On 24 November 2016, the Company entered into an investment agreement with Meicai (previously named
Spruce), pursuant to which the Company agreed to subscribe for the newly issued equity interests of Meicai
at a cash consideration of US$25.70 million. Meicai is a holding company incorporated in the Cayman
Islands. Its business model shortens the flow of agricultural products at all levels, reducing the cost of raw
material procurement, manpower and prices for customers, while providing customers with a wide range
of commodities, connecting one end of the supply chain to the fields and one end to urban consumers,
satisfying users with a “one-stop shopping” experience. With small and medium-sized food and beverage
merchants as the entry point, Meicai focuses on providing restaurants and fruit and vegetable shops with a
one-stop, full range of raw material procurement services for food and beverage. Meicai is an independent
third party of the Group. In the first half of 2023, with the impact of COVID-19 gradually waned, Meicai
continued to grow steadily and with high quality in the food and beverage supply chain by continuing to
optimize its business structure and improving synergies, resulting in a continued improvement in financial
performance. The Company is confident that Meicai will continue its business expansion at a satisfactory
growth rate and become a leader in this industry.
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