Page 38 - CCFA Journal - 8th Issue

合规 Compliance 加中金融

中国的解释

随着时间的推移，中国在承认 VIE 方面的立场发生了怎样的变化?作为局外人，我们能收集到什么?从历史上看，人们的解
释往往各不相同，在近乎接受和拒绝的两个极端之间摇摆不定。香港律师会(Law Society of Hong Kong)在 2020 年 7 月提
出，在此前两年，VIE 结构实际上“接近官方认可”。报告引用了涉及商务部、中国证监会和国家市场监督管理总局的案例，
这些国务院部门提供了一些可能被解读为默许 VIE 结构的情境。

最引人注目的案例可能是中国证监会在 2019 年批准了利用 VIE 结构在上海证券交易所 STAR(科技创新)板上市 CDRs(中
国存托凭证)的公司。香港律师会认为:

“证监会批准使用 VIE 结构的公司在 STAR 板发行 CDRs 这一举措，强烈表明：至少在高科技行业，使用 VIE 结构是正式
批准的。除非所有相关监管机构在这一点上达成共识，否则中国证监会不会发布允许使用 VIE 结构的公司在中国发行
CDRs 的准则。在中国证监会批准使用 VIE 结构的公司在中国交易所发行 CDRs 后，VIE 结构在总体上又怎么可能被禁
止?”

2020 年 10 月，头部电动滑板车供应商 Ninebot 在科创板成功成为第一家采用 VIE 结构并在上述规则下上市的公司。

如今，尽管中国当局没有明确承认 VIE，但这种结构仍在悄然地融入越来越多的监管框架。通过这种行为，人们甚至可以
认为 VIE 的风险被化解。例如，作为解决网络安全和国家安全问题过程的一部分，中国证监会规定，企业在依法获准境
外上市之前，必须先获得许可，并通过审批程序。可以理解的是，几乎所有的海外上市都采用 VIE 结构。如果中国证监
会认为这种结构存在被追溯并宣布为非法的风险，那么他们批准这种结构的行为就说不通了。

PRC’s interpretation

How has the PRC authorities’ stance changed over time, with regards to their recognition of VIE? What can we glean as outsiders?
Historically, the interpretations have tended to vary, drifting between the two extremes of near acceptance and rejection. The
Law Society of Hong Kong made the case in July 2020 that over the preceding two years, VIE structure has actually “come close to
officially blessed”. It cites cases involving MOFCOM (Ministry of Commerce), CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission), and
SAMR (State Administration for Market Regulation), where each of these State Council ministries have provided on separate
occasions what may be interpreted as tacit approvals on the VIE structure .

The most notable case is perhaps CSRC’s approval in 2019 to allow companies that utilize a VIE Structure to list CDRs (China
Depository Receipts) on the STAR (Science and Technology Innovation) Board of Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Law Society of
Hong Kong argues:

“CSRC’s approval of companies that utilize a VIE Structure listing CDRs on the STAR Board represents a strong indication that the
use of the VIE Structure, at least in high-tech industries, is officially approved of. CSRC would not have issued rules permitting
companies utilizing VIE Structures to list CDRs in China unless all relevant regulators had come to a consensus on this point. How
could VIE Structures in general be banned after CSRC had approved the listing of CDRs on a Chinese exchange by companies using
VIE Structures?”

In October 2020, Ninebot, a leading supplier of electric scooters, successfully became the first company employing a VIE structure
to list under the above rules on the STAR Board.

Today, while Chinese authorities have fallen short of explicitly recognizing VIEs, the structure continues to be implicitly integrated
into a growing number of regulatory frameworks. By doing so, one can even argue that VIE is being de-risked. For example, as part
of the process to address cybersecurity and national security concerns, CSRC has mandated that companies seek permission and
clear an approval process before being legally allowed to list offshore. Understandably, nearly all of these offshore listings employ
the VIE structure. It makes no sense why CSRC would grant any approvals, if they feel the structure has any reasonable degree of
risk of being retroactively declared illegal.

CCFA JOURNAL OF FINANCE August 2022
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