On January 9, 2026, the Board of Directors of ZUOLI M-FIN (06866) resolved to proceed with the application to surrender the small loan license held at the company's entity level. For the avoidance of doubt, the small loan license held by the Company's main operating subsidiary, Deqing Jinhui Small Loan Co., Ltd., which conducts the Group's small loan business, remains and will continue to be fully effective, and Deqing Jinhui is and will continue to be responsible for operating the Group's small loan business. Following the formal approval of the proposed license surrender by the Zhejiang Provincial Local Financial Regulatory Bureau, the Company also intends to change its company name and business scope to reflect its transition (at the entity level) into a general holding company.
Since its establishment, the Group has been primarily engaged in the small loan business in China. At the time of its listing on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, this core business was operated by the Company itself. On April 30, 2015, the Company announced the acquisition of a 96.9298% equity interest in Deqing Jinhui, which was already a licensed small loan company at that time. Subsequently, as disclosed in the Company's announcements dated November 14, 2017, and March 15, 2018, a corporate restructuring was completed, whereby the Company transferred the vast majority of assets and liabilities related to its small loan business operations to Deqing Jinhui as a capital contribution; concurrently, Deqing Jinhui's registered capital was increased to RMB 1.228 billion, and the Company's equity stake in Deqing Jinhui rose to 99.43%.
As Deqing Jinhui took over the small loan business previously conducted by the Company at that time, the Company's entity level ceased to directly operate a small loan business. In June 2021, the Company again acquired shares from the minority shareholders of Deqing Jinhui, increasing its equity stake in Deqing Jinhui to 99.7557%. Initially, the Company planned to surrender its small loan license concurrently with the aforementioned restructuring and transition into a general holding company; however, this plan was suspended, resulting in the Company remaining a licensed small loan company until the date of this announcement, despite no longer operating the business.
Given that both the Company and Deqing Jinhui hold valid small loan business licenses for the same region in China, but only Deqing Jinhui is actively engaged in the business, there exists significant organizational overlap and redundancy in resource allocation for license maintenance, operational personnel, and management. In light of this, the Group considers it commercially reasonable and beneficial to streamline this redundant resource allocation, enhance the Group's operational management efficiency, simplify the corporate and organizational structure, and increase shareholder value through the proposed license surrender.
Furthermore, according to applicable laws and regulations in China, companies not licensed to conduct small loan business are restricted from using the term "small loan" in their company names. Consequently, upon completion of the license surrender, the Company will be prohibited from referencing "small loan" in its name. To comply with relevant Chinese laws and regulations, and subject to the approval of the proposed license surrender by the Zhejiang Provincial Local Financial Regulatory Bureau, the Company intends to change its name to "ZUOLI Technology Innovation Co., Ltd." (subject to final approval by the relevant administration for industry and commerce) and amend its business scope to reflect the industrial change at the entity level.