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e00241,e035272005102720060101the Standing Committee of the National People’s CongressOrder of the President of the People’s Republic of ChinaNo. 42The Company Law of the People’s Republic of China has been amended and adopted at the 18th session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on October 27, 2005. The amended Company Law of the People’s Republic of China is promulgated hereby and shall go into effect as of January 1, 2006.The President of the People’s Republic of China Hu JintaoOctober 27, 2005epdf/e04457.pdfA1, D1company, revise, limited liability company, joint stock limited company, stock right, share, foreign companye04457The Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (revised in 2005)(Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on December 29, 1993. Revised for the first time on December 25, 1999 in accordance with the Decision of the Thirteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth People’s Congress on Amending the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China. Revised for the second time on August 28, 2004 in accordance with the Decision of the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on Amending the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China. Revised for the third time at the 18th Session of the 10th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on October 27, 2005)Contents,Chapter I General ProvisionsChapter II Establishment and Organizational Structure of a Limited Liability CompanySection 1 EstablishmentSection 2 Organizational StructureSection 3 Special Provisions on One-person Limited Liability CompaniesSection 4 Special Provisions on Solely State-owned CompaniesChapter III Transfer of Stock Right of a Limited Liability CompanyChapter IV Establishment and Organizational Structure of a Joint Stock Limited CompanySection 1 EstablishmentSection 2 Shareholders’ MeetingSection 3 Board of Directors, ManagersSection 4 Board of SupervisorsSection 5 Special Provisions on the Organizational Structure of a Listed CompanyChapter V Issuance and Transfer of Shares of a Joint Stock Limited CompanySection 1 Issuance of SharesSection 2 Transfer of SharesChapter VI Qualifications and Obligations of the Directors, Supervisors and Senior Managers of a CompanyChapter VII Company BondsChapter VIII Financial Affairs and Accounting of a CompanyChapter IX Merger and Split-up of a Company; Increase and Deduction of Registered CapitalChapter X Dissolution and Liquidation of a CompanyChapter XI Branches of a Foreign CompanyChapter XII Legal Liabilities Chapter XIII Supplementary ProvisionsChapter I General ProvisionsArticle 1 This Law is formulated for the purposes of regulating the organization and operation of companies, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of companies, shareholders and creditors, maintaining thesocialist economic order, and promoting the development of the socialist market economyArticle 2 The term “company” as mentioned in this Law refers to a limited liability company or a joint stock company limited established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China in accordance with the provisions of this law.Article 3 A company is an enterprise juridical person, which has independent juridical person property and enjoys the property right of the juridical person. And it shall bear the liabilities for its debts with all its property. As for a limited liability company, the shareholders shall be responsible for the company to the extent of the capital contributions they have paid. As for a joint stock limited company, the shareholders shall be responsible for the company to the extent of the shares they have subscribed to.Article 4 The shareholders of a company shall be enpost_titled to enjoy the capital proceeds, participate in making important decisions, choose managers and enjoy other rights.Article 5 When undertaking business operations, a company shall comply with the laws and administrative regulations, social morality and business morality. It shall act in good faith, accept the supervision of the government and the general public, and bear social responsibilities.The legitimate rights and interests of a company shall be protected by laws and may not be infringed.Article 6 For the establishment of a company, an application for establishment and registration shall be filed with the company registration authority. If the application meets the requirements for establishment of this Law, the company registration authority shall register the company as a limited liability company or a joint stock limited company. If the application fails to meet the requirements for establishment of this Law, it shall not be registered as a limited liability company or a joint stock limited company. If any law or administrative regulation stipulates that the establishment of a company shall be subject to approval, the relevant approval formalities shall be gone through prior to the registration of the company. The general public may consult the relevant matters on company registration at a company registration authority, which shall provide consulting services.Article 7 For a lawfully established company, the company registration authority shall issue the company business license to it, and the date of issuance of the company business license shall be the date of establishment of the company. The company business license shall state the name, domicile, registered capital, actually paid capital, business scope, the name of the legal representative and etc. If any of the items as stated in the business license is changed, the company shall modify the registration, and the company registration authority shall replace the old business license by a new one.Article 8 For a limited liability company established according to this Law, it shall indicate in its company name the words “limited liability company” or “limited company”. For a joint stock limited company established according to this Law, it shall indicate in its company name the words “joint stock limited company” or “joint stock company”.Article 9 The change of a limited liability company to a joint stock limited company shall satisfy the requirements as prescribed in this Law for joint stock limited companies. The change of a joint stock limited company to a limited liability company shall meet the conditions as prescribed in this Law for limited liability companies. Under any of the aforesaid circumstances, the creditor’s rights and debts of the company prior to the change shall be succeeded by the company after the change.Article 10 A company shall regard the locus of its main office as its domicile.Article 11 The company established according to this law shall formulate its articles of association which are binding on the company, its shareholders, directors, supervisors and senior managers.Article 12 The company’s business scope shall be defined in its articles of association and shall be registered according to law. The company may change its business scope by modifying its articles of association, but shall go through the formalities for modifying the registration. If the business scope of a company covers any item subject to approval pursuant to laws or administrative regulations, the approval shall be obtained according to law.Article 13 The legal representative of a company shall, according to the provisions of its articles of association, be assumed by the chairman of the board of directors, acting director or manager, and shall be registered according to law. If the legal representative of the company is changed, the company shall go through the formalities for modifying the registration.Article 14 The company may set up branches. To set up a branch, the company shall file a registration application with the company registration authority, and shall obtain the business license. The branch shall not enjoy the status of an enterprise juridical person, and its civil liabilities shall be born by its parent company. The company may set up subsidiaries which enjoy the status of an enterprise juridical person and shall be independently bear civil liabilities.Article 15 A company may invest in other enterprises. However, it shall not become a capital contributor that shall bear the joint liabilities for the debts of the enterprises it invests in, unless it is otherwise provided for by any law.Article 16 Where a company intends to invest in any other enterprise or provide guarantee for others, it shall, according to the provisions of its articles of association, be decided at the meeting of the board of directors or shareholders or shareholders’ convention. If the articles of association prescribe any limit on the total amount of investments or guarantees, or on the amount of a single investment or guarantee, the aforesaid total amount or amount shall not exceed the responsive limited amount. If a company intends to provide guarantee to a shareholder or actual controller of the company, it shall make a resolution through the shareholder’s meeting or shareholders’ convention. The shareholder as mentioned in the preceding paragraph or the shareholder dominated by the actual controller as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not participate in voting on the matter as mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Such matter requires the affirmative votes of more than half of the other shareholders attending the meeting.Article 17 The company shall protect the lawful rights and interests of its employees, conclude employment contracts with the employees, buy social insurances, strengthen labor protection so as to realize safe production. The company shall, in various forms, reinforce the vocational education and in-service training of its employees so as to improve their personal quality.Article 18 The employees of a company shall, according to the Labor Union Law of the People’s Republic of China, organize a labor union, which shall carry out union activities and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the employees. The company shall provide necessary conditions for its labor union to carry out activities. The labor union shall, on behalf of the employees, conclude the collective contract with the company with respect to the remuneration, working hours, welfare, insurance, work safety and sanitation and other matters.Pursuant to the Constitution and other relevant laws, a company shall implement democratic management in the form of meeting of the representatives of the employees or any other ways. To make a decision on restructuring or any important issue related to business operation, or to formulate any important regulation, a company shall solicit the opinions of its labor union, and shall solicit the opinions and proposals of the employees through the meeting of the representatives of the employees or in any other way.Article 19 An organization of the Chinese Communist Party shall, according to the Charter of the Chinese Communist Party, be established in the company to carry out activities of the Chinese Communist Party. And the company shall provide necessary conditions for the activities of the Chinese Communist Party.Article 20 The shareholders of a company shall comply with the laws, administrative regulations and articles of association, and shall exercise the shareholder’s rights according to law. None of them may injure any of the interests of the company or of other shareholders by abusing the shareholder’s rights, or injure the interests of any creditor of the company by abusing the independent status of juridical person or the shareholder’s limited liabilities. Where any of the shareholders of a company causes any loss to the company or to other shareholders by abusing the shareholder’s rights, it shall be subject to compensation. Where any of the shareholders of a company evades the payment of its debts by abusing the independent status of juridical person or the shareholder’s limited liabilities, and thus seriously damages the interests of any creditor, it shall bear joint liabilities for the debts of the company.Article 21 Neither the controlling shareholder, nor the actual controller, any of the directors, supervisors or senior managers of the company may injure the interests of the company by taking advantage of its connection relationship. Anyone who has caused any loss to the company due to violation of the preceding paragraph shall be subject to compensation.Article 22 The resolution of the shareholders’ convention, shareholders’ meeting or board of directors of the company that has violated any law or administrative regulation shall be null and void. Where the procedures for convoking and the voting form of a shareholders’ convention or shareholders’ meeting or meeting of the board of directors, violate any law, administrative regulation or the articles of association, or the resolution is in violation of the articles of association of the company, the shareholders may, within 60 days as of the day when the resolution is made, request the people’s court to revoke it. If the shareholders initiate a lawsuit according to the preceding paragraph, the people’s court shall, in light of the request of the company, demand the shareholders to provide corresponding guarantee. Where a company has, in light of the resolution of the shareholders’ convention, shareholders’ meeting or meeting of the board of directors, completed the modification registration, and the people’s court declares the resolution null and void or revoke the resolution, the company shall file an application with the company registration authority for revoking the modification registration.Chapter II Establishment and Organizational Structure of a Limited Liability Company Section 1 EstablishmentArticle 23 The establishment of a limited liability company shall satisfy the following conditions:(1)The number of shareholders accords with the quorum;(2)The amount of capital contributions paid by the shareholders reaches the statutory minimum amount of the registered capital;(3)The articles of association are worked out jointly by shareholders;(4)The company has a name and its organizational structure complies with that of a limited liability company; and(5)The company has a domicile.Article 24 A limited liability company shall be established by not more than 50 shareholders that have made capital contributions.Article 25 A limited liability company shall state the following items in its articles of association:(1)the name and domicile of the company;(2)the business scope of the company;(3)the registered capital of the company;(4)names of shareholders;(5)forms, amount and date of capital contributions made by shareholders;(6)the organizations of the company and its formation, their functions and rules of procedure;(7)the legal representative of the company;(8)other matters deemed necessary by shareholders.The shareholders should affix their signatures or seals on the articles of association of the company.Article 26 The registered capital of a limited liability company shall be the total amount of the capital contributions subscribed to by all the shareholders that have registered in the company registration authority. The amount of the initial capital contributions made by all shareholders shall be not less than 20% of the registered capital, nor less than the statutory minimum amount of registered capital, and the margin shall be paid off by the shareholders within 2 years as of the day when the company is established; as for an investment company, it may be paid off within 5 years. The minimum amount of registered capital of a limited liability company shall be RMB 30, 000 Yuan. If any law or administrative regulation prescribes a relatively higher minimum amount of registered capital of a limited liability company, the provisions of that law or administrative regulation shall be followed.Article 27 A shareholder may make capital contributions in currency, in kind or intellectual property right, land use right or other non-monetary properties that may be assessed on the basis of currency and may be transferred according to law, excluding the properties that shall not be treated as capital contributions according to any law or administrative regulation.The value of the non-monetary properties as capital contributions shall be assessed and verified, which shall not be over-valued or under-valued. If any law or administrative regulation prescribes the value assessment, such law or administrative regulation shall be followed. The amount of the capital contributions in currency paid by all the shareholders shall be not less than 30% of the registered capital of the limited liability company.Article 28 Every shareholder shall make full payment for the capital contribution it has subscribed to according to the articles of association. If a shareholder makes his/its capital contribution in currency, he shall deposit the full amount of such currency capital contribution into a temporary bank account opened for the limited liability company. If the capital contributions are made in non-monetary properties, the appropriate transfer procedures for the property rights therein shall be followed according to law. Where a shareholder fails to make his/its capital contribution as specified in the preceding paragraph, it shall not only make full payment to the company but also bear the liabilities for breach of the contract to the shareholders who have make full payment of capital contributions on schedule.Article 29 The capital contributions made by shareholders shall be checked by a lawfully established capital verification institution, which shall issue a certification.Article 30 After the initial capital contributions made by the shareholders for the first time have been checked by a lawfully established capital verification institution, the representative designated by all the shareholders or the agent entrusted by all the shareholders shall apply for establishment and registration with a company registration application, the articles of association, capital verification and other documents to the company registration authority.Article 31 After the establishment of a limited liability company, if the actual value of the capital contributions in non-monetary properties is found to be apparently lower than that provided for in the articles of association of the company, the balance shall be supplemented by the shareholder who has offered them, and the other shareholders of the company who have established the company shall bear joint liabilities.Article 32 After the establishment of a limited liability company, every shareholder shall be issued with a capital contribution certificate, which shall specify the following:(1)the name of the company;(2)the date of establishment of the company;(3)the registered capital of the company;(4)the name of the shareholder, the amount of his capital contribution, and the day when the capital contribution is made; and(5)the serial number and date of issuance of the capital contribution certificate. The capital contribution certificate shall bear the seal of the company.Article 33 A limited liability company shall prepare a register of shareholders, which shall specify the following:(1)the name of every shareholder and his/its domicile thereof;(2)the amount of capital contribution made by every shareholder;(3)the serial number of every capital contribution certificate.The shareholders recorded in the register of shareholders may, in light of the register of shareholders, claim to and exercise the shareholder’s rights. A company shall register every shareholder’s name and the amount of its capital contribution in the company registration authority. Where any of the registered items is changed, it shall handle the modification of the registration. If the company fails to do so, it shall not, on the basis of the unregistered or un-modified registration item, stand up to any third party.Article 34 The shareholder shall be enpost_titled to consult and copy the articles of association, records of the shareholders’ meetings, resolutions of the meetings of the board of directors, resolutions of the meetings of the board of supervisors, as well as financial reports. The shareholder may request to consult the accounting books of the company. Where a shareholder requests to consult the accounting books of the company, it shall submit to the company a written request which shall state its motives. If the company, pursuant to any justifiable reason, considers that the shareholder’s request to consult the accounting books for any improper purpose may damage the legitimate interests of the company, it may reject the request of the shareholder, and shall, within in 15 days after the shareholder submits a written request, give it a written reply which shall include an explanation. If the company rejects the request of any shareholder to consult the accounting books, the shareholder may plead the people’s court to demand the company to approve consultation.Article 35 The shareholders shall distribute dividends in light of the percentages of capital contributions actually made by them, unless all shareholders agree that the dividends are not distributed on the percentages of capital contributions. Where the company is to increase its capital, its shareholders have the preemptive right to contribute to the increased amount on the basis of the same percentages of the old capital contributions they have made, unless all shareholders agree that they will not contribute to the increased amount of capital on the basis of the percentages of the old capital contributions they have made.Article 36 After the establishment of a company, no shareholder may illegally take away the contribution capital. Section 2 Organizational StructureArticle 37 The shareholders’ meeting of a limited liability company shall comprise all the shareholders. It shall be the authority of the company, and shall exercise its authorities according to this Law.Article 38 The shareholders’ meeting shall exercise the following authorities:(1)determining the company’s operation guidelines and investment plans;(2)electing and changing the director and supervisors assumed by non-representatives of the employees, and determining the matters concerning their remuneration;(3)deliberating and approving the reports of the board of directors;(4)deliberating and approving the reports of the board of supervisors or the supervisor;(5)deliberating and approving annual financial budget plans and final account plans of the company;(6)deliberating and approving profit distribution plans and loss recovery plans of the company;(7)making resolutions on the increase or decrease of the company’s registered capital;(8)making resolutions on the issuance of corporate bonds;(9)adopting resolutions on the assignment, split-up, change of company form, dissolution, liquidation of the company;(10)revising the articles of association of the company;(11)other functions as specified in the articles of association. Where any of the matters as listed in the preceding paragraph is consented by all the shareholders it in writing, it is not required to convene a shareholders’ meeting. A decision may be made directly with the signatures or seals of all the shareholders.Article 39 The shareholders’ meeting shall be convened and presided over by the shareholder who has made the largest percentage of capital contributions and shall exercise its authorities according to this Law.Article 40 The shareholders’ meetings shall be classified into regular meetings and temporary meetings. The regular meetings shall be timely held in pursuance with the articles of association. Where a temporary meeting is proposed by the shareholders representing 1/10 of the voting rights or more, or by directors representing 1/3 of the voting rights or more, or by the board of supervisors, or by the supervisors of the company with no board of supervisors, a temporary meeting shall be held.Article 41 Where a limited liability company has set up a board of directors, the shareholders’ meetings shall be convened by the board of directors and presided over by the chairman of the board of directors. If the chairman is unable or does not perform his duties, the meetings thereof shall be presided over by the deputy chairman of the board of directors. If the deputy chairman of the board of directors is unable or does not perform his duties, the meetings shall be presided over by a director jointly recommended by half or more of the directors. Where a limited liability company has not set up the board of directors, the shareholders’ meetings shall be convened and presided over by the acting director. If the board of directors or the acting director is unable or does not perform the duties of convening the shareholders’ meeting, the board of supervisors or the supervisor of the company with no board of supervisors may convene and preside over such meetings. If the board of supervisors or supervisor does not convene or preside over such meetings, the shareholder representing 1 / 10 or more of the voting rights may convene and preside over such meetings on his/its own initiative.Article 42 Every shareholder shall be notified 15 days before a shareholders’ meeting is held, unless it is otherwis 
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