瑞幸咖啡成立二年準備IPO，文章讓你了解掛牌風險! - Optionshare 選擇幫

Under the VIE structure, the Chinese company creates two entities, one in China that holds the permits and licenses needed to do business there and the other an offshore entity, in this case in the Cayman Islands, in which foreign investors can buy shares. The Chinese entity, which is usually owned by top executives, pays fees and royalties to the offshore company in contractual arrangements. The risk is that foreign investors don’t actually own stock in the company, and local management or even the Chinese government could force a split with the listed company, leaving U.S. investors high and dry.

Among the risk factors Luckin Coffee lists are the limits to protecting shareholders under the laws of the Cayman Islands, which the company said “are not as clearly established” as those in some U.S. jurisdictions.