as illustrated by the charts below:

We mainly generate financing income from cash credit products and both financing income and sales commission fees from merchandise credit products.

We have achieved significant scale and experienced strong growth in our results of operations. Our total revenues increased from RMB24.1 million in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 to RMB235.0 million in 2015. Our total revenues further reached RMB1,442.8 million (US$212.8 million) in 2016, which was 514.0% higher than our total revenues in 2015. Our total revenues increased by 393.3% from RMB371.6 million in the six months ended June 30, 2016 to RMB1,833.1 million (US$270.4 million) in the same period in 2017. Our net losses were RMB40.8 million in the period from April 9 to December 31, 2014 and RMB233.2 million in 2015. In 2016, we recorded net income of RMB576.7 million (US$85.1 million). Our net income increased by 695.2% from RMB122.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2016 to RMB973.7 million (US$143.6 million) in the same period in 2017.

101

Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

Number and Engagement of Borrowers

We engage the majority of our active borrowers through different channels on the Alipay consumer interface. Our ability to continue to engage borrowers efficiently is significantly affected by our relationships and the terms of our collaborations with Ant Financial. Detailed arrangements with Ant Financial, including borrower engagement fees, may change from time to time, which affects our results of operations. As we seek to broaden our borrower base, our success in collaborating with other leading Internet companies and other marketing efforts will affect the size and credit quality of our borrower base. In addition, our brand, reputation, user experience and the pricing of our credit products will affect our borrower retention capability and repeat transactions by borrowers.

Our Partnership with Ant Financial

We have established a strategic partnership with Ant Financial. Our collaboration with Ant Financial has an important effect on our results of operations. We benefit from Alipay’s strong brand recognition and wide adoption in China. In particular, we are able to promote our products and launch campaigns through the public service window on the Alipay consumer interface, a borrower engagement channel which is free of charge and generally available to third parties. We have been able to engage the majority of our active borrowers, particularly repeat borrowers, through such channel since 2016. Such collaboration with Alipay has been an important factor in expanding our borrower base while controlling our sales and marketing expenses. We have also utilized borrower engagement channels on the Alipay consumer interface in which we pay a fee. To the extent we rely more heavily on paid channels, our costs for borrower engagement would increase. We also collaborate with Zhima Credit to enhance the credit analysis capabilities of our business. Given that the online consumer finance market in China continues to evolve, we are in ongoing discussions with Ant Financial to explore other collaboration opportunities, including various approaches to engage and serve prospective borrowers. Changes to our arrangement with Ant Financial in borrower engagement and other aspects of our business could affect our borrower engagement efficiency, the growth of our business and our profitability.

Risk Management

Our ability to effectively evaluate a borrower’s credit profile affects our ability to offer attractive borrowing terms. The quality of our risk management system affects the delinquency rates of the transactions we facilitate. We periodically adjust our allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables when we believe that the future collection of the principal of on-balance sheet transactions is unlikely. We base the allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables primarily on historical loss experience using a roll rate-based model applied to our principal and financing service fee receivables portfolios and, to a lesser extent, macroeconomic factors. As such, an increase in delinquency rates of on-balance sheet transactions will result in a higher allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables. We recognize any increase in allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables as provision for loan principal and financing service fee receivables for the relevant period. We charge off loan principal and financing service fee receivables as a reduction to the allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables when the principal and financing service fee receivables are deemed to be uncollectible. Our Provision Ratio, calculated as the amount of provision for loan principal and financing service fee receivables incurred during a period as a percentage of the total amount of on-balance sheet transactions facilitated during such period, was 0.29%, 1.06%, 0.40% and 0.28% in 2014, 2015, 2016 and the six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively. Our Allowance Ratio, calculated as the amount of allowance for loan principal and financing service fee receivables as of a date as a percentage of the total amount of loan principal and financing service fee receivables as of such date, was 0.32%, 1.51%, 2.09% and 1.43% as of December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and June 30, 2017, respectively. We do not believe changes in Allowance Ratio accurately reflect the performance of transactions facilitated. For more information, see “— Credit Performance — Allowance Ratio”. For each off-balance sheet transaction, we record the fair value of guarantee liability, which represents the present value of our expected payout based on the estimated delinquency rate and the applicable discount rate for time value. The loan facilitation fees payable to us, net of guarantee liability which was allocated from the consideration in connection with such credit

102

drawdowns, are recognized as loan facilitation income and others. As such, an increase in expected delinquency rates of off-balance sheet transactions will result in an increase in the fair value of guarantee liabilities, which is recognized as loss of guarantee liability in our results of operations.

Funding Sources, Costs and Risk Transfer

The growth of our business is dependent on our ability to secure sufficient funding for the transactions that we facilitate. We primarily work with institutional funding partners to fund the credit we facilitate. We do not directly source funding from retail investors. The availability of funds from the institutional funding partners that we collaborate with affects our liquidity and the amount of transactions that we will be able to facilitate. The cost of capital for funds from institutional funding partners that we collaborate with during any specific period impacts our profitability.

We collaborate with institutional funding partners in several ways. There are credit drawdowns that are initially funded by us and subsequently transferred to or funded indirectly by institutional funding partners through trusts that we established with trust companies. For such arrangements, we recognize financing income from borrowers including interest collected on behalf of our institutional funding partners. We record interest expenses of borrowings on funds provided by such institutional funding partners as cost of revenues. For this type of transactions, we retain full credit risk and record them on our balance sheet. As we incur interest expenses of borrowings on such funding arrangement, an increase in such arrangement may adversely affect our profit margin. We also collaborate with certain institutional funding partners that provide funds directly to borrowers for credit drawdowns that we facilitate, which enables us to facilitate additional transactions without utilizing our capital resources. Such institutional funding partners deduct the principal and service fees due to them from borrowers’ repayments and remit the remainder to us as our loan facilitation fees. Such loan facilitation fees, net of the fair value of guarantee liabilities which was deducted from the consideration, are recognized as loan facilitation income and others. We do not incur interest expenses of borrowings on their funding. As such, an increase in such arrangement may enhance our profit margin. We record the credit drawdowns funded under such arrangements off-balance sheet. Depending on the arrangement with the specific institutional funding partner, we either assume full credit risk or share credit risk with the institutional funding partner. The fair value of guarantee liabilities, which represents the present value of our expected payouts due to defaults under off-balance sheet transactions, is recorded on our balance sheet.

While we intend to focus on leveraging technology, rather than capital, to serve the broad consumer base in China, we also fund certain credit drawdowns by our borrowers ourselves. We have established online small credit companies and utilized trusts funded by us for such purpose. Increasing utilization of our own capital during any specific period in order to enhance user experience and funding flexibility would also enhance our profit margin.

For additional information as to the details of our collaboration with institutional funding partners, see “Business — Funding.”

Product Offerings

We primarily offer small cash and merchandise credit products that typically have short durations. Our revenue and profitability are subject to the amount of financing service fees charged and the number of transactions we facilitate. Amount of financing service fees per transaction is a function of the size and duration of credit products. Credit products of larger size and longer duration generally correspond to higher financing service fees. In addition, borrowers with strong credit profiles may be offered discounts as to financing service fees. In April 2017, we lowered the financing service fee levels for certain cash credit products. We may further lower the financing service fee levels in the future in response to customer characteristics, market demand, competition and regulations, which would impact our revenue and profitability. The relative contribution in amount of transactions facilitated under our cash credit products and merchandise credit products also affect revenue and profitability. In particular, merchandise credit products generate both financing income and sales commission fees, while cash credit products generate only financing income. A higher proportion of merchandise credit products in our product mix tends to enhance our profitability.

103

In addition, we are in ongoing discussions with Ant Financial to explore other collaboration opportunities. Such cooperation may affect our range of product offerings. Furthermore, we may also leverage our credit assessment model to help other financial services providers assess the credit profiles of their own customers according to their credit standards, and our ability to execute such plan may affect the growth of our business and profitability. We expect to charge fees for such credit assessment services.

Economic Conditions and Regulatory Environment in China

The demand for credit from borrowers is dependent upon overall economic conditions in China. General economic factors, including the interest rate environment and unemployment rates, may affect borrowers’ willingness to seek credit. For example, significant increases in interest rates could cause prospective borrowers to defer obtaining credit as they wait for interest rates to decrease. Additionally, a slowdown in the economy, resulting in a rise in the unemployment rate and/or a decrease in real income, may affect individuals’ level of disposable income. This may affect borrowers’ repayment capability and their willingness to seek credit, which may potentially affect credit drawdowns and/or delinquency rates.

The regulatory environment for the online consumer finance industry in China is developing and evolving, creating both challenges and opportunities that could affect our financial performance. Due to the relatively short history of online consumer finance industry in China, the PRC government has not adopted a clear regulatory framework governing our industry. We will continue to make efforts to ensure that we are compliant with the existing laws, regulations and governmental policies relating to our industry and to comply with new laws and regulations or changes under existing laws and regulations that may arise in the future. While new laws and regulations or changes to existing laws and regulations could make facilitating credit to borrowers more difficult or expensive, or making such credit products more difficult for borrowers or institutional funding partners to accept or on terms favorable to us, these events could also provide new product and market opportunities.

Credit Performance

The credit performance of the transactions we facilitate affects our financial condition and results of operations. If one payment for a credit drawdown facilitated by us is past due, the remaining payments that are not yet due are also considered past due for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the credit drawdown. Based on our experience, credit drawdowns past due 1 to 30 calendar days would be largely recovered by collection, therefore our focus on credit performance are those transactions for which any installment payment was more than 30 calendar days (“M1+”) past due. We closely monitor the credit performance measured by the M1+ Delinquency Rates by Vintage, which track the lifetime performance of the credit drawdowns originated in a certain vintage.

M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage

We define “M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage” as the total balance of outstanding principal of a vintage for which any installment payment is over 30 calendar days past due as of a particular date (adjusted to reflect total amount of recovered past due payments for principal and without taking into account charge-offs), divided by the total initial principal in such vintage.

We separate the vintages from 2014 to 2015 when we were mainly engaged in the offline market, and the vintages since the first quarter of 2016 after the transition of our business to the current model.

104

The following chart displays the historical lifetime cumulative M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage from the second month after credit drawdowns up to the twelfth month after such transactions for all transactions for 2014 and each of the quarters in 2015, without taking into account charge-offs:

The following chart displays the historical lifetime cumulative M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage from the second month after credit drawdowns up to the twelfth month after such transactions for all transactions for each of the quarters in 2016 and the first quarter in 2017, without taking into account charge-offs:

M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage for vintages in 2016 and the first quarter in 2017 have remained at a level of 0.5% or less up to June 30, 2017 as a result of our effective credit assessment model and risk management system despite serving a more diverse customer group. After we started to engage borrowers online in November 2015, we have fully automated our data collection and risk management process and placed increasing emphasis on big data analytics. M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage for the fourth quarter of 2016 is higher than other vintages in 2016 primarily due to a significant increase in the amount of transactions within a concentrated short period during the quarter, as we aimed to satisfy the increased borrower demand during November 11 and December 12 shopping seasons. The amount of transactions further increased in the first quarter of 2017, while M1+ Delinquency Rate by Vintage for such quarter slightly decreased compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, which demonstrates the strength of our credit assessment model.

105

Credit Performance Data

The following table provides the total balance of outstanding principal for on-balance sheet transactions where the longest past due period of an installment payment was 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and more than 90 calendar days as of the dates presented:

	Delinquent for
As of	1-30 calendar days		31-60 calendar days		61-90 calendar days		More than 90 calendar days		Total
	RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
December 31, 2014		954		144		29		77		1,203		175
December 31, 2015		10,582		4,791		4,345		11,615		31,333		4,622
December 31, 2016		74,833		19,549		14,678		29,770		138,830		20,479
June 30, 2017		71,135		28,831		23,009		55,745		178,720		26,363

The following table provides the balance of outstanding financing service fees for on-balance sheet transactions where the longest past due period of an installment payment was 1 to 30, 31 to 60 and 61 to 90 calendar days as of the dates presented⁽¹⁾:

	Delinquent for
As of	1-30 calendar days		31-60 calendar days		61-90 calendar days		Total
	RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		US$
	(in thousands)
December 31, 2014		26		7		2		34		5
December 31, 2015		157		98		132		387