# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0001659494
**File Stem:** 0001104659-26-047273
**Filing Date:** 2026-4
**Character Count:** 727444
**Document Hash:** 710bfa4c9703162a312f9710510a76ed
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001104659-26-047273.hdr.sgml**: 20260423

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001104659-26-047273

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 20-F

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 121

**CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT**: 20251231

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20260423

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20260423

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** 51Talk Online Education Group
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0001659494
- **STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:** SERVICES-EDUCATIONAL SERVICES [8200]
- **ORGANIZATION NAME:** 07 Trade & Services
- **EIN:** 000000000
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** E9
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1231

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 20-F
- **SEC ACT:** 1934 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 001-37790
- **FILM NUMBER:** 26885620

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **ADDRESS IS A NON US LOCATION:** YES
- **STREET 1:** 6 SHENTON WAY, #38-07 OUE DOWNTOWN
- **CITY:** SINGAPORE
- **PROVINCE COUNTRY:** U0
- **ZIP:** 068809
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 65 69912347

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **ADDRESS IS A NON US LOCATION:** YES
- **STREET 1:** 6 SHENTON WAY, #38-07 OUE DOWNTOWN
- **CITY:** SINGAPORE
- **PROVINCE COUNTRY:** U0
- **ZIP:** 068809

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** China Online Education Group
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 20151127

?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII'? 51Talk Online Education Group_December 31, 2025

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

------

**UNITED STATES**

**SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION**

**WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549**

**FORM 20-F**

**(Mark One)**

**☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934**<br>

**OR**

---

| |
|:---|
| **☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934** |
| **For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025** |

---

**OR**

**☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934**<br>

**OR**

**☐ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934**<br>

Date of event requiring this shell company report

**For the transition period from &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; to &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;** 

Commission file number: 001-37790

---

| |
|:---|
| **51Talk Online Education Group** |
| (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) |
| **N/A** |
| (Translation of Registrant's name into English) |
| **Cayman Islands** |
| (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
| **6 Shenton Way, #38-01 OUE Downtown, Singapore 068809** |
| (Address of principal executive offices) |
| **David Chung, Investor Relations Vice President** |
| **E-mail: ir@51talk.com** |
| **Room 2010 - 2011, 20/F, Tower 1, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China**  |
| (Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person) |

---

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Title of each class** | **Trading Symbol** | **Name of each exchange on which registered** |
| American Depositary Shares, each | COE | NYSE American LLC |
| representing sixty Class A ordinary shares, |  |  |
| par value US$0.0001 per share |  |  |
| Class A ordinary shares, |  | NYSE American LLC |
| par value US$0.0001 per share\* |  |  |

---

\* Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing on the NYSE American LLC of American depositary shares, each representing sixty Class A ordinary shares.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

---

| |
|:---|
| **None** |
| (Title of Class) |

---

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

---

| |
|:---|
| **None** |
| (Title of Class) |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

As of December 31, 2025, there were 359,059,557 ordinary shares outstanding, par value $0.0001 per share, being the sum of 255,452,577 Class A ordinary shares (excluding 8,289,315 Class A ordinary shares issued to our depositary bank for bulk issuance of ADSs reserved for future issuances upon the exercising or vesting of awards granted under the issuer's share incentive plan) and 103,606,980 Class B ordinary shares.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

☐ Yes ☒ No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

☐ Yes ☒ No

Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of "accelerated filer and large accelerated filer" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☒ Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

† The term "new or revised financial accounting standard" refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

☐ Yes ☒ No

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive - based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP ☒ International Financial Reporting Standards as issuedby the International Accounting Standards Board ☐ Other ☐

If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

☐ Yes ☒ No

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.

☐ Yes ☐ No

------

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### **TABLE OF CONTENTS**

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  |  | **Page** |
| [INTRODUCTION](#INTRODUCTION_301098) | [INTRODUCTION](#INTRODUCTION_301098) | 1 |
| [FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION](#FORWARDLOOKINGINFORMATION_528205) | [FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION](#FORWARDLOOKINGINFORMATION_528205) | 2 |
| [PART I](#PARTI_485631). |  | 4 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 1.](#ITEM1IDENTITYOFDIRECTORSSENIORMANAGEMENT) | [IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS](#ITEM1IDENTITYOFDIRECTORSSENIORMANAGEMENT) | 4 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 2.](#ITEM2OFFERSTATISTICSANDEXPECTEDTIMETABLE) | [OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE](#ITEM2OFFERSTATISTICSANDEXPECTEDTIMETABLE) | 4 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 3.](#ITEM3KEYINFORMATION_660100) | [KEY INFORMATION](#ITEM3KEYINFORMATION_660100) | 4 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 4.](#ITEM4INFORMATIONONTHECOMPANY_399698) | [INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY](#ITEM4INFORMATIONONTHECOMPANY_399698) | 38 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 4.A.](#ITEM4AUNRESOLVEDSTAFFCOMMENTS_830135) | [UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS](#ITEM4AUNRESOLVEDSTAFFCOMMENTS_830135) | 68 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 5.](#ITEM5OPERATINGANDFINANCIALREVIEWANDPROSP) | [OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS](#ITEM5OPERATINGANDFINANCIALREVIEWANDPROSP) | 68 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 6.](#ITEM6DIRECTORSSENIORMANAGEMENTANDEMPLOYE) | [DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES](#ITEM6DIRECTORSSENIORMANAGEMENTANDEMPLOYE) | 78 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 7.](#ITEM7MAJORSHAREHOLDERSANDRELATEDPARTYTRA) | [MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS](#ITEM7MAJORSHAREHOLDERSANDRELATEDPARTYTRA) | 88 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 8.](#ITEM8FINANCIALINFORMATION_874466) | [FINANCIAL INFORMATION](#ITEM8FINANCIALINFORMATION_874466) | 89 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 9.](#ITEM9THEOFFERANDLISTING_367685) | [THE OFFER AND LISTING](#ITEM9THEOFFERANDLISTING_367685) | 90 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 10.](#ITEM10ADDITIONALINFORMATION_589598) | [ADDITIONAL INFORMATION](#ITEM10ADDITIONALINFORMATION_589598) | 90 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 11.](#ITEM11QUANTITATIVEANDQUALITATIVEDISCLOSU) | [QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK](#ITEM11QUANTITATIVEANDQUALITATIVEDISCLOSU) | 106 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 12.](#ITEM12DESCRIPTIONOFSECURITIESOTHERTHANEQ) | [DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES](#ITEM12DESCRIPTIONOFSECURITIESOTHERTHANEQ) | 107 |
| [PART II](#PARTII_460374). |  | 109 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 13.](#ITEM13DEFAULTSDIVIDENDARREARAGESANDDELIN) | [DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES](#ITEM13DEFAULTSDIVIDENDARREARAGESANDDELIN) | 109 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 14.](#ITEM14MATERIALMODIFICATIONSTOTHERIGHTS_9) | [MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS](#ITEM14MATERIALMODIFICATIONSTOTHERIGHTS_9) | 109 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 15.](#ITEM15CONTROLSANDPROCEDURES_210835) | [CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES](#ITEM15CONTROLSANDPROCEDURES_210835) | 109 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.A.](#ITEM16AAUDITCOMMITTEEFINANCIALEXPERT_831) | [AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT](#ITEM16AAUDITCOMMITTEEFINANCIALEXPERT_831) | 111 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.B.](#ITEM16BCODEOFETHICS_131979) | [CODE OF ETHICS](#ITEM16BCODEOFETHICS_131979) | 112 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.C.](#ITEM16CPRINCIPALACCOUNTANTFEESANDSERVICE) | [PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES](#ITEM16CPRINCIPALACCOUNTANTFEESANDSERVICE) | 112 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.D.](#ITEM16DEXEMPTIONSFROMTHELISTINGSTANDARDS) | [EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES](#ITEM16DEXEMPTIONSFROMTHELISTINGSTANDARDS) | 112 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.E.](#ITEM16EPURCHASESOFEQUITYSECURITIESBYTHEI) | [PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS](#ITEM16EPURCHASESOFEQUITYSECURITIESBYTHEI) | 112 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.F.](#ITEM16FCHANGEINREGISTRANTSCERTIFYINGACCO) | [CHANGE IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT](#ITEM16FCHANGEINREGISTRANTSCERTIFYINGACCO) | 113 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.G.](#ITEM16GCORPORATEGOVERNANCE_561325) | [CORPORATE GOVERNANCE](#ITEM16GCORPORATEGOVERNANCE_561325) | 114 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.H.](#ITEM16HMINESAFETYDISCLOSURE_377267) | [MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE](#ITEM16HMINESAFETYDISCLOSURE_377267) | 114 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.I.](#ITEM16IDISCLOSUREREGARDINGFOREIGNJURISDI) | [DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTION THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS](#ITEM16IDISCLOSUREREGARDINGFOREIGNJURISDI) | 114 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.J.](#ITEM16JINSIDERTRADINGPOLICIES_985160) | [INSIDER TRADING POLICIES](#ITEM16JINSIDERTRADINGPOLICIES_985160) | 114 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 16.K.](#ITEM16KCYBERSECURITY_591450) | [CYBERSECURITY](#ITEM16KCYBERSECURITY_591450) | 114 |
| [PART III](#PARTIII_204024). |  | 116 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 17.](#ITEM17FINANCIALSTATEMENTS_729705) | [FINANCIAL STATEMENTS](#ITEM17FINANCIALSTATEMENTS_729705) | 116 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 18.](#ITEM18FINANCIALSTATEMENTS_270109) | [FINANCIAL STATEMENTS](#ITEM18FINANCIALSTATEMENTS_270109) | 116 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[ITEM 19.](#ITEM19EXHIBITS_149736) | [EXHIBITS](#ITEM19EXHIBITS_149736) | 116 |
| [SIGNATURES](#SIGNATURES_370800) | [SIGNATURES](#SIGNATURES_370800) | 118 |

---

i

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### INTRODUCTION
In this annual report, except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report only:

● a lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent;

● an "active student with general lesson consumption" or "active student" for a specified period refers to a student who consumed or booked at least one paid lesson credit, in attendance or due to minimum consumption or expiration, excluding those students who only attended paid live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons; an "active student with attended lesson consumption" for a specified period refers to a student who attended at least one paid lesson, excluding those students who only attended paid live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons;

● "ADSs" refers to our American depositary shares, each representing sixty Class A ordinary shares;

● the "Alleviating Burden Opinion" refers to the Opinions on Further Alleviating the Burden of Homework and After-School Tutoring for Students in Compulsory Education jointly promulgated by the General Office of State Council and the General Office of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on July 24, 2021;

● "China Mainland Business" refers to our former online English tutoring businesses in mainland China, including all associated liabilities and assets, which we divested in June 2022;

● "foreign tutors" refers to the Filipino tutors;

● "global tutors" refers to the non-Filipino foreign tutors;

● "gross billings" for a specific period refers to the total amount of cash received and receivable from third party payment platforms for the sale of course packages and services in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period;

● "ordinary shares" refers to our Class A and Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share;

● a "paying student" for a specified period refers to a student that purchased a course package during the period, excluding those students who only paid for live broadcasting lessons, and the total number of "paying students" for a specified period refers to the total number of paying students for such period minus the total number of students that obtained refunds during such period;

● "RMB" or "Renminbi" refers to the legal currency of mainland China;

● "US$," "dollars" or "U.S. dollars" refers to the legal currency of the United States;

● "PHP" or "Peso" refers to the legal currency of the Philippines;

● "SGD" refers to Singapore dollars, the legal currency of Singapore;

● "MYR" refers to Ringgit, the legal currency of Malaysia;

● "THB" refers to Thai Baht, the legal currency of Thailand;

● "SAR" refers to the legal currency of Saudi Riyal;

● "VIE (s)" refers to variable interest entity (ies); and

● "we," "us," "our company," "our," and "51Talk" refer to 51Talk Online Education Group, a Cayman Islands holding company and its subsidiaries .

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. This annual report contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors," "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview" and "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects." These forward-looking statements are made under the "safe-harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those listed under "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors," may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "likely to" or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

● our goals and growth strategies;

● our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our brand and platform;

● our ability to retain and increase our student enrollment;

● our ability to offer new courses;

● our ability to engage, train and retain new tutors;

● our future business development, results of operations and financial condition;

● our ability to maintain and improve infrastructure necessary to operate our education platform;

● competition in the online education industry in the markets where we operate;

● the expected growth of, and trends in, the markets for our course offerings;

● global economic, political, regulatory, social and business conditions and their impact on the markets where we operate; and

● assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may later be found to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. Other sections of this annual report include additional factors that could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should read thoroughly this annual report and the documents that we refer to with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from, or worse than, what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this annual report and the documents that we refer to in this annual report and exhibits to this annual report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### PART I.

#### ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
Not Applicable.

#### ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not Applicable.

#### ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
**Our Holding Company Structure**

51Talk Online Education Group is not an operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company. We conduct our business through our subsidiaries across different jurisdictions, including our Singapore subsidiary, Hong Kong subsidiaries, as well as our subsidiaries in other jurisdictions. As a result, 51Talk Online Education Group's ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our subsidiaries, which is subject to restrictions imposed by the applicable laws and regulations of the relevant jurisdictions.

We currently operate in several key markets across the globe, including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and others. As we have shifted our business focus to countries and regions outside mainland China, we conduct our operations, which solely pertains to research and development, administration and sales and marketing, through our mainland China subsidiaries.

The following diagram illustrates our current corporate structure, which includes our significant subsidiaries as of the date of this annual report:

![Graphic](coe-20251231x20f002.jpg)

Notes:

⁎ The holding company in which the investors hold their interests

† Our operating subsidiaries

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) Jack Jiajia Huang and Ting Shu through their holding vehicles, which are wholly owned by TB Family Trust established for the benefits of Mr. Huang and Ms. Shu and their family members, beneficially owned 24.5% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 38.8% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. Mr. Huang by himself and through his own holding vehicles, which are wholly owned by HH Talent Trust established for the benefits of Mr. Huang and his family members, beneficially owned 8.5% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 2.4% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. DCM Funds, including DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., DCM Ventures China Turbo Fund, L.P. and DCM Ventures China Turbo Affiliates Fund, L.P., beneficially owned 18.9% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 45.4% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. HongShan Investment Funds, including HSG Venture V Holdco I, Ltd.(formerly known as SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd.), beneficially owned 7.9% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 2.2% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. Golien Ltd beneficially owned 5.3% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 1.5% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. Other shareholders including certain principal shareholders, beneficially own 34.9% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 9.7% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) Each of Noel Lee, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que, Arman James Manalang and Samuel Celestino holds 0.000001% of the equity interest in Philippines Co II. Each of Noel Lee, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que, Arman James Manalang and Samuel Celestino is a director of Philippines Co II. We entered into contractual arrangements with some of these individual shareholders which provide us an exclusive option to purchase all of these individual shareholders' equity interests in Philippines Co II and the power to exercise their shareholder rights.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(3) Each of Cindy Chun Tang, Frank Lin, Rommel Quozon, Janice Elizabeth Santos and Anna Marie Rivera holds 0.0002% of the equity interest in Philippines Co III. Each of Cindy Chun Tang, Frank Lin, Rommel Quozon, Janice Elizabeth Santos and Anna Marie Rivera is a director of Philippines Co III. We entered into contractual arrangements with one of these individual shareholders which provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the individual shareholder's equity interests in Philippines Co III and the power to exercise their respective shareholder rights.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(4) In July 2018, HelloWorld Online Education Group, or Helloworld Online Cayman, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of 51Talk Online Education Group.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(5) In December 2021, HelloWorld Online Education Pte. Ltd., or HelloWorld Online Singapore, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online Cayman.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(6) In August 2018, HelloWorld Online Education Group (HK) limited, or HelloWorld Online HK, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online Cayman.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(7) In April 2022, 51TALK TRAINING SDN. BHD, or 51TALK TRAINING MAS, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(8) In November 2022, Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd., or Helloworld Education Thailand, was incorporated as a subsidiary of our company to operate our business in Thailand. HelloWorld Online Singapore, Ms. Piyanuch Thiensri and Ms. Chulaluk Aramruangsakul hold 49%, 26% and 25% of the equity interest in Helloworld Education Thailand, respectively. HelloWorld Online Singapore holds ordinary shares, and each ordinary share is entitled to one vote. Ms. Piyanuch Thiensri and Ms. Chulaluk Aramruangsakul hold preference shares, and ten preference shares is entitled to one vote. As a result, we, through HelloWorld Online Singapore, hold 90.6% of the voting power of Helloworld Education Thailand.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(9) In September 2018, Beijing HelloWorld Online Technology Co., Ltd., or HelloWorld Online, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online HK.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(10) In March 2023, Darb Al-Najah Training Company, or Darb Al-Najah, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore to operate the international business in Saudi Arabia.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(11) In July 2023, HelloWorld Online Education Jordan LLC, or HelloWorld Jordan, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of our Company to operate the international business in Jordan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(12) In January 2024, HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT -FZCO, or UAE INVESTMENT, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore in United Arab Emirates.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(13) In February 2024, Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ, or UAE Training, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore in United Arab Emirates.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(14) In July 2025, HELLOWORLD ONLINE EDUCATION VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED, or HELLOWORLD ONLINE EDUCATION VIETNAM, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore in Vietnam.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**A.** **[Reserved]** 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**B.** **Capitalization and Indebtedness** 

Not Applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**C.** **Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds** 

Not Applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**D.** **Risk Factors** 

**Summary of Risk Factors**

***Risks Related to Our Business and Industry***

● Our limited operating history in the international market makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our limited operating history in the international market makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects."

● If we are not able to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages or to increase the spending of our students on our platform, our business and prospects will be materially and adversely affected. See "Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we are not able to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages or to increase the spending of our students on our platform, our business and prospects will be materially and adversely affected."

● Our business depends on the market recognition of our brand, and if we are unable to maintain and enhance brand recognition, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our business depends on the market recognition of our brand, and if we are unable to maintain and enhance brand recognition, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected."

● If we are unable to conduct sales and marketing activities cost-effectively, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we are unable to conduct sales and marketing activities cost-effectively, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected."

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● We have incurred, and in the future may continue to incur, net losses. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We have incurred, and in the future may continue to incur, net losses."

● We face significant competition, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share or fail to gain additional market share, which would adversely impact our business and financial conditions and operating results. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We face significant competition, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share or fail to gain additional market share, which would adversely impact our business and financial conditions and operating results."

● If we are not able to continue to engage, train or retain qualified tutors, we may not be able to maintain consistent teaching quality on our platform, and our business, financial conditions and operating results may be materially and adversely affected. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we are not able to continue to engage, train or retain qualified tutors, we may not be able to maintain consistent teaching quality on our platform, and our business, financial conditions and operating results may be materially and adversely affected."

● If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected."

● If we fail to develop and introduce new courses that meet our existing and prospective students' expectations, or adopt new technologies important to our business, our competitive position and ability to generate revenues may be materially and adversely affected. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we fail to develop and introduce new courses that meet our existing and prospective students' expectations, or adopt new technologies important to our business, our competitive position and ability to generate revenues may be materially and adversely affected."

● Our business generates and processes a large amount of data, and we are required to comply with applicable laws relating to privacy and cybersecurity. The improper use or disclosure of data could have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our business generates and processes a large amount of data, and we are required to comply with applicable laws relating to privacy and cybersecurity. The improper use or disclosure of data could have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects."

● Our business broadcasts online content and we are required to comply with various broadcasting and online content regulations, including licensing requirements, under applicable laws. Non-compliance with such regulations and applicable licensing requirements may result in, among others, the revocation of our licenses and the takedown and/or blocking of our content in these jurisdictions. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our business broadcasts online content and we are required to comply with various broadcasting and online content regulations, including licensing requirements, under applicable laws. Non-compliance with such regulations and applicable licensing requirements may result in, among others, the revocation of our licenses and the takedown and/or blocking of our content in these jurisdictions."

***Risks Related to Our Global Operations***

● We are subject to risks associated with operating in the rapidly evolving Asia and EMEA, and we are therefore exposed to various risks inherent in operating and investing in the region. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Global Operations—We are subject to risks associated with operating in the rapidly evolving Asia and EMEA, and we are therefore exposed to various risks inherent in operating and investing in the region."

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● Rising geopolitical tension between the countries and regions where we operate our business may disrupt the economy and business environment of the countries and regions where we operate our business, which may negatively impact our business operations in these countries and regions. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Global Operations—Rising geopolitical tension between the countries and regions where we operate our business may disrupt the economy and business environment of the countries and regions where we operate our business, which may negatively impact our business operations in these countries and regions."

● We could face uncertain tax liabilities in various countries and regions in which we operate, which could adversely impact our operating results. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Global Operations—We could face uncertain tax liabilities in various countries and regions in which we operate, which could adversely impact our operating results."

***Risks Related to Our ADSs***

● The trading prices of our ADSs have fluctuated and may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our ADSs—The trading prices of our ADSs have fluctuated and may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors."

● There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject U.S. Holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our ADSs—There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject U.S. Holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences."

● If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our ADSs—If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline."

● Our dual class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our ADSs—Our dual class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial."

**Risks Related to Our Business and Industry**

***Our limited operating history in the international market makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.***

In response to the Alleviating Burden Opinion promulgated on July 24, 2021, and its implementation measures, we ceased providing K-12 online tutoring services in mainland China and divested the China Mainland Business at the end of June 2022.

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In the second half of 2021, we commenced our international business that provides one-on-one English lessons taught by foreign tutors to students in countries and regions outside of mainland China. Since then, we have managed to grow rapidly to acquire a substantial number of students outside of mainland China. However, given our short history of international operations, our performance to date may not be indicative of our future growth or financial results. We cannot assure you that we will be able to grow at a similar rate as we did since we commenced our international operations or as we did in the past when we were providing English lessons to students in mainland China, or avoid any decline in the future. Our growth may slow down or our revenues may decline for a number of possible reasons, some of which are beyond our control, including decreasing student spending, increasing competition, declining growth or contraction of our overall market or industry, the emergence of alternative business models, changes in rules, regulations, government policies or general economic conditions, and natural disasters or virus outbreaks. We will continue to expand our international business and may explore new service offerings to bring better experience to students and increase our student base and expand our geographic reach. Implementation of our expansion plan and execution of our new business initiatives are subject to uncertainty, and we may not be able to grow at the rate we expect for the reasons stated above. In addition, there may be particular complexities, regulatory or otherwise, associated with our expansion into new service categories or new markets. If our growth rate declines, investors' perceptions of our business and business prospects may be adversely affected and the market price of the ADSs could decline. You should consider our prospects in light of the risks and uncertainties that companies with a limited operating history may encounter.

***If we are not able to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages or to increase the spending of our students on our platform, our business and prospects will be materially and adversely affected.***

Since the second half of 2021, we have developed and transitioned into new business models and service offerings of providing one-on-one English lessons taught by foreign tutors to students in countries and regions outside mainland China. Our ability to attract students to purchase our course packages and to increase their spending on our education platform remains critical to the future success and growth of our business. This in turn will depend on several factors, including our ability to effectively market our platform to a broader base of prospective students, continue to develop, adapt or enhance quality educational content and services to meet the evolving demands of our students and expand our geographic reach. We must also manage our growth while maintaining consistent and high teaching quality, and respond effectively to competitive pressures. If we are unable to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages or to increase the spending of our students on our platform, our net revenues and gross billings may decline, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

***Our business depends on the market recognition of our brand, and if we are unable to maintain and enhance brand recognition, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.***

We believe that the market recognition of our brand has significantly contributed to the success of our business and that as we have transitioned into new business models and service offerings outside of mainland China in response to the regulatory changes in mainland China since the second half of 2021, maintaining and enhancing our brand recognition is critical to our future success. For example, promoting our brand recognition in international markets will be important for us to attract international students and grow our international business. Our ability to maintain and enhance brand recognition and reputation depends primarily on the perceived effectiveness and quality of our curriculum and tutors, as well as the success of our branding efforts. If we are unable to maintain and further enhance our brand recognition and reputation and promote awareness of our platform, we may not be able to charge a desired level of student fees or engage qualified tutors, and our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, any negative publicity relating to our company, our courses, tutors and platform or our brand ambassador, regardless of its veracity could harm our brand image and in turn materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

***If we are unable to conduct sales and marketing activities cost-effectively, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.***

We have incurred significant sales and marketing expenses. Our sales expenses include telemarketing sales and free trial lesson related expenses, and our marketing expenses include online and mobile marketing and branding expenses. In December 2015, we began outsourcing part of our marketing and sales functions to independent third- party suppliers who provide management and business outsourcing services. We had 1,382 sales and marketing staff for international business, including 381 full-time employees (including free trial tutors and teaching support) and 1,001 outsourced personnel as of December 31, 2025. We incurred US$23.6 million, US$33.4 million and US$62.3 million in sales and marketing expenses for international business in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively. We have ceased branding and marketing services in mainland China since the release of the Alleviating Burden Opinion, and we are conducting branding and marketing activities in our international markets.

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Our sales activities may not be well received by students and may not result in the levels of sales that we anticipate and our trial lessons may not be attractive to our prospective students. Furthermore, we may not be able to achieve the operational efficiency necessary to increase the revenues per sales and marketing staff. We also may not be able to retain or recruit experienced sales staff, or to efficiently train junior sales staff. We may also incur additional costs in our sales and marketing efforts to promote our new service offerings or target new international markets and cannot guarantee that such efforts will succeed. Further, marketing and branding approaches and tools in the online education market abroad are evolving, especially for mobile platforms. This further requires us to enhance our marketing and branding approaches and experiment with new methods to keep pace with industry developments and student preferences. Failure to refine our existing marketing and branding approaches or to introduce new marketing and branding approaches in a cost-effective manner may reduce our market share, cause our revenues to decline and negatively impact our profitability.

***We have incurred, and in the future may continue to incur, net losses.***

We incurred net loss of US$15.0 million, US$7.3 million and US$16.9 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. We had accumulated deficit of US$370.4 million as of December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, we had a total shareholders' equity of negative US$31.3 million and our current liabilities exceeded the current assets by US$35.0 million.

We incurred net loss for 2023, 2024 and 2025. We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate net profits or positive cash flow from operating activities in the future, especially as we divested the China Mainland Business and transitioned into new international markets, the financial prospects of which are largely uncertain. Our ability to maintain profitability will depend in large part on our ability to maintain continuous operation in compliance with regulatory requirements, maintain or increase our operating margin, either by growing our revenues at a rate faster than our operating expenses increase, or by reducing our operating expenses. We also intend to continue to invest in our branding and marketing activities to attract students to our new services and enhance student experience. We may continue to incur net losses from operating activities and net current liabilities, which may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

***We face significant competition, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share or fail to gain additional market share, which would adversely impact our business and financial conditions and operating results.***

The global English education market is fragmented, rapidly evolving and highly competitive. We face competition in various areas of English education in which we offer or plan to offer services, from existing online and offline education companies in the global markets. In addition, the competitive landscape is evolving with the emergence of technology-driven language learning solutions, including those incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), which further intensify competition for students' attention. In the future, we may also face competition from new entrants into the English education market.

Some of our competitors may be able to devote more resources than we can to the development and promotion of their education programs and respond more quickly than we can to changes in student demands, market trends or new technologies. We believe our strategy of integrating human-led instruction with AI-powered tools may distinguish us from certain competitors; however, if we fail to effectively integrate AI into our offerings, or if AI-only solutions prove more effective or more appealing to students than our human-AI hybrid model, we may be adversely affected in our competitive position. In addition, some of our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to changes in student preferences or engage in price-cutting strategies. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors. If we are unable to maintain our competitive position or otherwise respond to competitive pressure effectively, we may lose market share or be forced to reduce our fees for course packages, either of which would adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

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***If we are not able to continue to engage, train or retain qualified tutors, we may not be able to maintain consistent teaching quality on our platform, and our business, financial conditions and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.***

Our tutors are critical to the learning experience of our students and our reputation. We seek to engage highly qualified tutors with strong English and teaching skills. We must provide competitive pay and other benefits, such as flexibility in lesson scheduling to attract and retain them. We must also provide ongoing training to our tutors to ensure that they stay abreast of changes in course materials, student demands and other changes and trends necessary to teach effectively. Furthermore, as we develop new service offerings and continue to develop new course contents and lesson formats, we may need to engage additional tutors with appropriate skill sets or backgrounds to deliver instructions effectively. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to effectively and timely engage and train such tutors, or at all. Further, given other potential more attractive opportunities for our quality tutors, over time some of them may choose to leave our platform. We may not always be able to engage, train and retain enough qualified tutors to keep pace with our growth or new business strategies while maintaining consistent education quality. We may also face significant competition in engaging qualified tutors from our competitors or from other opportunities that are perceived as more desirable. A shortage of qualified tutors, a decrease in the quality of our tutors' performance, whether actual or perceived, or a significant increase in the cost to engage or retain qualified tutors would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial conditions and results of operations.

***If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.***

We are in the process of developing new business models and service offerings internationally. See "Item 4. Information on the Company" for details. Our growth strategies also include further enhancing our brand image to grow or evolve our student base and increase student enrollments, increasing our market penetration, expanding our course offerings, enhancing our teaching methods, improving the learning experience of our students, and advancing our technology. We may not succeed in executing these growth strategies due to a number of factors, including the following:

● we may fail to develop or implement our new business models and service offerings;

● we may fail to further promote our platforms;

● we may not be able to engage, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified tutors and other key personnel;

● we may not be able to continue to improve our personalized learning experience of our students or to develop new courses that meet the changing demands for English learners;

● our business may face additional regulatory challenges;

● we may fail to grow our international business;

● we may fail to maintain the technology necessary to deliver a smooth learning experience to our students; and

● we may not be able to identify suitable targets for acquisitions and partnership.

**If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, we may not be able to maintain our growth rate and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected as a result.**

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***If we fail to develop and introduce new courses that meet our existing and prospective students' expectations, or adopt new technologies important to our business, our competitive position and ability to generate revenues may be materially and adversely affected.***

In response to the regulatory changes in mainland China since the second half of 2021, we have switched from a business model that focuses on Chinese K-12 students to new business models and service offerings in international market. See "Item 4. Information on the Company" for details. We intend to continue developing new courses as we grow our new businesses. The timing of the introduction of new courses is subject to risks and uncertainties. Unexpected technical, operational, logistical or other problems could delay or prevent the introduction of one or more new courses. Moreover, we cannot provide assurance that any of these courses or programs will match the quality or popularity of those developed by our competitors, achieve widespread market acceptance or contribute the desired level of income.

The effectiveness of our program depends on the success of our personalized learning approach to English education, which in turn is determined by the efficiency of our data analytics know-how. We might not be able to continue to efficiently monitor and analyze data important for us to provide a personalized learning experience for our students, or to continue to drive our teaching training, curriculum development and other operational aspects of our platform.

Technology standards in internet and value-added telecommunications services and products in general, and in online education in particular, may change over time. If we fail to anticipate and adapt to technological changes, our market share and our business development could suffer, which in turn could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. If we are unsuccessful in addressing any of the risks related to new courses, our reputation and business may be materially and adversely affected.

***Our business generates and processes a large amount of data, and we are required to comply with applicable laws relating to privacy and cybersecurity. The improper use or disclosure of data could have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects.***

Our business generates and processes a large quantity of data. We face risks inherent in handling and protecting large volume of data. In particular, we face a number of challenges relating to data from transactions and other activities on our platforms, including:

● protecting the data in and hosted on our system, including against attacks on our system by outside parties or fraudulent behavior or improper use by our employees;

● addressing concerns related to privacy and sharing, safety, security and other factors; and

● complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to the collection, use, storage, transfer, disclosure and security of personal information, including any requests from regulatory and government authorities relating to these data.

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As all of our servers and routers, including backup servers, are currently hosted by third-party service providers in Singapore, we are, with regards to privacy legislation, subject principally to the Singapore Personal Data Protection Act 2012 which provides a baseline standard for the protection of personal data in Singapore. See "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—Singapore Regulations." Similarly, there are personal data protection laws and regulations imposed on our group companies in each of the jurisdictions that we operate in. For example, we have obligations under Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Chapter 486 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or the PDPO, and Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act. In particular, the PDPO applies to data users that control the collection, holding, processing or use of personal data in Hong Kong. We are subject to the general requirements under the PDPO, including the requirements to inform the data subjects whether it is obligatory or voluntary to supply the data, the purpose of using their data and the classes of person to whom their data may be transferred as well as to take all practicable steps to protect the personal data held by data users against unauthorized or accidental access, loss or use. Non-compliance with the PDPO may lead to a variety of civil and criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment. In addition, data subjects have a right to bring proceedings in court to seek compensation for damage caused by a contravention of the PDPO. We have taken various measures to guard against unauthorized access or use of data collected from users or accidental data leak. As of the date of this annual report, we have not received any warning, penalty, administrative punishment from relevant authorities in Hong Kong as a result of violations of applicable laws and governmental policies including the PDPO, nor have received requests from governmental authorities to improve our online platform to enhance protection over personal data.

In general, we expect that data security and data protection compliance will receive greater attention and focus from regulators in the countries and regions that we operate in, as well as attract continued or greater public scrutiny and attention going forward, as regulatory authorities around the world have adopted or are considering a number of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. These legislative and regulatory proposals, if adopted, and the uncertain interpretations and application thereof could, in addition to the possibility of fines, result in an order requiring that we change our data practices and policies, which could increase our compliance costs and subject us to heightened risks and challenges associated with data security and protection and thereby have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

If we are unable to manage these risks associated with data privacy and cybersecurity, we could become subject to penalties, including fines, suspension of business and revocation of required licenses, and our reputation and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Furthermore, despite that we divested the China Mainland Business in June 2022 in response to regulatory changes in China, there is no assurance that students based in mainland China will not manage to access our service offerings under our international business through the internet, which may subject us to risks of non-compliance with laws, rules and regulations of data security and protection in mainland China and thereby have a negative impact on our business operations, financial condition and operating results. The PRC government has promulgated a series of cybersecurity and data privacy laws and regulations in China, including the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the Cybersecurity Review Measures. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, critical information infrastructure operators that procure internet products and services must be subject to the cybersecurity review if their activities affect or may affect national security. The Cybersecurity Review Measures further stipulates that network platform operators that hold personal information of over one million users shall apply with the Cybersecurity Review Office for a cybersecurity review before any initial public offering at a foreign stock exchange. All of our servers and routers, including backup servers, are currently hosted by third-party service providers in Singapore. As of the date of this annual report, we and our mainland China subsidiaries have not been asked to go through cybersecurity review by any PRC government authority. Based on the foregoing, as advised by our PRC legal counsel, Shihui Partners, our mainland China subsidiaries are not required by the CAC to go through cybersecurity review in connection with our company's previous issuance of securities to foreign investors.

***Our business broadcasts online content and we are required to comply with various broadcasting and online content regulations, including licensing requirements, under applicable laws. Non-compliance with such regulations and applicable licensing requirements may result in, among others, the revocation of our licenses and the takedown and/or blocking of our content in these jurisdictions.***

Our business involves the broadcasting of online content in and from various jurisdictions, including Singapore, and would therefore be subject to applicable laws and regulations (including licensing requirements). For applicable laws and regulations in Singapore, see "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—Singapore Regulations."

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If we are unable to comply with the broadcasting and online content laws and regulations, we could become subject to penalties, including fines, revocation of our licenses, blocking and/or takedown of our online content.

***Unexpected network interruptions, security breaches or computer virus attacks and system failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.***

Our business depends on the performance and reliability of the internet infrastructure in the countries and regions where we operate our business. In many parts of the countries and regions where we operate our business, in particular, certain Asian countries, the internet infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped, and internet connections are generally slower and less stable than in more developed countries. We cannot assure you that the internet infrastructure in the countries and regions where we operate our business will remain sufficiently reliable for our needs or that such countries or regions will develop and make available more reliable internet access to our students and independently contracted tutors. Any failure to maintain the performance, reliability, security or availability of our network infrastructure may cause significant damage to our ability to attract and retain students and tutors. Major risks involving our network infrastructure include:

● breakdowns or system failures resulting in a prolonged shutdown of our servers;

● disruption or failure in the national backbone networks in the countries and regions where we operate our business, which would make it difficult for students and independently contracted tutors to access our online and mobile platforms or to engage in live lessons;

● damage from natural disaster or other catastrophic event such as a typhoon, volcanic eruption, earthquake, flood, telecommunications failure, or other similar events in the countries and regions where we operate our business; and

● any infection by or spread of computer viruses.

Any network interruption or inadequacy that causes interruptions in the availability of our online and mobile platforms or deterioration in the quality of access to our online and mobile platforms could reduce student satisfaction and result in a reduction in the activity level of our students and the number of students purchasing our course packages. If sustained or repeated, these performance issues could reduce the attractiveness of our platform. Furthermore, increases in the volume of traffic on our online and mobile platforms could strain the capacity of our existing computer systems and bandwidth, which could lead to slower response times or system failures. The internet infrastructure in the countries and regions where we operate our business may not support the demands associated with continued growth in internet usage. This would cause a disruption or suspension in our lesson delivery, which could hurt our brand and reputation. We may need to incur additional costs to upgrade our technology infrastructure and computer systems in order to accommodate increased demand if we anticipate that our systems cannot handle higher volumes of traffic in the future.

All of our servers and routers, including backup servers, are currently hosted by third-party service providers in Singapore. We do not maintain any backup servers outside of Singapore. We also rely on major telecommunication companies to provide us with data communications capacity primarily through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We may not have access to alternative services and we have no control over the costs of services. If the prices that we pay for telecommunications and internet services in the countries and regions where we operate our business rise significantly, our gross profit and net income could be adversely affected. In addition, if internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our visitor traffic may decrease, which in turn may harm our revenues.

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***We are subject to certain regional political, regulatory and economic risks that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.***

We operate our business in multiple jurisdictions and are subject to risks associated with doing business internationally and in differing political and regulatory environments. For example, rising trade and political tensions, including those arising from the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia and the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the war among Iran and U.S. and Israel, among other geopolitical tensions, could reduce levels of trades, investments, technological exchanges and other economic activities among countries, which would have an adverse effect on global economic conditions, the stability of global financial markets, and international trade policies. It could also adversely affect the financial and economic conditions in the jurisdictions in which we operate, as well as our global expansion, our financial condition, and results of operations.

Governments or government agencies may take legislative, executive, administrative or other measures or implement policies to regulate foreign investments, including applying heightened scrutiny and imposing additional requirements, prohibitions and restrictions on investments made by companies that meet certain criteria. Companies may be evaluated based on (i) their place of incorporation or country of origin, (ii) the place of incorporation, country of origin, or nationality of their shareholders and/or beneficial owners, and (iii) where the companies have employees or service providers, store data or develop or provide their products and services. Any changes in foreign investment restrictions in the markets where we operate may affect our ability to operate and maintain our business in these markets. In the event of such restrictions, we may face additional legal and regulatory compliance costs and risks, lose investments we have made and/or exit such markets, our users may develop a negative perception of us, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected.

The government authorities of certain jurisdictions have significant oversight over the conduct of our business in those jurisdictions and may influence our local operations. These government authorities have published and may continue to publish new policies that significantly affect certain industries and we cannot rule out the possibility that they will in the future release regulations or policies that directly or indirectly affect our industry or require us to comply with more stringent regulatory requirements in order for us continue our local operations, which could result in a material adverse change in our operation in such jurisdictions and/or the value of our ADSs. Therefore, investors of our company faces potential uncertainty from actions taken by the governmental authorities in markets in which we operate. If we cannot timely and effectively manage such challenge, it may place significant strain on our management and resources to keep balance among the jurisdictions where we operate, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

There have been heightened tensions in international economic relations in recent years and these tensions may continue to escalate in the future. These tensions have resulted in changes in international trade policies and, as they further escalate, may result in additional barriers to trade. For example, the tensions between the United States and China in recent years have led to additional, or higher tariffs imposed by the United States on products imported from China and restrictions on the sale of certain products into the United States. China has responded by imposing, and proposing to impose additional, or higher tariffs on products imported from the United States, among other measures. In addition, international political tensions have escalated and continue to be subject to uncertainties with respect to a wide range of issues. The U.S. government has also adopted measures aiming to prohibit or restrict U.S. investment in China-associated companies that operate in certain industries. Rising political tensions could reduce levels of trades, investments, technological exchanges, and other economic activities, which would materially and adversely affect the global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets. These developments may also lead to increased compliance costs, operational disruptions, and potential constraints on our access to capital markets. The possibility of the U.S. government delisting China-associated companies from U.S. stock exchanges, as previously reported in the media, creates uncertainty regarding our ability to maintain our NYSE American LLC listing. Although we are a global company with limited operations in China, we cannot rule out the possibility of being affected by these U.S. policies, given the uncertainties associated with such policies and their implementation and the broad discretion of U.S. authorities.

Accordingly, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected by significant political, social and economic developments in those places or changes in laws and regulations of those places. Any changes in the political and economic conditions of those places could materially affect our business and results of operations. Any failure to comply with regulations in those places could subject us to legal and reputational risks.

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***Higher labor costs, inflation and implementation of stricter labor laws in the countries and regions where we operate our business may adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.***

We incur labor costs in the countries and regions where we operate our international business. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to pass on these increased labor costs to our students by increasing prices for our courses or improving the utilization of our staff, our profitability and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, the government in the countries and regions where we operate may promulgate new laws and regulations to enhance labor protection. As the interpretation and implementation of these new laws and regulations are still evolving, our employment practice may not at all times be deemed in compliance with the new laws and regulations. If we are subject to penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigation, our business and profitability may be adversely affected.

In addition, our future success depends, to a significant extent, on our ability to engage, train and retain qualified personnel in the countries and regions where we operate our business, particularly experienced independently contracted tutors with expertise in English education. Our experienced mid-level managers in the countries and regions where we operate our business are instrumental in implementing our business strategies, executing our business plans and supporting our business operations and growth. We benefit from lower labor costs in the countries and regions where we operate our business, but countries and regions where we operate our business are subject to relatively high degrees of political and social instability. Disruptions resulting from this instability could decrease our efficiency and increase our costs. Any political or economic instability in the countries and regions where we operate our business could result in our having to replace or reduce these labor sources, which may increase our labor costs and have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

Our pool of independently contracted tutors is mainly from the Philippines. We engage our independently contracted foreign tutors as independent contractors whose rights differ from those of employees. There are uncertainties in determining whether a service provider is an independent contractor or an employee. The level and extent of control exercised by the hiring entity, among other factors, would determine the employment status. Our labor costs will increase if we engage our independently contracted tutors in the countries and regions where we operate our business as full-time employees or if courts or other authorities in the countries and regions where we operate our business determine that our independently contracted tutors are deemed employees instead of independent contractors.

We also rely on some third-party vendors in Hong Kong to handle the payment of the compensation of our foreign tutors. Any failure of this vendor to provide these services may negatively impact our relationships with tutors in the countries and regions where we operate our business, damage our reputation and cause us to lose tutors while making it difficult to find replacement tutors.

***Some students may decide not to continue taking our courses for a number of reasons, including a perceived lack of improvement in their English proficiency or general dissatisfaction with our programs, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation.***

The success of our business depends in large part on our ability to retain our students by delivering a satisfactory learning experience and improving their English proficiency. If students feel that we are not providing them the experience they are seeking, they may choose not to renew their existing packages. For example, our education programs may fail to significantly improve a student's English proficiency. All our tests are unit-based and level-based assessments, which can only measure students' mastery of knowledge within the current learning phase. They cannot accurately measure the specific improvement in students' overall English proficiency. To a large extent, the improvement of students' English proficiency depends on each student's level of interest, effort, and time invested. Student satisfaction and parent satisfaction with our programs may decline for a number of reasons, many of which may not reflect the effectiveness of our lessons and teaching methods. A student's learning experience may also suffer if his or her relationship with our tutors does not meet expectations. If a significant number of students fail to significantly improve their English proficiency after taking our lessons or if their learning experiences with us are unsatisfactory, they may not purchase additional lessons from us or refer other students to us and our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation would be adversely affected.

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***Our failure to protect our intellectual property rights may undermine our competitive position, and litigation to protect our intellectual property rights or defend against third party allegations of infringement may be costly and ineffective.***

We believe that our copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property are essential to our success. We depend to a large extent on our ability to develop and maintain the intellectual property rights relating to our technology and course materials. We have devoted considerable time and energy to the development and improvement of our websites, mobile apps, our *Air Class* platform, trademarks, domain names, trade secrets, and our course materials.

We rely primarily on copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other contractual restrictions for the protection of the intellectual property used in our business. Nevertheless, these provide only limited protection and the actions we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate. Our trade secrets may become known or be independently discovered by our competitors. Third parties may in the future pirate our course materials and may infringe upon or misappropriate our other intellectual property. Infringement upon or the misappropriation of, our proprietary technologies or other intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results. Policing the unauthorized use of proprietary technology can be difficult and expensive.

Also, litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Such litigation may be costly and divert management's attention away from our business. An adverse determination in any such litigation would impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, prospects and reputation. Enforcement of judgments in certain countries and regions where we operate is uncertain, and even if we are successful in litigation and purchase insurance in advance to cover costs arising from litigation, these may not provide us with an effective and adequate remedy. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

***We may encounter disputes from time to time relating to our use of intellectual property of third parties.***

We cannot be certain that third parties will not claim that our business infringes upon or otherwise violates patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights that they hold. We cannot assure you that third parties will not claim that our courses and marketing materials, online courses, products, and platform or other intellectual property developed or used by us infringe upon valid copyrights or other intellectual property rights that they hold. We may be subject to claims by educational institutions and organizations, content providers and publishers, competitors and others on the grounds of intellectual property rights infringement, defamation, negligence or other legal theories based on the content of the materials that we or our tutors distribute or use in our business operation. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against print publications and educational institutions in the past. We may encounter disputes from time to time over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property, and we may not prevail in those disputes.

Any claims against us, with or without merit, could be time consuming and costly to defend or litigate, divert our management's attention and resources or result in the loss of goodwill associated with our brand. If a lawsuit against us is successful, we may be required to pay substantial damages and/or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be based upon commercially reasonable terms, or we may be unable to enter into such agreements at all. We may also lose, or be limited in, the rights to offer some of our programs, parts of our platform and products or be required to make changes to our course materials or websites. As a result, the scope of our course materials could be reduced, which could adversely affect the effectiveness of our curriculum, limit our ability to attract new students, harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

***Failure to protect confidential information of our tutors and students against security breaches could damage our reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.***

A significant challenge to the online education industry is the secure storage of confidential information and its secure transmission over public networks. Purchases of our course packages are made through our website, our mobile apps bank remittance, bank card, and third-party platforms. In addition, online payments for our course packages are settled through third-party online payment services. Maintaining complete security for the storage and transmission of confidential information on our technology platform, such as student names, phone numbers, and other personal information, is essential to maintaining student confidence.

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We have adopted security policies and measures to protect our proprietary data and student information. However, advances in technology, the expertise of hackers, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other events or developments could result in a compromise or breach of the technology that we use to protect confidential information. We may not be able to prevent third parties, especially hackers or other individuals or entities engaging in similar activities, from illegally obtaining such confidential or private information we hold as a result of our students' visits to our website and use of our mobile apps. Such individuals or entities obtaining our students' confidential or private information may further engage in various other illegal activities using such information. Any negative publicity on our website's or mobile apps' safety or privacy protection mechanisms and policies, and any claims asserted against us or fines imposed upon us as a result of actual or perceived failures, could have a material and adverse effect on our public image, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Practices regarding the collection, use, storage, transmission and security of personal information by companies operating over the internet and mobile platforms have recently come under increased public scrutiny. Furthermore, there are a number of legislative proposals in the European Union and the United States, at both the federal and state level, as well as other jurisdictions that could impose new obligations in areas affecting our business. We generally comply with industry standards and are subject to the terms of our own privacy policies. Compliance with any additional laws or regulations concerning data protection, or the interpretation and application of existing data protection laws or regulations, which is often uncertain and in flux, could be expensive, and may place restrictions on the conduct of our business and the manner in which we interact with our students. Any failure to comply with applicable regulations could also result in regulatory enforcement actions against us.

Significant capital and other resources may be required to protect against information security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches or to comply with our privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations. The resources required may increase over time as the methods used by hackers and others engaged in online criminal activities are increasingly sophisticated and constantly evolving. Any failure or perceived failure by us to prevent information security breaches or to comply with privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other student data, could cause our students to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims. Any perception by the public that online transactions or the privacy of user information are becoming increasingly unsafe or vulnerable to attacks could inhibit the growth of online education services generally, which may negatively impact our business prospects.

***We face risks related to outbreaks of health epidemics, natural disasters, and other extraordinary events, which could significantly disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.***

Our business could be adversely affected by the outbreak of Zika, Ebola, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the influenza A (H1N1), H7N9, COVID-19 or other epidemics. Any of such occurrences could cause severe disruption to our daily operations, and may even require a temporary closure of our offices. Such closures may disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations. Our operation could also be disrupted if any of our students, tutors or business partners were affected by such health epidemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to contain its spread had from time to time resulted in business disruptions in the countries and regions where we operate. For example, our operations in countries and regions where we operate were affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 and precautions taken in response there. Any future outbreak of adverse public health developments in countries and regions where we operate, may have a material and adverse effect on our business operations. These occurrences could cause cancellations or deferments of student enrollments and require the temporary closure of our offices. In the event that a health epidemic cannot be effectively and timely contained, our ability to consistently offer online lessons and related services in the future may be significantly disrupted, which in turn may harm the growth rate and retention of our students, as well as our financial performance generally.

We are also vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities, including fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins, war, riots, terrorist attacks, and any other severe weather conditions or similar event may give rise to loss of personnel, damages to property, server interruptions, breakdowns, technology platform failures or internet failures, where our operations could be materially and adversely affected.

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***Our brand image, business and results of operations may be adversely impacted by students and independently contracted tutors' misconduct and misuse of our platform.***

Our platforms allow independently contracted tutors and students to engage in real-time communication. Because we do not have full control over how and what our independently contracted tutors and students will use our platform to communicate, our platforms may from time to time be misused by individuals or groups of individuals to engage in immoral, disrespectful, fraudulent or illegal activities. Though there have not been any such incidents on our platform that have been covered by media reports or internet forums, any such coverage could generate negative publicity about our brand and platform. We have implemented control procedures, such as training and sample auditing, to require our independently contracted tutors not to distribute any illegal or inappropriate content and conduct any illegal or fraudulent activities on our platforms, but such procedures may not prevent all such content or activities from being posted or carried out. Moreover, as we have limited control over the real-time and offline behavior of our students and independently contracted tutors, to the extent such behavior is associated with our platforms, our ability to protect our brand image and reputation may be limited. Our business and the public perception of our brand may be materially and adversely affected by misuse of our platform. In addition, if any of our students or independently contracted tutors suffers or alleges to have suffered physical, financial or emotional harm following contact initiated on our platform, we may face civil lawsuits or other liabilities initiated by the affected student or independently contracted teacher, or governmental or regulatory actions against us. In response to allegations of illegal or inappropriate activities conducted on our platform or any negative media coverage about us, the competent governmental authorities where we operate our international business may intervene and hold us liable for non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations concerning the dissemination of information on the internet and subject us to administrative penalties or other sanctions, such as requiring us to restrict or discontinue some of the features and services provided on our platform. As a result, our business may suffer and our brand image, student base, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

***Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities or misuse our platform, which could harm our reputation.***

We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Employee misconduct could include intentionally failing to comply with government regulations, engaging in unauthorized activities and misrepresentation to our potential students during marketing activities, which could harm our reputation. Employee misconduct could also involve improper use of our students' and independently contracted tutors' sensitive or classified information, which could result in regulatory sanctions against us and serious harm to our reputation. Employee misconduct could also involve making payments to government officials or third parties that would expose us to being in violation of laws. It is not always possible to deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

***Allegations, harassment or other detrimental conduct by third parties, as well as the public dissemination of negative, inaccurate or misleading information about us, could harm our reputation and adversely affect the price of our ADSs.***

We may be subject to allegations by third parties or purported current or former employees, negative internet postings or other negative, inaccurate or misleading publicity related to our business and operations. We may also become the target of harassment or other detrimental conduct by third parties or disgruntled former or current employees. Such conduct may include complaints, anonymous or otherwise, to our board, advisors, regulatory agencies, media or other organizations. Depending on their nature and significance, we may need to conduct internal investigations to appropriately review any such allegations. We may also be subject to government or regulatory inquiries or, investigations or other proceedings as a result of such third-party conduct and may be required to spend significant time and incur substantial costs to address such conduct, and there is no assurance that we will be able to conclusively refute each of the allegations within a reasonable period of time, or at all. Allegations may be posted on the internet, including social media platforms, by anyone anonymously. Any negative, inaccurate or misleading publicity about us or our management can be quickly and widely disseminated. Social media platforms and devices immediately publish the content of their subscribers' and participants' posts, often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Information posted on the internet or otherwise publicly released, including by us or our employees, may be inaccurate or misleading, and the information or the inaccurate or misleading nature of the information, may harm our reputation, business or prospects. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Our reputation may be negatively affected as a result of the public dissemination of negative, inaccurate, or misleading information about our business and operations, which in turn may cause us to lose market share or students, and adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

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***We may not be able to achieve the benefits we expect from recent and future acquisitions, and recent and future acquisitions may have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business.***

Going forward, we may make acquisitions or investments and may not be able to successfully integrate acquired businesses or have control over the businesses or operations of our minority equity investments, the value of which may decline over time. As a result, our business and operating results could be harmed. If the businesses we acquire or invest in do not subsequently generate the anticipated financial performance or if any goodwill impairment test triggering event occurs, we may need to revalue or write down the value of goodwill and other intangible assets in connection with such acquisitions or investments, which would harm our results of operations. In addition, we may be unable to identify appropriate acquisition or strategic investment targets when it is necessary or desirable to make such acquisition or investment to remain competitive or to expand our business. Even if we identify an appropriate acquisition or investment target, we may not be able to negotiate the terms of the acquisition or investment successfully, finance the proposed transaction or integrate the businesses into our existing business and operations. Furthermore, as we often do not have control over the companies in which we only have minority stake, we cannot ensure that these companies will always comply with applicable laws and regulations in their business operations. Material non-compliance by our investees may cause substantial harms to our reputations and the value of our investment.

***Failure to renew our current leases or locate desirable alternatives for our facilities could materially and adversely affect our business.***

We lease properties for our offices in Middle East, the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, mainland China and other countries and regions where we operate. We may not be able to successfully extend or renew such leases upon expiration of the current term on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and may therefore be forced to relocate our affected operations. This could disrupt our operations and result in significant relocation expenses, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we compete with other businesses for premises at certain locations or of desirable sizes. As a result, even though we could extend or renew our leases, rental payments may significantly increase as a result of the high demand for the leased properties. In addition, we may not be able to locate desirable alternative sites for our facilities as our business continues to grow and failure in relocating our affected operations could adversely affect our business and operations.

***The wide variety of payment methods that we accept subjects us to third-party payment processing-related risks.***

We accept payments using a variety of methods, including bank transfers and payment through third-party online payment platforms such as Airwallex, Stripe, Tabby, Tamara, Payermax, Checkout and 2C2P. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower our profit margins. We may also be susceptible to fraud and other illegal activities in connection with the various payment methods we offer. We are also subject to various rules, regulations and requirements, regulatory or otherwise, governing electronic funds transfers which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, we may be subject to fines and higher transaction fees and become unable to accept credit and debit card payments from our students, process electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. With the expansion of our business to different countries and regions, we use more and more third-party platforms to collect payment. We could not guarantee that all of such platforms will timely and fully transfer the collected payments to us or will be in a good financial position to do so. If any of the third-party online payment platforms breaches the contracts and fails to transfer any payments to us, it may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

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***If our senior management is unable to work together effectively or efficiently or if we lose their services, our business may be severely disrupted.***

Our success heavily depends upon the continued services of our management. In particular, we rely on the expertise and experience of Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Ms. Ting Shu, our co-founder and director. Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu are husband and wife. We also rely on the experience and services from other senior management, including Ms. Cindy Chun Tang, our chief financial officer. If they cannot work together effectively or efficiently, our business may be severely disrupted. If one or more of our senior management were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we might not be able to replace them easily or at all, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If any of our senior management joins a competitor or forms a competing business, we may lose students, tutors, and other key professionals and staff members. Our senior management has entered into employment agreements with us, including confidentiality and non-competition clauses. However, if any dispute arises between our officers and us, we may have to incur substantial costs and expenses in order to enforce such agreements in mainland China or we may be unable to enforce them at all.

***Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may materially and adversely affect our results of operations.***

We operate in multiple international markets, which exposes us to the effect of fluctuations in currency exchange rates as we report our financials in U.S. dollars. We charge customers fees in local currencies in some countries and regions where we offer our course offerings, a significant portion of our assets and liabilities are denominated in US dollars and Renminbi, and a significant portion of our costs and expenses are incurred in the currencies of the countries and regions where we operate, including service fee payments to nearly all of our foreign tutors. For example, we engage independently contracted tutors and lease properties in the Philippines. We are exposed to the risk of cost increases due to inflation in the Philippines and other countries and regions and the depreciation of US dollars. Currency fluctuations in the currencies of the countries and regions where we operate could create economic instability that may increase our expenses and harm our business operations.

Currency fluctuations in the exchange rates among the various currencies that we use could create economic instability that may increase our expenses and harm our business operations. The conversion of one currency into another currency is based on rates set by responsible authorities in each of the countries and regions where we operate and is affected by, among other things, changes in each country or region's political and economic conditions and its foreign exchange policies. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the currencies of the countries and regions where we operate may have a material and adverse effect on the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars and your investment. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into local currencies for capital expenditures and working capital, appreciation of the local currencies against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the local currencies amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert the local currencies where we operate our business into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the local currencies would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. We cannot assure you that the currencies of the countries and regions where we operate will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or government policy may impact the exchange rate among the currencies of the countries and regions where we operate and the U.S. dollar in the future.

Very limited hedging options are available in certain jurisdictions where we operate to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert between currencies. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may increase our expenses and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

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***Our results of operations have been and may continue to be subject to seasonal fluctuations.***

Our industry generally experiences seasonality, reflecting a combination of traditional education industry patterns and new patterns associated with the online platform in particular. Seasonal fluctuations affected our business when we focused on lessons for Chinese K-12 students, and may continue to affect our business as we shift to new business models. Due to our limited operating history and the fact that we have shifted our focus from lessons for Chinese K- 12 students to new business models and service offerings targeting international students, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of our future operating results. Our financial condition and results of operations for future periods may continue to fluctuate. As a result, the trading price of our ADSs may fluctuate from time to time due to seasonality.

***We have granted options and restricted share units, and may continue to grant options, restricted share units and other types of awards under our share incentive plans, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses.***

We adopted share incentive plans in September 2013, or the 2013 Plan, and in December 2014, or the 2014 Plan. The 2014 Plan was amended in February 2016. Under the 2013 Plan and the 2014 Plan, we are authorized to grant options or share purchase rights to purchase up to an aggregate of 36,229,922 Class A ordinary shares. In September 2023, the 2013 Plan expired and additional grants may not be made thereunder. In December 2024, the 2014 Plan expired and additional grants may not be made thereunder.

In May 2016, we adopted the 2016 share incentive plan, or the 2016 Plan, which was amended and restated in April 2026. Upon the adoption of the Amended and Restated 2016 share incentive plan, or the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, it replaced the previously adopted 2016 Plan in its entirety and the awards granted and outstanding thereunder remain effective and binding under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan. Under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, the maximum aggregate number of shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan is initially 4,600,000 Class A ordinary shares in 2016, plus (i) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year from 2017 through 2026, equal to 1.5% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2027, equal to 1.2% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or, in each case, such lesser number of Class A ordinary shares as may be determined by our board of directors, during the term of the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan. As of January 1, 2026, the maximum aggregate number of Class A ordinary shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards granted under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan was increased to 53,645,627. As of March 18, 2026, 13,009,194 restricted share units were outstanding under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan.

As a result of grants under the 2013 Plan, the 2014 Plan and the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan and potential future grants under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, we have incurred and will continue to incur share-based compensation expenses. We have recognized share-based compensation expense in the amount of US$1.3 million in 2025. We believe the granting of share-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

***We have limited insurance coverage for our operations in the countries and regions where we operate our business, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.***

We do not maintain any liability insurance or property insurance policies covering students, equipment and facilities for injuries, death or losses due to fire, earthquake, flood or any other disaster, except for the liability insurance and property insurance policies for our certain offices. Consistent with customary industry practice, we do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain key-man life insurance. We maintain certain personal accident insurance, commercial medical insurance, government-mandated medical insurance, and supplementary medical insurance to certain of our employees in the markets in which we operate. However, as the insurance industry in many countries and regions where we operate is still in an early stage of development and service providers typically offer limited business-related insurance products. We also have limited experience dealing with the insurance industry in international markets. We cannot assure you that our insurance coverage is sufficient to prevent us from any loss or that we will be able to successfully claim our losses under our current insurance policy on a timely basis, or at all. If we incur any loss that is not covered by our insurance policies, or the compensated amount is significantly less than our actual loss, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

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***If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls to remediate our material weaknesses over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.***

As defined in the standards established by the PCAOB, a "material weakness" is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We could not completely remediate the material weaknesses identified in 2024. Furthermore, a new material weakness was identified in 2025 related to our Information Technology General Controls (ITGC). For details, see "Item 15. Controls and Procedures."

We are actively developing remediation plans designed to address the material weaknesses. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continually implement these measures to effectively remediate our material weaknesses, or that we will not identify additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the future.

If we fail to remediate these material weaknesses or to discover and address any other control deficiencies, we could suffer material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions.

***It may be difficult for international regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within the countries and regions where we operate.***

Shareholder claims or regulatory investigation that are common in the United States generally are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in certain jurisdictions where we operate. For example, in mainland China, there may be obstacles to providing information needed for regulatory investigations or litigation initiated outside mainland China. Although the authorities in mainland China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the Unities States may not be efficient in the absence of mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. Furthermore, according to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law, or Article 177, which became effective in March 2020, no international securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within mainland China. While detailed interpretation of or implementation rules under Article 177 have yet to be promulgated, the inability for an international securities regulator to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within mainland China may further increase difficulties faced by you in protecting your interests.

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***We are subject to risks associated with operating in the rapidly evolving Asia and EMEA, and we are therefore exposed to various risks inherent in operating and investing in the region.*** 

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from our operations in countries and regions located in Asia and EMEA, and we intend to continue to develop and expand our business and penetration in these countries and regions. Our operations and investments in Asia are subject to various risks related to the economic, political and social conditions of the countries and regions that we operate in, including risks related to the following:

● inconsistent and evolving regulations, licensing and legal requirements may increase our operational risks and cost of operations among the countries and regions in Asia and EMEA in which we operate;

● currencies may be devalued or may depreciate or currency restrictions or other restraints on transfer of funds may be imposed;

● the effects of inflation within Asia and EMEA generally and/or within any specific country in which we operate may increase our cost of operations;

● governments or regulators may impose new or more burdensome regulations, taxes or tariffs;

● political changes may lead to changes in the business, legal and regulatory environments in which we operate;

● economic downturns, political instability, civil disturbances, war, military conflict, religious or ethnic strife, terrorism and general security concerns may negatively affect our operations;

● enactment or any increase in the enforcement of regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to personal data protection and localization and cybersecurity, and especially on the cross-border acquisition and use of personal data by our company, may incur compliance costs;

● health epidemics, pandemics or disease outbreaks may affect our operations and demand for our offerings; and

● natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, floods, typhoons and earthquakes may impact our operations severely.

Volatile political situations in certain countries and regions could impact our business. For example, elections and other political transitions in the countries or regions in which we operate may create uncertainty, which could adversely affect market conditions and, in some cases, contribute to civil unrest. Any disruptions in our business activities or volatility or uncertainty in the economic, political or regulatory conditions in the markets we operate in could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Any of the foregoing risks may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

***Rising geopolitical tension between the countries and regions where we operate our business may disrupt the economy and business environment of the countries and regions where we operate our business, which may negatively impact our business operations in these countries and regions.*** 

Certain countries and regions where we operate our business have geopolitical tension with one another.

Although diplomatic relationships among these countries and regions have been relatively stable in recent years, we cannot be sure that the territorial disputes or other forms of political discord will not escalate or that new disputes will not arise in the future. Should such disputes continue or intensify, the affected countries and their economies may experience disruptions, which could, in turn, adversely impact our operations.

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Furthermore, as a significant portion of our workforce, including independently contracted personnel, may be concentrated in certain countries or regions, any deterioration in diplomatic relations could make it more challenging to attract or retain talent, or to conduct business activities in those locations. It could also discourage customers from those regions from engaging with our services or products. Prolonged or intense diplomatic tensions may therefore have a material adverse effect on our business operations, both in the affected countries and more broadly. Any current or future geopolitical disputes among the countries and regions where we operate may negatively impact our business activities, financial position and overall performance.

***We could face uncertain tax liabilities in various countries and regions in which we operate, which could adversely impact our operating results.***

We are subject to the tax laws and policies of each of the countries and regions in which we operate. Since legislation and other laws and regulations (particularly in relation to tax) in emerging markets, such as the markets where we operate, are often undeveloped and the interpretation, application and enforcement of tax laws and policies in emerging market countries is uncertain, there is a risk that we may be unable to determine our taxation obligations with certainty.

We obtain external tax advice from time to time on the application of tax laws to our operations. Due to the aforementioned challenges of interpretation and consistency of application and enforcement, obtaining such advice may be difficult and opinions on the law may differ. The determination of our provision for tax liabilities requires significant judgment and estimation and there are classifications, transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax payable is uncertain.

Our tax exposure and obligations exist in each of the countries and regions in which we presently operate and provide course offerings and may arise in other countries or regions in the future in the event that we commence operations in such new countries or regions, either organically or through acquisitions. These risks may increase when we acquire a business, particularly to the extent that there are limitations or restrictions on the scope or nature of the financial, tax and other due diligence investigations that we are able to undertake in connection with the acquisition, or where the vendors withhold material information. Given the nature of our business, we are also exposed to the general changes in digital taxation policy that are happening globally.

From time to time, we establish provisions to account for uncertainties as well as timing and accounting differences in respect of income tax and indirect taxes, including, but not limited to, in relation to businesses that are acquired by us. While we have established our tax and other provisions using assumptions and estimates that we believe to be reasonable, these provisions may prove insufficient given the risks and uncertainties inherent in the taxation systems in the countries and regions where we operate. Any adverse determinations by a revenue authority in relation to our tax obligations may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and may adversely impact our operations in the country or region and our reputation.

***We are subject to education, content, accessibility, consumer protection and anti-discrimination laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and any non-compliance could materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.***

We provide our course offerings through our apps and other channels in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and we are subject to a variety of laws, rules and regulations that govern, among other things, (i) the accessibility and content of educational materials, (ii) advertising, marketing and consumer protection, (iii) data privacy and cybersecurity, and (iv) licensing, permits, registrations and other operational requirements applicable to education-related services. These requirements may differ significantly across jurisdictions, may be interpreted and enforced inconsistently, and may change over time.

If we fail, or are alleged to have failed, to comply with applicable requirements, we may be subject to investigations, inspections, fines, penalties, warnings, increased compliance requirements, civil claims (including class actions where available), or other enforcement actions. Regulators may also require us to modify or remove content, suspend certain offerings, restrict our marketing practices, block access to certain services, or suspend or revoke licenses or permits, any of which could disrupt our operations and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any actual or alleged non-compliance could harm our brand and reputation and reduce student and parent trust, which could negatively affect our ability to attract and retain users and partners.

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For example, in Hong Kong, we provide our course offerings to students through our apps and are subject to the Education Ordinance, which sets out certain requirements applicable to schools and educational institutions, including requirements relating to curriculum, teacher qualifications and student assessment. The Education Bureau may suspend or revoke the licence of a school or educational institution that is found to be in violation of the Education Ordinance. In addition, educational content may be required to be accurate and complete, and inaccurate or incomplete content may subject us to regulatory scrutiny, fines or other legal action. We are also subject to Hong Kong anti-discrimination laws, which require education companies to ensure that educational content is accessible to all students, including those with disabilities; failure to provide accessible content may result in legal action, regulatory scrutiny or reputational damage.

Negative publicity or consumer backlash arising from actual or perceived violations in any jurisdiction could make it more difficult for us to attract new customers or retain existing ones, as trust and credibility are important factors for students and parents to consider when selecting educational services. As a result, we may be forced to scale back our operations and even suspend operations in one or more markets. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

***Information we provide to users and customers regarding our course offerings is subject to consumer protection and related laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and any actual or alleged non-compliance could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.***

Information we provide (or are required to provide) to users and customers regarding our course offerings—such as course descriptions, pricing, promotions, subscription terms, refund policies, and other contractual and consumer-facing disclosures—is subject to consumer protection, e-commerce and other similar laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate. We also market and promote our course offerings and are subject to advertising, marketing and consumer information requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate. These requirements generally prohibit false, misleading or deceptive statements and may impose specific disclosure obligations (for example, regarding pricing, discounts, limited-time offers, subscription renewals, cancellation rights, and refund policies). Government authorities may take different views on the scope, format and sufficiency of required disclosures and may determine that our user-facing information is incomplete, unclear or misleading (including based on evolving regulatory priorities or guidance). If we are required to modify our marketing materials, change our disclosure practices, offer refunds, pay fines or penalties, or defend against claims, our reputation, user growth and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

For example, in Hong Kong, we are subject to consumer protection and advertising-related requirements that generally require clear and accurate information to consumers (including in relation to course content, pricing and refund policies) and prohibit misleading advertisements. If Hong Kong regulators determine that our disclosures are not sufficiently transparent, or that any promotional statements are misleading, we could be subject to fines or other legal action, and we may be required to change our practices, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

***Limited internet connectivity, device availability, digital literacy and language proficiency in certain markets could reduce the accessibility and adoption of our course offerings and materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.***

We rely on users having access to compatible devices (such as smartphones, tablets or computers) and sufficient, reliable internet connectivity to access our course offerings. In a number of the jurisdictions in which we operate—particularly in developing countries—internet penetration, broadband coverage, network speed and reliability, and access to suitable devices may be limited, inconsistent or unaffordable for some users (including in rural or lower-income areas). These limitations could degrade the performance and perceived quality of our services (for example, through buffering, interrupted sessions, reduced functionality or an inability to access certain features), reduce user satisfaction, and constrain our ability to acquire, engage and retain users in those markets.

Limited connectivity and device access may also be associated with lower levels of digital literacy, and a meaningful portion of potential users in certain jurisdictions may be unfamiliar with, or reluctant to adopt, online learning. To address these constraints, we may need to incur additional costs to adapt and optimize our products for lower-bandwidth environments, enhance user support, and invest in marketing, outreach and education initiatives to increase awareness and adoption of our course offerings. These efforts may be expensive, may take significant time to implement, and may not be effective.

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In addition, language barriers may limit the adoption and engagement of our course offerings in certain jurisdictions. In markets where a substantial portion of the population is not proficient in English (or any other language in which our content is offered), we may need to devote additional resources to localization, translation, subtitles, dubbing and/or developing locally relevant content and instructors. These investments may not result in the expected increase in user growth, engagement or revenue.

If we are unable to effectively address limitations in connectivity, device availability, digital literacy or language proficiency in one or more markets, we may fail to grow our user base as expected, user engagement and retention may be lower than anticipated, and our investments may not generate the returns we expect. Any of the foregoing could limit our market penetration, increase our operating costs, and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For example, in Malaysia, while internet penetration is increasing, there are still areas with limited access to devices (such as computers and smartphones) and limited internet access (including high-speed internet or supporting technology infrastructure), which may affect the quality and reliability of our course offerings. In addition, a significant portion of the population may be unfamiliar with technology or e-learning, and some potential users may not be proficient in English. As a result, we may need to invest in marketing, user education and localization efforts in Malaysia, and there can be no assurance that these efforts will be successful or generate the returns we expect.

***We face intense competition in jurisdictions in which we operate, and there is no assurance that we will be able to secure or expand our market share in existing or new markets.***

We operate in highly competitive markets across multiple jurisdictions, and we may enter additional markets or jurisdictions in the future. Many of these markets have a strong demand for exam preparation services, which has attracted numerous competitors, including both established players and new entrants, resulting in intense competition.

As a new entrant in certain jurisdictions or as we expand into new markets, we face significant challenges in differentiating our course offerings and providing unique value to users compared to competitors. Many of our competitors may have greater financial resources, more established brand recognition, larger user bases, or longer operating histories, which may give them a competitive advantage. Additionally, new entrants may adopt innovative strategies or offer lower pricing, further intensifying competition.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively distinguish our products and services, attract and retain users, or secure and grow our market share in any jurisdiction in which we operate or may enter. If we fail to compete successfully, we may experience reduced demand for our services, loss of users, or an inability to achieve our growth objectives, which could materially and adversely affect our business operations, financial condition, and prospects.

***Our operations in the Middle East could be affected by economic and geopolitical conditions in the Middle East, and subject us to additional compliance costs.***

Our operations in the Middle East expose us to elevated political, operational and economic risks associated with a complex and volatile geopolitical environment. The region has experienced armed conflicts, political and social unrest and terrorist attacks, including the Hamas-Israel conflict, hostilities in countries such as Syria and Yemen, and attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. These conditions have disrupted, and could further disrupt, local economies and infrastructure and could materially adversely affect our business, including by impairing our ability to operate in the region, increasing our operating costs and affecting business continuity.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have periodically escalated and could further deteriorate, including through additional sanctions, military action, cyber activity or disruptions affecting energy supplies and key shipping routes. Any such developments could materially adversely affect us, including by (i) restricting our ability to transact with certain customers, vendors or other counterparties, (ii) disrupting logistics and increasing transportation and insurance costs, and (iii) increasing risks to the safety of our personnel and the security of our facilities and assets, which could require us to scale back or suspend operations in affected locations.

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In addition, our operations in the Middle East may be subject us to additional compliance costs to comply with sanctions related regulations issued by the United States, which have established an SDN list of corporations and people with which engaging in business by a person subject to the jurisdiction of such government authority is prohibited without a license. There is no guarantee that any individual or entity in the Middle East or elsewhere with which we have done business will not be identified on the SDN list. If any customer, employee or vendor were to be listed on the SDN list, we could be required to suspend or terminate the business relationship with such person, incur costs, including legal and compliance costs, to evaluate and implement appropriate actions, and could be exposed to investigations, fines, penalties, reputational harm and other costs.

***If we fail to obtain, maintain or renew licenses, permits or approvals applicable to our service offerings, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.***

Under the applicable laws and regulations of countries and regions where we operate, we may be required to obtain certain licenses, permits and approvals from and make filings or complete registrations with, government authorities in order to provide our courses. In addition, given the evolvement in laws, rules, regulations and enforcement practice by government authorities, we may be required to obtain additional licenses, permits or approvals, or make filings or registrations for our service offerings in the future. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully obtain, maintain or review these licenses, permits and approvals or complete these filings or registrations on a timely basis, or at all. The failure or delay to obtain, maintain or renew such licenses, permits, approvals, filings or registrations required to conduct our business may subject us to various penalties, including confiscation of revenues, imposition of fines and/or restrictions on our business operations, or the discontinuation of our operations. Any such disruption in our business operations could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

***We may be unable to enforce certain of our contractual provisions between us and our customers under relevant local laws or directives of countries and regions where we operate.***

We face risks as to the validity of certain contractual provisions within contracts between us and our customers, which may prevent us from enforcing such contractual provisions with customers. For instance, we use standard form contracts with our customers in certain countries or regions, which may expose us to risks as to the enforceability of contractual provisions within our contracts under different local laws or directives, including, but not limited to, the choice of law, liquidate damages and refunds, and gift courses provisions. If any regulatory authorities or courts deem our contractual provisions unfair, unenforceable or invalid under applicable consumer protection laws, our business operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

***Some students may decide to register for our online or mobile platform and attend our courses from mainland China, which may be deemed by government authorities in mainland China as circumventing the restrictions on after-school tutoring taught by foreign tutors to K-12 students in mainland China. If the government authorities in mainland China take actions against us, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.***

The General Office of State Council and the General Office of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China jointly promulgated the Alleviating Burden Opinion on July 24, 2021, which sets out a series of operating requirements on after-school tutoring institutions. The Alleviating Burden Opinion and its subsequently adopted implementation measures prohibited our historically offered online tutoring services taught mainly by independently contracted foreign tutors to K-12 students in mainland China.

In response to the regulatory developments in the private education sector in mainland China since mid-2021, we have divested our China Mainland Business and are completely focused on international markets. After the divestiture of our China Mainland Business, we started to offer English courses to students in countries and regions outside of mainland China. If students from mainland China wish to access our course offerings, they may register for our online or mobile platform and attend our courses from mainland China. For example, students may by-pass our geolocation settings to register for and attend our courses. There are no comprehensive methods to prevent students in mainland China from purchasing and using our platform, and our ability to adopt technological safeguards are limited. If students from mainland China register for or use our platform for English courses, we and our operations may be deemed by the government authorities in mainland China to circumvent the restrictions on after-school tutoring to K-12 students in mainland China.

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***We rely on third-party distributors in certain markets, and their failure to effectively market and distribute our products and services, or any deterioration in our relationships with them, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.***

In certain jurisdictions, we rely on third-party distributors to market, sell and, in some cases, facilitate the delivery of our products and services because local laws, regulations, licensing requirements or other restrictions limit or prohibit our ability to do so directly. These arrangements are an important part of our strategy for accessing markets that we might not otherwise be able to serve directly or could only serve at greater cost and regulatory burden. As a result, our ability to generate revenue and expand in those markets depends in part on the performance, compliance and financial condition of these distributors.

We have limited control over the manner in which our distributors market and sell our products and services. Our distributors may fail to devote sufficient resources to promoting our offerings, may prioritize competing products or services, or may adopt pricing, marketing or other business practices that are inconsistent with our strategy or that harm our brand and reputation. In addition, if our distributors fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those relating to online education, data privacy, consumer protection, foreign exchange and cross-border transactions, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, fines, sanctions, reputational harm or other liabilities.

Our distribution agreements may be terminated, may expire without renewal, or may be renewed only on less favorable terms. We may not be able to identify and engage replacement distributors in a timely manner, on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, disputes may arise with our distributors regarding pricing, performance obligations, exclusivity, territory, intellectual property rights or termination rights, and such disputes could be costly and divert management's attention and resources.

We are also exposed to risks relating to the financial condition and operational stability of our distributors. If a distributor experiences financial difficulties, fails to remit payments collected on our behalf, or otherwise becomes unable to perform its obligations, our business, cash flows and operating results in the affected market could be adversely affected. If we are unable to maintain effective distribution relationships in existing markets or establish new ones in additional markets, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

***Our mainland China subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on paying dividends or making other payments to us, which may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.***

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and conduct part of our operations, which pertains to research and development, administration and sales and marketing, through our mainland China subsidiaries. We derive revenues from our business conducted through our subsidiaries. However, there is no assurance that we would not need dividends and other distributions on equity from our mainland China subsidiaries to satisfy our liquidity requirements. Current mainland China regulations permit our mainland China subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our mainland China subsidiaries are required to set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund statutory reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of their respective registered capital. Our mainland China subsidiaries may also allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on mainland China accounting standards to employee welfare and bonus funds at their discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, if our mainland China subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends to us may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

In addition, the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC-resident enterprises are incorporated.

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***The M&A Rules and certain other regulations of mainland China establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in mainland China.***

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006 and amended in 2009, requires an overseas special purpose vehicle formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of mainland China domestic companies and controlled by mainland China companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle's securities on an overseas stock exchange. In September 2006, the CSRC published a notice on its official website specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by a special purpose vehicle seeking CSRC approval of its overseas listings.

The M&A Rules discussed in the preceding paragraph and other PRC regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex. Mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the State Administration of Market Regulation when the threshold under the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings last amended by the State Council of the PRC in January 2024 is triggered. In addition, the Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce of the PRC provides that foreign investors or relevant parties in the PRC must submit a security review application to the office of the working mechanism before making the following investments: (i) investing in fields related to national defense security, such as military industry and military industry support, as well as investing in areas surrounding military facilities and military industry facilities; and (ii) investing in important agricultural products, important energy and resources, major equipment manufacturing, important infrastructure, important transportation services, important cultural products and services, important information technology and internet products and services, important financial services, key technologies, and other important fields that involve national security, and acquiring control over the target enterprise.

In the future, we may expand our operations in mainland China through acquisition. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions. Our ability to expand our operations in mainland China through future acquisitions would as such be materially and adversely affected.

***The enforcement of the Labor Contract Law and other labor-related regulations in mainland China may adversely affect our business and our results of operations in China.***

Our research and development team, administrative team and part of our sales and marketing team are based in mainland China, which subjects us to labor laws and regulations in mainland China. The PRC Labor Contract Law was issued on June 29, 2007, and was later amended on December 28, 2012. It has reinforced the protection of employees who, under the PRC Labor Contract Law, have the right, among others, to have written labor contracts, to enter into labor contracts with no fixed terms under certain circumstances, to receive overtime wages and to terminate or alter terms in labor contracts. According to the PRC Social Insurance Law, which became effective on July 1, 2011 and was amended on December 29, 2018, and the Administrative Regulations on the Housing Funds, which became effective on April 3, 1999 and was last amended on March 24, 2019, companies operating in mainland China are required to participate in pension insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance and housing funds plans, and the employers must pay all or a portion of the social insurance premiums and housing funds for their employees.

As the laws and regulations in the PRC are designed to enhance labor protection, we expect our labor costs will continue to increase. In addition, as the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations are still evolving, our employment in China practice may not at all times be deemed in compliance with the new laws and regulations. If we are subject to severe penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected in China.

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***PRC regulations relating to foreign exchange registration of international investment by mainland China residents may subject our mainland China resident beneficial owners or our mainland China subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into these subsidiaries, limit mainland China subsidiaries' ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.***

A series of circulars promulgated by government authorities require mainland China residents to register with qualified banks in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of international investment and financing, with such mainland China residents' legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, which is referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a "special purpose vehicle." In the event that a mainland China resident holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to complete the required SAFE registration, the mainland China subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its mainland China subsidiaries. Furthermore, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls.

We cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are mainland China residents will at all times comply with, or in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by foreign exchange regulations. Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu, who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are known to us as being mainland China residents have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations, amended their registrations to reflect our corporate restructuring in November 2014. In addition, we may not at all times be fully aware or informed of the identities of all our shareholders or beneficial owners that are required to make such registrations, and we may not be able to compel them to comply with all applicable foreign exchange regulations. The failure or inability of such individuals to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrictions on our cross-border investment activities, or obtain foreign-exchange-dominated loans from our company, or prevent us from making distributions or paying dividends. As a result, our business operations and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially and adversely affected.

***The approval of and the filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our offshore offerings in the future under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing.***

On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Overseas Offering and Listing Measures and published a series of guidance rules and Q&As in connection with the implementation of the Overseas Offering and Listing Measures. These regulations established a filing-based regime to regulate overseas offerings and listings by PRC domestic companies. According to regulations, an overseas offering of securities by a PRC domestic company, either in direct or indirect manner, has to be filed with the CSRC. For more details of the New Filing Rules, please refer to "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—PRC Regulations—Regulations Relating to Overseas Listing and M&A Rules."

Under the current PRC laws, rules and regulations, we are subject to the following test in determining whether we and our mainland China subsidiaries are subject to the filing procedures with the CSRC: (i) whether our mainland China subsidiaries account for more than 50% of our operating revenue, profits, total assets or net asset in our audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent completed fiscal year, and (ii) whether the majority of our senior management are Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China, or the key aspects of our business activities are conducted in mainland China, or our main places of operations are located in mainland China. Moreover, according to the applicable rules and regulations, the determination of the overseas offerings and listings by domestic companies will be conducted on a "substance over form" basis.

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If it is determined in the future that approval and filing from the CSRC or other regulatory authorities or other procedures, are required for our offshore offerings or capital raising activities, it is uncertain whether we can or how long it will take us to obtain such approval or complete such filing procedures and any such approval or filing could be rescinded or rejected. In addition, there are uncertainties with regard to whether any report filed with the CSRC after the occurrence of certain material corporate events will be subject to any further action from the CSRC in the event that our future offshore offerings and capital raising activities are subject to the regulatory regimes of the CSRC or other PRC government authorities. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such approval or completing such filing procedures for our offshore, offerings, capital raising activities or certain material corporate events, or a rescission of any such approval or filing if obtained by us, would subject us to sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities for failure to seek CSRC approval or filing or other government authorization for our offshore offerings, capital raising activities or certain material corporate events. These regulatory authorities may impose fines and penalties on our operations in mainland China, limit our operating privileges in mainland China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from our offshore offerings into mainland China or take other actions that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, as well as the trading price of our listed securities. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities also may take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt our offshore offerings or capital raising activities before settlement and delivery and further actions of the shares offered or take any actions regarding our material corporate events. Consequently, if investors engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, they do so at the risk that settlement, delivery and further actions may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other regulatory authorities later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals or accomplish the required filing or other regulatory procedures for our prior offshore offerings or capital raising activities, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties or negative publicity regarding such approval requirement could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, reputation, and the trading price of our listed securities.

**Risks Related to Our ADSs**

***The trading prices of our ADSs have fluctuated and may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.***

The market price and trading volume for our ADSs may be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors including, but not limited to, the following:

● the financial projections that we may choose to provide to the public, any changes in those projections or our failure for any reason to meet those projections;

● variations in our net revenues, net loss/income and cash flow;

● changes in the economic performance or market valuation of other education companies;

● announcements of new investments, acquisitions by us or our competitors, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

● announcements of new services and expansions by us or our competitors;

● detrimental negative publicity about us, our competitors or our industry;

● changes in financial estimates by securities analysts;

● additions or departures of key personnel;

● release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities;

● potential litigation or regulatory investigations and other actions;

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● substantial sales or perception of sales of our ADSs in the public market;

● fluctuations in market prices for our products;

● any share repurchase program;

● outbreaks of health epidemics, natural disasters, and other extraordinary events; and

● general economic, regulatory or political conditions in the international markets in which we operate and mainland China.

Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs will trade. In addition, the global financial crisis and the ensuing economic recessions in many countries have contributed and may continue to contribute to extreme volatility in the global stock markets. Moreover, the stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies like us. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect operating performance. Volatility or a lack of positive performance in our ADS price may also adversely affect our ability to retain key employees, some of whom have been granted restricted share units under our share incentive plan.

***There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject U.S. Holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.***

A non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, if either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of "passive" income or (ii) 50% or more of the value of its assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income, or the asset test.

Although we do not believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2025, no assurances can be given that we will not be a PFIC for the current or any future taxable year because the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC is a factual determination made annually that will depend, in part, upon the characterization and composition of our income, assets and liabilities. Additionally, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs may cause us to be classified as a PFIC for the current or future taxable years because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test, including the value of our goodwill and unbooked intangibles, may be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs from time to time (which may be volatile). The market price of our ADSs may continue to fluctuate considerably and, consequently, we cannot assure you of our PFIC status for any taxable year. Furthermore, the composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets. Under circumstances where our revenue from activities that produce passive income significantly increase relative to our revenue from activities that produce non-passive income, or where we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes, our risk of becoming classified as a PFIC may substantially increase.

If we were to be or become classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in "Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation") may incur significantly increased U.S. federal income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distributions is treated as an "excess distribution" under the U.S. federal income tax rules. Further, if we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares. You are urged to consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences of holding and disposing of ADSs if we are or become classified as a PFIC. For more information, see "Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations" and "Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules."

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***If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.***

The trading market for our ADSs will be in part influenced by research reports and ratings that industry or securities analysts or ratings agencies publish about us, our business and the online education market in mainland China in general. As of the date of this annual report, there is no analyst coverage of our company. We do not have any control over these analysts or agencies as to whether they will cover us, whether such coverage will continue. If the analysts or agencies previously covered us who do not resume to cover us, or no new analysts or agencies begin to cover us, we may lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the market price or trading volume for our ADSs to decline.

***Our dual class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.***

Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to ten votes per share, with Class A and Class B ordinary shares voting together as one class on all matters subject to a shareholders' vote. As of March 18, 2026, our Class B ordinary shares represent 28.7% of our total outstanding ordinary shares on an as-converted basis and entitle their holders to 80.1% of our total voting power.

As a result of the dual class share structure and the concentration of ownership, holders of our Class B ordinary shares have substantial influence over our business, including decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. They may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of our ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial. For more information regarding our principal shareholders and their affiliated entities, see "Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions."

***We cannot guarantee that any share repurchase program will be fully consummated or that any share repurchase program will enhance long-term shareholder value, and share repurchases could increase the volatility of the trading price of the ADSs and could diminish our cash reserves.***

On December 8, 2025, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program, under which we may repurchase up to US$10 million worth of our shares, including in the form of ADS, over the next 12 months, effective until December 7, 2026. Although our board of directors has authorized this program, we are not obligated to purchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares. The timing and amount of repurchases, if any, will depend upon several factors, including market, business conditions, the trading price of the ADSs or our shares and the nature of other investment opportunities. Our board of directors also has the discretion to authorize additional share repurchase programs in the future.

Our share repurchase program could affect the price of the ADSs and increase volatility and may be suspended or terminated at any time, which may result in a decrease in the trading price of the ADSs. For example, the existence of a share repurchase program could cause the price of the ADSs to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for the ADSs. Additionally, our share repurchase program could diminish our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance future growth and to pursue possible future strategic opportunities. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases will enhance shareholder value because the market price of the ADSs or our shares may decline below the levels at which we determine to repurchase the ADSs or our shares. Although our share repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term shareholder value, there is no assurance that it will do so and short-term share price fluctuations could reduce the program's effectiveness.

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***The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our ADSs could adversely affect their market price.***

Sales of substantial amounts of our ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of our ADSs. In addition, certain holders of our existing shareholders are entitled to certain registration rights, including demand registration rights, piggyback registration rights, and Form F-3 or Form S-3 registration rights. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

***You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.***

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands (Revised), or the Companies Act, and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, with respect to Cayman Islands companies, plaintiffs may face special obstacles, including but not limited to, those relating to jurisdiction and standing, in attempting to assert derivative claims in state or federal courts of the United States.

The Cayman Islands courts are also unlikely:

● to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws; and

● to impose liabilities against us, in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws that are penal in nature.

There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States.

***Judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.***

We are a Cayman Islands company and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. The majority of our current operations are conducted in Asia. In addition, a majority of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. Specifically, Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, Ms. Ting Shu and Mr. Xiaoguang Wu are located in Hong Kong and Cindy Chun Tang is located in mainland China. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the United States federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of mainland China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

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***The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to vote your Class A ordinary shares.***

As a holder of our ADSs, you will only be able to exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you must vote by giving voting instructions to the depositary. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with these instructions. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying shares unless you withdraw the shares. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is ten clear days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice to withdraw the shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to vote with respect to any specific matter. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may have no legal remedy if the shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

***We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies.***

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

● the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;

● the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;

● the sections of the Exchange Act requiring the liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time;

● the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD; and

● certain audit committee independent requirements in Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.

We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we publish our results on a quarterly basis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the NYSE American. Press releases relating to financial results and material events are also furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC is less extensive and less timely than that required to be filed with the SEC by United States domestic issuers.

Furthermore, as a Cayman Islands company listed on the NYSE American, we are permitted to elect to rely, and have relied, on the home country exemptions afforded to foreign private issuers under NYSE American Company Guide, including:

● an exemption from having a board of directors that is composed of a majority of independent directors;

● an exemption from having an audit committee comprised of at least three members;

● an exemption from having a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors;

● an exemption from having a nominating and governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors; and

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● an exemption from obtaining shareholders' approval for the adoption of the amended and restated 2016 share incentive plan

● an exemption from holding an annual general meeting.

As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information, which would be made available to you, were you investing in a United States domestic issuer.

***You may not receive dividends or other distributions on our Class A ordinary shares and you may not receive any value for them, if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to you.***

The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying our ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class A ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not feasible to distribute certain property through the mail. Additionally, the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of our ADSs.

***You may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings.***

We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, attempt to sell these undistributed rights to third parties, and may allow the rights to lapse. We may be unable to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.

***You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.***

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may close its books from time to time for a number of reasons, including in connection with corporate events such as a rights offering, during which time the depositary needs to maintain an exact number of ADS holders on its books for a specified period. The depositary may also close its books in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of our ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

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#### ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**A.** **History and Development of the Company** 

51Talk Online Education Group began to provide English education services in July 2011, initially in mainland China. In order to facilitate international capital raising of our company, we incorporated China Online Education Group, or 51Talk, to become our offshore holding company under the laws of the Cayman Islands in November 2012.

In October 2014, 51Talk English International Limited, or COE HK Co, was incorporated with limited liability in Hong Kong. In the Philippines, we incorporated two limited liability companies: China Online Innovations Inc., or Philippines Co II, and On Demand English Innovations Inc., or Philippines Co III, which were incorporated in October 2014 and January 2016, respectively. Furthermore, we began to enter into employment agreements with office-based tutors and other full-time employees in the Philippines through Philippines Co II and with the free trial tutors and support staff through Philippines Co III.

On June 10, 2016, our ADSs began trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "COE." We sold a total of 2,760,000 ADSs (reflecting the full exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters to purchase an additional 360,000 ADSs), representing 41,400,000 Class A ordinary shares, at an initial offering price of US$19.00 per ADS. Concurrently with our initial public offering, we also issued 11,842,105 and 3,947,368 Class A ordinary shares at a price of US$19.00 per share to DCM (through two affiliated entities) and Sequoia (through SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd.), respectively, through private placements.

In July 2018, Helloworld Online Education Group, or Helloworld Online Cayman, was incorporated under the Laws of the Cayman Islands as a wholly owned subsidiary of our company. In August 2018, Helloworld Online Education Group (HK) Limited, or Helloworld Online HK, was incorporated in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online Cayman. Beijing Helloworld Online Technology Co., Ltd., or Helloworld Online, was set up in September 2018 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online HK in mainland China.

On June 17, 2020, we completed a registered follow-on public offering, where we issued and sold 327,140 ADSs (including 27,140 ADSs sold from the exercise of over-allotment option) and certain selling shareholders sold 795,542 ADSs (including 95,542 ADSs sold from the exercise of over-allotment option), at a public offering price of US$19.00 per ADS. We received aggregate gross proceeds from the follow-on public offering of approximately US$6.2 million.

In December 2021, Helloworld Online Education Pte. Ltd. was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of our company to operate the international business in Singapore.

In June 2022, we entered into a definitive share purchase agreement, dated June 24, 2022, with Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, or Dasheng, an entity controlled by Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, our chairman and chief executive officer, pursuant to which Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, through Dasheng, acquired our China Mainland Business, i.e., all of our online English tutoring businesses in mainland China, including all associated liabilities and assets, for US$1. This transaction was completed on June 30, 2022. Thereafter, China Online Education (HK) Limited, or COE HK CO I, and its subsidiaries, and the VIEs, which our Cayman Islands holding company was considered the primary beneficiary of for accounting purposes and consolidated as required by Accounting Standards Codification topic 810, *Consolidation,* such as Dasheng Zhixing and its subsidiaries and branches, 51Talk English Philippines Corporation, or Philippines Co I and Shenzhen Dasheng Zhiyun Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Zhiyun, were all divested from us. See "Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure" for further details.

To support our global expansion, we have established wholly-owned subsidiaries and operations in local markets, including Malaysia (2022), Saudi Arabia (2023), Jordan (2023), the United Arab Emirates (2024) and Vietnam (2025). We also operate in Thailand (2022, as a non-wholly-owned subsidiary).

In September 2022, to keep pace with our international business strategy, we changed the name of our offshore holding company from China Online Education Group to 51Talk Online Education Group, which was approved by way of special resolution at our annual general meeting.

In November 2022, we terminated the contractual arrangements with Beijing Dasheng Helloworld Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng HelloWorld, and since then we no longer have any consolidated VIE in mainland China.

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In December 2022, we changed the ratio of our American depositary shares, or ADSs, to Class A ordinary shares from one ADS representing fifteen Class A ordinary shares to one ADS representing sixty Class A ordinary shares. The intention of the ADS ratio change was to prepare our company for a contemplated transfer of the listing of our ADSs from the New York Stock Exchange to a listing venue that more fits our company's size and stage.

In May 2023, we transferred the listing of our ADSs from the New York Stock Exchange to NYSE American LLC, or the NYSE American.

Historically, we provided online tutoring services taught mainly by independently contracted foreign tutors to K-12 students in mainland China, which have been prohibited by the Alleviating Burden Opinion promulgated on July 24, 2021, and its implementation measures. Upon the consummation of the divestiture of the China Mainland Business at the end of June 2022, we ceased providing online tutoring services in China and concentrate on expanding international business. After the divestiture, our business is no longer directly affected by the Alleviating Burden Opinion and its implementation measures, and we currently focus on providing English education to foreign students outside of mainland China.

SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC on *www.sec.gov*. You can also find information on our corporate website *http://ir.51talk.com/*. The information contained on our website is not a part of this annual report.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**B.** **Business Overview** 

We are a tutor-centric online education platform, with core expertise in language education. Our mission is to make quality education accessible and affordable. Recognizing the strong demand for improving language proficiency and the lack of effective and affordable solutions, our founders started with English education as the first step of our journey, and further transitioned to English and Chinese education in an increasingly globalized environment. Jack, our founder and CEO, has a vision for an effective but affordable language education product.

English education and Chinese education as a second language traditionally focus on test preparation instead of improving English or Chinese proficiency, such as English and Chinese communication skills. To address this unmet need, we have developed proprietary online and mobile education platforms that enable students to take live interactive English and Chinese lessons, on demand, fostering the development of all aspects of English and Chinese proficiency.

We connect our students with a large pool of highly qualified English and Chinese tutors that we have assembled using a shared economy approach. Once our tutors have gone through our rigorous selection and training process, we assign them to classes with different schedules, considering their own scheduling availability, at appropriate locations of their choice. This shared economy approach has allowed us to quickly build a large pool of tutors in a cost-effective manner.

Prior to the second half of 2021, we focused primarily on offering one-on-one lessons to K-12 students in mainland China, connecting them with our pool of foreign tutors. In response to the regulatory developments in the private education sector in mainland China since mid-2021, we have now fully divested from the China Mainland Business and are completely focused on international markets by continuing to leverage our expertise in English education and our pool of English tutors. Our key business offering under our international business is one-on-one English lessons taught by English tutors to students in countries and regions outside of mainland China.

We started our international business in the second half of 2021 and currently provide English course offerings in Hong Kong, Thailand, the Middle East and certain other countries and regions. In these markets, we mainly conduct one-on-one online live English courses, targeting children aged five to twelve. In Hong Kong, we offer our packages with a wide range of prices from US$680 to US$2,200. In Thailand, we offer our packages with a wide range of prices from US$365 to US$2,640, catering to the varied spending power of users. In the Middle East, we offer our package with a wide range of prices from US$528 to US$2,960, catering to the varied spending power of users.

We expect that in 2026, we will further deepen the penetration of our one-on-one online English lesson business in the countries and regions where we are currently operating as well as explore new markets. We will further upgrade and refine our English course offerings to better meet the demands of local users in terms of localized course content, payment channels and customer services. We strive to provide more English learners with the opportunity to communicate with the world through our platform.

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We employ student and teacher feedback and data analytics to deliver a personalized learning experience. Our platform analyzes tutors' teaching aptitudes, feedback and rating from students as well as background, and recommends suitable tutors to students according to their respective characteristics and learning objectives. The large pool of tutors not only allows us to accommodate and address students' individual English proficiency level and learning behaviors and needs, but also ensures that we are able to afford students' scheduling flexibility.

We develop and tailor our proprietary curriculum specifically to our interactive lesson format and our goal of building an interactive and immersive English learning environment. We have designed a holistic learning solution that enhances effective learning through the integration of live lessons, practice and mentoring. Our live lessons allow for frequent interactions between students and tutors, which is a key factor in improving English communication skills. Prior to taking lessons, students preview course materials using exercises and illustrations, supported by a pronunciation recognition and rating system. Assessment includes post-lesson quizzes and level advancement exams, both of which help students better assess their learning outcome and identify areas for improvement. Our *Classic English Junior* and *Classic English* lesson offerings in countries and regions outside of mainland China focus on improving students' English proficiency, especially English communication skills.

Our proprietary online and mobile education platforms, particularly our *Air Class* platform, are critical to students' learning experience. The *Air Class* platform integrates a number of features that allows us to closely simulate, and in some ways surpass, a traditional classroom experience. Our 51Talk mobile app, which serves as an integral part of our students' overall learning experience, allows students to book and manage lessons, access pre-lesson preparation and review materials, and take lessons at locations of their choice. Approximately 99.7% of our active students utilized our mobile app in 2025.

Our net revenues from international business increased from US$27.1 million in 2023 to US$50.7 million in 2024, and further to US$95.6 million in 2025. Our gross billings from international business increased from US$39.9 million in 2023 to US$69.6 million in 2024, and further to US$127.6 million in 2025. Such increase in our gross billings in 2025 is mainly due to the increase in the number of paying students. We define gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received and receivable from third party payment of platforms for the sale of course packages and services in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. We incurred net loss from international business of US$15.0 million, US$7.3 million and US$16.9 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The following table sets forth our key operating data of international business for the years indicated:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
| **Summary of Operating Data** |  |  |  |
| Gross billings <sup>(1)</sup> (in US$ millions) | 39.9 | 69.6 | 127.6 |
| Active students with general lesson consumption <sup>(2)</sup> (in thousands) | 51.9 | 97.5 | 176.7 |
| Paying students <sup>(3)</sup> (in thousands) | 37.4 | 68.3 | 123.3 |
| Average spending per paying student (in US$ thousands) | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 |

---

Notes:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) "Gross billings" for a specific period refer to the total amount of cash received and receivable from third party payment platforms for the sale of course packages and services in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. Data here were from our internal business system and converted with corresponding quarterly exchange rate, which may lead to differences with bank records.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) An "active student with general lesson consumption" for a specified period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson, excluding those students who only attended paid live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons. A lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(3) A "paying student" for a specified period refers to a student that purchased a course package during the period, excluding those students who only paid for live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons, and the total number of "paying students" for a specified period refers to the total number of paying students for such period minus the total number of students that obtained refunds during such period.

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#### Learning Process
Our holistic learning process consists of four aspects: live lessons, effective practice, assessment and mentoring. Our one-on-one program comprises AI-empowered knowledge preview and AI-empowered post-lesson practices and assessment.

In order to recommend the proper course level that a new student should take, we first assess the student's English proficiency, using an 11-level scale for K-12 students and a 16-level scale for post-secondary students. New students will answer a few questions online to assess their levels of proficiency in English.

Once a student is enrolled, he or she first picks the courses based on our recommendation. For one-on-one class, each student can select the timing for each lesson according to individual schedule. Once a lesson is scheduled, the student has access to AI-empowered knowledge preview lessons and self-study course materials. After each lesson, the student is encouraged to assess their learning outcome by taking the post-lesson quizzes.

#### Live lessons
*One-on-one lessons with foreign tutors*

We believe one-on-one live lessons foster the interactions between students and tutors as well as afford students tutors' individual attention, which are key to an effective English learning experience. Each student has access to a large pool of qualified foreign tutors. Students have the flexibility to select tutors based on a wide range of attributes, including their rating and feedback from other students, as well as teaching aptitudes and characteristics. We also cross reference students' English proficiency, learning progression, age group, profession, gender and platform engagement against certain traits of our teacher base to provide each student an individualized shortlist of most suitable tutors.

Lessons are typically 25 minutes long. Tutors and students interact using real-time audio and visual streaming technology. Our proprietary *Air Class* platform allows students to see the teacher and view the interactive white boards and course materials, on their desktop, laptop or mobile device. This makes the instructional process more efficient and the learning experience more interactive.

Our tutors provide instructions using our standardized curriculum. Within the framework of our standardized course materials, our one-on-one lesson format allows our tutors to adjust the pace of each lesson according to student performance and reaction, thus accommodating students across all learning curves.

In order to give students a consistent and seamless learning experience from different tutors, after each lesson tutors record in memos the strengths of the students, summaries of knowledge points and areas that need improvement and other information that would be helpful to tutors of future lessons. These memos allow subsequent tutors to be briefed on the student's learning background and to continue to provide the student an adaptive and effective learning experience. Furthermore, these memos are also made available to students as a study tool.

A substantial majority of our foreign tutors are Filipino tutors.

***Effective Practice***

Students are required to preview course materials through the AI-empowered knowledge preview. Pre-lesson learning is particularly important, as such process allows students to engage in more productive interactions with tutors or other students during live lessons.

Our AI-empowered knowledge preview aims to develop students' English speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. It contains preview sessions of subsequent All-round Proficiency lessons, intriguing students' curiosity to the following main lessons. Our AI-empowered knowledge preview also features audio functions that allow students to hear the correct pronunciation of key vocabulary words and model sentences. Students can record their pronunciation of individual words to be graded by our system. To build a more instinctive understanding of the English language for our students, our pre-lesson studying system relies on graphic illustrations to explain the meaning of vocabulary and phrases.

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**Tutors** 

Our teaching staff is critical to the quality of our programs and to promoting our brand and reputation. We have assembled a large pool of tutors in the Philippines. Our tutors deliver lessons based on their individual availability, at appropriate locations of their choice, and are paid according to the number of lessons they teach. Tutors who deliver paid lessons are generally engaged by us as independent contractors. As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 9.8 thousand foreign tutors qualified to deliver lessons on our platform.

***Teacher engagement***

The individual skill sets and backgrounds of prospective tutors, combined with our rigorous selection and training program, have enabled us to build a team of passionate and patient tutors who are highly qualified to assist students in meeting their learning objectives.

We attract applicants through various online social media platforms and career websites and regularly participate in job fairs. We also reach out to prospective tutors through major job posting portals. Our tutors are attracted to our platform as it allows them to utilize their English skills to receive competitive service fees and gives them the opportunity to interact with students.

To ensure the quality of our tutors, we seek tutors capable of, and preferably experienced in, delivering effective instruction. Given the interactive nature of our live lessons, we seek to engage tutors who have a strong command of the English language and good communication skills.

***Tutor training and development***

Through the ongoing enhancement and refinement of our teaching methods and teacher training, our tutors are able to develop the skills necessary to more effectively communicate key learning points from our proprietary curriculum to our students. We believe that empowering our tutors with these skills is essential to maintaining our leading position as online and mobile education platforms and improving student experience and ensuring that our students receive quality education.

Our newly engaged tutors are generally required to undergo standard training programs that focus on our curriculum and teaching skills in a live lesson setting, as well as the specific learning behavior and objectives to a typical English-learning student. Our trainers also provide customized training based on a new teacher's educational background and previous professional experience. New tutors also learn how to use our proprietary *Air Class* platform and how it can improve their teaching effectiveness. After completing our new teacher training program, the candidates will be assessed by our team of experienced evaluators before they are allowed to offer lessons on our platform.

To ensure our tutors continue to improve, we offer standardized training modules based on their progress and experience level on our platform. Our tutors are ranked according to a multi-star scale and most of them begin their careers as one-star tutors. In order to advance through our system, tutors must maintain high student ratings and complete the training modules. Our training program is updated and customized based on changes to our curriculum and feedback from our quality assurance team and students. We also operate a quality assurance team to monitor teacher performance, review recordings of lessons based on random samplings and handle student complaints.

We plan to maintain this level of commitment to our tutors as we expand our platform and develop our tutors' capabilities through partnerships with training and certification bodies in the future.

#### Tutor evaluation and promotion
We collect student feedback on our tutors on a regular basis. Each teacher's rating and student reviews are publicly available to students. Tutors with higher ratings and more favorable reviews tend to earn higher incomes as their teaching lessons are signed up by students more quickly.

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We offer our tutors career advancement prospects with competitive service fees. The service fees of our tutors are based on student reviews, number of lessons taught and the completion of on-going training. With each promotion within the multi-tiered system, tutors receive a pay raise for each lesson taught. We also offer our tutors discretionary merit-based incentive bonuses, as well as opportunities for tutors who aspire to further their career in teacher training or course development based on their performance and capability.

#### Course Offerings
In addition to building general proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, our proprietary course materials have a special emphasis on developing English communication and reading skills. Each of our courses for one-on-one lessons is broken down into a 25-minute session, and for small group lessons is broken down into two 25-minute sessions, both highly interactive and with clear learning objectives. The materials for our courses are designed for teaching settings that are conducted in live audio-visual lesson format.

We currently offer two flagship courses, namely *Classic English Junior* and *Classic English*. We complement our flagship offerings with AI-empowered knowledge preview and AI-empowered reading lessons.

***Classic English Junior and Classic English***

*Classic English Junior* is taught by foreign tutors and taken by K-12 students in countries and regions outside of mainland China. After the Alleviating Burden Opinion was released in July 2021, we stopped selling *Classic English Junior* course to K-12 students in mainland China. *Classic English* is taught by foreign tutors and taken by post- secondary students outside of mainland China. Our proprietary *Classic English* curriculum and course materials were developed under the guidance of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, also known as the CEFR, and are grouped into six general stages of English proficiency, splitting across a total of 16 levels. In addition to being guided by the CEFR, our proprietary *Classic English Junior* curriculum and course materials are developed under the further guidelines of the Content and Language Integrated Learning teaching method, and are split across 11 levels (from LS, L0 to L9) in aggregate.

***Other Courses***

In response to strong demand from local users, we also launched the "All-round Mandarin Chinese Course" for children aged four to 12 in Hong Kong, which caters to the local demand for learning Mandarin language skills.

**Course Content Development**

***Team***

We have dedicated course content development teams based in mainland China and some other countries and regions where we operate employing a total of 24 professionals as of December 31, 2025. Our content development team members focus exclusively on developing, updating and improving our curriculum and course materials. We leverage the familiarity of our professionals in mainland China with the learning patterns of Chinese students to produce customized and high-quality course material for our students outside mainland China, meanwhile, our course development teams based in other regions tailor and optimize the courses in response to the specific needs of local students, ensuring that our teaching materials cater to the characteristics of different markets.

***Process***

Our *Classic English Junior* and *Classic English* course materials and content for substantially all of our popular specialty courses are developed in-house.

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We regularly release updates to our course materials. We will continue to launch new courses in the future to meet the varied interests and English learning needs of our young students and to realize greater cross-selling opportunities.

**Online Education Platform**

***Proprietary Air Class platform***

We developed our proprietary *Air Class* platform, which includes innovative features that closely simulate, and in some ways surpass, a traditional classroom learning experience, such as the interactive white board that allows tutors to highlight in real-time specific text phrases or important points to students. Our *Air Class* platform integrates high quality video and audio streaming features to create an interactive learning experience for our students. Each aspect of our holistic learning solution is available through our *Air Class* platform. The *Air Class* platform is available online and through our mobile app.

***Mobile app***

Our mobile platform is an integral part of our students' overall learning experience. Through our mobile app, we enhance the learning experiences of our students with better flexibility and higher frequency of engagement. It allows students to book and manage lessons, access pre-lesson preparation and review materials and take lessons over their mobile devices. It also supports live lessons with features specifically designed for mobile devices. We continually upgrade and optimize our mobile app to improve our student experience. Approximately 99.7% of our active students accessed our mobile platform at least once in 2025. We offer our mobile app on both iOS and Android.

***Students***

In 2023, 2024 and 2025, we had 51.9 thousand, 97.5 thousand and 176.7 thousand active students with general lesson consumption from international business, respectively. An "active student with general lesson consumption" for a specified period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson, excluding those students who only attended paid live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons. A lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent.

***Student Services***

We employ a service-oriented approach and devote significant resources to developing course-related support and services for our students.

Our technology support personnel are available during lesson hours to monitor and provide real-time support services to students encountering technical difficulties.

In addition to the student services described above, our general student service representatives counsel potential and existing students on our courses, assist in course-package purchases, handle student complaints and provide other support services. They are available online and by phone between 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., seven days a week on a rotation basis. Our dedicated general student service team had 17 individuals (including 9 full-time employees and 8 outsourced personnel). We engage student service personnel from candidates with good communication skills and student service ethics and provide on-the-job training for our new staffs. We conduct ongoing evaluations of our student service staff and provide periodic training to improve their skills.

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Furthermore, we have expanded our learner service capabilities. Our learning partners, serving as coaching guides, engage with learners and their parents through phone calls and local social media platforms preferred by users. They facilitate course bookings, pre-class preparations and post-class reviews, academic performance diagnostics, periodic learning summaries, resolution of learning-related disputes and inquiries, as well as user education. Our learning partner team had 271 individuals (including 48 full-time employees and 223 outsourced personnel) as of December 31, 2025. These efforts aim to increase class attendance and improve learners' English proficiency. Additionally, we provide professional and tailored services to ensure that both parents and learners are satisfied with our products and services.

**Sales and Marketing**

Since the release of the Alleviating Burden Opinion, we have ceased our branding and marketing activities in mainland China and now we only promote our new business offering in countries and regions outside of mainland China. As a result, we have revamped our marketing model for the international markets. We marketed our platform through a combination of online and offline channels. For the online channel, we use advertising via content platforms. For the offline channel, we use promotions as well as hosting joint activities with brands from other segments.

Our tele-marketing teams follow up on sales leads by providing additional information and support and trying to convince prospective students to enroll in our free trial lessons. Our course consultants then follow up with prospective students who have taken our free trial lessons and promote course packages most suited to each student's background, proficiency and learning objectives. In addition, we engage in various branding activities to promote brand awareness among prospective students.

***Branding***

We are focused on promoting our 51Talk brand and to increase the overall effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts. Our 51Talk brand represents our K-12 one-on-one program.

***Channels***

*Online channels*

We place online and mobile advertisements mainly on search engines and conduct marketing on leading social media platforms and web portals in countries and regions outside of mainland China. We also place banner advertisements on popular internet education platforms and apps, as well as mobile news apps. As part of our efforts to increase K-12 enrollment in countries and regions outside of mainland China, we also place advertisements on online parenting community portals and regional information flow in order to reach a broader audience of parents of prospective students there.

*Referrals*

We have historically generated a significant percentage of our sales leads through word-of-mouth referrals by our students and parents. New enrollments through word-of-mouth referrals have benefited from the rapid growth in our student base, as well as our reputation, brand and the proven learning results of our students. We integrated social network functionalities into our mobile app and utilize social network platforms such as WeChat, Meta, Line, snapchat, WhatsApp, etc. to encourage post-secondary students to share their learning experience with their friends. We also promote our brand through referrals by our students and parents.

*Offline channels*

In certain countries and regions that we operate in, we place outdoor display advertisements in public including residential areas and transportation, as well as TV commercials.

**Sales Process**

The sales leads generated by our various marketing channels are initially handled by our tele-marketing teams. The primary function of our tele-marketing personnel is to encourage prospective students who have registered their information on our online and mobile platforms to sign-up for free trial lessons and to assist with the sign-up process.

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We offer free trial lessons to prospective students. In addition to giving prospective students a preview of our interactive learning experience, we also use free trial lessons to assess the English proficiency of prospective students. A majority of our free trial lessons are delivered by our free trial tutors, who are our full-time employees. We have a highly selective process for free trial tutors. Free trial tutors must also participate in regular training programs. A significant portion of the training programs for free trial tutors concerns salesmanship and client communication.

Once prospective students have completed their trial lessons, our dedicated course consultants will offer feedback on the results of their English proficiency assessment, as well as introduce our holistic learning solution to prospective students. Based on this assessment and the data we had gathered from student questionnaires, our course consultants recommend an appropriate starting level and provide advice as to the most appropriate course package and study plan for each prospective student. As of December 31, 2025, we had a total of 743 dedicated course consultants (including 183 full-time employees and 560 outsourced personnel).

After a student has purchased a course package, the student is assigned to an account manager, who provides personalized and ongoing support services. Our account managers track the English proficiency progress as well as the lesson booking and participation status of each student. Our account managers also assist students with future lesson bookings and course selection to increase their activity level on our platform and regularly communicate with our students to solicit their feedback on our education program, such as teaching quality and learning experience. As of December 31, 2025, we had a total of 430 account managers (including 70 full-time employees and 360 outsourced personnel). Our account manager team plays a critical role in increasing the course package upgrades and renewals among our students.

Students who took free or paid short-duration trial lessons, but who did not book any paid lesson, are not counted as "active students with general lesson consumption."

**Fees**

We offer the following payment plans for our students:

*Prepaid credit Packages*. We offer a variety of prepaid credit packages to international students. We have prepaid credit packages with minimum monthly consumption of eight to fifteen credits in different countries and regions to help international students build study habits. To offer our students more options and especially during promotional campaigns, we also offer different types of prepaid credit packages with various number of credits.

We accept fee payments through bank transfer and major third-party online payment channels, including Airwallex, Stripe, Tabby, Tamara, Payermax, Checkout and 2C2P.

**Competition**

The international online language education services market is generally fragmented, rapidly evolving and highly competitive. We face competition in general language proficiency education, as well as in K-12 and other specialized areas of language education, from existing online and offline companies. We face competition from other companies that provide online language education as well as from those that provide traditional offline language education abroad. We also face competition from other online and mobile platforms or internet companies that plan to expand their business into language education. In addition, the competitive landscape is evolving with the emergence of technology-driven language learning solutions, including those incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), which add new dimensions to the market and compete for students' attention.

We believe that the principal competitive factors in our markets include the following:

● scope and quality of course offerings;

● quality and performance of the tutors;

● overall student experience and satisfaction;

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● brand recognition;

● ability to effectively market course offerings to a broad base of prospective students;

● cost-effectiveness of courses;

● ability to provide students access to courses; and

● ability to align course offerings to specific needs of students.

We believe that we are well-positioned to effectively compete in the markets in which we operate on the basis of our innovative approach to online language education, immersive and interactive learning environment, scalable and efficient business model, extensive and high-quality teacher network, high course quality, strong course development capabilities and experienced management team. We also believe our strategy of integrating human-led instruction with AI-powered tools enhances the scalability of our offerings while maintaining the high-quality interaction that drives student outcomes, distinguishing us from platforms that rely solely on automated or purely traditional approaches. However, some of our current or future competitors may have longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, or greater financial, technical or marketing resources than we do. For a discussion of risks related to competition, see "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We face significant competition, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share or fail to gain additional market share, which would adversely impact our business and financial conditions and operating results."

**Seasonality**

Seasonal fluctuations have affected, and may affect our business in the future. Seasonal fluctuations affected our business when we focused on lessons for K-12 students in mainland China, and may continue to affect our business as we shifted to new countries and regions. Due to our limited operating history and the fact that we just shifted our focus from lessons for Chinese K-12 students to new business models and service offerings, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of our future operating results. Our financial condition and results of operations for future periods may continue to fluctuate. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our results of operations have been and may continue to be subject to seasonal fluctuations."

**Insurance**

We do not maintain any liability insurance or property insurance policies covering students, equipment and facilities for injuries, death or losses due to fire, earthquake, flood or any other disaster, except for the liability insurance and property insurance policies for certain office in mainland China. We do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain key-man life insurance. We maintain personal accident insurance and supplementary medical insurance for all employees after six months of employment and management in mainland China, in addition to government-mandated medical insurance. For employees in Malaysia, Thailand, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, we provide government-mandated medical and supplementary medical insurance. Uninsured injury or death to our staff, or damage to any of our equipment or buildings could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We have limited insurance coverage for our operations in the countries and regions where we operate our business, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption."

**Government Regulations** 

***Philippine Regulations***

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in the Philippines.

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*Regulations on Data Privacy*

The Republic Act No. 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, its implementing rules and regulations, and the issuances of the National Privacy Commission (the "**NPC**") govern the processing of all types of personal information. The Data Privacy Act of 2012 applies to any natural or juridical person involved in the personal information processing such as the personal information controllers and processors who, although not found or established in the Philippines, use equipment that are located in the Philippines, or those who maintain an office, branch or agency in the Philippines, subject to certain exceptions. The Data Privacy Act of 2012 expressly requires that before a personal information controller or processor can collate, process, and then use or share personal data, the personal information controller or processor must have a lawful criterion or basis for processing, such as consent (which is defined as any freely given, specific, informed indication of will, whereby the data subject agrees to the collection and processing of his or her personal data). Such entity must also register with the NPC and appoint a data protection officer.

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules require personal information controllers and processors to have a data protection officer or compliance officer who shall be accountable for ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations for the protection of data privacy and security. Personal information controllers and processors must also (i) conduct a privacy impact assessment as part of the organizational security measures pursuant to NPC Advisory No. 2017-03, and (ii) register its personal data processing system if (a) it employs more than 250 persons, (b) it employs less than 250 persons but the processing undertaken is likely to pose a risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject or is not occasional, or involves the processing of sensitive personal information of at least 1,000 individuals, pursuant to NPC Circular No. 17-01.

Personal information controllers and processors are also required to constitute a data breach response team and proper documentation under NPC Circular No. 2016-03.

*Regulations on Cybersecurity*

BSP Circular No. 808, Series of 2013 provides for the guidelines on technology risk management applicable to all BSP-supervised institutions and requires BSP supervised institutions to establish a robust technology risk management system covering the following components: (1) technology governance, (2) risk identification and assessment, (3) technology control implementation, and (4) risk measurement and monitoring.

*Regulations on Competition Law*

The Philippine Competition Act is the primary competition policy of the Philippines. It came into effect on August 8, 2015, and was enacted to provide free and fair competition in trade, industry and all commercial economic activities. The Philippine Competition Act prohibits practices that restrict market competition through anti-competitive agreements or conduct and abuse of a dominant position, and requires parties to notify and obtain clearance for certain mergers and acquisitions. The Philippine Competition Act prescribes administrative fines of up to PHP275 million and criminal penalties of imprisonment up to seven years for violations of its provisions.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is able to review transactions motu proprio. Particularly, the PCC has the power to review, motu proprio, mergers and acquisitions which it believes, based on reasonable grounds, are likely to substantially prevent, restrict or lessen competition in the market.

Starting March 1, 2024, mergers and acquisitions that reach a size of party of PHP7.8 BILLION and a size of transaction of PHP3.3 BILLION will have to be notified to the PCC for mandatory merger review.

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*Regulations on Employment*

*Independent Contractor*

Contracting and subcontracting of work is allowed but is heavily regulated by the Philippine Labor Code and Department of Labor and Employment Department Order No. 174, series of 2017. There is legitimate contracting where the contractor (i) conducts an independent business; (ii) with adequate capital to do the job and pay its people; and (iii) exercises direct control over the performance of the workers. "Control" refers to the right reserved to the person for whom the services of the contractual workers are performed, to determine not only the end to be achieved, but also the manner and means to be used in reaching that end. On the other hand, the law prohibits labor-only contracting, which is where the person supplying workers to an employer does not have substantial capital or investment, and the workers recruited and placed by such contractor/subcontractor are performing activities which are directly related to the principal business of such employer, or when the contractor or subcontractor does not exercise the right to control over the performance of the work of the workers. In such cases, the contractor, subcontractor, or intermediary shall be considered merely as an agent of the employer who shall be responsible to the workers in the same manner and extent as if the latter were directly employed by him.

*Regulations on Tax*

On January 1, 1998, Republic Act No. 8424, otherwise known as the "National Internal Revenue Code," or NIRC, took effect. Since NIRC came into effect, numerous laws have been passed to amend the various provisions within the NIRC.

On March 26, 2021, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE law) was signed into law as Republic Act No. 11534 and took effect on April 11, 2021. Under this law, the corporate income tax rates for domestic and resident foreign corporations were reduced from 30% to 25%. However, for corporations with net taxable income of not more than five million Pesos and total assets not exceeding one hundred million Pesos, the tax rate shall be 20%.

However, there are instances wherein corporations are not subject to the twenty-five (25%) corporate income tax rate for a certain amount of time. One example is entities registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, or PEZA.

Under the CREATE law, such entities are entitled to fiscal incentives including income tax holiday or 100% exemption from corporate income tax for a period of four (4) to seven (7) years. After such time, the PEZA registered corporation shall enjoy a special corporate income tax rate of 5% on gross income earned in lieu of all national and local taxes, or enhanced deduction for five (5) to ten (10) years. PEZA entities will also enjoy tax and duty free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries, spare parts or accessories. The number of years an entity is entitled to the incentives is determined by the location of the entity and the type of business or activity it is engaged in.

On November 8, 2024, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act was signed into law (Republic Act No. 12066) and took effect on November 28, 2024. It further improved on the earlier CREATE Act by enhancing the tax regime and incentive framework to hopefully engaged more local and foreign investments. The CREATE MORE Act aims to generate jobs and spur economic growth. It, among others, extends the maximum period for tax incentives to 27 years, up from the 17 years provided under CREATE in order to provide businesses sufficient time to recover their investments and realize profits.

*Philippine Economic Zone Authority*

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority, or the PEZA, is an attached agency to the Department of Trade and Industry. It is tasked to promote investments, extend assistance, register, grant incentives to, and facilitate the business operations of investors in export-oriented manufacturing and service facilities located inside selected areas throughout the Philippines which are proclaimed by the President of the Philippines as PEZA Special Economic Zones. The PEZA oversees and administers incentives to developers/operators and locators in PEZA Special Economic Zones.

On December 19, 2014, Philippines Co II was registered with the PEZA as an Ecozone IT Enterprise. As an IT Enterprise within the PEZA jurisdiction, seventy percent (70%) of the total revenues derived by Philippines Co II must come from clients outside the Philippine jurisdiction. Since 2022, the PEZA registration of Philippine Co II has expired.

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According to the CREATE law, those granted an income tax holiday prior to the effectivity of the law and are entitled to 5% tax on gross income earned shall be allowed to continue to avail of the five percent (5%) tax on gross income earned incentive for ten (10) years while those availing of the five percent (5%) tax on gross income earned prior the effectivity of the law shall be allowed to continue availing the said incentive for ten (10) years. The CREATE MORE Act has extended this period of tax incentives.

***Singapore Regulations***

*Regulations on Data Protection* 

Personal Data Protection Act 2012

The Personal Data Protection Act 2012 requires organizations to, among others, (a) notify individuals of the purposes for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal data (being data, whether true or not, about an individual who can be identified from that data or other accessible information) (b) obtain the individual's consents against such notified purposes prior to the collection, use or disclosure of their personal data, and (c) provide individuals with the right to access and correct their own personal data. Organizations have mandatory obligations to assess data breaches they suffer, and to notify the Personal Data Protection Commission, which administers and enforces the Personal Data Protection Act 2012, and where applicable, the relevant individuals where the data breach is (or is likely to be) of a significant scale or resulting in (or is likely to result in) significant harm to individuals. Other obligations that organizations must comply with relate to accountability, protection, retention, and requirements around the international transfers of personal data.

In addition, Do-Not-Call requirements require organizations to, among others, check "Do-Not-Call" registries prior to sending specified marketing messages addressed to Singapore telephone numbers, through voice calls, fax or text messages, unless clear and unambiguous consent to the sending of the message to their number was obtained from the individual.

The Personal Data Protection Commission may impose sanctions in connection with the improper collection, use and disclosure of personal data and certain failures to comply with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012, including the DNC requirements. Organizations who contravene provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 may be liable for a financial penalty of up to SGD1 million or 10% of the organization's annual turnover in Singapore (where the organization's annual turnover in Singapore exceeds SGD10 million) (whichever is higher) and/or imprisonment.

The Personal Data Protection Commission has also issued guidelines on March 28, 2024 in relation to personal data of children (individuals who are or are below 18 years old). These guidelines clarify how the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 apply to the processing of children's personal data in the online environment. The guidelines apply to any organisation whose online products or services are "likely to be accessed by children", and may therefore include our products and services. The guidelines address, among others, (a) use of language that is readily understandable by children, (b) obtaining valid consent from children, (c) collection, use and disclosure of children's personal data for reasonable purposes, (d) protection of children's personal data, (e) notification of data breaches involving children's personal data, and (f) conducting data protection impact assessments before releasing products or services that are likely to be accessed by children.

*Regulations on Online Content and Broadcasting* 

The Broadcasting Act 1994 of Singapore prohibits the provision of certain broadcasting services, including internet content, in or from Singapore without a license issued by the Infocomm Media Development Authority. The Infocomm Media Development Authority is the regulator of the information, communications and media sectors in Singapore. Under the Broadcasting Act 1994, no person may provide any 'licensable broadcasting services' (including computer on-line services) "in or from Singapore" without a broadcasting license granted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority. The Broadcasting Act 1994 sets out an automatic class licensing scheme for computer online services provided by internet content providers. An internet content provider includes a corporation which provides any program for business purposes on the internet. If the content provided via the computer online services includes content relating to political or religious content in Singapore, the provider of such content would have to register itself with the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

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Internet content providers are in general mandated to be automatically class licensed without any need to make specific applications to the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and are required to comply with the conditions of the class license and the Internet Code of Practice. As an internet content provider, we are obliged to use our best efforts to ensure that prohibited material (which refers to material that is objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public security, national harmony, offends good taste or decency, or is otherwise prohibited by applicable Singapore laws) is not broadcast via the internet to users in Singapore, and we are also required to deny access to any prohibited material if directed to do so by the Infocomm Media Development Authority. Companies that contravene the class license conditions or the Internet Code of Practice may face administrative sanctions such as suspension or cancellation of license, or fines.

Under the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, which came into effect on February 1, 2023, the Online Communication Services, or the OCS, accessible by Singapore users are subject to regulation under part 10A of the Broadcasting Act 1994. The OCS to which the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act applies to are set out in the fourth schedule to the Broadcasting Act 1994, which at present includes only social media services. Under the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, the Infocomm Media Development Authority can, among other things, issue directions to disable access by Singapore users to egregious content found on OCSs. Egregious content includes content advocating or instructing on suicide or self-harm, physical or sexual violence and terrorism; content depicting child sexual exploitation; content posing public health risks in Singapore; and content likely to cause racial and religious disharmony in Singapore. The directions include (a) directions to an OCS provider to disable access by Singapore users to the egregious content on the service, (b) directions to an OCS provider to stop the delivery or communication of content to Singapore users, and (c) direction to an internet access service provider to block access by Singapore users to the non-compliant OCS if the OCS provider fails to comply with the directions of the Infocomm Media Development Authority. Under the Broadcasting Act 1994, OCS providers to whom a direction has been issued have a duty to take all reasonably practicable steps to comply with the direction, and non-compliance with a direction by the Infocomm Media Development Authority constitutes a criminal offense, punishable with a fine. The Infocomm Media Development Authority may also designate OCSs with significant reach or impact as Regulated Online Communication Services, or ROCS, and ROCS are required to further comply with the Code of Practice for Online Safety issued by the Infocomm Media Development Authority. To date, the Infocomm Media Development Authority has designated six OCSs as ROCS, and 51Talk has not been designated as a ROCS.

Under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023, parts of which came into force as of February 1, 2024, designated officers from various government agencies may issue directions in respect of online activity for criminal offenses under their agencies' purview, if the designated officer reasonably suspects that an offense (specified in the first schedule of the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023) has been committed and that any online activity is in furtherance of the offense, or suspects or has reason to believe that any online activity is preparatory to, or in furtherance of the commission of a scam or malicious cyber activity offense. These directions include (a) directions to a person who has control of the relevant materials or location to remove, stop providing or disable access to the material, (b) directions to the provider of an online service to disable access to any relevant material (or copies thereof) or the location in the online service, and (c) directions to the provider of an online service to restrict interaction between any accounts on the online service. Under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023, non-compliance with a direction may result in orders being issued, including for (a) the blocking of access to the location by an internet access service, (b) the removal of the app by an app distribution service, and (c) suspension or provision of the online service. Government agencies may also designate online services which are subject to codes of practice and implementation directives in respect of specified offenses. To date, the Code of Practice for E-commerce Services and Code of Practice for Online Communication Services have been issued pursuant to Online Criminal Harms Act 2023. Both codes of practice came into effect on June 26, 2024, and apply to four designated e-commerce services and five designated online communication services respectively. 51Talk has not been designated as one of such e-commerce services or online communication services as of February 10, 2026.

In addition, to the extent that our platforms or services enable our users to transmit online content to each other or access third party online content, we would be an internet intermediary under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 of Singapore. This act empowers any Singapore government minister to direct the responsible office to issue certain directions to internet intermediaries whose internet intermediary service had been used to communicate a false statement of fact in Singapore, if the minister is of the opinion that it would be in the public interest to do so. Such directions would include: (a) targeted correction directions, which require the internet intermediary to communicate a correction notice on its service to all end-users in Singapore who accessed the offending false statement of fact after a specified time; and (b) disabling directions, which require the internet intermediary to disable access by end-users in Singapore to the offending false statement of fact being communicated on or through its service. Companies may be fined if they fail to comply with directions issued under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 of Singapore without reasonable excuse.

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Under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, the Singapore government is empowered to implement countermeasures to prevent, detect and disrupt foreign interference in domestic politics conducted through (i) hostile information campaigns and (ii) local proxies (politically significant persons). For example, this act empowers the Minister for Home Affairs to issue the directions to various entities such as social media services, relevant electronic services, internet access services, as well as persons who own or run websites, blogs or social media pages, to help the authorities investigate and counter hostile communications activity that is of foreign origin. Examples of directions that can be issued include directions for a communicator to take down their content, for an internet intermediary such as a social media service to take down their content, or suspend or disable the account, such that the content is not viewable by end-users in Singapore. Non-compliance with directions is an offense. Companies should be prepared to comply with such directions under Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act from a technical/operational perspective in relation to content carried on their online platforms.

***Hong Kong Regulations***

*Regulations on Education*

The Education Ordinance (Chapter 279 of the Laws of Hong Kong) sets out the requirements for schools and educational institutions in Hong Kong, including the curriculum, teacher qualifications, and student assessment. Companies that offer online courses or other educational services are required that their offerings meet the standards set out in the Education Ordinance. Companies may also need to obtain licenses or approvals from the Education Bureau or other authorities before offering their services. Companies that violate the regulations may be subject to fines and other penalties. For example, the Education Bureau may impose fines on companies that are found to be operating without the necessary licenses or approvals, or that are in violation of the curriculum or assessment requirements set out in the Education Ordinance.

*Regulations on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity* 

The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Chapter 486 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or the PDPO, regulates the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of personal data in Hong Kong. The PDPO came into effect in December 1996 and was later significantly amended in 2012 and 2021. The PDPO imposes a statutory duty on data users to comply with the requirements of the six data protection principles contained in Schedule 1 to the PDPO. The PDPO provides that a data user shall not do an act, or engage in a practice, that contravenes a data protection principle unless the act or practice, as the case may be, is required or permitted under the PDPO. Non-compliance with a data protection principle may lead to a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. The Privacy Commissioner may serve an enforcement notice to direct the data user to remedy the contravention and/ or instigate prosecution actions. Non-compliance with the PDPO may lead to a variety of civil and criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment.

The PDPO also gives data subjects certain rights. In particular, companies that collect personal data from data subjects directly must inform the data subjects whether it is obligatory or voluntary to supply the data, the purpose of using their data and the classes of person to whom their data may be transferred, and must use that data only for the purposes for which it was collected unless with the data subject's express and voluntary consent. Companies must also take appropriate measures to protect the security of that data, including implementing data protection policies and procedures, and ensuring that data is stored securely. The PDPO also contains, among other things, restrictions on use of personal data in direct marketing activities, provisions relating to compliance with data access requests and restrictions on unauthorized disclosure of personal data obtained without the data user's consent.

*Regulations on Copyright*

The Copyright Ordinance (Chapter 528 of the Laws of Hong Kong), which came into effect in June 1997, protects intellectual property rights in Hong Kong, including copyright and related rights. The Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022, which was introduced with a view to modernize the Hong Kong copyright regime under the Copyright Ordinance, came into effect on May 1, 2023. Five key areas of changes are introduced under the new regulatory framework, including, among others, a technology-neutral communication right for copyright owners to communicate their works to the public via any mode of electronic transmission and criminal sanctions against infringers making unauthorized communication of copyright works to the public.

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*Regulations on Anti-discrimination*

Hong Kong has various anti-discrimination laws, including the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Chapter 480 of the Laws of Hong Kong), the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Chapter 487 of the Laws of Hong Kong), the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Chapter 527 of the Laws of Hong Kong) and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Chapter 602 of the Laws of Hong Kong), to prohibit discrimination against a person on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, family status, and race. These ordinances are applicable in different areas, including employment, education, provision of goods, services, or facilities, and disposal or management of premises. Companies may be subject to anti-discrimination laws, if their course offerings discriminate against any particular group of individuals. For example, companies should ensure that online courses and materials are accessible to individuals with disabilities, and that their marketing materials do not contain discriminatory language or images.

*Regulations on Consumer Protection*

The main piece of legislation in Hong Kong is the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Chapter 362 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (TDO) which prohibits false and misleading trade descriptions of goods, including in advertising. An amendment to the law came into force in July 2013 and extended the application of the TDO. It created new offenses relating to advertising, including (i) false trade descriptions relating to services, (ii) misleading omissions, and (iii) certain aggressive or unfair commercial practices.

***Malaysia Regulations***

*Regulations on Education* 

The Education Act 1996 sets out the regulations surrounding education in Malaysia, including requirements for licensing and accreditation of educational institutions. Under the Malaysian education legal framework, including the Education Act 1996 and related regulations, tutors offering courses or other educational services are generally required to be registered as teachers, which in turn requires meeting specific qualification standards (such as relevant degrees and certifications) prescribed by the relevant authorities for their respective subjects and types of educational institutions. The Ministry of Education oversees the education system in Malaysia and has the power to regulate and enforce educational standards. Companies that offer courses or other educational services in Malaysia without the necessary licenses and approvals from the Ministry of Education may face legal action, including fines, injunctions to cease operations, or closure of the premises by the authorities. Depending on the nature of the violation, such as operating without registration or offering unaccredited courses, penalties may include fines of up to RM100,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is responsible for accreditation and quality assurance of higher education institutions and programmes in Malaysia. Education technology companies that offer higher education qualifications (such as diplomas or degrees) must ensure their programmes comply with MQA's accreditation requirements, including meeting the agency's standards for quality and rigor under the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF). For non-higher education courses (such as tutoring, enrichment classes, or vocational skills training), different regulatory requirements may apply under the Ministry of Education or other relevant authorities.

*Regulations on Personal Data Protection* 

The Personal Data Protection Act 2010 regulates the processing of personal data in the course of commercial transactions in Malaysia, and is enforced by the Personal Data Protection Commissioner. Broadly, the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 sets out key data protection principles which must be adhered to by data users (i.e., a person who either alone or jointly or in common with other persons processes any personal data or has control over or authorizes the processing of any personal data, but does not include a processor) in Malaysia, which include (i) the requirement to obtain consent prior to processing an individual's personal data; (ii) the requirement to provide written notice to individuals in both English and the Malay language stating, among other things, the purposes for which the personal data will be processed, the classes of third parties to whom personal data will be disclosed, and the individual's right of access; (iii) obligation to ensure that the personal data collected will be processed in a safe and secure manner; (iv) obligation to ensure that personal data processed will not be kept longer than is necessary, and (v) taking reasonable steps to ensure that personal data is accurate. The Personal Data Protection Standard 2015 further prescribes the minimum requirement for data security in processing personal data. Infringement of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 may result in fines and imprisonment.

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*Regulations on Communications and Multimedia*

The Communications and Multimedia Act regulates the use of the internet and digital content in Malaysia, including ensuring that their advertising is truthful and not misleading. Under the Communications and Multimedia Act, companies that operate online without the necessary licenses and approvals may face fines of up to RM500,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission may also take legal action to require the company to cease operations or to block access to its website or content. In addition, companies that violate advertising regulations under the Communications and Multimedia Act may face penalties, including fines, imprisonment, or both, depending on the severity of the offence. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission may also take legal action to require the company to remove the misleading or deceptive advertisement.

***Thailand Regulations***

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in Thailand.

*Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand ("CCC")*

Laws governing formation and incorporation of types of Thai business entity can be found in the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand ("CCC"). A private limited company is formed through a process which leads to the registration of a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association (By-laws), as its constitutive documents. A company is formed with the registered capital and divided into shares to be subscribed by the promoters or shareholders. The liability of the shareholders being limited to the amount unpaid on the shares respectively held by them.

*Foreign Business Act*

Thai law imposes restrictions on foreigners engaging in certain business activities. The principal law with respect to foreign participation in various business activities is the Foreign Business Act, or the FBA. The FBA defines the definition of "foreigner" as (i) a non-Thai natural person, (ii) a legal entity not incorporated in Thailand, (iii) a juristic entity incorporated in Thailand with at least 50% (fifty percent) of share capital is owned by foreign individuals or entities, and (iv) a limited partnership or a registered ordinary partnership that having the managing partner or manager is a non-Thai natural person. Based on the aforesaid definition, a private limited company which is owned by majority Thai nationals and/or entities with at least more than half of the share capital shall be considered as a Thai private limited company and is not subject to the FBA. Foreigners therefore are generally allowed to participate and own less than 50% of share capital unless specific laws prescribe different ownership limits for restricted businesses.

The FBA regulates the restrictions on certain different types of business activities, which foreigners are prohibited, or restricted from participating unless prior approval is granted and obtaining a Foreign Business License, or an FBL. Such activities are divided into three lists, with each list subject to different levels of restrictions.

Beside the restricted activities as in the lists of the FBA, there are non-restricted businesses which are not subject to the FBA and foreigners are permissible to operate such activities in Thailand without the FBL requirement, such as, manufacturing business, export activity, holding company, non-commercial undertaking. However, foreigners shall still be subject to other specific laws, such as factory act and property law.

*Social Security Act*

The Social Security Act of B.E. 2533 (1990) (the "Social Security Act") in Thailand, and its amendments, established the Social Security Fund (the "Fund") with the objective of providing coverage for fund members under certain conditions. The stipulations of the Social Security Act apply to every company having one or more employees. Persons insured under the provisions of the Fund include all employees from the age of 15 years up through those not over 60 years.

A company having one or more employees must register with the Social Security Office ("SSO") for the Fund within 30 days after hiring the first employee. If the company increases the number of employees, it must submit a new employee registration form for each new employee.

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*Workmen Compensation Fund*

The Workmen's Compensation Fund was established under the Workmen's Compensation Act, B.E. 2537 (1994) ("WCA") to ensure that adequate compensation is paid when workers are injured, become ill, or die as a result of their work, or as a result of illnesses arising out of the nature or conditions of the work, or as the Department of the Interior may prescribe. This objective will be achieved by requiring employers to register with and contribute to the Workers' Compensation Fund and by having the Department of Labour Protection and Social Welfare pay the above compensation that employers are required to pay under the Occupational Safety and Health Act instead of employees. The contribution rate should be 0.2% - 1%.

*Labour Protection Act*

The Thailand Labour Protection Act ("LPA") is a comprehensive law that sets out the rights and obligations of employers and employees in the workplace. It aims to protect the welfare of workers and ensure fair treatment.

Under section 108 of the LPA, a company shall procure the work rules in Thai language upon the date the employer employed more than ten (10) employees and shall disclose such work rules at the working place of the employee. As from 4 April 2017, the work rules are not required to submit to the Labour Department in accordance with the Order of the Head of the National Council for Peace and Order No. 21/2017 dated 4 April 2017 Governing Amendment of Laws for Ease of Doing Business.

*Foreigners' Working Management Emergency Decree*

Foreigners' Working Management Emergency Decree Pursuant to Section 8 of the Foreigners' Working Management Emergency Decree B.E. 2560 (2017), a foreigner shall not carry out any work prescribed in the Notification issued under section 7 paragraph one or carry out any work without a work permit.

*The Revenue Code*

The principal law with respect to tax implication in Thailand is the Revenue Code of Thailand, or the RC, under governed by the Revenue Department.

*Corporate Income Tax ("CIT")*

According to the RC, in general, a company is subject to the CIT rate of 20 % on net profit. In addition, with respect to Small Medium Enterprises which a company that having its paid-up registered capital at the end of the accounting period of not exceeding THB5 million and having annual revenue income from business operation not exceeding THB30 million per annum shall be entitled to reduction of CIT in which it will be exempted from CIT for the net profit not over THB 300,000, and it will be subject to 15% CIT on net profit range between THB300,001 – 3,000,000, and 20% CIT on net profit exceeding THB 3,000,000.

The tax year for a company is defined by a 12 (twelve) months accounting period for that entity. The date of the first accounting period commences on the date of incorporation of the juristic entity. In each accounting period, a company is required to file tax returns and pay corporate income tax twice a year.

*Value Added Tax ("VAT")*

VAT is an indirect consumption tax levied on the supply of goods and provision of services by a VAT operator and on the import of goods or services. Any person (individual or juristic entity) who conducts business in Thailand and its annual turnover exceeds THB1.8 million is required to register to be a VAT operator. A VAT operator is required to comply with VAT requirements per the Revenue Code. Only a registered VAT operator is entitled to claim for prepaid VAT credit or VAT refund.

There are also other applicable taxes, for example, the excise tax, withholding tax, special business tax, land and building tax and stamp duty, etc. A company is required to file tax returns to the Revenue Department on a regular basis, including monthly, annual and semi-annual reports.

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***Saudi Arabia Regulations***

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in Saudi Arabia.

*Personal Data Protection Law*

The Personal Data Protection Law was promulgated on September 16, 2021. In September 2023, the President of Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) issued the Implementing Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law and the Regulation on Personal Data Transfer Outside the Kingdom to supplement the implementation details and specific provisions of the Personal Data Protection Law.

The Personal Data Protection Law regulates how personal data is processed digitally. It requires the entities engaged in data processing to provide a clear notice of their privacy policies, specifying the purposes for which personal data is being processed. The Personal Data Protection Law ensures individuals the right to access their personal data and to be informed of the purpose of its collection and processing. They have the right to obtain a copy of their data, request corrections, updates, or deletions after the purpose of its collection has been fulfilled. Data owners may also request the restriction of the processing of their personal data for specific cases and for a limited period. The collection of personal data is restricted to the minimum necessary to achieve the specified purposes. Data cannot be used for marketing without the owner's consent. Consent for data processing cannot be a condition for receiving services unless the service or benefit is directly related to the processing of the personal data for which consent has been granted. The law also outlines the process for disclosing personal data under specific regulations.

Under the Personal Data Protection Law, anyone who discloses or publishes sensitive data in violation of the law, with the intent to harm the data owner or for personal gain, is subject to a maximum prison sentence of two years and a fine of up to SAR3,000,000, or one of these two penalties. The public prosecution is responsible for investigating and prosecuting violations of the Personal Data Protection Law before the competent court. In the event of repeat offenses, the court has the authority to double the fine, even if it exceeds the maximum limit, provided it does not exceed twice that limit.

Furthermore, any natural or legal person who violates any provisions of the law or its regulations, other than the disclosure or publication of sensitive data as described in the previous paragraph, shall be subject to a warning or a fine not exceeding SAR5,000,000. In case of repeated violations, the fine may be doubled, even if this exceeds the maximum limit, as long as it does not exceed twice that limit. The law also grants the court the authority to order the confiscation of any proceeds obtained through the commission of violations. In addition, the law grants individuals who have suffered harm due to the commission of any violations the right to seek compensation before the court for material or moral damages, in proportion to the extent of the harm caused.

*E-commerce Law*

The E-Commerce Law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, issued on July 10, 2019, applies to merchants, consumers, and practitioners and covers the sale and display of products, the offering and advertising of services, the exchange of related data, the relationship between E-Commerce practitioner and online shopper and product return and order cancellation, among others. The E-Commerce Council is responsible for monitoring and evaluating e-commerce activities in the Kingdom.

The E-Commerce Law imposes several obligations on service providers, including protecting the personal data of online shoppers, addressing issues related to delayed deliveries, adhering to the regulations of licensed professions that require a license for practice, and disclosing the service provider's business location as listed in the commercial registry. It also includes the removal or blocking of non-compliant advertisements, coordinating electronic commercial advertisements, disclosing contact information, and providing the essential characteristics of goods.

The E-Commerce Law in the Kingdom imposes a range of penalties for those who violate its provisions, including a warning, a fine not exceeding SAR1 million, temporary or permanent suspension of e-commerce activities, and partial or complete blocking of the online store.

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A committee, or more than one, is formed by a decision from the Minister of Commerce to review violations and decides on penalties based on the violation's severity, its recurrence, the scale of the service provider's business, and the harm caused to others. Any person against whom a decision has been issued under the law may appeal that decision before the Administrative Court. Additionally, the decision may require publication of its contents at the violator's expense in one or more local newspapers or through any other appropriate means, depending on the type, severity, and impact of the violation. The publication must occur after the legally prescribed period has passed or once the ruling has become final. The competent court is responsible for resolving disputes, including claims for compensation arising from the application of the provisions of the law.

*Electronic Transactions Law*

The issuance of Saudi Arabian Electronic Transactions Law constitutes significant development in the legal structure of the electronic transactions system as well as in controlling, regulating and providing a legal framework for electronic transactions and signatures in general, thus providing effect and validity for these transactions. The electronic signature will be equal to a hand-written signature, having the same legal effects, provided that it is carried out in compliance with the conditions provided for in Electronic Transactions Law. Electronic transactions will also have full effect and enforceability and will be deemed as new means for transactions processing.

According to Article 23 of Electronic Transactions Law, many actions are considered a violation of the law, such as exercising the activity of the certification service provider without obtaining a license from the commission. The violation the provisions of Electronic Transactions Law will cause a fine of not more than SAR5 million and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, as well as the confiscation of the devices, systems and programs used in committing the violation.

*Copyright Law*

The Copyright Law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a set of rules and regulations governing the rights of any person who has created literary, scientific, or artistic work within the Kingdom. It was issued by Royal Decree in 2003, comprising twenty-eight articles. These rights remain protected for a period of fifty years after the death of the author. The provisions of the law apply to works of both Saudi and non-Saudi authors that are published, produced, performed, or displayed for the first time in the Kingdom.

The Copyright Law grants the author a set of rights over their literary, artistic, or scientific creations, whether these are moral or financial rights, and they have a specific protection period according to the law. These rights include protection from unauthorized printing or publication, alteration, or translation of the work into other languages, as well as all forms of material exploitation of the work, such as licensing or leasing it to third parties. The author also has the right to attribute the work to themselves, object to any infringement on their work, and decide on the publication, modification, or withdrawal of the work from circulation.

Any person who commits one of the violations mentioned in the law is considered to be infringing on the author's rights. Establishments are held responsible for any violations committed by their employees on any intellectual property if it is proven that the establishment was aware of or neglected the issue. This includes retaining counterfeit or copied computer programs, audio, or visual tapes, conducting maintenance on an electronic device containing counterfeit or decoded software, or similar acts.

It is also considered an infringement of copyright and a violation of the law and its regulations to reproduce protected works, sell them, import, export, transport, publish, or rent them without permission.

Anyone who violates a provision of this law is subject to one or more of the following penalties: a warning, a fine not exceeding SAR250,000, closure of the violating establishment or the one that contributed to the infringement on the author's rights for a period not exceeding two months, confiscation of all copies of the work, as well as the materials intended or used to commit the infringement, and imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. In the event of repeated infringement on the same or another work, the maximum limit of the penalty, fine, and closure may be doubled.

*Investment law*

On August 11, 2024, the Saudi Cabinet approved the new Investment Law, which has taken effect in February 2025, replacing the Foreign Investment Law that came into effect in 2000.

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The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) is the competent authority for foreign investors to invest in Saudi Arabia. Foreign investors who carry out investment activities and establish legal entities in Saudi Arabia must register with MISA in advance and obtain an "investment license" issued by MISA. The Ministry of Investment publicizes Saudi Arabia's recommended investment industries and specific requirements for applying for licenses in various industries through the Service Manual, which is an important operational guide for the investment procedure. The current effective version is the 12th Edition 05-2025.

According to Article 4.1 of the Investment Law, an Investor shall have the rights of being treated equally to other investors and being treated fairly and justly, among others.

*Income Tax Law*

The Income Tax Law gathers rules and regulatory procedures for income tax within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was issued on March 6, 2004, and specifies taxable persons. It was last amended on June 23, 2020.

The tax authority in Saudi Arabia is the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority ("ZATCA"). The two major direct taxes in Saudi Arabia are corporate income tax and "Zakat", but personal income tax and stamp duty are not levied. Corporate income tax and Zakat are essentially distinguished based on the nationality of the company's shareholders. For example, if a Saudi company is directly or indirectly held by foreign investors or citizens of non-GCC member states (collectively referred to as "non-Saudi citizens"), non-Saudi citizens shall pay corporate income tax at a rate of 20%.

*Withholding Tax Guideline*

This Guideline - published by ZATCA - serves to provide insights and guidance on the application of the withholding tax (WHT) provisions included in the Law and its Regulation.

Withholding Tax (WHT) is an income tax assessed on Nonresidents who generates income from a source in the Kingdom. However, it differs from ordinary taxation that the Resident person or the permanent establishment in KSA making a payment to Nonresidents is required to withhold a part of that payment corresponding to tax and remit it to ZATCA. The WHT base is determined according to the total payments made not the profit.

Value Added Tax Law

Pursuant to the Unified Value Added Tax Agreement for the GCC countries (the Agreement), approved by Saudi Arabia Cabinet Decision No. 257/1438 that has been signed between all Member States of the GCC, the KSA has introduced a general tax on consumption - known as VAT.

On July 26, 2017, the Saudi government promulgated the Value Added Tax Law (Royal Decree No. M/113); on September 5 of the same year, it promulgated the Regulations for the Implementation of the Value Added Tax Law.

Saudi Arabia officially began to levy VAT on January 1, 2018. Residents or non-residents who sell or import goods or services in Saudi Arabia are VAT taxpayers, and the VAT rate is subject to the 5% standard rate and zero rate under the framework agreement. On June 7, 2020, Saudi Arabia issued Royal Decree No. A/638, announcing that the standard value-added tax rate will be increased from 5% to 15% from July 1, 2020.

Tax Evasion and Penalties

According to Article 39 of Value Added Tax Law, many activities, such as submitting incorrect, forged or false documents, declarations, record or information with the intent to evade the payment of the due tax, may be considered as tax evasion. According to Article 40 of Value Added Tax Law, the tax evasion shall be punishable by a fine of no less than the amount of the due tax and no more than three times the value of the goods or services concerned with the evasion.

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*Labour Law*

The Saudi Labour Law and the Implementing Regulations of the Labour Law were promulgated in 2005 and 2007 respectively (the latest amendment was on August 6, 2024 and took effect in February 2025).

The Labour Law stipulates a series of provisions regulating the labour relationship between employees and employers, including the labour relationship between foreign workers and employers in Saudi Arabia. For example, the labour contract of non-Saudi nationals must be in writing and a fixed-term contract. The contract must be terminated when the foreigner's work visa expires, and a foreigner can only provide services to one employer. If the contract does not specify the term, it is deemed to be one year from the date the employee starts working. If the labour relationship continues after the expiration of this term, the contract is deemed to be automatically renewed for the same term as the original term. Employment of local residents can sign a fixed-term or indefinite-term labour contract.

In order to increase the employment rate in the country, the Saudi government has implemented the "Nitaqat" policy, requiring all Saudi companies to employ a certain proportion of Saudi employees according to their industry and size. The proportion of Saudi employees employed by a company is called the "Saudization Percentage". Companies are labeled Red, Low Green, Medium Green, High Green and Platinum according to their Saudization Percentage, and compliance is directly linked to the company's application for work visas. According to the Saudi labour Law, except for special circumstances where there are not enough qualified Saudi employees, the Saudization Percentage of a company should not be less than 75%. Since the current target of 75% is difficult to achieve, the specific requirements for the Saudization Percentage are regulated by the Ministry of Human Resources. There are different calculation standards for companies in different industries, positions and sizes. Companies need to pay attention to relevant policies to ensure that the Saudization Percentage requirements are met.

***PRC Regulations***

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in mainland China.

***Regulations Relating to Intellectual Property Rights***

*Copyright and Software Registration*

In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations promulgated by the State Council on December 20, 2001, and amended on January 8, 2011, and January 30, 2013, the State Copyright Bureau issued the Computer Software Copyright Registration Procedures on February 20, 2002, which apply to software copyright registration, license contract registration and transfer contract registration. In compliance with, and in order to take advantage of the above rules, as of December 31, 2025, we registered nine software copyrights in mainland China.

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*Patents*

The NPC Standing Committee adopted the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China in 1984 and amended it in 1992, 2000, 2008 and 2020, respectively. The State Council first promulgated the Implementation Regulations for the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China on December 21, 1992, with the latest amendments made on December 11, 2023 and in effect on January 20, 2024. A patentable invention, utility model or design must meet three conditions: novelty, inventiveness and practical applicability. The Patent Office under the National Intellectual Property Administration is responsible for receiving, examining and approving patent applications. A patent is valid for a twenty-year term for an invention, a ten-year term for a utility model and a fifteen-year term for design, starting from the application date. Except under certain specific circumstances provided by law, any third party user must obtain consent or a proper license from the patent owner to use the patent, or else the use will constitute an infringement of the rights of the patent holder. As of December 31, 2025, we held six patents in mainland China.

*Domain Name*

In September 2002, the China Internet Network Information Center issued the Implementing Rules for Domain Name Registration setting forth detailed rules for registration of domain names, which was amended on May 29, 2012. On November 5, 2004, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology promulgated the Measures for Administration of Domain Names for the Chinese Internet. The measures regulate the registration of domain names, such as the first-tier domain name ".cn." On August 24, 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology promulgated Administrative Measures for Internet Domain Names, repealing the Measures for Administration of Domain Names for the Chinese Internet since November 1, 2017. The efforts to undertake internet domain name services as well as the operation, maintenance, supervision and administration thereof and other relevant activities within the territory of mainland China shall thereafter be made in compliance with Administrative Measures for Internet Domain Names. On June 18, 2019, the China Internet Network Information Center issued the Measures on Resolution of Disputes over National Top-level Domain Names. Pursuant to these measures, the domain name disputes shall be accepted and solved by a domain name dispute resolution body as recognized by the center.

*Regulations Relating to Foreign Investment*

On March 15, 2019, the National People's Congress adopted the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, which became effective on January 1, 2020. The Regulations on Implementing the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC adopted by the State Council on December 12, 2019, which came into effect on January 1, 2020, provides implementing measures and detailed rules to ensure the effective implementation of the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC. Pursuant to the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, "foreign investors" means natural person, enterprise, or other organization of a foreign country, "foreign-invested enterprises" means any enterprise established under PRC law that is wholly or partially invested by foreign investors and "foreign investment" means any foreign investor's direct or indirect investment in Mainland China, including: (i) establishing foreign-invested enterprises in Mainland China either individually or jointly with other investors; (ii) obtaining stock shares, stock equity, property shares, other similar interests in Chinese domestic enterprises; (iii) investing in new projects in Mainland China either individually or jointly with other investors; and (iv) making investment through other means provided by laws, administrative regulations, or State Council provisions.

On December 30, 2019, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Market Regulation issued the Measures for the Reporting of Foreign Investment Information, which came into effect on January 1, 2020, and replaced the Interim Administrative Measures. Since January 1, 2020, for foreign investors carrying out investment activities directly or indirectly in China, the foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises shall submit investment information to the commerce authorities pursuant to the abovementioned measures. Pursuant to the Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment, which was promulgated by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce on December 19, 2020, and became effective on January 18, 2021, the office of the working mechanism for the security review of foreign investments is set up under the National Development and Reform Commission, which is led by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce to undertake the routine work of the security review of foreign investments.

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The Foreign Investment Law of the PRC is considered to grant national treatment to foreign-invested enterprises, except that foreign-invested enterprises are subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions if they propose to operate in certain industries prescribed on the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2024 version). The Foreign Investment Law of PRC establishes the administration systems for foreign investment, which mainly consists of pre-establishment national treatment plus the negative list, foreign investment information report system and security review system. The said systems, together with other administration measures stipulated under the Foreign Investment Law, constitute the frame of foreign investment administration. The pre-establishment national treatment refers to granting foreign investors and their investments, in the stage of investment access, the treatment no less favorable than that granted to domestic investors and their investments; the negative list refers to special administrative measures for access of foreign investments in certain fields and the national treatment will be given to the foreign investments that do not fall within any of the categories set out in the negative list.

On September 6, 2024, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly promulgated the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2024 version), which became effective on November 1, 2024. Under these measures, pre-school education, senior high school education in grades 10 to 12, and higher education are in a restricted industry, meaning foreign educational organizations with relevant qualifications and experience and Chinese educational organizations are only allowed to operate pre-school education, senior high schools and higher education in cooperative ways by the form of a cooperative joint venture in the PRC. Foreign investment is banned from compulsory education, which means grades 1 to 9. Foreign investment is allowed in after-school tutoring services and training services which do not grant certificates or diplomas and non-academic vocational training institutions.

On December 19, 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce of the PRC jointly issued the Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment which became effective on January 18, 2021. The Security Review of Foreign Investment provides that foreign investors or relevant parties in the PRC must submit a security review application to the office of the working mechanism before making the following investments: (i) investing in fields related to national defense security, such as military industry and military industry support, as well as investing in areas surrounding military facilities and military industry facilities; and (ii) investing in important agricultural products, important energy and resources, major equipment manufacturing, important infrastructure, important transportation services, important cultural products and services, important information technology and internet products and services, important financial services, key technologies, and other important fields that involve national security, and acquiring control over the target enterprise.

*Regulations on Foreign Exchange*

*Foreign Currency Exchange*

Pursuant to the Foreign Currency Administration Rules, as amended, and various regulations issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, on August 5, 2008, and other relevant PRC government authorities, RMB is freely convertible to the extent of current account items, such as trade related receipts and payments, interest and dividends. Capital account items, such as direct equity investments, loans and repatriation of investment, unless expressly exempted by laws and regulations, still require prior approval from SAFE or its provincial branch for conversion of RMB into a foreign currency, such as U.S. dollars, and remittance of the foreign currency outside of mainland China. Payments for transactions that take place within mainland China must be made in RMB. Foreign currency revenues received by mainland China companies may be repatriated into mainland China or retained outside of mainland China in accordance with requirements and terms specified by SAFE.

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*Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by Mainland China Residents*

The Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident's Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, issued by SAFE taking effect on July 4, 2014, regulates foreign exchange matters in relation to the use of special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, by mainland China residents or entities to seek offshore investment and financing and conduct round trip investment in mainland China. Under SAFE Circular 37, a SPV refers to an offshore entity established or controlled, directly or indirectly, by mainland China residents or entities for the purpose of seeking offshore financing or making offshore investment, using legitimate domestic or offshore assets or interests, while "round trip investment" refers to the direct investment in mainland China by mainland China residents or entities through SPVs, namely, establishing foreign-invested enterprises to obtain the ownership, control rights and management rights. SAFE Circular 37 requires that, before making contribution into an SPV, mainland China residents or entities are required to complete foreign exchange registration with the SAFE or its local branch. SAFE Circular 37 further provides that option or share-based incentive tool holders of a non-listed SPV can exercise the options or share incentive tools to become a shareholder of such non-listed SPV, subject to registration with SAFE or its local branch.

Mainland China residents or entities who have contributed legitimate domestic or offshore interests or assets to SPVs but have yet to obtain SAFE registration before the implementation of the SAFE Circular 37 shall register their ownership interests or control in such SPVs with SAFE or its local branch. An amendment to the registration is required if there is a material change in the SPV registered, such as any change of basic information (including change of such mainland China residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions. Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37, or making misrepresentation on or failure to disclose controllers of foreign-invested enterprise that is established through round-trip investment, may result in restrictions on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant foreign-invested enterprises, including payment of dividends and other distributions, such as proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation, to its offshore parent or affiliate, and the capital inflow from the offshore parent, and may also subject relevant mainland China residents or entities to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations. On February 13, 2015, SAFE further promulgated the Circular on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment, or SAFE Circular 13, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This SAFE Circular 13 has amended SAFE Circular 37 by requiring mainland China residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ting Shu, who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are mainland China residents have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations and amended their registrations to reflect our corporate restructuring in November 2014.

*Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans*

Pursuant to the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, or SAFE Circular 7, issued by SAFE in February 2012, employees, directors, supervisors and other senior management participating in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company who are mainland China citizens or who are non-mainland China citizens residing in mainland China for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be a mainland China subsidiaries of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may lead to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit a company's ability to contribute additional capital into its wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in mainland China.

In addition, the State Administration for Taxation has issued certain circulars concerning employee share options or restricted shares. Under these circulars, the employees working in mainland China who exercise share options or are granted restricted shares will be subject to individual income tax in mainland China. The mainland China subsidiaries of such overseas listed company have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of those employees who exercise their share options. If the employees fail to pay or the mainland China subsidiaries fail to withhold their income taxes according to relevant laws and regulations, the mainland China subsidiaries may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities or other mainland China government authorities.

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*Regulations Relating to Employment, Social Insurance and Housing Fund*

The PRC Labor Law effective as of January 1, 1995 (as latest amended on December 29, 2018), and the PRC Labor Contract Law effective as of January 1, 2008 (as amended on December 28, 2012), set forth a series of provisions governing the labor relationship between employees and employers. The requirements include, among others, (i) a written labor contract shall be executed by an employer and an employee when the employment relationship is established, and an employer is under an obligation to sign an unlimited-term labor contract with any employee who has worked for the employer for ten consecutive years; (ii) if an employee requests or agrees to renew a fixed-term labor contract that has already been entered into twice consecutively, the resulting contract must have an unlimited term, with certain exceptions. The employer must also pay severance to an employee in nearly all instances where a labor contract, including a contract with an unlimited term, is terminated or expires; and (iii) All employers must compensate their employees equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. In addition, the government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the Labor Contract Law. Among other things, new annual leave requirements mandate that annual leave to be available for nearly all employees and further require that the employer compensate an employee for any annual leave days the employee is unable to take in the amount of three times his daily salary, subject to certain exceptions. Moreover, all mainland China enterprises are generally required to implement a standard working time system of eight hours a day and forty hours a week, and if the implementation of such standard working time system is not appropriate due to the nature of the job or the characteristics of business operation, the enterprise may implement a flexible working time system or comprehensive working time system after obtaining approvals from the authorities.

In addition, employers in mainland China are obliged to pay contributions to the social insurance plan and the housing fund plan for their employees, and such contribution amount payable shall be calculated based on the employee actual salary in accordance with the applicable regulations. In accordance with the PRC Social Insurance Law which became effective on July 1, 2011 and was amended on December 29, 2018, a social insurance system consisting of a basic old-age insurance, basic medical insurance, work injury insurance, unemployment insurance, and maternity insurance has been established. In accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Housing Funds, which was promulgated by the State Council in 1999 and amended in March 2002 and March 2019, employers must register at the designated administrative centers and open bank accounts for depositing employees' housing funds.

*Regulations Relating to Overseas Listing and M&A Rules*

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, were jointly adopted by six PRC regulatory authorities, including China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, on August 8, 2006, and became effective as of September 8, 2006, and were later amended on June 22, 2009. This M&A Rules purports to require, among other things, offshore SPVs, formed for listing purposes through acquisition of mainland China domestic companies and controlled by mainland China companies or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. We believe that CSRC approval is not required in the context of our initial public offering as we are not a special purpose vehicle formed for listing purpose through acquisition of domestic companies that are controlled by our mainland China individual shareholders.

The new rules for the filing-based administration of overseas securities offerings and listings by Chinese domestic companies released on February 17, 2023, or New Filing Rules, establish a new filing-based regime to regulate overseas offerings and listings by domestic companies. The New Filing Rules consist of six sets of rules, including the Trial Measure for Administration of the Overseas Securities Offerings and Listings by Domestic Enterprises. According to the New Filing Rules, (i) an overseas offering and listing by a domestic company, whether directly or indirectly, shall be filed with the CSRC; and (ii) the issuer or its affiliated domestic company, as the case may be, shall file with the CSRC for its initial public offering, follow-on offering and other equivalent offing activities. The New Filing Rules also set forth certain regulatory red lines for overseas offerings and listings by domestic enterprises. However, from March 31, 2023, enterprises that have been listed overseas shall constitute existing enterprises and are not required to conduct the overseas listing filing procedure immediately, but shall carry out filing procedures as required if they conduct refinancing or are involved in other circumstances that require filing with the CSRC.

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On February 24, 2023, the CSRC, together with the Ministry of Finance, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection and the National Archives Administration of China, issued the Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of International Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Archives Rules, which came into effect on March 31, 2023. The Archives Rules reiterate that working papers produced in the PRC by securities companies and securities service providers for direct and indirect international offering and listing by domestic companies, should be retained in mainland China, and, without prior approval by competent authorities of mainland China, such working papers shall not be brought, mailed or otherwise transferred to recipients outside of mainland China. Furthermore, the Archives Rules establish a cross-border regulatory cooperation mechanism as prescribed in the PRC Securities Law and strengthen cross-border regulatory cooperation as prescribed in the New Filing Rules, which shifts the overall direction of cross-border supervision of international offering and listing from a "dominated by domestic regulators or depend on the conclusions of inspections by domestic regulators" approach to a "cross-border regulatory cooperation" mechanism.

The Archives Rules provide that, among other things, (i) in relation to the international offering and listing activities of domestic enterprises, the domestic enterprises are required to strictly comply with the requirements on confidentiality and archives management, establish a sound confidentiality and archives system, and take necessary measures to implement their confidentiality and archives management responsibilities; (ii) during the course of an international offering and listing, if a domestic enterprise needs to publicly disclose or provide to securities companies, accounting firms or other securities service providers and international regulators, any materials that contain relevant state secrets, work secrets of government agencies or that have a sensitive impact (i.e., be detrimental to national security or the public interest if divulged), the domestic enterprise should complete the approval/filing and other regulatory procedures; and (iii) working papers produced in mainland China by securities companies and securities service institutions, which provide domestic enterprises with securities services during their international issuance and listing, should be stored in mainland China, and the transmission of all such working papers to recipients outside of mainland China is required to be approved by competent authorities of mainland China.

*Regulations Relating to Anti-Monopoly* 

The Anti-Monopoly Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the PRC and the Provisions on the Review of Concentrations of Undertakings promulgated by the State Administration for Market Regulation require that transactions which are deemed concentrations and involve parties with specified turnover thresholds must be cleared by the State Administration for Market Regulation before they can be completed. Where the participation in concentration of undertakings by way of foreign-funded merger and acquisition of domestic enterprises or any other method which involves national security, the examination of concentration of undertakings shall be carried out pursuant to the provisions of the Anti-Monopoly Law and examination of national security shall be carried out pursuant to the relevant laws and regulations. Failure to comply with above regulations may result in an order to stop concentration, dispose the shares/assets or transfer the operation within a stipulated period, or adopt other necessary measures to reinstate the pre-concentration status, or fines.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**C.** **Organizational Structure** 

The following diagram illustrates our current corporate structure, which includes our significant subsidiaries as of the date of this annual report:

![Graphic](coe-20251231x20f002.jpg)

Notes:

⁎The holding company in which the investors hold their interests

†Our operating subsidiaries

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) Jack Jiajia Huang and Ting Shu through their holding vehicles, which are wholly owned by TB Family Trust established for the benefits of Mr. Huang and Ms. Shu and their family members, beneficially owned 24.5% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 38.8% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. Mr. Huang by himself and through his own holding vehicles, which are wholly owned by HH Talent Trust established for the benefits of Mr. Huang and his family members, beneficially owned 8.5% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 2.4% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as- converted basis as of March 18, 2026. DCM Funds, including DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., DCM Ventures China Turbo Fund, L.P. and DCM Ventures China Turbo Affiliates Fund, L.P., beneficially owned 18.9% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 45.4% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. HongShan Investment Funds, including HSG Venture V Holdco I, Ltd., beneficially owned 7.9% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 2.2% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026. Golien Ltd beneficially owned 5.3% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 1.5% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as- converted basis as of March 18, 2026. Other shareholders including certain principal shareholders, beneficially own 34.9% of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026, which represents 9.7% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares on an as-converted basis as of March 18, 2026.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) Each of Noel Lee, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que, Arman James Manalang and Samuel Celestino holds 0.000001% of the equity interest in Philippines Co II. Each of Noel Lee, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que, Arman James Manalang, and Samuel Celestino is a director of Philippines Co II. We entered into contractual arrangements with some of these individual shareholders which provide us an exclusive option to purchase all of these individual shareholders' equity interests in Philippines Co II and the power to exercise their shareholder rights.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(3) Each of Cindy Chun Tang, Frank Lin, Rommel Quozon, Janice Elizabeth Santos and Anna Marie Rivera holds 0.0002% of the equity interest in Philippines Co III. Each of Cindy Chun Tang, Frank Lin, Rommel Quozon, Janice Elizabeth Santos and Anna Marie Rivera is a director of Philippines Co III. We entered into contractual arrangements with one of these individual shareholders which provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the individual shareholder's equity interests in Philippines Co III and the power to exercise their respective shareholder rights.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(4) In July 2018, HelloWorld Online Education Group, or Helloworld Online Cayman, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of 51Talk Online Education Group.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(5) In December 2021, HelloWorld Online Education Pte. Ltd., or HelloWorld Online Singapore, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online Cayman.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(6) In August 2018, HelloWorld Online Education Group (HK) limited, or Helloworld Online HK, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online Cayman.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(7) In April 2022, 51TALK TRAINING SDN. BHD, or 51TALK TRAINING MAS, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(8) In November 2022, Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd., or Helloworld Education Thailand, was incorporated as a subsidiary of our company to operate our business in Thailand. HelloWorld Online Singapore, Ms. Piyanuch Thiensri and Ms. Chulaluk Aramruangsakul hold 49%, 26% and 25% of the equity interest in Helloworld Education Thailand, respectively. HelloWorld Online Singapore holds ordinary shares, and each ordinary share is entitled to one vote. Ms. Piyanuch Thiensri and Ms. Chulaluk Aramruangsakul hold preference shares, and ten preference shares are entitled to one vote. As a result, we, through HelloWorld Online Singapore, hold 90.6% of the voting power of Helloworld Education Thailand.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(9) In September 2018, Beijing HelloWorld Online Technology Co., Ltd., or HelloWorld Online, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Online HK.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(10) In March 2023, Darb Al-Najah Training Company, or Darb Al-Najah was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore to operate the international business in Saudi Arabia.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(11) In July 2023, HelloWorld Online Education Jordan LLC, or HelloWorld Jordan, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of our Company to operate the international business in Jordan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(12) In January 2024, HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT -FZCO, or UAE INVESTMENT, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore in United Arab Emirates.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(13) In February 2024, Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ, or UAE Training, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore in United Arab Emirates.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(14) In July 2025, HELLOWORLD ONLINE EDUCATION VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED, or HELLOWORLD ONLINE EDUCATION VIETNAM, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of HelloWorld Online Singapore in Vietnam.

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**Contractual Arrangement with Our Subsidiaries in the Philippines and Its Shareholders** 

Under the Philippine Corporation Code, the business, assets and affairs of a corporation are handled and managed by a board of directors, which is composed of the number of individuals mandated under the corporation's articles of incorporation. Philippine law further requires that each director own at least one share of stock in his or her name in the books of the corporation. In order to comply with the foregoing, there are five individual shareholders in each of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III, holding an aggregate of 0.000005% and 0.001% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III, respectively. We have entered into (i) contracts with Philippines Co II, and some of the shareholders of Philippines Co II, i.e., Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que and Samuel Celestino, which we refer to as the signing shareholders of Philippines Co II; and (ii) contracts with Philippines Co III and one shareholder of Philippines Co III, Frank Lin, which we refer to as the signing shareholder of Philippines Co III.

51Talk, Philippines Co II and the signing shareholders of Philippines Co II entered into exclusive option agreements on August 31, 2015. Under the exclusive option agreements by and among Philippines Co II, each of the signing shareholders of Philippines Co II and 51Talk, in consideration of the payment of US$1.0 by 51Talk, each of the signing shareholders irrevocably granted 51Talk a binding and exclusive right to purchase or designate one or more persons to purchase, equity interests in Philippines Co II then held by each shareholder at once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at 51Talk's sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price of US$1.0. Without 51Talk's prior written consent, Philippines Co II's signing shareholders shall not sell, transfer, mortgage, or otherwise dispose in any manner any material assets of Philippines Co II or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Philippines Co II in an amount exceeding US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interests; or cause Philippines Co II to execute any contract with a price exceeding US$100,000, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business. Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Philippines Co II shall not be dissolved or liquidated without prior written consent by 51Talk. The signing shareholders of Philippines Co II waive their rights of first refusal in regard to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Philippines Co II to 51Talk (if any), give consents to the execution by each other shareholder of Philippines Co II with 51Talk and Philippines Co II the exclusive option agreements, the equity interest pledge agreements and the powers of attorney, and accept not to take any actions in conflict with such documents executed by other shareholders. The signing shareholders of Philippines Co II agree to promptly donate any profits, interests, dividends, or proceeds of liquidation to 51Talk or any other person designated by 51Talk to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws. These agreements shall remain in effect until all equity interests in Philippines Co II held by the signing shareholders have been transferred or assigned to 51Talk and/or any other person designed by 51Talk in accordance with this agreement. The signing shareholders of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co II do not have any right to terminate the exclusive option agreements in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

51Talk, Philippines Co III and the signing shareholder of Philippines Co III entered into exclusive option agreements on February 1, 2016. Such exclusive option agreements contain terms substantially similar to the exclusive option agreements described above.

In the opinion of our Philippines counsel, Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan, the contractual arrangements in respect of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III are valid, binding and enforceable under current laws of the Philippines.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**D.** **Property, Plants and Equipment** 

We maintain offices in Pasig City, Philippines, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and other places outside mainland China with an aggregate of 9,642 square meters. These facilities accommodate part of our sales and marketing and general and administrative activities. We also maintain offices in mainland China with an aggregate of 3,434 square meters accommodating part of our product development and general and administrative activities.

We lease all of the facilities that we currently occupy from independent third parties.

We believe that the facilities that we currently lease are adequate to meet our needs for the foreseeable future, and we believe that we will be able to obtain adequate facilities, principally through leasing of additional properties, to accommodate our future expansion plans.

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#### ITEM 4.A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not Applicable.

#### ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and their related notes included in this annual report on Form 20-F. This report contains forward-looking statements. See "Forward-Looking Information." In evaluating our business, you should carefully consider the information provided under the caption "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors" in this annual report on Form 20-F.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**A.** **Operating Results** 

#### Overview
We are a global online education platform with core expertise in English education. Our mission is to make quality education accessible and affordable. Recognizing the strong demand for improving English proficiency and the lack of effective and affordable solutions, our founders started with English education as the first step of our journey.

Prior to the second half of 2021, we focused primarily on offering one-on-one lessons to K-12 students and post-secondary students in mainland China, connecting them with our pool of foreign tutors. In response to the regulatory developments in the private education sector in mainland China since mid-2021, we have stopped selling lessons taught by foreign tutors to K-12 students in mainland China and have developed and transitioned into new service offerings that continue to leverage our expertise in English education and our pool of English tutors. Our new business offerings focus on one-on-one English lessons taught by foreign tutors to students in countries and regions outside of mainland China. Our historical operational and financial data is not indicative of future operational and financial performances, particularly due to the transition described above.

Our reporting currency is United States dollars. The functional currency of our company and our subsidiaries incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore is United States dollars, the functional currency of the Philippines entities is Peso, the functional currency of the Thailand entity is Thai Baht, the functional currency of Saudi is Saudi Riyal, the functional currency of the Malaysia entity is Ringgit, the functional currency of United Arab Emirates entities is Dirham and the functional currency of the mainland China entities in our company is RMB, the functional currency of the Jordan entity is Jordanian Dinar and the functional currency of the Vietnam entity is Vietnamese Dong. In the consolidated financial statements, the entities located in mainland China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Vietnam have been translated into USD. Assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rates on the balance sheet date, equity amounts are translated at historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average of exchange rates during their respective reporting period.

Our net revenues increased from US$27.1 million in 2023 to US$50.7 million in 2024, and further to US$95.6 million in 2025. Our gross billings increased from US$39.9 million in 2023 to US$69.6million in 2024 and further to US$127.6 million in 2025. We define gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received and receivable from third party payment platforms for the sale of course packages and services in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. Our net losses in 2023, 2024 and 2025 were US$15.0 million, US$7.3 million and US$16.9 million, respectively.

#### Selected Income Statement Items

#### Net Revenues
***In 2023, 2024 and 2025, we generated net revenues of US$27.1 million, US$50.7 million and US$95.6 million, respectively. We generally collect fees in advance, which we initially record as advances from students. We mainly offer prepaid credit packages with minimum monthly consumption for our students to purchase. For prepaid credit packages, fees for lessons that have expired are automatically recognized as revenues. We had advances from students from international business of US$27.2 million, US$45.1 million, and US$76.6 million, as of December 31, 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively. Our net revenues are presented net of value - added tax.***

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#### Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues primarily consists of service fees to our tutors who delivered paid lessons, payment processing fees charged by third party payment channels, cost of server and bandwidth and compensation to personnel providing support for our services. We recorded cost of revenues of US$6.3 million, US$11.2 million and US$24.9 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

#### Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, and to a lesser extent, product development expenses. The following table sets forth, for the years indicated, our operating expenses, in absolute amounts and as percentages of total net revenues:

---

| | | | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023**<br>**US$** | <br>**%** | **2024**<br>**US$** | <br>**%** | **2025**<br>**US$** | <br>**%** |
|  | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** |
| **Operating expenses:** |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Sales and marketing | 23637 | 87.2% | 33388 | 65.9% | 62307 | 65.2% |
| General and administrative | 7727 | 28.5% | 10615 | 20.9% | 17303 | 18.1% |
| Product development | 3088 | 11.4% | 3571 | 7.0% | 5476 | 5.7% |
| Total operating expenses | 34452 | 127.1% | 47574 | 93.8% | 85086 | 89.0% |

---

Our sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of our sales and marketing personnel related expenses and marketing and branding expenses.

Our general and administrative expenses primarily consist of our management and administrative personnel related expenses. Our general and administrative expenses also include professional service fees as well as share -based compensation expenses.

Our product development expenses primarily consist of personnel related expenses for employees involved in course content development, as well as for those involved in the research and development of technology for our online and mobile platforms.

***Taxation***

*Cayman Islands*

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current law of the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to income or capital gains tax. In addition, dividend payments are not subject to withholding tax in the Cayman Islands.

*Singapore*

Our wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, HelloWorld Online Education Pte. Ltd., is subject to 17% Singapore corporate income tax on its taxable income generated from operations in Singapore for the year 2025. In 2025, HelloWorld Online Education Pte. Ltd. was in a loss position, hence no taxable profit was reported during such period.

*Malaysia*

Our subsidiary in Malaysia, 51TALK TRAINING SDN. BHD was incorporated in April 2022. Under the prevailing Malaysian tax law (Income Tax Act 1967 and Budget 2024 provisions), the taxable income generated by the company should be subjected to 15% for the first MYR0.15 million taxable income, 17% for taxable income between MYR0.15 million to MYR0.6 million, and 24% thereafter, while it qualifies as a resident small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). Non-SME resident companies are subject to a uniform 24% corporate income tax rate. The subsidiary was a SME for the year ended December 31, 2023 and became a non-SME for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2025.

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*Thailand*

Our subsidiary in Thailand, Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd., was incorporated in 2022. The income is subject to Thailand tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

*Saudi Arabia*

Our subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, Darb Al - Najah Training Company, was incorporated in 2023. The income is subject to Saudi Arabia tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

*United Arab Emirates*

Our subsidiaries in United Arab Emirates, HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT-FZCO and Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ were incorporated in 2024. The income is subject to United Arab Emirates tax laws. The income tax rate is 9% on taxable profits.

*Hong Kong*

Commencing from the year of assessment 2018/2019, the first HK$2 million of profits earned by our subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong (being our former wholly owned subsidiary COE HK Co I and our wholly owned subsidiary COE HK Co II and Helloworld Online HK) have been taxed at half the current tax rate of 16.5% (i.e., 8.25%) while the remaining profits continue to be taxed at the existing 16.5% tax rate. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, there was no taxable profit for COE HK Co II. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, there was no taxable profit for Helloworld Online HK. In addition, payments of dividends by our subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong to us are not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.

*Philippines*

Philippines Co II was incorporated in the Philippines and subjected to corporate income tax in the Philippines at a rate of 25%.

Philippines Co III is subject to a corporate income tax of 20% of the taxable net income on all income derived during each taxable year from sources within and outside of the Philippines. In addition to the corporate income tax, these two subsidiaries are also subject to 12% of Value Added Tax on all income generated within the Philippines. Prior to the Ease of Paying Taxes Act (Republic Act No. 11976), which took effect on January 22, 2024, the VAT on services was based on gross receipts.

Payments of dividends by Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III are subject to withholding tax in the Philippines at the rate of 25%. As of December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, we did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of the two subsidiaries in the Philippines on the basis of our current intent to permanently reinvest the undistributed earnings.

*Vietnam*

Our subsidiary, Helloworld Online Education Vietnam Company Limited, is established in Vietnam in July, 2025 and is subject to Vietnam tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

*Jordan*

Our subsidiary, HelloWorld Online Education Jordan LLC, is established in Jordan and is subject to Jordan tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

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*PRC*

Our subsidiary in mainland China are companies incorporated under PRC law and, as such, are subject to mainland China enterprise income tax on their taxable income in accordance with the PRC income tax laws. Pursuant to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008, and was amended on February 24, 2017, and December 29, 2018, a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate is generally applicable to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises, except where a special preferential rate applies. The enterprise income tax is calculated based on the entity's global income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards.

Our subsidiaries in mainland China are subject to value-added tax at a rate of 6% on services, and 9% or 13% on the goods or products we provide, less any deductible value-added tax we have already paid or borne. Our subsidiaries in mainland China are also subject to surcharges on value-added tax payments in accordance with PRC law.

**Results of Operations**

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the years indicated, both in absolute amounts and as percentages of our net revenues. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this annual report. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

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| | | | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  | **For the Year Ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2023** | **2024** | **2024** | **2025** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **%** | **US$** | **%** | **US$** | **%** |
|  | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** | **(in thousands, except for percentages)** |
| Net revenues | 27111 | 100.0 | 50692 | 100.0 | 95601 | 100.0 |
| Cost of revenues | (6322) | 23.3 | (11164) | 22.0 | (24944) | 26.1 |
| Gross profit | 20789 | 76.7 | 39528 | 78.0 | 70657 | 73.9 |
| Operating expenses |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Sales and marketing expenses | (23637) | 87.2 | (33388) | 65.9 | (62307) | 65.2 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Product development expenses | (3088) | 11.4 | (3571) | 7.0 | (5476) | 5.7 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;General and administrative expenses | (7727) | 28.5 | (10615) | 20.9 | (17303) | 18.1 |
| Loss from operations | (13663) | 50.4 | (8046) | 15.9 | (14429) | 15.1 |
| Interest income | 165 | 0.6 | 229 | 0.5 | 358 | 0.4 |
| Other (expenses)/income, net | (1416) | 5.2 | 771 | 1.5 | (1545) | 1.6 |
| Loss before income tax | (14914) | 55.0 | (7046) | 13.9 | (15616) | 16.3 |
| Income tax expenses | (118) | 0.4 | (276) | 0.5 | (1242) | 1.3 |
| Net loss | (15032) | 55.4 | (7322) | 14.4 | (16858) | 17.6 |
| Less: net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests |  |  | (87) |  | (54) |  |
| Net loss, all attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders | (15032) |  | (7235) |  | (16804) |  |

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#### The Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2024
*Net Revenues*

*Our net revenues from our international business operations increased by 88.6% from US$50.7 million in 2024 to US$95.6 million in 2025. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in the number of paid lessons booked driven by the increase in the number of active students of our international business. The number of active students with general lesson consumption increased by 81.2% from 97.5 thousand in 2024 to 176.7 thousand in 2025. The number of active students is the main driver for our revenue. We track the number of active students as a key indicator for our business growth and manage our course offerings and sales strategies accordingly.*

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*Cost of Revenues*

Our cost of revenues from our international business operations increased by 123.4% from US$11.2 million in 2024 to US$24.9 million in 2025. The increase was primarily due to the increase in total service fees paid to tutors, which was mainly resulting from an increased number of paid lessons. The total amount of service fees paid to tutors for delivering paid lessons increased by 101.2% from US$8.9 million in 2024 to US$18.0 million in 2025.

*Gross Profit*

As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit from our international business operations was US$39.5 million in 2024 and US$70.7 million in 2025. Our gross margin decreased from 78.0% in 2024 to 73.9% in 2025. The decrease was mainly attributable to the increased payment processing fee due to the larger gross billings.

*Operating Expenses*

Our operating expenses from our international business operations increased by 78.8% from US$47.6 million in 2024 to US$85.1 million in 2025. The increase was mainly due to the increases in sales and marketing expenses.

*Sales and Marketing Expenses*

Our sales and marketing expenses from our international business operations increased by 86.6% from US$33.4 million in 2024 to US$62.3 million in 2025. The increase in headcount and personnel-related expenses, and the increase in marketing and branding expenses resulting from intensified marketing and branding activities.

*General and Administrative Expenses*

Our general and administrative expenses from our international business operations increased by 63.0% from US$10.6 million in 2024 to US$17.3 million in 2025. This increase was primarily due to the increase in headcount and personnel-related expenses.

*Product Development Expenses*

Our product development expenses from our international business operations increased by 53.3% from US$3.6 million in 2024 to US$5.5 million in 2025. The increase was primarily due to the increase in headcount and personnel-related expenses.

*Other income / (expenses), net*

We recorded other income, net from our international business operations of US$0.8 million in 2024 and other expense, net of US$1.5 million in 2025. The other income, net in 2024 mainly include the reversal of the provision for interests and penalties of the taxes that were recognized in 2023. The other expense, net in 2025 mainly include foreign exchange losses.

*Income Tax Expenses*

We recorded income tax expenses from our international business operations of US$0.3 million in 2024 and US$1.2 million in 2025, respectively.

*Net loss*

As a result of the foregoing, we incurred net loss from our international business operations of US$7.3 million and US$16.9 million in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

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#### The Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2023
*Net Revenues*

*Our net revenues from our international business operations increased by 87% from US$27.1 million in 2023 to US$50.7 million in 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in the number of paid lessons booked driven by the increase in the number of active students of our international business. The number of active students with general lesson consumption increased by 87.9% from 51.9 thousand in 2023 to 97.5 thousand in 2024. The number of active students is the main driver for our revenue. We track the number of active students as a key indicator for our business growth and manage our course offerings and sales strategies accordingly.*

*Cost of Revenues*

Our cost of revenues from our international business operations increased by 76.6% from US$6.3 million in 2023 to US$11.2 million in 2024. The increase was primarily due to the increase in total service fees paid to tutors, which was mainly resulting from the delivery of an increased number of paid lessons. The total amount of service fees paid to tutors for delivering paid lessons increased by 70.5% from US$5.2 million in 2023 to US$8.9 million in 2024.

*Gross Profit*

As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit from our international business operations was US$20.8 million in 2023 and US$39.5 million in 2024. Our gross margin increased from 76.7% in 2023 to 78.0% in 2024. The increase was mainly attributable to an increase in the price for prepaid credit packages.

*Operating Expenses*

Our operating expenses from our international business operations increased by 38.1% from US$34.5 million in 2023 to US$47.6 million in 2024. The increase was mainly due to the increases in sales and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses and product development expenses.

*Sales and Marketing Expenses*

Our sales and marketing expenses from our international business operations increased by 41.3% from US$23.6 million in 2023 to US$33.4 million in 2024. The increase was primarily due to the increase in headcount and personnel - related expenses and the increase in advertising and promotion fees for our international business.

*General and Administrative Expenses*

Our general and administrative expenses from our international business operations increased by 37.4% from US$7.7 million in 2023 to US$10.6 million in 2024. This increase was primarily due to the increase in headcount and personnel - related expenses

*Product Development Expenses*

Our product development expenses from our international business operations increased by 15.6% from US$3.1 million in 2023 to US$3.6 million in 2024. The increase was primarily due to an increase in the number of technology and course development - related personnel in the international business.

*Other income / (expenses), net*

We recorded other expenses, net from our international business operations of US$1.4 million in 2023 and other income, net of US$0.8 million in 2024. The fluctuation was primarily due to, in 2024, the reversal of the provision for interests and penalties of the taxes that were recognized in 2023.

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*Income Tax Expenses*

We recorded income tax expenses from our international business operations of US$0.1 million in 2023 and US$0.3 million in 2024, respectively.

*Net loss*

As a result of the foregoing, we incurred net loss from our international business operations of US$15.0 million and US$7.3 million in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

**Impact of Foreign Currency Fluctuation**

See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may materially and adversely affect our results of operations" and "Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Foreign Exchange Risk."

**Impact of Governmental Policies**

See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Global Operations" and "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**B.** **Liquidity and Capital Resources** 

**Cash Flows and Working Capital**

51Talk Online Education Group is a holding company with no operations of its own. 51Talk Online Education Group may, through capital contributions or loans, provide funding to its wholly owned subsidiaries in Hong Kong or subject to the satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements, to its wholly owned mainland China subsidiaries. In addition, subsidiaries of 51Talk Online Education Group pay service fees to certain mainland China subsidiary of 51Talk Online Education Group pursuant to operating management service agreements, marketing service agreements and research and development service agreements. To effectively manage cash flow within our organization, we have put in place relevant cash management policies. For a more detailed description of cash flows within our organization and our cash management policies, see "Item 3. Key Information—Cash Flows through Our Organization."

Our ability to distribute earnings to U.S. investors is limited. We are a Cayman Islands holding company, and we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur. When any of our subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Our subsidiaries' ability to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. In addition, our subsidiaries may be subject to restrictions imposed by local laws and regulations.

In addition, under laws and regulations of mainland China, our mainland China subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on foreign exchange and cross-border cash transfers, including to our holding company 51Talk Online Education Group and to U.S. investors. To the extent cash or other assets in the business is in mainland China or a mainland China entity, the funds or other assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of mainland China due to the imposition of restrictions and limitations by the PRC government on the ability of 51Talk Online Education Group or its subsidiaries to transfer cash or other assets. As of the date of this annual report, there is no equivalent or similar restriction or limitation in Hong Kong on cash or other assets transfers in, or out of, our Hong Kong entities, except for the transfer of funds involving money laundering and criminal activities. However, if restrictions or limitations were to become applicable to cash or other asset transfers in and out of Hong Kong entities in the future, the funds or other assets in our Hong Kong entities may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of Hong Kong. There is no assurance that the ability of us or our subsidiaries to transfer cash will not subject to further limitations or restrictions imposed by the PRC government. Our subsidiaries did not make cash dividends or other distributions to 51Talk Online Education Group, the holding company, or its offshore subsidiaries, in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Going forward, our subsidiaries intend to retain most, if not all, of their available funds and any future earnings.

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Our principal sources of liquidity have been proceeds from our equity offerings and cash generated from operating activities. As of December 31, 2025, we had US$39.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, and time deposits. Cash and cash equivalent consists of cash held in demand deposit accounts managed by financial institutions, which have original maturities of less than three months and unrestricted as to withdrawal and use.

As of December 31, 2025, we and our subsidiaries held cash, cash equivalents and time deposits in the amount of US$13.6 million, SAR57.5 million, SGD0.4 million, MYR2.5 million, HKD21.2 million, RMB19.3 million and THB60.7 million in bank accounts in mainland China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand, and our consolidated entities in mainland China held cash, cash equivalents in the amount of US$2.4 million in mainland China, which included cash reserved to settle payables to our mainland China subsidiaries.

We believe our cash and cash equivalents on hand will be sufficient to meet our current and anticipated needs for general corporate purposes for at least the next 12 months. We may, however, need additional cash resources in the future if we experience changes in business conditions or other developments. We may also need additional cash resources in the future if we find and wish to pursue opportunities for investment, acquisition, capital expenditure or similar actions. If we determine that our cash requirements exceed the amount of cash and cash equivalents we have on hand, we may seek to issue equity or equity linked securities or obtain debt financing. The issuance and sale of additional equity would result in further dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could result in operating covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

Our consolidated financial statements for 2025 had been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities during the normal course of operations. We incurred net losses of US$15.0 million, US$7.3 million and US$16.9 million from international business operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Accumulated deficits were US$370.4 million as of December 31, 2025. The net current liabilities were US$9.3 million, US$16.8 million and US$35.0 million as of December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The operating cash inflows were US$0.6 million, US$5.8 million and US$11.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. We assess our liquidity by our ability to generate cash from operating activities to fund our operations, attract investors and borrow funds on favorable economic terms.

***Operating Activities***

Net cash provided by operating activities from our international business operations in 2024 and 2025 was US$5.8 million and US$11.8 million, respectively. The year over year increase from 2024 to 2025 was primarily due to the increase in advances from students.

Net cash provided by operating activities from our international business operations in 2023 and 2024 was US$0.6 million and US$5.8 million, respectively. The year over year increase from 2023 to 2024 was primarily due to the increase in advances from students.

***Investing Activities***

Net cash used in investing activities from international business operations amounted to US$1.0 million in 2025, which was primarily attributable to purchase of PPE and netted off by withdrawal of deposits.

Net cash provided by investing activities from international business operations amounted to US$0.5 million in 2024, which was primarily attributable to withdrawal of time deposits.

Net cash provided by investing activities from our international business operations amounted to US$2.4 million in 2023, which was primarily attributable to withdrawal of time deposits.

***Financing Activities***

Net cash provided by financing activities from international business operations in 2025 amounted to US$0.2 million, which was mainly due to proceeds from exercise of stock options.

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Net cash provided by financing activities from international business operations in 2024 amounted to US$0.2 million, which was mainly due to capital injection from noncontrolling interests.

Net cash used in financing activities from international business operations in 2023 amounted to nil.

***Capital Expenditures***

Our capital expenditures are incurred primarily in connection with leasehold improvements and investments in office furniture, computers and servers. Our capital expenditures from our international business were US$0.3 million, US$0.3 million and US$2.3 million in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. We intend to continue to utilize real estate leasing in order to allocate our capital resources cost - efficiently. We may make acquisitions of businesses and properties that complement our operations when suitable opportunities arise.

**Material Cash Requirements**

Other than the ordinary cash requirements for our operations, our material cash requirements as of December 31, 2025, and any subsequent interim period primarily include our operating lease obligations and purchase commitments.

The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2025:

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | <br>**Total** | **Less than**<br>**1 year** | **More than**<br>**3 years** |
|  | **in US$ thousands** | **in US$ thousands** | **in US$ thousands** |
| Operating lease obligations<sup>(1)</sup> | 3053 | 1686 |  |
| Purchase commitments<sup>(2)</sup> | 724 | 724 |  |

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Notes:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) Represents our non-cancelable leases for our offices and learning centers, which include all future cash outflows under ASC Topic 842, leases and the operating leases that have not commenced as of December 31, 2025.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) Purchase commitments mainly include minimum commitments for enterprise routine operations and short-term lease payment.

We intend to fund our existing and future material cash requirements primarily with anticipated cash flows from operations, our existing cash balance and other financing alternatives. We will continue to make cash commitments, including capital expenditures, to support our business.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**C.** **Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, etc.** 

**Technology**

***Network infrastructure***

Building a reliable, scalable and secure technology infrastructure is crucial to our ability to support our lessons and the various services that we provide to our students on our online platforms. We manage our lesson delivery system mainly using our proprietary technology, and to a lesser extent, commercially available technology. We have built a robust technology infrastructure to optimize the performance of our *Air Class* platform.

The telecommunication infrastructure in the Philippines, Malaysia and certain other countries and regions where we conduct our business is less developed. We have designed our infrastructure based on our insights into the local environment to ensure an optimal streaming experience for our tutors and our students. We work with leading network providers in the Philippines and have employed an exclusive network infrastructure to support our online performance by increasing stability and reliability since April 2017. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Unexpected network interruptions, security breaches or computer virus attacks and system failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations."

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All of our servers and routers, including backup servers, are currently hosted by third-party service providers in Singapore. We back up our databases daily. Our IT department regularly monitors the performance of our websites, mobile apps and technology infrastructure to enable us to respond quickly to potential problems. We have not experienced any major problems in our network infrastructure.

***Proprietary CRM and ERP systems***

We developed our proprietary ERP system to manage and integrate our key administrative and operational functions, especially those related to our tutors. Each step of our tutors' interaction with our platform, from initial engagement, to interviews, orientation, teacher training, evaluation and promotion, is systematically managed and processed by our ERP system. We have also developed our proprietary CRM software to organize and manage every aspect of our students' engagement with our platform. Our CRM software manages student information from leads generation through every step of our sales efforts, as well as tracks student feedback and performance on our platform throughout their entire learning experience.

***Data analytics***

Our online and mobile education platforms monitor and collect data with respect to teacher performance and learning outcomes from each lesson, forming a feedback loop that serves as a critical foundation for us to provide ongoing teacher training, update our courses, increase the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts and improve student experience on our platform.

We gather and analyze student data at essentially each stage of their interaction with our platform, beginning from the extensive student questionnaires that they fill out prior and after free trial lessons containing their background information and learning objectives, to their selections of courses and tutors, performance during pre-lesson studying process, evaluation of tutors after each lesson, as well as the lesson memos prepared by the tutors after each lesson. We similarly gather a wide range of data on our tutors based on feedback from our quality assurance team and students, as well as the personal background information. We analyze this information through our internally developed adaption engine and prediction model, which enables us to offer personalized learning experience for our students and personalized teacher training process for our students. We are also able to forecast the frequency of lesson bookings, preferences of course topics and learning progress through the data analytic to make our operations more efficient. Furthermore, our course content development and sales and marketing efforts also heavily draw upon our data analytics capability.

**Intellectual Property**

We own copyrights to the course contents we developed in-house.

Our trademarks, software copyrights, domain names, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights distinguish our program from those of our competitors and contribute to our ability to compete in our target markets. We rely on a combination of copyright and trademark law, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees to protect our intellectual property rights. In addition, under the employment agreements we enter into with our employees, they acknowledge that the intellectual property made by them in connection with their employment with us are our property. We also regularly monitor any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.

As of December 31, 2025, we held eighteen registered domain names relating to our business, nine registered software copyrights and five trademark designs, which were registered and recognized in several jurisdictions as per applicable laws in several jurisdictions.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**D.** **Trend Information** 

Other than as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we are not aware of any trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events for the year ended December 31, 2025 that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our net revenues, income, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that would cause the disclosed financial information to be not necessarily indicative of future operating results or financial conditions.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**E.** **Critical Accounting Estimates** 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires our management to make estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet dates, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or results of operations would be affected. We base our estimates on our own historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable after taking account of our circumstances and expectations for the future based on available information. We evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis.

When reading our consolidated financial statements, you should consider our selection of critical accounting policies, the judgment and other uncertainties affecting the application of such policies and the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions. We believe the following accounting estimate involve the most significant judgments used in the preparation of our financial statements.

**Determination of Standalone Selling Price of Performance Obligations**

We provide two kinds of lessons as distinct performance obligations in one contract: one-on-one private course service and public course service. We did not sell them separately on stand-alone basis, therefore judgment is required to determine standalone selling price for each distinct performance obligation. We determine the stand-alone selling prices using an expected cost plus margin methodology for private courses and the adjusted market assessment methodology for public courses.

**Recent Accounting Pronouncements**

A list of recently issued accounting pronouncements that are relevant to us is included in Note 2 (x) "recently issued accounting pronouncements" to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report.

#### ITEM 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A. **Directors and Senior Management** 

The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors as of the date of this annual report.

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Directors and Executive Officers** | **Age** | **Position/Title** |
| Jack Jiajia Huang | 41 | Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer |
| Ting Shu | 40 | Co-Founder, Director |
| Cindy Chun Tang | 50 | Chief Financial Officer |
| Frank Lin | 61 | Director |
| Jimmy Lai | 70 | Independent Director |
| Xiaoguang Wu | 50 | Independent Director |

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*Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang* is our founder and has served as the chairman of our board of directors and chief executive officer since our inception. Prior to founding our company, he served as an operations manager at Mitsubishi Corporation (China) Co., Ltd. from 2007 to 2010. Mr. Huang received his bachelor's degree in Japanese language from Tsinghua University in 2007. In 2015, Mr. Huang was named a leading entrepreneur under 30 by Cyzone, an entrepreneur service platform in China.

*Ms. Ting Shu* is our co-founder and has served as our director since our inception. From 2010 to 2012, Ms. Shu worked in the enterprise risk services department of Deloitte in China. Prior to that, Ms. Shu co-founded Talk China with Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang in 2007. Ms. Shu received her master's degree in language science from the University of Tokyo in 2010 and her bachelor's degree in Japanese language from Tsinghua University in 2007. Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu are husband and wife.

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*Ms. Cindy Chun Tang* has served as our chief financial officer since October 2022, and served in roles of the finance director, senior finance director and vice president of finance since she joined our company in 2014. Prior to joining 51Talk, Ms. Tang served as a senior financial analyst in Google's Beijing office from 2007 to 2014. Previously, Ms. Tang served as a senior financial analyst with Novo Nordisk, a CSE-listed world leading pharmaceutical manufacturer, a finance manager with Beijing City International School, and a senior auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP. Ms. Tang received a master's degree in western accounting from the Central University of Finance and Economics and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Northeastern University in Shenyang China. Ms. Tang is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in China and Certified Management Accountant designated by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of the Institute of Management Accountants, United States of America.

*Mr. Frank Lin* has served as our director since June 2013. Mr. Lin is a general partner of DCM, a technology venture capital firm. Prior to joining DCM in 2006, Mr. Lin was the chief operating officer of SINA Corporation, a Nasdaq - listed company. He co - founded SINA's predecessor, SinaNet, in 1995 and later guided SINA through its listing on Nasdaq. Mr. Lin had also held various marketing, engineering and managerial positions at Octel Communication Inc. and NYNEX. Mr. Lin currently serves on the board of directors of various DCM portfolio companies, including Tuniu Corporation and QuantaSing Group Limited, which are Nasdaq - listed companies, and Vipshop Holdings Limited, an NYSE - listed company. Mr. Lin received an MBA degree from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College.

*Mr. Jimmy Lai* has served as our independent director since June 2024. Mr. Lai also serves as an independent director of several NYSE - listed companies, including Zepp Corporation (NYSE: ZEPP), FinVolution Group (NYSE: FINV) and Youdao, Inc (NYSE: DAO). Mr. Lai served as our chief financial officer from June 2015 to December 2018. Prior to joining us in 2015, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer for several companies, including Chukong Technologies Corp., a leading mobile entertainment platform company in China, from 2013 to 2015, Gamewave Corporation, a leading webgame company in China, from 2011 to 2013, Daqo New Energy Corp., an NYSE - listed company and a leading polysilicon manufacturer based in China, from 2009 to 2011, Linktone Ltd., a Nasdaq - listed company and a leading provider of wireless interactive entertainment services to consumers in China, from 2008 to 2009 and Palm Commerce Holdings, a leading information technology solution provider for the China lottery industry, from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Lai served as an associate vice president of investor relations at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, a company listed on the NYSE and the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, from 2002 to 2006, and as a controller and director of financial planning at AMX Corporation from 1997 to 2001. Mr. Lai received his MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas and his bachelor's degree in statistics from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Mr. Lai is a certified public accountant licensed in the State of Texas.

*Mr. Xiaoguang Wu* has served as our independent director since June 2016. Mr. Wu is the founding partner of Welight Capital (Hong Kong) Limited. Mr. Wu joined Tencent Inc., a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in 1999 as a member of the early founding team. He worked as a project manager for the research and development team for instant messaging products, a general manager for the internet business division and later became the senior executive vice president of the internet service division and the chief executive officer of Tencent E - Commerce Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Tencent Inc. Mr. Wu has served as a senior management advisor for Tencent Inc. since June 2015. Mr. Wu has extensive experience in product research and development, product planning, product operation and marketing internet businesses. Mr. Wu currently serves on the board of directors of LexinFintech Holdings Ltd., a Nasdaq - listed company, and Haidilao International Holding Ltd., a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed company and a Nasdaq - listed company. Mr. Wu received his EMBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in 2008 and his bachelor of science degree in weather dynamics from Nanjing University in 1996.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B. **Compensation** 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, we paid an aggregate of approximately US$519.4 thousand in cash to our executive officers and our non - executive directors. For share incentive grants to our directors and executive officers, see "—Share Incentive Plan."

Our subsidiaries are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employee's salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, housing fund, unemployment and other statutory benefits. Other than the above-mentioned statutory contributions mandated by applicable laws, rules and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, we have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our executive officers and directors.

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#### Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements
We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers. We may terminate an executive officer's employment for cause at any time without advance notice or remuneration, if (i) the executive officer is convicted or pleads guilty to a felony or to an act of fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement, (ii) the executive officer has been negligent or acted dishonestly to our detriment, (iii) the executive officer has engaged in actions amounting to misconduct or failed to perform his/her duties thereunder and such failure continues after the executive officer is afforded a reasonable opportunity to cure such failure, (iv) the executive officer has died, or (v) the executive officer has a disability which shall mean a physical or mental impairment which, as reasonably determined by our board of directors, renders the executive officer unable to perform the essential functions of his/her employment with us, even with reasonable accommodation that does not impose an undue hardship on our company, for more than 180 days in any 12-month period, unless a longer period is required by applicable law, in which case that longer period would apply. We may also terminate an executive officer's employment by giving a three-month prior written notice. An executive officer may terminate his or her employment at any time by giving a three-month prior written notice.

Each executive officer has agreed to hold, at all times during and after the termination or expiry of his or her employment agreement, in strict confidence and not to use, except as required in the performance of his or her duties in connection with the employment or pursuant to applicable law, any of our confidential information, or the confidential or proprietary information disclosed to the executive officer by or obtained by the executive officer from us either directly or indirectly in writing, orally or otherwise, if specifically indicated to be confidential or reasonably expected to be confidential.

In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions during the term of his or her employment and for two years following the last date of employment. Specifically, each executive officer has agreed not to (i) approach our suppliers, clients, customers or contacts of us or other persons or entities introduced to the executive officer in the executive officer's capacity as our representative for the purposes of doing business with such persons or entities which will harm the business relationship between the company and such persons and/or entities; (ii) unless expressly consented to by us, assume employment with or provide services to any of our competitors, engage, whether as principal, partner, licensor or otherwise, any of our competitors; or (iii) unless expressly consented to by us, seek directly or indirectly, by the offer of alternative employment or other inducement whatsoever, to solicit the services of any of our employees who is employed by us.

We have also entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.

#### Share Incentive Plan

#### 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan
We adopted an employee equity incentive plan in 2013, or the 2013 Plan, and another in 2014, or the 2014 Plan. The 2014 Plan was amended in February 2016. The 2013 Plan and the 2014 Plan are hereinafter collectively referred as the Pre-IPO Plans. The purpose of the Pre-IPO Plans is to attract and retain the best available personnel to provide additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants and to promote the success of the company's business.

We are authorized to grant options or share purchase rights to purchase up to an aggregate of 36,229,922 Class A ordinary shares under the Pre - IPO Plans. The 2013 Plan expired in September 2023 and no additional grants may be made thereunder. The 2014 Plan expired in December 2024 and no additional grants may be made thereunder. As of March 18, 2026, options to purchase an aggregate number of 5,946,640 Class A ordinary shares have been granted and are outstanding, and nil restricted share units have been granted and are outstanding.

The terms of the Pre-IPO Plans are substantially similar. The following paragraphs summarize the terms of the Pre-IPO Plans.

***Types of Awards***. The Pre-IPO Plans permit the awards of options, share appreciation rights, dividend equivalent rights, restricted shares, restricted share units and other rights or benefits under the Pre-IPO Plans.

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***Plan Administration***. Our board of directors administers the Pre-IPO Plans. The board of directors may authorize the chief executive officer to grant any awards and may limit such authority as the board determines from time to time.

***Eligibility***. We may grant awards to our employees, directors and consultants. An employee, director or consultant who has been granted an award may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional awards.

***Designation of Award***. Each award under the Pre-IPO Plans is designated in the award agreement, which is the written agreement evidencing the grant of an award executed by the company and the grantee, including any amendments thereto.

***Conditions of Award***. The board of directors or any entity appointed by the board to administrate the Pre-IPO Plans determines the provisions, terms, and conditions of each award including, but not limited to, the award vesting schedule, repurchase provisions, rights of first refusal, forfeiture provisions, form of payment (cash, shares, or other consideration) upon settlement of the award and payment contingencies.

***Terms of Award***. The term of each award is stated in the relevant award agreement. The specified term of any award will not include any period for which the grantee has elected to defer the receipt of the shares or cash issuable pursuant to the award.

***Transfer Restrictions***. The awards are transferable (i) by will and by the laws of descent and distribution and (ii) during the lifetime of the grantee, to the extent and in the manner authorized by the administrator. The grantee may designate one or more beneficiaries of the grantee's award in the event of the grantee's death on a beneficiary designation form provided by the administrator.

***Time of Granting Awards***. The date of grant of an award is the date on which the administrator makes the determination to grant such award, or such other date as is determined by the administrator.

***Acceleration of Award Upon Corporate Transaction or Change in Control***. Except as provided otherwise in a separate board resolution or an individual award agreement and except for the complete liquidation or dissolution of the company, in the event of a corporate transaction, for the portion of each award under the Pre-IPO Plans that is neither assumed nor replaced, such portion of the award shall automatically become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at fair market value) for all of the shares at the time represented by such portion of the award, immediately prior to the specified effective date of such corporate transaction, provided that the grantee's continuous service has not terminated prior to such date. The portion of the award under the Pre-IPO Plans that is not assumed will terminate under the Pre-IPO Plans to the extent not exercised prior to the consummation of such corporate transaction. Except as provided otherwise in a separate board resolution or an individual award agreement, in the event of a change in control (other than a change in control which also is a corporate transaction), each award which is at the time outstanding under the Pre-IPO Plans automatically will become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at fair market value), immediately prior to the specified effective date of such change in control, for all of the shares at the time represented by such award, provided that the grantee's continuous service has not terminated prior to such date.

***Exercise of Award***. Any award granted under the Pre-IPO Plans is exercisable at such times and under such conditions as determined by the administrator under the terms of the Pre-IPO Plans and specified in the award agreement. An award is deemed to be exercised when written notice of such exercise has been given to the company in accordance with the terms of the award by the person entitled to exercise the award and full payment for the shares with respect to which the award is exercised, including, to the extent selected, use of the broker-dealer sale and remittance procedure to pay the purchase price as provided in the Pre-IPO Plans.

***Term of the Pre-IPO Plans***. The Pre-IPO Plans will continue in effect for a term of ten years unless sooner terminated by the approval of the board of the company with its unanimous resolutions.

***Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Pre-IPO Plans***. The board of directors may at any time amend, suspend or terminate the Pre-IPO Plans, provided, however, that no such amendment shall be made without the approval of the company's shareholders to the extent such approval is required by applicable laws, or if such amendment would change any of the provisions related to (i) the amendment to the terms of any outstanding award granted under the Pre-IPO Plans or (ii) board's right to amend, suspend or terminate the Pre-IPO Plans. No award may be granted during any suspension of the Pre-IPO Plans or after termination of the Pre-IPO Plans. No suspension or termination of the Pre-IPO Plans (including termination of the Pre-IPO Plans after it has served its term) shall adversely affect any rights under awards already granted to a grantee.

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There were no outstanding options granted to our directors and executive officers under the 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan as of March 18, 2026. As of March 18, 2026, other current and former employees as a group held options to purchase 5,946,640 Class A ordinary shares under the 2014 Plan, with exercise prices ranging from US$0.0167 to US$0.904 per Class A ordinary share.

#### Amended and Restated 2016 Plan
We adopted the original 2016 share incentive plan, or the 2016 Plan, in May 2016, which was amended and restated in April 2026. Upon the adoption of the Amended and Restated 2016 share incentive plan, or the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, it replaced the previously adopted 2016 Plan in its entirety and the awards granted and outstanding thereunder remain effective and binding under the amended and restated 2016 Plan. Under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, the maximum aggregate number of shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan is initially 4,600,000 Class A ordinary shares in 2016, plus (i) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year from 2017 through 2026, equal to 1.5% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2027, equal to 1.2% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or, in each case, such lesser number of Class A ordinary shares as may be determined by our board of directors. On January 1, 2026, the maximum aggregate number of shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan was increased to 53,645,627 Class A ordinary shares. As of March 18, 2026, options to purchase an aggregate number of 37,500 Class A ordinary shares have been granted and are outstanding and 13,009,194 restricted share units have been granted and are outstanding. The following paragraphs summarize the terms of the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan.

***Types of Awards***. The Amended and Restated 2016 Plan permits the awards of options, restricted shares and restricted share units.

***Plan Administration***. Our board or a committee of one or more members of our board duly authorized for the purpose of the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan can act as the plan administrator.

***Award Agreement***. Options, restricted shares or restricted share units granted under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan are evidenced by an award agreement that sets forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each grant.

***Eligibility***. We may grant awards to our employees, directors, consultants, or other individuals as determined, authorized and approved by the plan administrator.

***Acceleration of Awards upon Corporate Transactions***. Except otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other written agreement entered into by and between the company and a participant of the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, if a corporate transaction occurs, the plan administrator may, in its sole discretion, provide for (i) any and all awards outstanding to terminate at a specific time in the future and give each participant the right to exercise the vested portion of such awards during a specific period of time as the plan administrator shall determine, or (ii) the purchase of any award for an amount of cash equal to the amount that could have been attained upon the exercise of such award, or (iii) the replacement of such award with other rights or property selected by the plan administrator in its sole discretion or the assumption of or substitution of such award by the successor or surviving corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of Class A ordinary shares and prices, or (iv) payment of award in cash based on the value of Class A ordinary shares on the date of the corporate transaction plus reasonable interest.

***Exercise of Options***. The exercise price in respect of any option will be determined by the plan administrator and set forth in the award agreement which may be a fixed or variable price related to the fair market value of the shares. The exercise price per share subject to an option may be amended or adjusted in the absolute discretion of the plan administrator, the determination of which shall be final, binding and conclusive.

***Vesting Schedule***. In general, the plan administrator determines the vesting schedule, which is set forth in the award agreement.

***Transfer Restrictions***. Awards may not be transferred in any manner by the recipient other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, or pursuant to the other exceptions provided under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, except as otherwise provided by the plan administrator.

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***Termination***. Unless terminated earlier, the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan will terminate automatically in 2030.

The following table summarizes, as of March 18, 2026, the outstanding restricted share units granted to our directors and executive officers under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan.

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| **Name** | **Restricted Share Units** | **Date of Grant** | **Vesting Schedule** |
| Jack Jiajia Huang | 550000 | June 30, 2023 | Approximately three years from the date of grant. |
|  | 1100000 | February 18, 2025 | Approximately three years from the date of grant. |
| Jimmy Lai | 50336 | June 1, 2024 | Approximately two years from the date of grant. |
| Xiaoguang Wu | 91818 | July 1, 2024 | Approximately two years from the date of grant. |
| **Total** | **1792154** |  |  |

---

As of March 18, 2026, other current employees as a group held options to purchase 37,500 Class A ordinary shares under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan, with exercise prices US$0.2610 per Class A ordinary share. As of March 18, 2026, other current employees as a group held 11,217,040 restricted share units under the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C. **Board Practices** 

#### Board of Directors
Our board of directors consists of five directors. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company to qualify to serve as a director. A director may vote with respect to any contract, proposed contract, or arrangement in which he or she is materially interested. A director may exercise all the powers of the company to borrow money, mortgage its business, property and uncalled capital, and issue debentures or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any obligation of the company or of any third party.

#### Committees of the Board of Directors
We have an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee under the board of directors. We have adopted a charter for each of the three committees. Each committee's members and functions are described below.

***Audit Committee*.** Our audit committee consists of Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu and is chaired by Jimmy Lai. We have determined that each of Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu satisfies the "independence" requirements of Section 803 of the NYSE American Company Guide and meet the independence standards under Rule 10A - 3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have determined that Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu qualify as "audit committee financial experts". The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

● selecting the independent registered public accounting firm and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm;

● reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm any audit problems or difficulties and management's response;

● reviewing and approving all proposed related party transactions, as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act;

● discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm;

● reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our accounting and internal control policies and procedures and any special steps taken to monitor and control major financial risk exposures;

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● annually reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our audit committee charter;

● meeting separately and periodically with management and the independent registered public accounting firm;

● monitoring compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics, including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our procedures to ensure proper compliance; and

● reporting regularly to the board.

***Compensation Committee*.** Our compensation committee consists of Frank Lin, Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu, and is chaired by Frank Lin. We have determined that each of Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu satisfies the "independence" requirements of Section 803 of the NYSE American Company Guide. The compensation committee assists the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure, including all forms of compensation, relating to our directors and executive officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee meeting during which their compensation is deliberated upon. The compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:

● reviewing and approving, or recommending to the board for its approval, the compensation for our chief executive officer and other executive officers;

● reviewing and recommending to the board for determination with respect to the compensation of our non-employee directors;

● reviewing periodically and approving any incentive compensation or equity plans, programs or other similar arrangements; and

● selecting compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser only after taking into consideration all factors relevant to that person's independence from management.

***Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee*.** Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Jack Jiajia Huang, Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu, and is chaired by Jack Jiajia Huang. We have determined that each of Jimmy Lai and Xiaoguang Wu satisfies the "independence" requirements of Section 803 of the NYSE American Company Guide. The nominating and corporate governance committee assists the board in selecting individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for, among other things:

● recommending nominees to the board for election or re-election to the board, or for appointment to fill any vacancy on the board;

● reviewing annually with the board the current composition of the board with regards to characteristics such as independence, knowledge, skills, experience, expertise, diversity and availability of service to us;

● selecting and recommending to the board the names of directors to serve as members of the audit committee and the compensation committee, as well as of the nominating and corporate governance committee itself;

● developing and reviewing the corporate governance principles adopted by the board and advising the board with respect to significant developments in the law and practice of corporate governance and our compliance with such laws and practices; and

● evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the board as a whole.

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#### Duties of Directors
Under Cayman Islands law, our directors have a duty of loyalty to act honestly in good faith with a view to our best interests, and not to use their position for personal gains. Our directors also have a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his or her duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his or her knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our memorandum and articles of association. A shareholder may have the right to seek damages in our name if a duty owed by our directors is breached.

#### Terms of Directors and Officers
Our officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of the board. Each director is not subject to a term of office and holds office until such time as his successor takes office or until the earlier of his death, resignation or removal from office by ordinary resolution or the unanimous written resolution of all shareholders. A director will be removed from office automatically if, among other things, the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; or (ii) dies or is found by our company to be of unsound mind.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D. **Employees** 

We have general administrative, content development and sales and marketing personnel in Hong Kong, Malaysia, mainland China, Thailand and other countries and regions where we operate. In particular, our Philippines offices host our independently contracted teacher engaging and training team, free trial tutors, and part of our general and administrative personnel.

We had a total of 310, 539 and 729 full - time employees as of December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 42 employees in research and development, 345 employees in sales and marketing, 258 employees in management and administration, 36 employees in free trial tutors and teaching support and 48 employees in learning partner. In addition to our full - time employees, some of our subsidiaries, such as Beijing Helloworld Online Technology Co., Ltd., HelloWorld Online Education Group (HK) Limited and HelloWorld Online Education Pte. Ltd., entered into services outsource agreements with independent third - party suppliers in 2023, 2024 and 2025, through which they have outsourced part of their marketing and sales functions. As of December 31, 2025, we had 1,359 outsourced personnel mainly performing sales and marketing functions for us.

We enter into employment contracts with our full-time employees. For our full-time employees in countries and regions outside mainland China, the employment contracts we have with them contain confidentiality and non-compete provisions. For our full-time employees in mainland China, we also enter into stand-alone confidentiality and non-compete agreements with them. In addition to salaries and benefits, we provide performance-based bonuses for our full-time employees and commission-based compensation for our sales and marketing force.

Independently contracted foreign tutors and Chinese tutors delivering paid lessons on our platform are generally not our full - time employees. We enter into service contracts with such independently contracted tutors, and pay service fees to them based on the number of lessons they teach and their teaching performance. We had approximately 9.8 thousand independently contracted foreign tutors available to deliver lessons for our international business on our platform as of December 31, 2025.

As required by regulations in mainland China, we participate in various employee social security plans that are organized by municipal and provincial governments for our full-time employees in mainland China, including pension, unemployment insurance, childbirth insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance and housing insurance. We are required under PRC law to make contributions from time to time to employee benefit plans for our mainland China-based full-time employees at specified percentages of the salaries, bonuses and certain allowances of such employees, up to a maximum amount specified by the local governments in mainland China.

Our employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreement. We believe that we maintain a good working relationship with our employees, and we have not experienced any significant labor disputes.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;E. **Share Ownership** 

Except as specifically noted, the following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 18, 2026:

● each of our directors and executive officers; and

● each person known to us to own beneficially 5% or more of our ordinary shares.

The calculations in the table below are based on 360,438,897 ordinary shares outstanding as of March 18, 2026, comprising of 256,831,917 Class A ordinary shares (excluding 6,909,975 Class A ordinary shares issued to our depositary bank for bulk issuance of ADSs reserved for future issuances upon the exercising or vesting of awards granted under the issuer's share incentive plan) and 103,606,980 Class B ordinary shares.

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we have included shares that the person has the right to acquire within 60 days, including through the exercise of any option, warrant, or other right or the conversion of any other security. These shares, however, are not included in the computation of the percentage ownership of any other person.

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| | | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned** | **Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned** | **Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned** | **Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned** | **Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned** |
|  | <br>**Class A**<br>**ordinary**<br>**Shares** | <br>**Class B**<br>**ordinary**<br>**Shares** | <br>**Total ordinary**<br>**shares on an as-**<br>**converted basis** | **% of total**<br>**ordinary shares on**<br>**an as converted**<br>**basis** | <br>**% of**<br>**aggregate**<br>**voting power** <sup>†</sup> |
| **Directors and Executive Officers:** |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jack Jiajia Huang<sup>(1)</sup> | 72960560 | 45925744 | 118886304 | 33.0% | 41.2% |
| Ting Shu<sup>(2)</sup> | 42457880 | 45925744 | 88383624 | 24.5% | 38.8% |
| Cindy Chun Tang | 1103820 |  | 1103820 | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| Frank Lin <sup>(3)</sup> | 1119495 |  | 1119495 | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| Jimmy Lai | 2931900 |  | 2931900 | 0.8% | 0.2% |
| Xiaoguang Wu<sup>(4)</sup>  | 1358287 |  | 1358287 | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| All directors and executive officers as a group | 79474062 | 45925744 | 125399806 | 34.8% | 41.7% |
| **Principal Shareholders:** |  |  |  |  |  |
| DCM Funds<sup>(5)</sup> | 10607110 | 57681212 | 68288322 | 18.9% | 45.4% |
| Dasheng International Holdings Limited<sup>(2)</sup> | 42457880 | 45925744 | 88383624 | 24.5% | 38.8% |
| HongShan Investment Fund<sup>(6)</sup>  | 28494075 |  | 28494075 | 7.9% | 2.2% |
| HH Talent Holdings Limited<sup>(7)</sup> | 23391300 |  | 23391300 | 6.5% | 1.8% |
| Golien Ltd<sup>(8)</sup>  | 18967560 |  | 18967560 | 5.3% | 1.5% |

---

Notes:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;† For each person and group included in this column, percentage of voting power is calculated by dividing the voting power beneficially owned by such person or group by the voting power of all of our Class A and Class B ordinary shares as a single class. Each holder of Class A ordinary shares is entitled to one vote per share and each holder of our Class B ordinary shares is entitled to ten votes per share on all matters submitted to them for vote. Our Class B ordinary shares are convertible at any time by the holder thereof into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) Represents (i) 7,297,560 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Jack Jiajia Huang, (ii) 41,563,800 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Dasheng Global Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, (iii) 275,000 Class A ordinary shares issuable to Dasheng Global Limited upon the vesting of restricted share units within 60 days after March 18, 2026, (iv) 23,391,300 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs purchased by HH Talent Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, (v) 432,900 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Ting Shu, (vi) 30,390,321 Class B ordinary shares held by Dasheng Global Limited, and (vii) 15,535,423 Class B ordinary shares held by Dasheng Online Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The registered office address of Dasheng Global Limited is Quastisky Building, P.O. Box 4389, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The registered office address of Dasheng Online Limited is c/o Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 905, Quastisky Building, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The registered office address of HH Talent Limited is Coastal Building, Wickham's Cay II, P.O. Box 2221, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Each of Dasheng Global Limited and Dasheng Online Limited is wholly beneficially owned by Dasheng International Holdings Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by TB Family Trust, for which TMF (Cayman) Ltd. acts as the trustee (the "Trustee"). HH Talent Limited is wholly beneficially owned by HH Talent Holdings Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by HH Talent Trust, for which the Trustee also acts as the trustee. S.B. Vanwall Ltd., appointed by the Trustee, is the sole director of Dasheng International Holdings Limited and HH Talent Holdings Limited. The settlors of TB Family Trust are Mr. Huang and Ms. Shu. Mr. Huang, Ms. Shu and their family members are beneficiaries under TB Family Trust. The settlor of HH Talent Trust is Mr. Huang.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) Represents (i) 186,180 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Jack Jiajia Huang, (ii) 41,563,800 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Dasheng Global Limited, (iii) 275,000 Class A ordinary shares issuable to Dasheng Global Limited upon the vesting of restricted share units within 60 days after March 18, 2026, (iv) 432,900 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Ting Shu, (v) 30,390,321 Class B ordinary shares held by Dasheng Global Limited, and (vi) 15,535,423 Class B ordinary shares held by Dasheng Online Limited.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(3) The business address of Frank Lin (also known as Frank Hurst Lin) is 2420 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(4) The business address of Xiaoguang Wu is Suite 2501, Shenzhen Venture Capital Mansion, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(5) Consists of (i) 57,681,212 Class B ordinary shares held by DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., or Hybrid Fund; (ii) 10,017,832 Class A ordinary shares held by DCM Ventures China Turbo Fund, L.P., or Turbo Fund, and (iii) 589,278 Class A ordinary shares held by DCM Ventures China Turbo Affiliates Fund, L.P., or Turbo Affiliates Fund, as reported in a Schedule 13D amendment jointly filed by, among others, Hybrid Fund, Turbo Fund and Turbo Affiliates Fund, on May 7, 2025. The general partner of Hybrid Fund is DCM Hybrid RMB Fund Investment Management, L.P., or Hybrid Fund DGP, whose general partner in turn, is DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd., or Hybrid Fund UGP. The general partner of each of Turbo Fund and Turbo Affiliates Fund is DCM Turbo Fund Investment Management, L.P., or Turbo Fund DGP, whose general partner in turn, is DCM Turbo Fund International, Ltd., or Turbo Fund UGP. F. Hurst Lin (also known as Frank Hurst Lin), Matthew C. Bonner and Andre G. Levi are the directors of each of Hybrid Fund UGP and Turbo Fund UGP and may be deemed to have shared power to dispose of these shares. The business address of Hybrid Fund, Turbo Fund and Turbo Affiliates Fund is 2420 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025, the United States.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(6) Consists of 28,494,075 Class A ordinary shares held by HSG Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. (formerly known as SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd.), an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, as reported in a Schedule 13D amendment jointly filed by, among others, HSG Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. on December 5, 2025. HSG Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. is wholly owned by HongShan Capital Venture Fund V, L.P., whose general partner is HSG Venture V Management, L.P., whose general partner in turn, is HSG Holding Ltd. HSG Holding Ltd is wholly owned by Neil Nanpeng Shen. The registered address of HSG Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. is Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(7) Consists of 23,391,300 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by HH Talent Limited. The registered office address of HH Talent Limited is Coastal Building, Wickham's Cay II, P.O. Box 2221, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. HH Talent Limited is wholly beneficially owned by HH Talent Holdings Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by HH Talent Trust, for which the Trustee also acts as the trustee. S.B. Vanwall Ltd., appointed by the Trustee, is the sole director of Dasheng International Holdings Limited and HH Talent Holdings Limited. The settlors of TB Family Trust are Mr. Huang and Ms. Shu. Mr. Huang, Ms. Shu and their family members are beneficiaries under TB Family Trust. The settlor of HH Talent Trust is Mr. Huang.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(8) Consists of 18,967,560 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs held by Golien Ltd, as reported in a Schedule 13G filed by Golien Ltd, on February 7, 2023. The registered address of Golien Ltd is Suite 1104-06, 11 F, Tower 2, The Gateway, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Each of Golien Ltd and wm100 holding Ltd as the parent of Golien Ltd, has the sole power to direct the voting and disposition of the ADSs held by Golien Ltd. As the shareholders of wm100 holding Ltd, Max Burger and Beat Stefan Burger have joint power to direct the voting and disposition of the ADSs held by Golien Ltd.

Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to ten votes per share. Holders of our Class B ordinary shares may choose to convert their Class B ordinary shares into the same number of Class A ordinary shares at any time. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstance.

To our knowledge, we are not owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by another corporation, by any government or by any other natural or legal persons, severally or jointly. We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company.

To our knowledge, as of March 18, 2026, 245,982,360 of our Class A ordinary shares are held by one record holder in the United States, which is the depositary of our ADS program, representing 95.8% of our total issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares as of such date. As of March 18, 2026, to our knowledge, 57,681,212 Class B ordinary shares are held by DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., or Hybrid Fund, which is registered in the Cayman Islands. The general partner of Hybrid Fund is DCM Hybrid RMB Fund Investment Management, L.P., or Hybrid Fund DGP, whose general partner in turn, is DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd., or Hybrid Fund UGP. The business address of Hybrid Fund DGP and Hybrid Fund UGP is 2420 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025, the United States.

For options and restricted share units granted to our officers, directors and employees, see "—B. Compensation—Share Incentive Plan."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**F.** **Disclosure of a Registrant's Action to Recover Erroneously Awarded Compensation** 

Not applicable.

#### ITEM 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A. **Major Shareholders** 

See "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—E. Share Ownership."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B. **Related Party Transactions** 

#### Contractual Arrangements with Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III and their respective shareholders
We have entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III and some of their respective shareholders. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see "Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure."

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#### Transactions with Shareholders and Affiliates
***Transactions with Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited and its subsidiaries.*** In 2022, Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited and its subsidiaries entered into an offshore service agreement with 51Talk English International Limited. Under the cooperation, 51Talk English International Limited provides agent services to Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiaries and the consolidated VIEs. In 2023, 2024 and 2025, our company also entered into a series of service agreements, with Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiaries and its VIEs. Under these service agreements, Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiaries and its VIEs provide technology service and product development labor service to our company. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the fair value of agent service provided by our company is estimated to be US$0.1 million, which are recognized as net revenues in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss of our company. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the amount of product development labor service received from Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiaries and its VIEs is estimated to be US$2.1 million, and the amount of internet service received from Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiaries and its VIEs is estimated to be US$0.6 million.

#### Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements
See "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements."

#### Share Option Grants
See "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Share Incentive Plan."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**C.** **Interests of Experts and Counsel** 

Not applicable.

#### ITEM 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**A.** **Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information** 

We have appended consolidated financial statements filed as part of this annual report.

#### Legal Proceedings
We are currently not a party to, and are not aware of any threat of, any legal, arbitration or administrative proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, are likely to have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. From time to time, we have become, and may in the future become, a party to various legal or administrative proceedings or claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. Regardless of the outcome, legal or administrative proceedings or claims may have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management attention and other factors.

#### Dividend Policy
We have not previously declared or paid cash dividends, and we currently have no concrete plan to declare or pay any dividends on our shares or ADSs. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We rely principally on dividends from our subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders.

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Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to the approval of our shareholders and applicable laws. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant. If we pay any dividends, we will pay our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our ordinary shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B. **Significant Changes** 

Except as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we have not experienced any significant changes since the date of our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

#### ITEM 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A. **Offering and Listing Details.** 

See "—C. Markets."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B. **Plan of Distribution** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C. **Markets** 

Our ADSs have been listed on the NYSE since June 10, 2016, under the symbol "COE." Prior to December 15, 2022, each of our ADSs represented fifteen Class A ordinary share. On December 15, 2022, we effected a change in the ratio of our ADSs to common shares from one ADS representing fifteen Class A ordinary share to one ADS representing sixty Class A ordinary shares. In May 2023, we transferred the listing of our ADSs from the NYSE to the NYSE American.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D. **Selling Shareholders** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;E. **Dilution** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;F. **Expenses of the Issue** 

Not applicable.

#### ITEM 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A. **Share Capital** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B. **Memorandum and Articles of Association** 

The following are summaries of material provisions of our currently effective sixth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as well as the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares.

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#### Registered Office and Objects
Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of International Corporation Services Ltd, Harbour Place 2<sup>nd</sup> Floor, North Wing, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 472, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1106, Cayman Islands. As set forth in Article 3 of our sixth amended and restated memorandum of association, the objects for which our company is established are unrestricted.

#### Board of Directors
See "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—C. Board Practices."

#### Ordinary Shares
***General.*** Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. All of our outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the ordinary shares are issued in registered form. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and transfer their ordinary shares.

***Dividends.*** The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors. Our post-offering amended and restated articles of association provide that dividends may be declared and paid out of our profits, realized or unrealized, or from any reserve set aside from profits which our board of directors determine is no longer needed. Dividends may also be declared and paid out of share premium account or any other fund or account which can be authorized for this purpose in accordance with the Companies Act. Holders of Class A and Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to the same amount of dividends, if declared.

***Voting Rights.*** In respect of all matters subject to a shareholders' vote, each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote for each Class A ordinary share registered in his or her name on our register of members, and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to ten votes for each Class B ordinary share registered in his or her name on our register of members. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares shall at all times vote together on all resolutions submitted to a vote of the members. Voting at any meeting of shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by the chairman of such meeting or any one shareholder.

A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of two or more shareholders who hold at least one-half of all voting power of our share capital in issue at the date of the meeting present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative. Shareholders' meetings may be held annually. Each general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, shall be an extraordinary general meeting. Extraordinary general meetings may be called by a majority of our board of directors or our chairman or upon a requisition of shareholders holding at the date of deposit of the requisition not less than one-third of the aggregate voting power of our company. Advance notice of at least 10 days is required for the convening of our annual general meeting and other general meetings unless such notice is waived in accordance with our articles of association.

An ordinary resolution to be passed at a meeting by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes cast at a meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes cast attaching to the issued and outstanding shares at a meeting. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a change of name or making changes to our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

***Conversion.*** Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any transfer of Class B ordinary shares by a holder to any person or entity which is not an affiliate of such holder, such Class B ordinary shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into the equivalent number of Class A ordinary shares.

***Transfer of Ordinary Shares.*** Subject to the restrictions set out below and the provisions above in respect of Class B ordinary shares, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form approved by our board of directors.

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Our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share unless:

● the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the ordinary shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer;

● the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of ordinary shares;

● the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required;

● in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the ordinary share is to be transferred does not exceed four;

● the shares are free from any lien in favor of our company; and

● a fee of such maximum sum as the NYSE American may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof.

If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within three months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.

The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice required of the NYSE American, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 days in any year as our board may determine.

***Liquidation.*** On a return of capital on winding up or otherwise (other than on conversion, redemption or purchase of ordinary shares), assets available for distribution among the holders of ordinary shares shall be distributed among the holders of the ordinary shares on a pro rata basis. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that the losses are borne by our shareholders proportionately. Any distribution of assets or capital to a holder of a Class A ordinary share and a holder of a Class B ordinary share will be the same in any liquidation event.

***Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares.*** Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their ordinary shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 clear days prior to the specified time of payment. The ordinary shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.

***Repurchase of Ordinary Shares.*** The Companies Act and our sixth amended and restated articles of association permit us to purchase our own shares. In accordance with our sixth amended and restated articles of association and provided the necessary shareholders or board approval have been obtained, we may issue shares on terms that are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders of these shares, on such terms and in such manner, including out of capital, as may be determined by our board of directors.

***Variations of Rights of Shares.*** All or any of the special rights attached to any class of shares may, subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, be varied with the written consent of the holders of three-fourths of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with such existing class of shares, or by the creation or issue of shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights.

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***Inspection of Books and Records.*** Holders of our ordinary shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records. However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements. See "Item 10. Additional Information—H. Documents on Display."

***Issuance of Additional Shares.*** Our sixth amended and restated memorandum of association authorizes our board of directors to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.

Our sixth amended and restated memorandum of association also authorizes our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preferred shares and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including:

● the designation of the series;

● the number of shares of the series;

● the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights; and

● the rights and terms of redemption and liquidation preferences.

Our board of directors may issue preferred shares without action by our shareholders to the extent authorized but unissued. Issuance of these shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.

***Anti-Takeover Provisions.*** Some provisions of our sixth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders.

***Exempted Company.*** We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:

● does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies;

● is not required to open its register of members for inspection;

● does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

● may issue negotiable or bearer shares or shares with no par value;

● may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);

● may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

● may register as a limited duration company; and

● may register as a segregated portfolio company.

"Limited liability" means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C. **Material Contracts** 

We have not entered into any material contracts other than in the ordinary course of business and other than those described in "Item 4. Information on the Company" or elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D. **Exchange Controls** 

See "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—PRC Regulations—Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by Mainland China Residents," and "Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations—PRC Regulations—Regulations on Foreign Exchange—Foreign Currency Exchange."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;E. **Taxation** 

The following discussion of Cayman Islands, mainland China, Singapore and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this annual report, all of which are subject to change or differing interpretation, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of Cayman Islands tax law, it represents the opinion of Travers Thorp Alberga, our Cayman Islands counsel. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of PRC tax law, it represents the opinion of Shihui Partners, our PRC legal counsel.

#### Cayman Islands Taxation
The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation, and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares levied by the government of the Cayman Islands, except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or after execution brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties that are applicable to any payments made to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.

Payments of dividends and capital in respect of the shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of a share.

**Singapore Taxation**

The following discussion is a summary of Singapore income tax, goods and services tax and stamp duty considerations relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. The statements made herein regarding taxation are general in nature and based upon certain aspects of the current tax laws of Singapore and administrative guidelines issued by the relevant authorities in force as of the date hereof and are subject to any changes in such laws or administrative guidelines or the interpretation of such laws or guidelines occurring after such date, which changes could be made on a retrospective basis. The statements made herein do not purport to be a comprehensive or exhaustive description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to a decision to acquire, own or dispose of our ADSs or ordinary shares and do not purport to deal with the tax consequences applicable to all categories of investors, some of which (such as dealers in securities) may be subject to special rules. The statements below are based on the assumptions that our company is not tax resident in Singapore, and that the same Singapore tax treatment applicable to a holder of our ordinary shares should be accorded to a holder of our ADSs as well. Prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers as to the Singapore or other tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership of or disposal of our ADSs and ordinary shares, taking into account their own particular circumstances. It is emphasized that neither we nor any other persons involved in this annual report accept responsibility for any tax effects or liabilities resulting from the acquisition, holding or disposal of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

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***Corporate Income Tax***

Corporate taxpayers are subject to Singapore income tax on income accruing in or derived from Singapore and foreign-sourced income received or deemed to be received in Singapore from outside Singapore, unless specifically exempted from tax.

The prevailing corporate income tax rate in Singapore is 17.0%.

With effect from year of assessment 2020, the first SGD200,000 of a company's annual normal chargeable income is exempt from tax as follows:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) 75.0% of up to the first SGD10,000 of chargeable income; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) 50.0% of up to the next SGD190,000 of chargeable income.

Notwithstanding the above, for qualifying new private companies, 75.0% of the first SGD100,000 of annual normal chargeable income and 50.0% of the next SGD100,000 of annual normal chargeable income is exempted from tax, subject to meeting the relevant conditions.

The remaining chargeable income (after deducting the applicable tax exemption on the first SGD200,000 of chargeable income) will be taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rate, currently at 17.0%.

A company is regarded as tax resident in Singapore if the control and management of the company's business is exercised in Singapore. "Control and management" is defined as the making of decisions on strategic matters, such as those on company policy and strategy.

Presently, tax exemption will be granted to a Singapore tax resident corporate taxpayer on its foreign sourced dividends, foreign branch profits and foreign-sourced service income, or specified foreign income, received or deemed to be received in Singapore, subject to meeting the following qualifying conditions:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) the specified foreign income has been subject to income tax in the foreign jurisdiction from which the income is received;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) at the time the specified foreign income is received in Singapore, the headline tax rate (i.e., highest corporate income tax rate) of the foreign jurisdiction from which the income is received is at least 15.0%; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) the Comptroller of Income Tax is satisfied that the tax exemption would be beneficial to the Singapore tax resident corporate taxpayer.

Certain concessions and clarifications have also been announced by the Comptroller of Income Tax with respect to such conditions.

Pursuant to a tax concession granted with effect from July 30, 2004, the above foreign - sourced income exemption has been extended to include specified foreign income which is exempted from income tax in the foreign jurisdiction as a result of a tax incentive granted by that foreign jurisdiction for carrying out substantive business activities in that foreign jurisdiction.

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If foreign-sourced income is subject to tax in Singapore and does not qualify for tax exemption, a Singapore tax resident corporate taxpayer is entitled to claim foreign tax credit for the foreign tax paid on such foreign-sourced income, subject to meeting the conditions. The amount of foreign tax credit available to a Singapore tax resident corporate taxpayer is based on the lower of:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) the Singapore tax payable on the particular source of income (net of expenses and allowances) which qualifies for foreign tax credit; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) the actual foreign tax suffered on the same income.

Under the foreign tax credit pooling system, Singapore tax resident corporate taxpayer may elect to claim foreign tax credit on a pooled basis on any items of its foreign-sourced income, rather than the usual source-by-source and country-by-country basis, subject to meeting the conditions as follows:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) income tax must have been paid on the income in the foreign jurisdiction from which the income is derived;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) at the time the foreign-sourced income is received in Singapore, the headline tax rate of that foreign jurisdiction from which the income is received is at least 15.0%;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) there must be Singapore income tax payable on the foreign-sourced income; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d) the taxpayer is entitled to claim foreign tax credits under sections 50, 50A or 50B of the Income Tax Act 1947 on its foreign-sourced income.

The amount of foreign tax credit to be granted under the foreign tax credit pooling system is based on the lower of the total Singapore tax attributable to the pooled foreign income (net of expenses) and the pooled foreign taxes paid on those income.

***Individual Income Tax***

An individual taxpayer (both tax resident and non-tax resident of Singapore) is subject to Singapore income tax on income accruing in or derived from Singapore, subject to certain exceptions. Foreign-sourced income received or deemed received in Singapore by an individual taxpayer is generally exempt from income tax in Singapore, except for such income received through a partnership in Singapore by Singapore tax resident individuals.

An individual is regarded as a tax resident in Singapore in a year of assessment if, in the preceding calendar year, he was physically present in Singapore or exercised an employment in Singapore (other than as a director of a company) for 183 days or more, or if he ordinarily resides in Singapore.

A non-Singapore tax resident individual is generally taxed at the rate of 24.0% from year of assessment 2024 except for Singapore-sourced employment income which is taxed at either a flat rate of 15.0% (without deductions for personal relief), or at the progressive rates as a tax resident (with deductions for personal relief), whichever yields a higher tax.

***Dividend Distributions***

Singapore does not impose withholding tax on dividend payments.

As our company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and on the assumption that our company is not tax resident in Singapore, dividends paid by our company would generally be considered as foreign-sourced income (unless our ordinary shares or ADSs are held as part of a trade or business carried on in Singapore in which event the holders of such shares or ADSs may be taxed on the dividends as they are derived).

Dividends paid by our company will be exempt from Singapore income tax when received by an individual investor regardless of whether the individual investor is resident or non-resident of Singapore, except for such income received through a partnership in Singapore by Singapore tax resident individual investors.

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Dividends paid by our company and received in Singapore by a Singapore corporate investor will be subject to Singapore income tax unless an exemption applies to the foreign-sourced dividend income received in Singapore.

Shareholders/ investors (including holders of our ADSs) are advised to consult their own tax advisors in respect of the tax laws of their respective countries of residence which are applicable on such dividends received by them and the applicability of any double taxation agreement.

***Capital Gains Tax***

Singapore currently does not impose tax on capital gains. Any gains from the disposal of our ADSs or ordinary shares, if regarded as capital gains, are not taxable in Singapore.

There are no specific laws or regulations which deal with the characterization of whether a gain is income or capital in nature. Gains from the disposal of our ADSs or ordinary shares are taxable in Singapore if the seller is regarded as having derived gains of an income nature in Singapore. Gains arising from the disposal of our ADSs or ordinary shares which are derived from any trade, business, vocation or profession carried on by that person, if accruing in or derived from Singapore, are taxable as such gains are considered revenue in nature. Gains derived from the disposal of our ADSs or ordinary shares may also be taxable if they constitute any gains or profits of an income nature under section 10(1)(g) of the Income Tax Act 1947.

Section 13W of the Income Tax Act 1947 provides a safe harbor in the form of an exemption of gains or profits arising from the disposal of ordinary shares. To qualify for the tax exemption, the divesting company must have legally and beneficially held at least 20.0% of the ordinary shares of the company whose shares are being disposed, or investee company, for a continuous period of at least 24 months immediately prior to the date of disposal such shares.

The above-mentioned "safe harbor rule" is not applicable under the following scenarios:

● The disposal of shares during the period from June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2022 of an unlisted investee company which is in the business of trading or holding Singapore immovable properties (other than the business of property development).

● The disposals of shares from June 1, 2022, of an unlisted investee company which is in the business of trading, holding, or developing immovable properties in Singapore or abroad, subject to certain exceptions.

● The disposal of shares by a divesting company whose gains or profits from the disposal of shares are included as part of its income based on Section 26 of the Income Tax Act 1947.

● The disposal of shares by a partnership, limited partnership or limited liability partnership, where one or more of the partners is a company or are companies.

In addition, the following enhancements will be made for disposal gains derived on or after January 1, 2026: (a) the scope of eligible gains will be expanded to include gains from the disposal of preference shares that are accounted for as equity by the investee company under the applicable accounting principles; and (b) the assessment of the 20% shareholding threshold condition can be done on a group basis.

Shareholders who have adopted or are required to adopt Financial Reporting Standard 109 Financial Instruments or Singapore Financial Reporting Standard (International) 9 Financial Instruments, as the case may be, for financial reporting purposes may be required to recognize gains or losses on our ADSs or ordinary shares, irrespective of whether there is actual disposal. If so, the gains or losses for financial assets on revenue account so recognized may be taxed or allowed as a deduction even though they are unrealized.

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Singapore has introduced Section 10L of the Income Tax Act 1947, which treats gains received in Singapore from the sale or disposal by an entity of a relevant group of any foreign asset (i.e., any movable or immovable property situated outside Singapore at the time of such sale or disposal or any rights or interest thereof.) as income chargeable to tax under Section 10(1)(g) of the Income Tax Act 1947. Section 10L applies to sales or disposals that occur on or after January 1, 2024. Under this section, our ADSs and ordinary shares would likely be considered as "foreign assets."

Broadly, a seller entity would be a member of a "relevant group" if (i) its assets, liabilities, income, expenses and cash flows (a) are included in the consolidated financial statements of the parent entity of the group, or (b) are excluded from the consolidated financial statements of the parent entity of the group solely on size or materiality grounds or on the grounds that the entity is held for sale, and (ii) the entities of the group are not all incorporated in a single jurisdiction or any entity of the group has a place of business in more than one jurisdiction.

There are certain exclusions in this regard. The taxation of such gains would not apply to a sale or disposal that is:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) carried out as part of, or incidental to, the business of a "prescribed financial institution," which includes licensed banks, finance companies and holders of a capital markets services license;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) carried out as part of, or incidental to, the relevant business activities or operations of an entity enjoying certain tax incentives, such as the financial sector incentive; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) carried out by an excluded entity that has adequate economic substance in Singapore (as defined and provided for under section 10L).

Shareholders should consult their own accounting and tax advisers regarding the Singapore income tax consequences of their ownership and disposal of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

***Stamp Duty***

No stamp duty is payable on the subscription and issuance of our ADSs and ordinary shares. As our company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and our ADSs and ordinary shares are not registered in any register kept in Singapore, no stamp duty is payable in Singapore on any instrument of transfer upon a sale or gift of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

***Estate Duty***

Singapore estate duty had been abolished with effect from February 15, 2008.

***Goods and Services Tax ("GST")***

The sale of our ADSs or ordinary shares by a goods and services tax-registered investor belonging in Singapore to another person belonging in Singapore is an exempt supply, which is not subject to GST. Any input GST incurred by the GST-registered investor in connection with the making of such an exempt supply is generally not recoverable from the Comptroller of GST and will become an additional cost to the investor unless the investor satisfies certain conditions prescribed under the GST legislation or by the comptroller of GST.

Where services are provided by a GST-registered investor in connection with the sale of our ADSs or ordinary shares to a person who belongs outside Singapore, and for the direct benefit of either a person belonging outside Singapore (and that person is outside Singapore at the time of supply) or a GST-registered person who belongs in Singapore, such services are a taxable supply subject to GST at zero-rate (i.e., GST at 0%). Any input GST incurred by the GST-registered investor in the making of such a zero-rated supply, subject to the provisions of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 of Singapore, may be recovered from the comptroller of GST.

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Services consisting of arranging, broking, underwriting or advising on the issue, allotment or transfer of ownership of our ADSs or ordinary shares rendered by a GST - registered person to an investor belonging in Singapore for GST purposes in connection with the investor's purchase, sale or holding of our ADSs or ordinary shares will be subject to GST at the prevailing standard rate of 9%. Similar services contractually rendered by a GST - registered person to an investor belonging outside Singapore, and for the direct benefit of either a person belonging outside Singapore (and that person is outside Singapore at the time of supply) or a GST - registered person who belongs in Singapore should generally be subject to GST at zero - rate.

Shareholders should seek their own tax advice on the recoverability of GST incurred on expenses in connection with the purchase and sale of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

**Taxation in Mainland China**

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, an enterprise established outside mainland China with "de facto management bodies" within mainland China is considered a "resident enterprise" for mainland China enterprise income tax purposes and is generally subject to a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on its worldwide income. Under the implementation rules to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, a "de facto management body" is defined as a body that has material and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise.

Our mainland China subsidiaries are companies incorporated under PRC law and, as such, are subject to mainland China enterprise income tax on their taxable income in accordance with the PRC income tax laws. Pursuant to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008, and was amended on February 24, 2017, and December 29, 2018, a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate is generally applicable to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises, except where a special preferential rate applies. The enterprise income tax is calculated based on the entity's global income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards. Our mainland China subsidiaries are subject to value-added tax at a rate of 6% on services, and 9% or 13% on the goods/products we provide, less any deductible value-added tax we have already paid or borne. Our mainland China subsidiaries are also subject to surcharges on value-added tax payments in accordance with PRC law.

In addition, the State Administration for Taxation issued the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Overseas Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprise on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or SAT Circular 82, in April 2009, and amended it in the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues concerning the Determination of Resident Enterprises Based on the Standards of Actual Management Institutions on January 29, 2014, and the Decision of the State Administration of Taxation on Issuing the Lists of Invalid and Abolished Tax Departmental Rules and Taxation Normative Documents on December 29, 2017, specifying that certain offshore incorporated enterprises controlled by mainland China enterprises or mainland China enterprise groups will be classified as mainland China resident enterprises if the following are located or resident in mainland China: senior management personnel and departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management; financial and personnel decision making bodies; key properties, accounting books, company seal, minutes of board meetings and shareholders' meetings; and half or more of the senior management or directors having voting rights. Further to SAT Circular 82, the State Administration for Taxation issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Printing and Distributing the Administrative Measures for Income Tax on Chinese-controlled Resident Enterprises Incorporated International (Trial Implementation), or the SAT Bulletin 45, which took effect in September 2011 and amended by the State Administration for Taxation in April 2015, June 2016 and June 2018, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82. SAT Bulletin 45 provides for procedures and administration details of determination on resident status and administration on post-determination matters. 51Talk is a company incorporated outside of mainland China. As a holding company, its key assets are its ownership interests in its subsidiaries, and its key assets are located, and its records (including the resolutions of its board of directors and the resolutions of its shareholders) are maintained, outside mainland China. As such, we do not believe that 51Talk meet all of the conditions above or are mainland China resident enterprises for mainland China tax purposes. For the same reasons, we believe our other entities outside of mainland China are not resident enterprises in mainland China either. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term "de facto management body." There can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with us. If the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands holding company is a mainland China resident enterprise for mainland China enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable mainland China tax consequences could follow. One example is that a 10% withholding tax would be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-mainland China enterprise shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-mainland China enterprise shareholders from transferring our shares or ADSs and potentially a 20% of withholding tax would be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-mainland China individual shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-mainland China individual shareholders from transferring our shares or ADSs.

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In January 2009, the State Administration for Taxation promulgated the Non-resident Enterprises Measures, pursuant to which the entities that have the direct obligation to make certain payments to a non-resident enterprise should be the tax withholders for the non-resident enterprise, and such payments include: income from equity investments (including dividends and other return on investment), interest, rents, royalties and income from assignment of property as well as other incomes subject to enterprise income tax received by non-resident enterprises in mainland China. Further, the measures provide that in case of an equity transfer between two non-resident enterprises which occurs outside of mainland China, the non-resident enterprise which receives the equity transfer payment must, by itself or engage an agent to, file tax declaration with the mainland China tax authority located at place of the mainland China company whose equity has been transferred, and the mainland China company whose equity has been transferred should assist the tax authorities to collect taxes from the non-resident enterprise. The State Administration for Taxation issued the Notice on Issues Concerning Process of Enterprise Income Tax in Enterprise Restructuring Business, or SAT Circular 59, together with the Ministry of Finance in April 2009, and the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Enterprise Income Tax Collection of Proceeds from Equity Transfers by Non-Resident Enterprises, or SAT Circular 698, in December 2009. Both SAT Circular 59 and SAT Circular 698 became effective retroactively as of January 1, 2008. By promulgating and implementing these two circulars, the mainland China tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a mainland China resident enterprise by a non-resident enterprise. Under SAT Circular 698, where a non-resident enterprise transfers the equity interests of a mainland China "resident enterprise" indirectly by disposition of the equity interests of an international holding company, and such international holding company is located in certain low tax jurisdictions, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, must report to the tax authority of the mainland China "resident enterprise" this Indirect Transfer. The mainland China tax authority may disregard the existence of the international holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring mainland China tax. As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to mainland China tax at a rate of up to 10%. On February 3, 2015, the State Administration for Taxation issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning the Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Property Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7, to supersede existing provisions in relation to the Indirect Transfer as set forth in SAT Circular 698, while the other provisions of SAT Circular 698 remain in force. SAT Bulletin 7 introduces a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under SAT Circular 698. SAT Bulletin 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to capture not only "indirect transfer" as set forth under SAT Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of immovable property in mainland China and assets held under the establishment and place, in mainland China of a foreign company through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. SAT Bulletin 7 also addresses transfer of the equity interest in a foreign intermediate holding company widely. In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 provides clearer criteria than SAT Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and introduces safe harbor scenarios applicable to internal group restructurings. However, it also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee of the Indirect Transfer as they have to make self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to mainland China tax and to file or withhold the mainland China tax accordingly. Although it appears that SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 was not intended to apply to share transfers of publicly traded companies, there is uncertainty as to the application of SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 and we and our non-resident investors may be at risk of being required to file a return and being taxed under SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Circular 698 or to establish that we should not be taxed under SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7.

On October 17, 2017, the State Administration for Taxation issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or SAT Announcement 37, which was revised on June 15, 2018. According to SAT Announcement 37, the Non-resident Enterprises Measures, SAT Circular 698 and the second paragraph of the article 8 of the SAT Bulletin 7 were repealed from December 1, 2017. According to SAT Announcement 37, the income from property transfer obtained by non-resident enterprise, as stipulated in the second item under the article 19 of the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, shall include the income derived from transferring such equity investment assets as stock equity. The withholding agent shall, within seven days of the day on which the withholding obligation occurs, declare and remit the withholding tax to the competent tax authority at its locality. We and our non-resident investors may be at risk of being required to file a return and being taxed under SAT Announcement 37 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Announcement 37 or to establish that we should not be taxed under SAT Announcement 37 and/or SAT Bulletin 7.

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#### United States Federal Income Taxation
The following discussion is a summary of U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to U.S. Holders (as defined below) of the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. This summary applies only to U.S. Holders that hold our ADSs or ordinary shares as "capital assets" (generally, property held for investment) under Section 1221 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). This summary is based on U.S. tax law in effect as of the date of this annual report, which is subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect, and there can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS"), or a court will not take a contrary position. Moreover, this summary does not address the U.S. federal estate, gift, Medicare, backup withholding, and any minimum tax considerations, or any state, local, and non-U.S. tax considerations, relating to the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. The following summary does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances or to persons in special tax situations such as:

● banks and other financial institutions;

● insurance companies;

● pension plans;

● cooperatives;

● regulated investment companies;

● real estate investment trusts;

● broker-dealers;

● traders that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting;

● certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents;

● tax-exempt entities (including private foundations);

● persons liable for minimum tax;

● persons who acquire their ADSs or ordinary shares pursuant to any employee share option or otherwise as compensation;

● persons holding ADSs or ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedging, conversion, constructive sale or integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

● investors that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar;

● persons that actually or constructively own ADSs or ordinary shares representing 10% or more of our stock (by vote or value); or

● partnerships or other entities taxable as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or persons holding common stock through such entities.

U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of U.S. federal income taxation to their particular circumstances, and the state, local, non-U.S., or other tax considerations of the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

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#### General
For purposes of this discussion, a "U.S. Holder" is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

● an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

● a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

● an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

● a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and the control of one or more U.S. persons for all substantial decisions, or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.

If a partnership (or other entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our ADSs or ordinary shares and their partners are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a U.S. Holder of ADSs will generally be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying shares represented by the ADSs. The remainder of this discussion assumes that a U.S. Holder of our ADSs will be treated in this manner. Accordingly, deposits or withdrawals of our ordinary shares for our ADSs will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax.

#### Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations
A non-U.S. corporation, such as our company, will be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, if either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of "passive" income or (ii) 50% or more of the value of its assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. For this purpose, cash and cash equivalents are categorized as passive assets and the company's goodwill and other unbooked intangibles are taken into account as non-passive assets. Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and gains from the disposition of passive assets. We will be treated as owning a proportionate share of the assets and earning a proportionate share of the income of any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, 25% (by value) or more of the stock.

Although we do not believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2025, no assurances can be given that we will not be a PFIC for the current or any future taxable year because the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC is a factual determination made annually that will depend, in part, upon the characterization and composition of our income, assets and liabilities. Additionally, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs may cause us to be classified as a PFIC for the current or future taxable years because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test, including the value of our goodwill and unbooked intangibles, may be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs from time to time (which may be volatile). The market price of our ADSs may continue to fluctuate considerably and, consequently, we cannot assure you of our PFIC status for any taxable year.

Furthermore, the composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets. Under circumstances where our revenue from activities that produce passive income significantly increase relative to our revenue from activities that produce non-passive income, or where we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes, our risk of becoming classified as a PFIC may substantially increase.

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If we were classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder held our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally would continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder held our ADSs or ordinary shares even if we cease to be a PFIC in subsequent years, unless certain elections are made. You may avoid some of the adverse effects of the PFIC regime by making a "deemed sale" election. provided that you have not made a mark-to-market election, with respect to the ADSs or ordinary shares, as applicable. If such election is made, you will be deemed to have sold our ADSs or ordinary shares you hold at their fair market value and any gain from such deemed sale would be subject to the rules described below under "Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules." After the deemed sale election, so long as we do not become a PFIC in a subsequent taxable year, your ADSs or ordinary shares with respect to which such election was made will not be treated as shares in a PFIC and you will not be subject to the rules described below with respect to any "excess distribution" you receive from us or any gain from an actual sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares. The rules dealing with deemed sale elections are very complex. Each U.S. Holder should consult its tax advisors regarding the possibility and considerations of making a deemed sale election.

#### Dividends
Subject to the discussion below under "Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules," any cash distributions (including the amount of any mainland China tax withheld) paid on our ADSs or ordinary shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. Holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder, in the case of ordinary shares, or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of U.S. federal income tax principles, any distribution we pay will generally be treated as a "dividend" for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A non-corporate U.S. Holder will be subject to tax on dividend income from a "qualified foreign corporation" at a lower applicable capital gains rate rather than the marginal tax rates generally applicable to ordinary income provided that certain holding period requirements are met. A non-U.S. corporation (other than a corporation that is classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) will generally be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation (i) if it is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States that the U.S. Secretary of Treasury determines is satisfactory for purposes of this provision and includes an exchange of information program, or (ii) with respect to any dividend it pays on stock (or ADSs in respect of such stock) that is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, including the NYSE American. Because our ADSs are currently listed on the NYSE American, the ADSs are expected to be readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States for so long as they continue to be listed on the NYSE American, although there can be no assurance in this regard. Since we do not expect that our ordinary shares will be listed on an established securities market, it is unclear whether dividends that we pay on our ordinary shares that are not represented by ADSs will meet the conditions required for the reduced tax rate. However, in the event that we are deemed to be a mainland China resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law (see "Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Taxation in Mainland China"), we may be eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty. If we are eligible for such benefits, dividends we pay on our ADS or ordinary shares, regardless of whether the ADSs are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and regardless of whether such shares are represented by the ADSs, would be eligible for the reduced rates of taxation described in the preceding paragraph. You are urged to consult your tax advisor regarding the availability of the lower rate for dividends paid with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares. Dividends received on our ADSs or ordinary shares will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations.

Dividends will generally be treated as income from foreign sources for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes and will generally constitute passive category income. Depending on the U.S. Holder's individual facts and circumstances, a U.S. Holder may be eligible, subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit not in excess of any applicable treaty rate in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on our ADSs or ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign tax withheld may instead claim a deduction, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in respect of such withholding, but only for a year in which such U.S. Holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex and their outcome depends in large part on the U.S. Holder's individual facts and circumstances. Accordingly, U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

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#### Sale or Other Disposition of ADSs or Ordinary Shares
Subject to the discussion below under "Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules," a U.S. Holder will generally recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in such ADSs or ordinary shares. Any capital gain or loss will be long term if the ADSs or ordinary shares have been held for more than one year and will generally be U.S.-source gain or loss for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes, which will generally limit the availability of foreign tax credits. Long-term capital gains of non-corporate taxpayers are currently eligible for reduced rates taxation. The deductibility of a capital loss may be subject to limitations.

As described in "Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—People's Republic of China Taxation," if we are deemed to be a mainland China resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, gains from the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares may be subject to PRC income tax and will generally be U.S. source, which may limit the ability to receive a foreign tax credit. If a U.S. Holder is eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty, such holder may be able to elect to treat such gain as PRC source income under the United States-PRC income tax treaty. Pursuant to the U.S. Treasury regulations, however, if a U.S. Holder is not eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty or does not elect to apply the United States-PRC income tax treaty, then such holder may not be able to claim a foreign tax credit arising from any PRC tax imposed on the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares. The rules regarding foreign tax credits and deduction of foreign taxes are complex. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of a foreign tax credit or deduction in light of their particular circumstances, including their eligibility for benefits under the United States-PRC income tax treaty, and the potential impact of the U.S. Treasury regulations.

#### Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
If we are classified as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, and unless the U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election (as described below), the U.S. Holder will generally be subject to special tax rules that have a penalizing effect, regardless of whether we remain a PFIC, on (i) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125 percent of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the U.S. Holder's holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares), and (ii) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares. Under these rules,

● the U.S. Holder's gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder's holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares;

● the amount allocated to the current taxable year and any taxable years in the U.S. Holder's holding period prior to the first taxable year in which we are classified as a PFIC, which we refer to as a pre-PFIC year, will be taxable as ordinary income;

● the amount allocated to each prior taxable year, other than a pre-PFIC year, will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for individuals or corporations, as appropriate, for that year; and

● an additional tax equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each prior taxable year, other than a pre-PFIC year, of the U.S. Holder.

If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, or if any of our subsidiaries are also PFICs, each of which we refer to as a lower-tier PFIC, such U.S. Holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of such lower-tier PFICs for purposes of the application of these rules. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries.

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As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder of "marketable stock" in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such stock, provided that such stock is "regularly traded" on a qualified exchange or other market which for these purposes generally means a national securities exchange that is registered with the SEC, or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines is a qualified exchange that has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. Our ADSs are currently listed on the NYSE American, which is a qualified exchange for purposes of the mark-to-market election. Consequently, if our ADSs continue to be listed on the NYSE American and are being regularly traded, we expect that the mark-to-market election would be available to a U.S. Holder that holds our ADSs were we to be or become a PFIC, but no assurances may be given in this regard.

If an election is made, the U.S. Holder will generally (i) include as ordinary income for each taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of ADSs held at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of such ADSs and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over the fair market value of such ADSs held at the end of the taxable year, but such deduction will only be allowed to the extent of the amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in the ADSs would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of a corporation classified as a PFIC and such corporation ceases to be classified as a PFIC, the U.S. Holder will not be required to take into account the gain or loss described above during any period that such corporation is not classified as a PFIC. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election, any gain such U.S. Holder recognizes upon the sale or other disposition of our ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but such loss will only be treated as ordinary loss to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election.

Because a mark-to-market election cannot technically be made for any lower-tier PFICs that we may own, a U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder's indirect interest in any investments held by us that are treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We do not intend to provide information necessary for U.S. Holders to make qualified electing fund elections which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from (and generally less adverse than) the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.

If a U.S. Holder owns our ADSs or ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, the U.S. Holder must generally file an annual IRS Form 8621. If we are or become a PFIC, you should consult your tax advisor regarding any reporting requirements that may apply to you and the U.S. federal income tax considerations of owning and disposing of our ADSs or ordinary shares if we are or become a PFIC, including the possibility of making a mark-to-market election.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;F. **Dividends and Paying Agents** 

Not Applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;G. **Statement by Experts** 

Not Applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;H. **Documents on Display** 

We previously filed with the SEC our registration statement on Form F-1 (Registration No. 333-211315), as amended, including the prospectus contained therein, to register our Class A ordinary shares in relation to our initial public offering. We have also filed with the SEC a related registration statement on F-6 (Registration No. 333-211672) to register the ADSs.

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We are subject to the periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Under the Exchange Act, we are required to file reports and other information with the SEC. Specifically, we are required to file annually a Form 20-F within four months after the end of each fiscal year, which is December 31. Copies of reports and other information, when so filed, may be inspected without charge and may be obtained at prescribed rates at the public reference facilities maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information regarding the Washington, D.C. Public Reference Room by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that make electronic filings with the SEC using its EDGAR system. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of quarterly reports and proxy statements. Our officers, directors are exempt from the short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. and our principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

We will furnish Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, the depositary of our ADSs, with our annual reports, which will include a review of operations and annual audited consolidated financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, and all notices of shareholders' meetings and other reports and communications that are made generally available to our shareholders. The depositary will make such notices, reports and communications available to holders of ADSs and, upon our request, will mail to all record holders of ADSs the information contained in any notice of a shareholders' meeting received by the depositary from us.

In accordance with Section 610 of the NYSE American Company Guide, we will post this annual report on our website *ir.51talk.com*. In addition, we will provide hardcopies of our annual report to shareholders, including ADS holders, free of charge upon request.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**I.** **Subsidiary Information** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**J.** **Annual Report to Security Holders** 

Not applicable.

#### ITEM 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

#### Foreign Exchange Risk
Our exposure to the risk of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates arises primarily from our operating activities where revenue or expense is denominated in a foreign currency and our net investments in foreign subsidiaries. We charge customers fees in local currencies in some of the countries and regions where we offer our course offerings, a significant portion of our assets and liabilities are denominated in US dollars and Renminbi, and a significant portion of our costs and expenses are incurred in the currencies of the countries and regions where we operate, including service fee payments to nearly all of our foreign tutors. Other currencies have fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. It is difficult to predict how market forces or government policy in the jurisdictions where we operate may impact the exchange rate between other currencies and the U.S. dollar in the future. In particular, we are also exposed to the risk of an increase in the value of the Philippine Peso relative to the US dollars, which would increase our costs. Therefore, the value of your investment in our ADSs will be affected by the exchange rate between U.S. dollar and other currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate, because the value of our business is effectively denominated in US dollars, while our ADSs will be traded in U.S. dollars and a significant portion of our costs is incurred and paid in the currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk.

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To the extent that we need to convert the U.S. dollars we received from our equity offerings into the currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate to fund our operations, acquisitions, or for other uses within the jurisdictions where we operate, appreciation of the currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the converted amount of the currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate. To the extent that we seek to convert the currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate into U.S. dollars, depreciation of these currencies against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the U.S. dollar amount we receive from the conversion. On the other hand, a decline in the value of the currencies of the jurisdictions where we operate against the U.S. dollar could reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our financial results, the value of your investment in the company and the dividends that we may pay in the future, if any, all of which may have a material adverse effect on the prices of our ADS.

**Interest Rate Risk**

Our exposure to interest rate risk primarily relates to the interest income generated by excess cash, which is mostly held in interest-bearing bank deposits. Investments in both fixed rate and floating rate interest earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. Fixed rate securities may have their fair market value adversely impacted due to a rise in interest rates, while floating rate securities may produce less income than expected if interest rates fall. Due in part to these factors, our future investment income may fall short of expectations due to changes in interest rates, or we may suffer losses in principal if we have to sell securities which have declined in market value due to changes in interest rates. We have not been, and do not expect to be, exposed to material interest rate risks, and therefore have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage such interest risk exposure.

#### ITEM 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A. **Debt Securities** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B. **Warrants and Rights** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C. **Other Securities** 

Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D. **American Depositary Shares** 

#### Fees and Charges Our ADS holders May Have to Pay
Holders of our ADSs will be required to pay the following service fees to the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of ADSs held):

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Service** | **Fees** |
| To any person to which ADSs are issued or to any person to which a distribution is made in respect of ADS distributions pursuant to stock dividends or other free distributions of stock, bonus distributions, stock splits or other distributions (except where converted to cash) | Up to US$0.05 per ADS issued |
| Cancellation of ADSs, including the case of termination of the deposit agreement | Up to US$0.05 per ADS canceled |
| Distribution of cash dividends | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held |
| Distribution of cash entitlements (other than cash dividends) and/or cash proceeds from the sale of rights, securities and other entitlements | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held |
| Distribution of ADSs pursuant to exercise of rights. | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held |
| Depositary services | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held on the applicable record date(s) established by the depositary bank |

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Holders of our ADSs will also be responsible to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of the ADSs held) such as:

● Fees for the transfer and registration of Class A ordinary shares charged by the registrar and transfer agent for the Class A ordinary shares in the Cayman Islands (i.e., upon deposit and withdrawal of Class A ordinary shares).

● Expenses incurred for converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars.

● Expenses for cable, telex and fax transmissions and for delivery of securities.

● Taxes and duties upon the transfer of securities, including any applicable stamp duties, any stock transfer charges or withholding taxes (i.e., when Class A ordinary shares are deposited or withdrawn from deposit).

● Fees and expenses incurred in connection with the delivery or servicing of Class A ordinary shares on deposit.

● Fees and expenses incurred in connection with complying with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to Class A ordinary shares, deposited securities, ADSs and ADRs.

● Any applicable fees and penalties thereon.

The depositary fees payable upon the issuance and cancellation of ADSs are typically paid to the depositary bank by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) receiving the newly issued ADSs from the depositary bank and by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) delivering the ADSs to the depositary bank for cancellation. The brokers in turn charge these fees to their clients. Depositary fees payable in connection with distributions of cash or securities to ADS holders and the depositary services fee are charged by the depositary bank to the holders of record of ADSs as of the applicable ADS record date.

The depositary fees payable for cash distributions are generally deducted from the cash being distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. In the case of distributions other than cash (i.e., share dividends, rights), the depositary bank charges the applicable fee to the ADS record date holders concurrent with the distribution. In the case of ADSs registered in the name of the investor (whether certificated or uncertificated in direct registration), the depositary bank sends invoices to the applicable record date ADS holders. In the case of ADSs held in brokerage and custodian accounts (via DTC), the depositary bank generally collects its fees through the systems provided by DTC (whose nominee is the registered holder of the ADSs held in DTC) from the brokers and custodians holding ADSs in their DTC accounts. The brokers and custodians who hold their clients' ADSs in DTC accounts in turn charge their clients' accounts the amount of the fees paid to the depositary banks.

In the event of refusal to pay the depositary fees, the depositary bank may, under the terms of the deposit agreement, refuse the requested service until payment is received or may set off the amount of the depositary fees from any distribution to be made to the ADS holder.

The depositary has agreed to pay certain amounts to us in exchange for its appointment as depositary. We may use these funds towards our expenses relating to the establishment and maintenance of the ADR program, including investor relations expenses, or otherwise as we see fit. The depositary may pay us a fixed amount, it may pay us a portion of the fees collected by the depositary from holders of ADSs, and it may pay specific expenses incurred by us in connection with the ADR program. Neither the depositary nor we may be able to determine the aggregate amount to be paid to us because (i) the number of ADSs that will be issued and outstanding and the level of dividend and/or servicing fees to be charged may vary, and (ii) our expenses related to the program may not be known at this time.

#### Fees and Other Payments Made by the Depositary to Us
The depositary has agreed to reimburse us for certain expenses we incur that are related to establishment and maintenance of the ADS program upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary may agree from time to time. In 2025, we did not receive any reimbursement from the depositary for expenses incurred in connection with the establishment and maintenance of the ADS program.

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#### PART II.

#### ITEM 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES
None.

#### ITEM 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS

#### Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders
See "Item 10 Additional Information—B. Memorandum and Articles of Association—Ordinary Shares" for a description of the rights of securities holders, which remain unchanged.

#### Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.

#### ITEM 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
**Disclosure Controls and Procedures**

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, which is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act, as of December 31, 2025. Based upon that evaluation, our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective to satisfy the objectives for which they are intended.

Notwithstanding management's assessment that our internal control over financial reporting was ineffective as of December 31, 2025, due to the material weaknesses described below, we performed additional analysis and other procedures to ensure that our consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), and we believe that the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 20-F correctly present our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the fiscal years covered thereby in all material respects.

#### Management's Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15 (f) under the Exchange Act. Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in the framework in *Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013)* issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies and procedures may deteriorate.

Based on our evaluation under Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013), due to the material weaknesses described below, our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2025, we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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The material weaknesses that we have identified relate to:

● Ineffective IT general controls over key financial reporting applications, programs and data, including (i) periodically monitoring that program changes were authorized and appropriately tested; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of provisioned user access rights and ensuring that an appropriate segregation of incompatible duties is maintained; (iii) periodically reviewing that privileged user access rights and related activity were appropriate; (iv) periodically reviewing that business user access rights were appropriate; (v) monitoring scheduled jobs, performance of periodic backups and recovery testing; and (vi) documenting policies and procedures for access, changes and IT operation management.

● Ineffective monitoring and evaluation of the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. Specifically, the Company did not maintain an effective monitoring function to assess whether controls within various processes impacting the preparation of the financial statements, including those related to: (i) being able to timely identify and assess accounting implications of complex transactions; (ii) designing and implementing effective controls to ensure data completeness and accuracy related to certain complex transactions, and tax accounting; and (iii) timely performing account reconciliations in connection with period-end closing and preparing disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements set forth by the SEC, were designed and operating effectively. As a result, errors in multiple accounts were not identified on a timely basis, leading to audit adjustments to the financial statements that were corrected prior to issuance.

For IT general controls, we have developed and are continuing to implement a remediation plan that includes the following key actions:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(i)Go live with and use a unified and comprehensive IT approval system to strengthen the management and control of system changes and IT processes;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(ii)Conduct regular, quarterly assessments of account permissions and system logs, and maintain ongoing oversight of changes in business operations or information systems;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(iii)Ensure the separation of responsibilities for account permissions, and continuously monitor the separation of responsibilities for sensitive permissions through continuous monitoring and periodic review measures;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(iv)Conduct regular monitoring of scheduled jobs, including periodic data backups, and perform recovery testing;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(v)Develop policies and procedures for access, change and IT operations management.

Furthermore, we have developed several key remedial and improvement measures to strengthen our accounting operations and financial reporting functions. The measures that we have implemented and are continuing to implement include:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(i) Enhanced training: We enhanced training for our finance staff on U.S. GAAP, internal control over financial reporting, and tax regulations, with the aim of reducing issues affecting financial statement disclosures in daily accounting operations and ensuring compliance with tax regulations in different jurisdictions.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(ii) Use of disclosure checklists: We used disclosure checklists to promptly identify matters impacting the financial statements, thereby helping to ensure accurate financial accounting and compliance with reporting requirements.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(iii) Strengthen professional training on internal controls over financial reporting for our employees in the finance department and internal audit department, including risk identification and assessment and effective monitoring of internal controls.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(iv) Updating the documentation and testing control procedures used in the preparation of financial statements, including changes in operations, process level and IT general controls, to comply with the requirements of the SOX Act by establishing process guidelines, a risk and control matrix and guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness of ICFR.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(v) Monitoring and evaluation of controls, whereby management will strengthen the monitoring function over the financial reporting process. This function will periodically evaluate whether key close-related controls are appropriately designed and operating effectively, with evidence of review and follow-up documented. Identified control gaps will be tracked through resolution and reported to management.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(vi) Management will enhance reconciliation controls by enforcing a standardized reconciliation policy that defines required timing, documentation standards, and review responsibilities. All balance sheet reconciliations will be completed and reviewed within defined close timelines, with reconciling items investigated and resolved in a timely manner. Evidence of preparation and review will be retained for each reconciliation.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(vii) Management will implement a formal process to identify complex or non-routine transactions at inception and throughout their lifecycle. Technical accounting and tax specialists will be engaged on a timely basis to assess accounting implications, and conclusions will be documented in U.S. GAAP technical accounting memoranda. These memoranda will be subject to management review and approval prior to recording the transaction in the financial statements.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(viii) Management will design and implement controls to ensure the completeness and accuracy of data used in accounting for complex transactions and tax-related items. This includes independent reconciliation of key data inputs to source systems and review of significant spreadsheets and data used in the close process.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(ix) Management will implement a formal process to identify, evaluate, and escalate errors identified during the close and review process. Errors will be assessed for financial statement impact, corrected on a timely basis, and tracked through resolution. Root cause analyses will be performed for significant errors to inform process and control enhancements.

Although management is taking remedial steps, the material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until the applicable remedial controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are operating effectively. Further, we cannot give assurances that the measures we have thus far taken to remediate the aforementioned material weakness were sufficient or that they will prevent future material weaknesses. As management continues to evaluate and work to improve our internal control over financial reporting, we may determine it necessary to take additional measures or modify the remediation measures we have taken to date.

Subsequently, we will continue to monitor and test these control measures and risk points to prevent the occurrence of major risks and ensure the effectiveness of financial reporting.

**Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm**

This annual report on Form 20-F does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm on internal control over financial reporting because we qualified as a "non-accelerated filer."

**Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting**

Other than as described above, there were no other changes in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this annual report on Form 20-F that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

#### ITEM 16.A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Jimmy Lai and Mr. Xiaoguang Wu, independent directors (under the standards set forth in Section 803 of the NYSE American Company Guide and Rule 10A - 3 under the Exchange Act) and members of our audit committee, are audit committee financial experts.

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#### ITEM 16.B. CODE OF ETHICS
Our board of directors has adopted a code of ethics that applies to all of the directors, officers and employees of us and our subsidiaries, whether they work for us on a full-time, part-time, consultative, or temporary basis. Certain provisions of the code apply specifically to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, senior finance officer, controller, senior vice presidents, vice presidents and any other persons who perform similar functions for us. We have posted a copy of our code of business conduct and ethics on our website at *http://ir.51talk.com/Corporate-Governance*.

#### ITEM 16.C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The following table sets forth the aggregate fees by the categories specified below in connection with certain professional services rendered by our former independent registered public accounting firm, Marcum Asia CPAs LLP, and our current independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, for the years indicated. We did not pay any other fees to our principal auditors during the periods indicated below.

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **2024** | **2025**<sup>(2)</sup> |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
|  | **(in thousands)** | **(in thousands)** |
| Audit Fees<sup>(1)</sup> | 509 | 732 |

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Note:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) "Audit fees" means the aggregate fees in each of the fiscal years listed for professional services rendered by our principal auditors for the audit of our annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the auditors in connection with statutory or regulatory filings or engagements.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) On August 29, 2025, we dismissed Marcum Asia CPAs LLP ("Marcum") as our independent registered public accounting firm. On September 3, 2025, we engaged Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm. See also "Item 16F. Change in Registrant's Certifying Accountant."

The policy of our audit committee is to pre-approve all audit and non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firms, including audit services and other services as described above, other than those for *de minimis* services which are approved by the Audit Committee prior to the completion of the audit.

#### ITEM 16.D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES
Not applicable.

#### ITEM 16.E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
In December 2025, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program under which we may repurchase up to US$10 million of our shares, including in the form of ADS, over the next 12 months, ending on December 7, 2026. The share repurchases may be effected from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on market conditions and will be implemented in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. We did not make any share repurchase in 2025.

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#### ITEM 16.F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Previous independent registered public accounting firm

**On August 29, 2025, we dismissed Marcum Asia CPAs LLP ("Marcum") as our independent registered public accounting firm. Our Audit Committee and Board of Directors participated in and approved the decision to change our independent registered public accounting firm.**

**The reports of Marcum on our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, contained no adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principle.**

**During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the subsequent interim period through August 29, 2025, there have been no "disagreements", as that term is described in Item 16F(a)(1)(iv) of the instructions to Form 20-F, with Marcum on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements if not resolved to the satisfaction of Marcum would have caused them to make reference thereto in their reports on the consolidated financial statements for such years.**

**During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the subsequent interim period through August 29, 2025, there have been no reportable events as that term is described in Item 16F(a)(1)(v) of the instructions to Form 20-F, except as previously disclosed in the Company's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, there were two material weaknesses that existed as of December 31, 2024. The first material weakness relates to the lack of sufficient competent financial reporting and accounting personnel to: (i) timely identify and assess accounting implications of complex transactions, (ii) design and implement effective control to ensure data completeness and accuracy related to certain complex transactions, and tax accounting, (iii) timely perform account reconciliations in period-end closing and prepare disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements set forth by the SEC. The second material weakness relates to the lack of sufficient competent internal audit personnel to timely and effectively monitor and evaluate internal control over financial reporting and assist managing financial and operational risks.**

**We provided a copy of the foregoing disclosure in Item 16F to Marcum and requested from Marcum a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether or not it agrees with the above statements. A copy of such letter from Marcum addressed to the SEC, dated April 23, 2026, is filed as Exhibit 16.1 to this annual report.**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) New independent registered public accounting firm

We engaged Ernst & Young LLP as our new independent registered public accounting firm on September 3, 2025. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 and the subsequent interim period prior to our engagement of Ernst & Young LLP, neither we, nor anyone on our behalf, has consulted with Ernst & Young LLP regarding either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our consolidated financial statements, and neither a written report was provided to us nor was oral advice that Ernst & Young LLP concluded was an important factor considered by us in reaching a decision as to the accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue; nor (ii) any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement pursuant to Item 16F(a)(1)(iv) of the instructions to Form 20-F, or a reportable event pursuant to Item 16F(a)(1)(v) of the instructions to Form 20-F.

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#### ITEM 16.G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
As a Cayman Islands company listed on the NYSE American, we are subject to the NYSE American corporate governance listing standards. However, the NYSE American Company Guide permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country.

Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the NYSE American corporate governance listing standards. We have relied on home country practice exemption with respect to (i) the requirement that at least a majority of such directors must be independent directors, (ii) the requirement of having an audit committee composed of a minimum of three members and convening meetings on at least a quarterly basis, (iii) the requirement that the nominating and corporate governance committee and compensation committee must be composed entirely of independent directors, subject to certain exceptions, (iv) the requirement that its board of directors must hold meetings on at least a quarterly basis and independent directors must meet on a regular basis as often as necessary to fulfill their responsibilities, including at least annually in executive session without the presence of non-independent directors and management, (v) the requirement of obtaining shareholders' approval for the adoption of the amended and restated 2016 share incentive plan, and (vi) the requirement of holding an annual meeting of shareholders no later than one year after the end of our fiscal year.

We may choose to follow additional home country practices in the future. As a result of our use of the "foreign private issuer" exemptions discussed above, our shareholders will not have the same protection afforded to the shareholders of the companies that are subject to all of the NYSE American corporate governance listing standards. See "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our ADSs—We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies."

#### ITEM 16.H. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.

**ITEM 16. I. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTION THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS**

Not applicable.

**ITEM 16. J. INSIDER TRADING POLICIES**

We have adopted an insider trading policy governing the purchase, sale, and other dispositions of our securities by directors, senior management and employees. A copy of our insider trading policy was filed as an exhibit to our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year 2024 and is reattached as an exhibit to this Annual Report.

**ITEM 16. K. CYBERSECURITY**

**Risk Management and Strategy**

We have implemented comprehensive cybersecurity risk assessment procedures to ensure effectiveness in cybersecurity management, strategy and governance and reporting cybersecurity risks. We have also integrated cybersecurity risk management into our overall enterprise risk management system. We have implemented the following measures to address both internal and external cyber threats: (i) our company has established a cybersecurity risk management team with the management responsibilities and authorities of each member clearly defined; (ii) our company has established a management and disclosure system for cybersecurity risks, which includes clear risk levels and assessment criteria, as well as measures to address risks and disclosure procedures; (iii) the cybersecurity risk management team conducts regular audits of our company's information systems to identify, assess, and manage risks associated with those systems. Prompt remedial actions are taken when necessary; and (iv) our company also reviews service organization control reports from third - party cloud service providers. These reports provide valuable information about the security controls and practices implemented by these service providers. By implementing these measures, our company aims to effectively manage cybersecurity risks, ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations, and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our information assets.

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As of the date of this annual report, we have not experienced any material cybersecurity incidents or identified any material cybersecurity threats that have affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition.

**Governance**

Our board of directors oversees the cybersecurity risks and receives reports from members of the cybersecurity management team during board meetings regarding the management of cybersecurity risks and any existing issues. Notifications regarding critical or urgent Cybersecurity incidents are promptly communicated to our board members via email or ad-hoc meeting. Our board of directors shall review, approve and maintain oversight of the disclosure (i) on Form 6-K for material cybersecurity incidents (if any) and (ii) related to cybersecurity matters in the periodic reports (including annual report on Form 20-F) of our Company.

Our management has the responsibility to lead and supervise the management of cybersecurity risks. They provide resources and support for cybersecurity management work and make management decisions on significant cybersecurity issues faced by our company. We have established a cybersecurity risk management team, consisting of our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and cybersecurity officer. Currently, the team includes members who hold professional technical certifications, such as HCIP-SEC, CCIE-RS and CCNA.

If a cybersecurity incident occurs, our cybersecurity risk management team will promptly organize relevant personnel for internal assessment and, depending on the situation, seek the opinions of external experts and legal advisors. If it is determined that the incident could potentially be a material cybersecurity event, our cybersecurity risk management team will promptly report the incident and relevant assessment results to our board of directors and our board of directors will decide on the corresponding response measures and whether any disclosure is necessary. If such disclosure is determined to be necessary, our cybersecurity risk management team shall promptly prepare disclosure material for review and approval by our board of directors before it is disseminated to the public.

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#### PART III.

#### ITEM 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
We have elected to provide financial statements pursuant to Item 18.

#### ITEM 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The consolidated financial statements of 51Talk Online Education Group and its subsidiaries are included at the end of this annual report.

#### ITEM 19. EXHIBITS

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Exhibit Number** | **Description of Document** |
| 1.1 | [Sixth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Form 6-K (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on September 30, 2022)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465922104270/tm2226968d1_ex3-1.htm) |
| 2.1 | [Registrant's Specimen American Depositary Receipt (included in Exhibit 2.3)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465916142810/a16-16725_1ex4d3.htm) |
| 2.2 | [Registrant's Specimen Certificate for Class A ordinary shares (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-211315), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000104746916013502/a2228655zex-4_2.htm) |
| 2.3 | [Deposit Agreement, among the Registrant, the depositary and holder of the American Depositary Receipts (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-213457), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on September 2, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465916142810/a16-16725_1ex4d3.htm) |
| 2.4 | [Third Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated as of August 31, 2015, among the Registrant and certain shareholders of the Registrant. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-211315), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000104746916013128/a2228540zex-4_4.htm) |
| 2.5 | [Amendment No.1 to the Third Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated as of May 27, 2016, by and among the Registrant, shareholders of the Registrant and other parties thereto (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.5 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-211315), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000104746916013502/a2228655zex-4_5.htm) |
| 2.6 | [Description of Securities (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.6 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 29, 2024)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465924054013/coe-20231231xex2d6.htm) |
| 4.1\* | [Amended and Restated 2016 Share Incentive Plan](coe-20251231xex4d1.htm) |
| 4.2 | [Form of Indemnification Agreement with the Registrant's directors and executive officers (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-211315), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000104746916013128/a2228540zex-10_3.htm) |
| 4.3 | [Form of Employment Agreement between the Registrant and an Executive Officer of the Registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-211315), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000104746916013128/a2228540zex-10_4.htm) |
| 4.4 | [Exclusive Option Agreement among 51Talk, certain shareholders of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co II dated August 31, 2015 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 25, 2025)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000141057825000918/coe-20241231xex4d4.htm) |
| 4.5 | [Powers of Attorney granted by certain shareholders of Philippines Co II dated August 31, 2015 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.5 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 25, 2025)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000141057825000918/coe-20241231xex4d5.htm) |
| 4.6 | [Exclusive Option Agreement among 51Talk, certain shareholders of Philippines Co III and Philippines Co III dated February 1, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.7 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 29, 2024)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465924054013/coe-20231231xex4d7.htm) |
| 4.7 | [Powers of Attorney granted by certain shareholders of Philippines Co III dated February 1, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.8 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001- 37790), filed with the SEC on April 29, 2024)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465924054013/coe-20231231xex4d8.htm)  |
| 4.8 | [Share Purchase Agreement between 51Talk and Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited dated June 24, 2022 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.10 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 6, 2023)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465923042489/coe-20221231xex4d10.htm)  |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Exhibit Number** | **Description of Document** |
| 8.1\* | [Principal subsidiaries of the Registrant](coe-20251231xex8d1.htm) |
| 11.1 | [Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of the Registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-211315), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000104746916013502/a2228655zex-99_1.htm) |
| 11.2 | [Amended and Restated Statement of Policies Governing Material Non-public Information and the Prevention of Insider Trading (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 11.2 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 25, 2025)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000141057825000918/coe-20241231xex11d2.htm) |
| 12.1\* | [CEO Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002](coe-20251231xex12d1.htm) |
| 12.2\* | [CFO Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002](coe-20251231xex12d2.htm) |
| 13.1\*\* | [CEO Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002](coe-20251231xex13d1.htm) |
| 13.2\*\* | [CFO Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002](coe-20251231xex13d2.htm) |
| 15.1\* | [Consent of Travers Thorp Alberga](coe-20251231xex15d1.htm) |
| 15.2\* | [Consent of Shihui Partners](coe-20251231xex15d2.htm) |
| 15.3\* | [Consent of Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan](coe-20251231xex15d3.htm) |
| 15.4\* | [Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm](coe-20251231xex15d4.htm)  |
| 15.5\* | [Consent of Marcum Asia CPAs LLP](coe-20251231xex15d5.htm) |
| 16.1\* | [Letter from Marcum Asia CPAs LLP to the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated April 23, 2026](coe-20251231xex16d1.htm) |
| 97.1 | [Clawback Policy (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 97.1 to the annual report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37790), filed with the SEC on April 29, 2024)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1659494/000110465924054013/coe-20231231xex97d1.htm)  |
| 101.INS\* | Inline XBRL Instance Document |
| 101.SCH\* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
| 101.CAL\* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document |
| 101.DEF\* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
| 101.LAB\* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document |
| 101.PRE\* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
| 104\* | Cover Page formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101 |

---

\* Filed herewith.

\*\* Furnished herewith.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### SIGNATURES
The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing its annual report on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report on its behalf.

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | 51Talk Online Education Group | 51Talk Online Education Group |
|  | By: | /s/ Jack Jiajia Huang |
|  | Name: | Jack Jiajia Huang |
|  | Title: | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
| Date: April 23, 2026 |  |  |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
|  | **Page** |
| **Consolidated Financial Statements** |  |
| [Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms-Ernst & Young LLP](#ReportofIndependentRegisteredPublicAccou) (PCAOB ID:1247) | F-2 |
| [Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms-Marcum Asia CPAs LLP](#ReportofIndependent_810020) (PCAOB ID: 5395) | F-4 |
| [Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2024 and 2025](#CONSOLIDATEDBALANCESHEETS_669854) | F-5 |
| [Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025](#CONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTSOFCOMPREHENSIVELOS) | F-6 |
| [Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity/(Deficit) for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025](#CONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTSOFSHAREHOLDERSDEFI) | F-7 |
| [Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025](#CONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTSOFCASHFLOWS_955018) | F-8 |
| [Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements](#a1OperationsandReorganization_197273) | F-9 |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM**

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of 51Talk Online Education Group

**Opinion on the Financial Statements**

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of 51Talk Online Education Group (the Company) as of December 31, 2025, the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, shareholders' equity/(deficit) and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "consolidated financial statements"). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2025, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

**Basis for Opinion**

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM**

**Critical Audit Matter**

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the account or disclosure to which it relates.

***Revenue recognition – Determination of Stand-Alone Selling Price***

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| *Description of the Matter* | For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognized net revenues of $95.6 million. As described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, revenue is generated primarily from providing online English language education services to international students and is recognized as the online services are delivered. Students purchase the services by subscribing to prepaid credit packages, which consist of one-on-one private course services and public course services. The Company has determined that private course services and public course services are two separate performance obligations within a single contract with customers. The Company allocates contract consideration to each performance obligation using the relative stand-alone selling price. The Company determines the stand-alone selling prices for products that have never been sold on a standalone basis by applying the expected cost-plus-margin method for private courses and the adjusted market assessment approach for public courses.<br>Auditing the Company's estimated standalone selling prices for products that have never been sold on a standalone basis was complex due to the high degree of management judgment in determining the expected margin by product, determining cost-plus methodologies and market benchmarks used to estimate standalone selling prices for each distinct performance obligation. |
| *How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit* | To test the Company's determination of standalone selling prices for products that have never been sold on a standalone basis, our procedures included, among others, assessing the appropriateness of the methodology applied by management in estimating the standalone selling prices for course services which are not sold separately, testing the mathematical accuracy of management's calculations and evaluating the reliability of the underlying data and assumptions. In addition, we performed sensitivity analyses over key assumptions to assess the impact of reasonably possible changes in those assumptions on the Company's net revenues.<br>|

---

---

| |
|:---|
| /s/ Ernst & Young LLP |
| We have served as the Company's auditor since 2025. |
| Singapore |
| April 23, 2026 |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm**

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

51Talk Online Education Group

**Opinion on the Financial Statements**

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of 51Talk Online Education Group (the "Company") as of December 31, 2024, the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, shareholders' deficit and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

**Basis for Opinion**

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

**Critical Audit Matters**

Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.

/s/ Marcum Asia CPAs LLP

Marcum Asia CPAs LLP

We have served as the Company's auditor from 2022 to 2025.

New York, New York

April 25, 2025

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP**

#### CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

#### As of December 31, 2024 and 2025

#### (In thousands, except for share and per share data)

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | <br>**Notes**  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  |  | **US$** | **US$** |
| **ASSETS** |  |  |  |
| Current assets: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Cash and cash equivalents | 2(g) | 27758 | 38869 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Time deposits | 2(h) | 1430 | 93 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 4 | 10906 | 21435 |
| Total current assets |  | 40094 | 60397 |
| Non-current assets: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Property and equipment, net | 5 | 363 | 1998 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Intangible assets, net | 6 | 80 | 68 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Right-of-use assets | 7 | 2888 | 3211 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Deferred tax assets | 9(b) | 57 | 77 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Other non-current assets |  | 460 | 341 |
| Total non-current assets |  | 3848 | 5695 |
| **Total assets** |  | **43942** | **66092** |
| Current liabilities: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Advances from students  | 2(k) | 45064 | 76569 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  | 8 | 6644 | 12464 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Lease liabilities  | 7 | 1242 | 1764 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Taxes payable  |  | 1100 | 1226 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Amount due to related parties  | 14 | 2853 | 3333 |
| Total current liabilities |  | 56903 | 95356 |
| Non-current liabilities: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Lease liabilities  | 7 | 1441 | 1177 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Deferred tax liabilities | 9(b) |  | 452 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Other non-current liabilities  |  | 310 | 360 |
| Total non-current liabilities |  | 1751 | 1989 |
| **Total liabilities** |  | **58654** | **97345** |
| Commitments and contingencies | 13 |  |  |
| Shareholders' deficit: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Class A ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value; 247,187,397 and 255,452,577 shares issued as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively; 247,187,397 and 255,452,577 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively) | 10 | 25 | 26 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Class B ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value; 103,606,980 and 103,606,980 shares issued as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively; 103,606,980 and 103,606,980 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively)  | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Additional paid-in capital |  | 339249 | 340949 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Surplus reserves |  | 1 | 1 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accumulated other comprehensive loss |  | (685) | (1939) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accumulated deficit |  | (353600) | (370404) |
| Total COE's shareholders' deficit |  | (15000) | (31357) |
| Noncontrolling interests |  | 288 | 104 |
| **Total shareholders' deficit** |  | **(14712)** | **(31253)** |
| **Total liabilities and shareholders' deficit** |  | **43942** | **66092** |

---

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### 51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

#### CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

#### For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025

#### (In thousands, except for share and per share data)

---

| | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | <br>**Note** | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  |  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Net revenues |  | 27111 | 50692 | 95601 |
| Cost of revenues (including cost of revenues to related parties amounted to US$183, US$272 and US$613 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively) |  | (6322) | (11164) | (24944) |
| Gross profit |  | 20789 | 39528 | 70657 |
| Operating expenses: |  |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Sales and marketing expenses |  | (23637) | (33388) | (62307) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Product development expenses (including product development expenses to related parties amounted to US$882, US$612 and US$2,077 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively) |  | (3088) | (3571) | (5476) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;General and administrative expenses |  | (7727) | (10615) | (17303) |
| Total operating expenses |  | (34452) | (47574) | (85086) |
| Loss from operations |  | (13663) | (8046) | (14429) |
| Interest income |  | 165 | 229 | 358 |
| Other (expenses)/income, net (including other income from related parties amounted to US$142, US$134 and US$101 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively) |  | (1416) | 771 | (1545) |
| Loss before income tax |  | (14914) | (7046) | (15616) |
| Income tax expenses | 9(a) | (118) | (276) | (1242) |
| Net loss |  | (15032) | (7322) | (16858) |
| Less: net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests |  |  | (87) | (54) |
| Net loss, all attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders |  | (15032) | (7235) | (16804) |
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted loss per share | 12 | 341070214 | 347119359 | 355001931 |
| Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders-basic and diluted | 12 | (0.04) | (0.02) | (0.05) |
| Net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders-basic and diluted | 12 | (2.64) | (1.25) | (2.84) |
| Comprehensive loss: |  |  |  |  |
| Net loss |  | (15032) | (7322) | (16858) |
| Other comprehensive loss |  |  |  |  |
| Foreign currency translation adjustments |  | (627) | (373) | (1260) |
| Total comprehensive loss |  | (15659) | (7695) | (18118) |
| Less: comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests |  | 2 | (14) | (6) |
| Total comprehensive loss attributable to ordinary shareholders |  | (15661) | (7681) | (18112) |

---

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### 51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

#### CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY/(DEFICIT)

#### For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025

#### (In thousands, except for share and per share data)

---

| | | | | | | | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | | **Ordinary Shares** | **Ordinary Shares** | | | | | | | |
|  | <br>**Notes**  | **Shares** | **Amount** | <br>**Additional** <br>**Paid-in**<br>**Capital** | <br>**Statutory**<br>**Surplus** <br>**reserves** | **Accumulated**<br>**Other**<br>**Comprehensive**<br>**Income/(Loss)** | <br>**Accumulated**<br>**Deficit** | **Total** <br>**COE's** <br>**Shareholders'**<br>**Equity/(Deficit)** | <br>**Non**<br>**controlling**<br>**interest** | <br>**Total** <br>**Shareholders'**<br>**Equity/(Deficit)** |
|  |  |  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| **Balance as of December 31, 2022** |  | **337816197** | **33** | **337407** | **—** | **303** | **(331166)** | **6577** | **—** | **6577** |
| Capital contributions from its investors |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 147 | 147 |
| Settlement of RSU by new issuance |  | 5484000 | 1 | (1) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Share based compensation |  |  |  | 910 |  |  |  | 910 |  | 910 |
|  Net loss  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (15032) | (15032) |  | (15032) |
| Surplus reserves |  |  |  |  | 1 |  | (1) |  |  |  |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment |  |  |  |  |  | (629) |  | (629) | 2 | (627) |
| Out of period adjustment |  |  |  |  |  |  | (166) | (166) |  | (166) |
| **Balance as of December 31, 2023** |  | **343300197** | **34** | **338316** | **1** | **(326)** | **(346365)** | **(8340)** | **149** | **(8191)** |
| Capital contributions from its investors |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 240 | 240 |
| Exercise of share options |  | 807000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Settlement of RSU by new issuance |  | 6687180 | 1 | (1) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Share based compensation  |  |  |  | 934 |  |  |  | 934 |  | 934 |
| Net loss  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (7235) | (7235) | (87) | (7322) |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment |  |  |  |  |  | (359) |  | (359) | (14) | (373) |
| **Balance as of December 31, 2024** |  | **350794377** | **35** | **339249** | **1** | **(685)** | **(353600)** | **(15000)** | **288** | **(14712)** |
| Transaction with noncontrolling interests |  |  |  | 152 |  |  |  | 152 | (124) | 28 |
| Exercise of share options |  | 2615760 |  | 218 |  |  |  | 218 |  | 218 |
| Settlement of RSU by new issuance |  | 5649420 | 1 | (1) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Share based compensation  |  |  |  | 1331 |  |  |  | 1331 |  | 1331 |
| Net loss  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (16804) | (16804) | (54) | (16858) |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment |  |  |  |  |  | (1254) |  | (1254) | (6) | (1260) |
| **Balance as of December 31, 2025** |  | **359059557** | **36** | **340949** | **1** | **(1939)** | **(370404)** | **(31357)** | **104** | **(31253)** |

---

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

#### 51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

#### CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

#### For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025

#### (In thousands, except for share and per share data)

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Cash flows from operating activities:  |  |  |  |
| Net loss | (15032) | (7322) | (16858) |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Share-based compensation expense | 910 | 934 | 1331 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Depreciation and amortization | 99 | 137 | 434 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Deferred tax (benefits)/expenses | (156) | 15 | 427 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Impairment loss |  |  | 150 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Credit loss | 173 |  | 551 |
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Prepaid expenses and other current assets | (3822) | (5007) | (11250) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Right-of-use assets | 46 | (2165) | 1057 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Other non-current assets | (32) | (67) | 119 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Advances from students | 12047 | 17850 | 30041 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 1868 | 589 | 6366 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Lease liabilities | (103) | 2052 | (1159) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Taxes payable | 873 | 40 | 125 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Amount due to related parties | 3688 | (1224) | 480 |
| **Net cash provided by operating activities** | **559** | **5832** | **11814** |
| Cash flows from investing activities :  |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Purchases of property and equipment | (287) | (308) | (2294) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Placement of time deposits | (2094) | (2231) | (3186) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Withdrawal of time deposits | 4830 | 3007 | 4528 |
| **Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities** | **2449** | **468** | **(952)** |
| Cash flows from financing activities: |  |  |  |
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options |  |  | 218 |
| Capital injection from noncontrolling interests |  | 240 |  |
| **Net cash provided by financing activities** |  | **240** | **218** |
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 104 | (80) | 31 |
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 3112 | 6460 | 11111 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 18186 | 21298 | 27758 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 21298 | 27758 | 38869 |
| **Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information** |  |  |  |
| Cash paid for income taxes | 42 | 206 | 95 |
| **Non-cash supplemental investing activities** |  |  |  |
| Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities | 441 | 3221 | 2935 |

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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#### 51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

#### NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

#### (all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**1.** **Operations and Reorganization** 

51Talk Online Education Group (the "Company" or "COE"), through its consolidated subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the "Group") is primarily engaged in providing online English language education services to students in the international markets.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company's major subsidiaries are as follows:

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| <br>**Company**  | <br>**Place of**<br>**Incorporation/**<br>**Establishment**  | <br>**Date of**<br>**Incorporation/**<br>**Establishment**  | **Percentage of**<br>**Direct or Indirect**<br>**Economic** <br>**Ownership**  |
| ***Subsidiaries*** |  |  |  |
| 51Talk English International Limited | Hong Kong | October 7, 2014 | 100% |
| China Online Innovations Inc.\* | Philippines | October 9, 2014 | 99.999995% |
| On Demand English Innovations Inc.\* | Philippines | January 14, 2016 | 99.999% |
| Helloworld Online Education Group  | Cayman | July 13, 2018 | 100% |
| Helloworld Online Education PTE.LTD | Singapore | December 17, 2021 | 100% |
| 51Talk Training SDN.BHD | Malaysia | April 5, 2022 | 100% |
| Helloworld Online Education Group (HK) Limited | Hong Kong | August 10, 2018 | 100% |
| Beijing Helloworld Online Technology Co., Ltd. | PRC | September 3, 2018 | 100% |
| Nanjing Helloworld Online Information Technology Co., Ltd | PRC | September 20, 2022 | 100% |
| Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd. | Thailand | November 29, 2022 | 49% |
| Darb Al-Najah Training Company | Saudi Arabia | March 13, 2023 | 100% |
| HelloWorld Online Education Jordan LLC | Jordan | July 30, 2023 | 100% |
| HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT-FZCO | United Arab Emirates | January 26, 2024 | 100% |
| Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ | United Arab Emirates | February 27, 2024 | 100% |
| Helloworld Online Education Vietnam Company Limited | Vietnam | July 31, 2025 | 100% |

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\* The Company directly holds the 99.999995% and 99.999% shares of China Online Innovations Inc. and On Demand English Innovations Inc. respectively. There is no substantive noncontrolling interests for China Online Innovations Inc. and On Demand English Innovations Inc. as of December 31, 2024 and 2025. The non-controlling shareholders are nominee shareholders mainly consisting of local residents to comply with local regulations of the Philippines.

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| **1** | **Operations and Reorganization (Continued)** |

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#### a History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization
In November 2012, the Founding Shareholders incorporated the Company under the Laws of the Cayman Islands to be an offshore holding company for the Group.

To further optimize the organizational structure of the Group, in October 2014, 51Talk English International Limited (the "COE HK Co") was incorporated with limited liability in Hong Kong. China Online Innovations Inc. (the "Philippines Co II"), which was incorporated by the Company with limited liability in the Philippines to provide teaching service for the Group in accordance with the Group's instructions. The Company owns 99.999993% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. In order to comply with local laws, there are seven individual shareholders holding an aggregate of 0.000007% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. From 2024, the Company's ownership interest of Philippines Co II increase to 99.999995%. Five individual shareholders hold an aggregate of 0.000005% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. A series of contractual arrangements was entered into among the Company, Philippines Co II and some of these individual shareholders. Under these contractual arrangements, the Company has an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co II held by these individuals and to exercise their rights as shareholders of Philippines Co II. Furthermore, the Group began to enter into employment agreements with office-based tutors and other full-time employees in the Philippines through Philippines Co II.

To further optimize group structure, on January 14, 2016, On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the "Philippines Co III") was incorporated by the Company with limited liability in the Philippines. The Company owns 99.999% of the equity interest of Philippines Co III. In order to comply with local laws, there are five individual shareholders holding an aggregate of 0.001% of the equity interest of Philippines Co III. A series of contractual arrangements was entered into among the Company, Philippines Co III and individual shareholder. Under these contractual arrangements, the Company has an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co III held by the individual and the power to exercise their rights as shareholders of Philippines Co III. Philippines Co III also entered into employment agreement with the free trial tutors and support staff.

In July 2018, Helloworld Online Education Group ("HAWO Company") was incorporated under the Laws of the Cayman Islands as wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In August 2018, Helloworld Online Education Group (HK) Limited ("HAWO HK Co") was incorporated in Hong Kong as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HAWO Company. Beijing Helloworld Online Technology Co., Ltd. ("HAWO Online") was set up in September 2018 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HAWO HK Co in the PRC. In July 2018, Beijing Dasheng Helloworld Technology Co., Ltd. ("Dasheng HAWO") was incorporated with beneficial interest held by Mr. Jiajia Huang.

In September 2018, a series of contractual agreements were entered into among HAWO Online, Dasheng HAWO and shareholders of Dasheng HAWO. As a result of the agreements, HAWO Online has the ability to direct substantially all the activities of Dasheng HAWO, and absorb substantially all of the risks and rewards of the Dasheng HAWO. HAWO Online became the primary beneficiary of Dasheng HAWO and consolidates the financial results of Dasheng HAWO.

Historically, the Group sold online tutoring services taught mainly by independently contracted international tutors to K-12 students in the PRC, which have been prohibited by the Opinions on Further Alleviating the Burden of Homework and After-School Tutoring for Students in Compulsory Education promulgated on July 24, 2021 and its implementation measures. Upon the consummation of the divestiture of the China Mainland Business at the end of June 2022, the Group ceased providing online tutoring services in China and concentrate on expanding international business. After the divestiture, the Group's business is no longer directly affected by the Alleviating Burden Opinion and its implementation measures.

In December 2021, Helloworld Online Education PTE.LTD("Helloworld Singapore") was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company to operate the international business in Singapore.

In April 2022, 51Talk Training SDN.BHD was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company to operate the international business in Malaysia. In September 2022, Nanjing Helloworld Online Information Technology Co., Ltd was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company to assist the international operations of the Company.

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| **1** | **Operations and Reorganization (Continued)** |

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In November 2022, Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd.("Helloworld Thailand") was incorporated as a subsidiary of Helloworld Singapore to operate the international business in Thailand. In order to comply with the local laws, Helloworld Singapore and two Thai individual shareholders hold 49%, 26% and 25% of the equity interest in Helloworld Thailand, respectively. The Company, through Helloworld Singapore, hold 90.6% of the voting power of Helloworld Thailand, and consolidated Helloworld Thailand as required by Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 810 Consolidation.

In March 2023, Darb Al-Najah Training Company ("Darb Al-Najah") was incorporated as a subsidiary of Helloworld Singapore to operate the international business in Saudi Arabia.

In July 2023, HelloWorld Online Education Jordan LLC ("Helloworld Jordan") was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Helloworld Singapore to operate the international business in Jordan.

In 2024, HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT-FZCO ("UAE INVESTMENT") and Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ ("UAE Training") were incorporated as subsidiaries of Helloworld Singapore to invest and operate the international business in Middle East region.

In 2025, Helloworld Online Education Vietnam Company Limited was incorporated as a subsidiary of Helloworld Singapore to operate the international business in Vietnam.

#### b Liquidity
The Group incurred net losses of US$15,032, US$7,322 and US$16,858 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Accumulated deficits were US$353,600 and US$370,404 as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The net current liabilities were US$16,809 and US$34,959 as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Company assesses its liquidity by its ability to generate cash from operating activities to fund its operations, attract investors and borrow funds on favorable economic terms.

Tuition is generally paid in advance and revenue from prepaid credit packages is recognized when the lesson credits are consumed or forfeited. Under the business model of the Group, the revenue recognition of delivering the services is later than the cash received from students. Therefore, the Group would incur losses at the initial stage from the international business, but the tuition fees, excluded refunds collected in advance are sufficient to support the Group's operations.

Based on the above considerations, the Group's consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business. The management is of the opinion that the Group has sufficient funds for sustainable operation and there is no substantial doubt about the Group's ability to continue as going concern within one year after the consolidated financial statements are issued.

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| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies** |

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#### a Basis of presentation
The consolidated financial statements of the Group have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). Significant accounting policies followed by the Group in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements are summarized below.

#### b Principles of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries.

Subsidiaries are those entities in which the Company, directly or indirectly, controls more than one half of the voting power, has the power to appoint or remove the majority of the members of the board of directors, or to cast a majority of votes at the meeting of board of directors, or has the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the investee under a statute or agreement among the shareholders or equity holders.

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**2** **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)**

All transactions and balances among the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.

***c*** ***Noncontrolling interests***

For the Company's non-wholly owned subsidiaries, a noncontrolling interest is recognized to reflect the portion of equity that is not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the Company. Net comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests is included in net comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests in the consolidated comprehensive income/(loss) statements, while it is excluded from the consolidated statements of changes in shareholders' deficit. The cumulative results of operations attributable to noncontrolling interests are also recorded as noncontrolling interests on the Company's consolidated balance sheets.

#### d Use of estimates
The preparation of the Group's consolidated financial statements in conformity with the U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities at the balance sheet date and reported revenues and expenses during the reported periods in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant accounting estimates include, but are not limited to, determination of standalone selling prices of performance obligations that have never been separately sold, refund liability, the valuation allowance of deferred tax assets and the valuation of share-based compensation.

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| ***e*** | ***Functional currency and foreign currency translation*** |

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***The Company's reporting currency is United States dollars ("US$" or "USD"). The functional currency of the Company and its international subsidiaries incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore is USD, the functional currency of the Philippines entities is Peso ("PHP"), the functional currency of the Thailand entity is Thai Baht ("THB"), the functional currency of the Malaysia entity is Ringgit ("MYR"), the functional currency of the Saudi Arabia entity is Saudi Riyal ("SAR"), the functional currency of the United Arab Emirates entities is UAE Dirham ("AED"), the functional currency of the PRC entities is Renminbi ("RMB"), the functional currency of the Jordan entity is Jordanian Dinar ("JOD") and the functional currency of the Vietnam entity is Vietnamese Dong ("VND").***

***In the consolidated financial statements, the financial information of the Company's entities located in the PRC, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates Jordan, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia has been translated into USD. Assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rates on the balance sheet date, equity amounts are translated at historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rate for the reporting period. Translation adjustments are reported as foreign currency translation adjustments, and are shown as a component of other comprehensive income/(loss) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income/(loss).***

Foreign currency transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into the functional currency using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet dates. Net gains and losses resulting from foreign exchange transactions are included in other (expenses)/income, net. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Group recognized US$1,430 foreign exchange transaction losses in other (expenses)/income, net.

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| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

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| ***f*** | ***Fair value measurements*** |

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*Financial instruments*

Accounting guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required or permitted to be recorded at fair value, the Group considers the principal or most advantageous market in which it would transact and it considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability.

Accounting guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument's categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Accounting guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

● Level 1 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

● Level 2 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical asset or liabilities in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets); or model-derived valuations in which significant inputs are observable or can be derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data.

● Level 3 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The Group's financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, other current assets, accrued expenses and amounts due to related parties. The carrying amounts of the short-term financial instruments approximate their fair value due to their relatively short maturity.

#### g Cash and cash equivalents
The Group considers all highly liquid investments, which are unrestricted as to withdrawal or use, with original maturities less than three months as cash and cash equivalents.

h***Time deposits***

Time deposits in the current assets represent demand deposits placed with banks with original maturities of less than one year. Interest earned is recorded as interest income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss during the periods.

***i*** ***Expected credit losses***

The Group's other receivables included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets and Other non-current assets are within the scope of ASC Topic 326. The Group has identified the relevant risk characteristics of other receivables which include size, type of the services or the products the Group provides, or a combination of these characteristics. Receivables with similar risk characteristics have been grouped into pools. For each pool, the Group considers the historical credit loss experience, current economic conditions, supportable forecasts of future economic conditions, and any recoveries in assessing the life-time expected credit losses. Additionally, external data and macroeconomic factors are also considered. This is assessed at each quarter based on the Group's specific facts and circumstances.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Group recognized US$173, nil and US$551 credit losses of prepaid expenses and other current assets.

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| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

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| ***j*** | ***Long-lived assets*** |

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*Property and equipment* 

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation, amortization and impairment, if any. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally from three years for computers and equipment and five years for furniture and fixtures. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the remaining lease term. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. The gain or loss on the disposal of property and equipment is the difference between the net sales proceeds and the carrying amount of the relevant assets and is recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

*Intangible assets* 

Intangible assets mainly comprise of software, copyrights. Intangible assets are recorded at cost less accumulated amortization and impairment,if any, with no residual value. Amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the intangible assets, generally ten years for copyrights and three years for software.

*Impairment of long-lived assets* 

Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significantly adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be fully recoverable or that the useful life is shorter than the Group had originally estimated. When these events occur, the Group evaluates the impairment for the long-lived assets by comparing the carrying value of the assets to an estimate of future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the assets, the Group recognizes an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying value of the assets over the fair value of the assets.

No impairment of long-lived asset was recognized for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;***k***  ***Revenue recognition*** 

Revenues of the Group are mainly generated from providing online English language education services to international students. There are two types of online English language education services, including one-on-one private course service and public course service. The Company determined that private course service and public course service are two separate performance obligations within a single contract with customers, as these two deliverables are distinct in that customers can benefit from each service on its own and the Company's promises to deliver the services are separately identifiable from each other in the contract.

Students purchase the services by subscribing to prepaid credit packages directly from the Group. Tuition is generally paid in advance and is initially recorded as advances from students. Because the validity period of prepaid credit packages is typically from 5 months to 18 months, payment by customers could occur significantly before performance. However, the timing of the transfer of related services is at the discretion of the customers. Therefore, the Group does not recognize any financing component in the determination of revenue from the sale of prepaid credit packages. The Group determines the transaction price to be earned by estimating the refund liability based on historical refund ratio, and allocates the service fee excluding the estimate for refund liability to each performance obligation using the relative stand-alone selling price. The Group determines the stand-alone selling prices for products that have never been sold on a standalone basis using an expected cost plus margin methodology for private courses and the adjusted market assessment methodology for public courses. Revenue from both the private course service and public course service are recognized proportionately as the online classes are delivered, as the Group concluded that the delivery of each online class represents a faithful depiction of when the services are provided to the students.

The Group is responsible for course design, tutor sourcing and training, development and maintenance of online platform and system, and is the party primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide the services to customers and it has full discretion in establishing the prices for the services provided to customers. Hence, the Group is the principal for providing the online English education services to customers. Therefore, the Group recognizes revenue on a gross basis.

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| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

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The Group allows refund of fees corresponding to any remaining undelivered services when customers withdraw contracts with the Group within a certain period after the purchase. Refunds are estimated at the point of contractual arrangement and adjusted against revenues as earned.

The following table presents the Group's revenues disaggregated by location of students:

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended,** | **For the years ended,** | **For the years ended,** |
|  | **December 31, 2023** | **December 31, 2024** | **December 31, 2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
|  | **Total** | **Total** | **Total** |
| Revenues from Asia-Pacific region<sup>(1)</sup> | 25228 | 33256 | 39155 |
| Revenues from other areas, primarily arising from EMEA region<sup>(2)</sup> | 1883 | 17436 | 56446 |
| **Total revenues** | **27111** | **50692** | **95601** |

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(1)Asia-Pacific represents our operational jurisdictions primarily within the East and Southeast Asian regions.

(2)EMEA represents Europe, Middle East and Africa.

*Contract balances*

#### Contract cost
Incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer is recognized as an asset in "Prepaid expenses and other current assets" if the Group expects to recover those costs. Incremental costs of obtaining a contract mainly include sales commissions paid by the Group. Contract cost assets are amortized on the basis consistent with the pattern of the transfer of services to which the assets relate.

As of December 31, 2024 and 2025, the balance of capitalized costs of obtaining contracts with customers was US$4,091 and US$6,838, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Group recognized amortization of US$2,710, US$4,486 and US$9,087, respectively as "Sales and marketing expenses" in its consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

The Group recognizes an impairment loss in profit or loss to the extent that the carrying amount of a contract cost asset exceeds: a. the amount of consideration that the Group has received but not yet recognized as revenue, less b. the costs that relate directly to providing those goods or services and that have not been recognized as expenses. The recoverability of contract cost assets depends on whether the Group can continue to provide lessons delivered by international tutors, the refund level subsequent to December 31, 2025 and whether any related considerations would be forfeited. The Group offers refunds of course fees subject to timing and other conditions in accordance with the Group's refund policies. The number of refund requests that the Group receives and the amount of refunds could be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond the Group's control. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Group recognized nil, nil and US$89 impairment loss of the capitalized costs of obtaining contracts with customers.

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| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

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#### Contract liability
Contract liability is related to the payments received by the Group in advance from customers representing the Group's obligations to provide services to customers. The Group generally receives contract payments in advance and records the consideration as advances from customers. Given that the Group permits refund of fees corresponding to undelivered service within a certain period of time after subscription when customers withdraw contracts with the Group, contract liability does not include the amounts that may be refunded in the future if customers withdraw for any remaining undelivered lessons. The refund liability was estimated based on the historical refund data and the length of remaining period customers are eligible for refund for each contract at the end of each reporting period.

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|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,** | **As of December 31,** | **As of December 31,** |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Contract liability | 26917 | 44465 | 75488 |
| Refund liability  | 284 | 533 | 1036 |
| Deposits from students | 13 | 66 | 45 |
| **Advances from students** | **27214** | **45064** | **76569** |

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The additions to the contract liability balance were primarily due to cash collections received in advance of satisfying the performance obligations, while the reductions to the contract liability balance were primarily due to the recognition of revenues upon fulfillment of performance obligations, as well as refund of fees corresponding to any remaining undelivered services when customers withdraw contracts with the Group within certain period after the purchase, all of which were in the ordinary course of business. US$34,516 of revenues recognized in year ended December 31, 2025 was included in the contract liability balance as of January 1, 2025. No revenue was recognized in the year ended December 31, 2025 from performance obligations satisfied (or partially satisfied) in previous periods.

As of December 31, 2025, the aggregate amount of transaction price allocated to unsatisfied performance obligations is US$75,488. These revenues will be recognized at the discretion of customers. The Group expects to recognize substantially all of this balance as revenue within the operating cycle, and the remainder thereafter.

***l*** ***Cost of revenues***

Cost of revenues primarily includes service expenses involved in the delivery of paid courses and payment processing fees paid to payment channels for processing the payments from students, as these components are directly incurred to fulfill the performance obligations. These costs are expensed as incurred except for payment processing fees associated with advances from students, which are recognized in the period in which the related revenues are recognized. Payment processing fees are recognized on the basis consistent with the pattern of the transfer of services. The Group recognized payment processing fee as amortization of US$5,275 in cost of revenues, and US$61 of impairment loss for the year ended December 31, 2025. Cost of revenues also consists of compensation to personnel providing support for our services. The indirect cost of server, bandwidth is expensed as incurred.

***m*** ***Product development expenses***

Product development expenses consist primarily of payroll-related expenses incurred for the innovation of course content, as well as the development and enhancement to the Group's websites and platforms of applications. The Group expenses all costs incurred for the planning and post implementation phases of development and costs associated with repair or maintenance of the existing platform. Since the inception, the amount of costs qualifying for capitalization has been immaterial and, as a result, all development costs have been expensed as incurred.

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| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

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| ***n*** | ***Sales and marketing expenses*** |

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Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of marketing and promotional expenses, salaries and benefits expenses related to the Group's sales and marketing personnel and office rental, depreciation and other expenses related to the Group's sales and marketing team. The Group capitalizes incremental cost to obtain contracts with customers, mainly including sales commissions paid by the Group. Amortization of related contract cost assets is recognized as sales and marketing expenses. Advertising expenses consist primarily of costs for the promotion of corporate image and product marketing. The Group expenses all advertising costs as incurred and classifies these costs under sales and marketing expenses. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the advertising expenses were US$8,670, US$10,179 and US$21,293, respectively.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;***o***  ***Operating leases*** 

The Group has operating leases primarily for office space. The determination of whether an arrangement is a lease or contains a lease is made at inception by evaluating whether the arrangement conveys the right to use an identified asset and whether the Group obtains substantially all of the economic benefits from and has the ability to direct the use of the asset. Operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the discount rate for the lease at the commencement date. As the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable for the Group's operating leases, the Group generally uses an incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the commencement date to determine the present value of future lease payments. Operating right of use assets are generally recognized based on the amount of the initial measurement of the lease liability. The Group's leases have remaining lease terms of up to 3 years. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Operating leases are included in operating lease right of use assets, short-term lease liabilities and long-term liabilities on the Group's consolidated balance sheets.

When a lease is terminated in its entirety, there should be no remaining lease liability or right-of-use asset. Any difference between the carrying amounts of the right-of-use asset and the lease liability should be recorded in consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as a gain or loss; if a termination penalty is paid, that amount should be included in the gain or loss on termination. The Group elected the short-term lease exemption for all contracts with lease terms of 12 months or less. Rental expenses incurred were US$898, US$1,306 and US$1,959 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***p*** | ***Share-based compensation*** |

---

The Group accounts for share-based awards granted to employees in accordance with ASC 718. In accordance with the guidance, the Group determines whether a share-based award should be classified and accounted for as a liability award or equity award. For options granted to employees, the related share-based compensation expense is recognized in the financial statements based on their grant date fair values, which are calculated using the binomial option pricing model. The binomial option pricing model requires a number of complex assumptions. The determination of the fair value is affected by the share price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables, including the expected share price volatility, actual and projected employee share option exercise behavior, risk-free interest rates and expected dividends. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures using the straight-line method over the requisite service years, such that expenses are recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to ultimately vest.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

---

The forfeiture rate is the estimated annual rate at which unvested awards will be forfeited during the next year, which differs significantly by employee group. For directors and executive officers, the forfeiture rate is estimated to be zero because the possibility of termination of current management is remote. For employees, the forfeitures of stock options are estimated by historical actual forfeitures due to grantees' termination prior to vesting, and the forfeiture rate will be adjusted over the requisite service period to the extent that actual forfeiture rate differs, or is expected to differ from such estimates. Changes in the estimated forfeiture rate will be recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment in the period of change.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***q*** | ***Employee benefits*** |

---

*PRC Contribution Plan* 

Full-time employees of the Group in the PRC participate in a government mandated defined contribution plan, pursuant to which certain pension benefits, medical care, employee housing fund and other welfare benefits are provided to the employees. Chinese labor regulations require that the PRC consolidated subsidiaries of the Group make contributions to the government for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees' salaries, up to a maximum amount specified by the local government. The Group has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. The total amounts for such employee benefit expenses, which were expensed as incurred, were approximately US$1,492, US$1,743 and US$2,202 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

*Philippine Contribution Plan and Employee Benefit Plan* 

The Company's subsidiaries in the Philippines participate in government mandated, multiemployer, defined contribution plans, including Social Security System ("SSS Benefits"), Home Development Mutual Fund ("Pag-IBIG Fund") and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation ("Phil-Health"). Pursuant to these plans certain retirement, medical and housing benefits are provided to full-time employees. Obligations for contributions to these defined contribution plans are recognized as expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as incurred. The total amounts for such employee benefits were US$90, US$115 and US$116 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Philippines also participate in a defined benefits plan, which was unfunded as of December 31, 2025. The liability recognized in the consolidated balance sheets in respect of defined benefit plan is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the end of the reporting period. Changes in the present value of the defined benefit obligation are included in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. The defined benefit obligation is calculated annually by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method. The total liabilities for such employee benefits were US$310 and US$360 as of December 31, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

---

*Other Regions and Countries Contribution Plan*

The Group participates in various defined contribution plans which are available to the full-time employees of other regions and countries, in compliance with local labor laws. Obligations for contributions to these defined contribution plans are recognized as expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as incurred. The total amounts for such employee benefits were US$275, US$477 and US$340 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***r*** | ***Taxation*** |

---

*Income taxes*

Current income taxes are provided on the basis of income/ (loss) for financial reporting purposes, adjusted for income and expense items which are not assessable or deductible for income tax purposes, in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdictions. Deferred income taxes are provided using the liability method. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences of temporary differences by applying enacted statutory rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of existing assets and liabilities. The tax base of an asset or liability is the amount attributed to that asset or liability for tax purposes. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss in the period of change. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than not that some portion of, or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

*Uncertain tax positions*

In order to assess uncertain tax positions, the Group applies a more likely than not threshold and a two-step approach for the tax position measurement and financial statement recognition. Under the two-step approach, the first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. The Group recognizes interest and penalties, if any, under accrued expenses and other current liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet and under other expenses in its consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. The Group evaluates each uncertain tax position (include the potential application of interest and penalties) based on the technical merits, and measure the unrecognized benefits associated with the tax positions. The Company is subject to tax in local and foreign jurisdictions. As a result of its business activities, the Company will file tax returns that are subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***s*** | ***Related parties*** |

---

Parties are considered to be related if one party has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other party in making financial and operating decisions. Parties are also considered to be related if they are subject to common control or significant influence, such as a family member or relative, shareholder, or a related corporation.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***t*** | ***Income/(loss) per share*** |

---

Income/(loss) per share is computed in accordance with ASC 260, *Earnings per Share*. The two-class method is used for computing earnings per share in the event the Group has net income available for distribution. Under the two-class method, net income is allocated between ordinary shares and participating securities based on dividends declared (or accumulated) and participating rights in undistributed earnings as if all the earnings for the reporting period had been distributed.

Basic net income/(loss) per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year. Options and unvested restricted share units are not considered outstanding in computation of basic earnings per share. Diluted net income/(loss) per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares outstanding during year under treasury stock method. Potential ordinary shares include options to purchase ordinary shares and unvested restricted share units, unless they were anti-dilutive. The computation of diluted net income/(loss) per share does not assume conversion, exercise, or contingent issuance of securities that would have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e. an increase in earnings per share amounts or a decrease in income/(loss) per share amounts) on net income/(loss) per share.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***u*** | ***Comprehensive income/(loss)*** |

---

Comprehensive income/(loss) is defined to include all changes in equity/(deficit) of the Group during a period arising from transactions and other events and circumstances excluding transactions resulting from investments by shareholders and distributions to shareholders. Other comprehensive income/(loss), as presented on the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive income/(loss), consists of accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments.

***v*** ***Segment reporting***

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise engaging in businesses activities for which separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by the Group's CEO, who is the chief operating decision maker in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company operates and manages its business as a single reportable segment.

The Group's internal organizational structure as well as information about geographical areas and business segments is more fully described in Note 16.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***w*** | ***Statutory reserves*** |

---

In accordance with China's Company Laws, the consolidated subsidiaries in PRC must make appropriations from their after-tax profit (as determined under the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises as promulgated by the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China ("PRC GAAP")) to non-distributable reserve funds including (i) statutory surplus fund and (ii) discretionary surplus fund. The appropriation to the statutory surplus fund must be at least 10% of the after-tax profits calculated in accordance with PRC GAAP. Appropriation is not required if the statutory surplus fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of the respective company. Appropriation to the discretionary surplus fund is made at the discretion of the respective company.

Pursuant to the laws applicable to China's Foreign Investment Enterprises, the Company's subsidiary that is a foreign investment enterprise in China have to make appropriations from its after-tax profit (as determined under PRC GAAP) to reserve funds including (i) general reserve fund, (ii) enterprise expansion fund and (iii) staff bonus and welfare fund. The appropriation to the general reserve fund must be at least 10% of the after tax profits calculated in accordance with PRC GAAP. Appropriation is not required if the reserve fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of the respective company. Appropriations to the other two reserve funds are at the respective companies' discretion. As of December 31, 2024, no appropriations to enterprise expansion fund and staff welfare and bonus fund have been made by the Group. As of December 31, 2025, the Group has made US$1 statutory surplus reserves.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **2** | **Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)** |

---

x***Recently issued accounting pronouncements***

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, "Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures," which requires disclosure of additional information about specific expense categories underlying certain income statement expense line items. The standard will be effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted. The Group is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard.

In July 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-05, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses ("Topic 326"). This ASU provides a practical expedient that assumes that current conditions as of the balance sheet date do not change for the remaining life of the asset in developing reasonable and supportable forecasts as part of estimating expected credit losses. For public business entities, ASU 2025-05 will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2025, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. The guidance will be applied on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted in both interim and annual reporting periods in which financial statements have not yet been issued or made available for issuance. The Group is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard.

y***Recently adopted accounting pronouncements***

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures," which requires disaggregated information about a reporting entity's effective tax rate reconciliation as well as information on income taxes paid. The standard is intended to benefit investors by providing more detailed income tax disclosures that would be useful in making capital allocation decisions. The standard will be effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Group does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. The Group adopted the new standard on January 1, 2025 on a prospective basis. Refer to Note 9 – Taxation.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **3** | **Risks and Concentration** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***a*** | ***Credit risk*** |

---

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Group to concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, time deposits and deposit in third-party payment channel. The Group limits its exposure to credit loss by depositing its cash and cash equivalents and time deposits with financial institutions in the PRC, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, which are among the largest and most reputable banks with high ratings from internationally-recognized rating agencies, which management believes are of high credit quality. The Group cooperates with large and reputable third-party payment channels for collection and payment services. The Group periodically reviews these institutions' reputations, track records and reported reserves.

As of December 31, 2024 and 2025, the Group had US$12,322 and US$6,484 in cash and cash equivalents, US$89 and US$93 in time deposits with large banks in Singapore, respectively. Singapore has the official Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC) to protect the deposits in the licensed banks, up to a limit of SGD100. In addition, the Group believes that the risk of failure of the Singapore bank is remote.

As of December 31, 2024 and 2025, the Group had US$4,972 and US$8,267 in cash and cash equivalents with large banks in Hong Kong, respectively. Hong Kong has an official Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS), similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States. Deposits in the licensed banks are protected by DPS, up to a limit of HK$800. In addition, the Group believes that the risk of failure of the Hong Kong bank is remote.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***b*** | ***Major customers and Vendors*** |

---

There were no customers whose revenues individually represent greater than 10% of the total revenues of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

There were no vendors that individually represent greater than 10% of the total cost of revenues of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **3** | **Risks and Concentration (Continued)** |

---

***c*** ***Concentration of foreign currency risks***

The Company's reporting currency is USD. As a result of the Group's multinational sales and operations, the Group's cash and cash equivalents and time deposits are dominated in the respective functional currencies. As of December 31, 2025, the Group's cash and cash equivalents and time deposits denominated in SAR were SAR54,062, accounting for approximately 36.9% of the Group's total cash and cash equivalents and time deposits.

***d*** ***Foreign currency exchange rate risks***

From 2022, most of the Group's revenues generated from the international business and denominated in USD. However, as the request of service fee payments to all of the Philippine tutors, a significant portion of the costs are incurred in Philippine Pesos. The Philippines continues to experience inflation, currency declines and shortages of foreign exchange. The Group also has a portion of operating expenses denominated in RMB. The value of RMB against the U.S. dollar may fluctuate significantly and unpredictably. The fluctuations of the RMB against the US$ were approximately 1.7% depreciation, 1.5% depreciation and 2.2% appreciation in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ in the future. The Group is exposed to the risk of cost increases due to inflation in the Philippines and the appreciation of RMB. The Group does not currently engage in any transactions as a hedge against risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **4** | **Prepaid expenses and other current assets** |

---

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Costs to obtain contracts with customers | 4091 | 6838 |
| Cost to collect tuition fee from third-party payment channel  | 1787 | 4643 |
| Deposit in third-party payment channel | 1736 | 3553 |
| Prepaid advertising expenses | 573 | 2157 |
| Prepaid rental and other deposits | 602 | 1107 |
| Due from the distributor | 706 | 1115 |
| Prepaid professional service fees | 65 | 263 |
| Prepaid taxes | 172 | 249 |
| Prepaid Directors & Officers insurance | 83 | 132 |
| Others | 1091 | 1378 |
| **Total** | **10906** | **21435** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **5** | **Property and equipment, net** |

---

Property and equipment consist of the following:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Computers and equipment | 1518 | 2232 |
| Leasehold improvement | 65 | 1333 |
| Furniture and fixtures | 119 | 194 |
| Total | 1702 | 3759 |
| Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization | (1339) | (1761) |
| **Property and equipment, net** | **363** | **1998** |

---

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, depreciation and amortization expenses were US$86, US$125 and US$422, respectively.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **6** | **Intangible assets, net**  |

---

The following table summarizes the Group's intangible assets, net:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Copyright for teaching materials | 120 | 120 |
| Computer software | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 125 | 125 |
| Less: Accumulated amortization | (45) | (57) |
| **Intangible assets, net** | **80** | **68** |

---

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, amortization expenses amounted to US$13, US$12 and US$12, respectively. The Group recognized no impairment on intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

As of December 31, 2025, amortization expense of intangible assets for future years is expected to be as follows:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
|  | **Amortization**<br>**Expense**  |
|  | **US$** |
| 2026 | 12 |
| 2027 | 12 |
| 2028 | 12 |
| 2029 | 12 |
| 2030 and thereafter | 20 |
| **Total** | **68** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **7** | **Operating Leases** |

---

Leases are classified as operating leases or finance leases in accordance with ASC 842. The Group has operating leases for office space that the Group utilizes under lease arrangements. For leases with terms greater than 12 months, the Group records the related assets and lease liability at the present value of lease payments over the terms. Certain leases include rental escalation clauses, renewal options and/or termination options, which are factored into the Group's determination of lease payments when appropriate.

The components of lease expenses for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025 were as follows:

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the year ended December 31,**  | **For the year ended December 31,**  | **For the year ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Operating lease cost  | 637 | 1239 | 1633 |
| Lease cost for leases with terms less than one year  | 261 | 67 | 326 |
| **Total lease cost** | **898** | **1306** | **1959** |

---

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, there was no variable lease cost and sublease income recognized in the consolidated financial statements of the Group.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**7** **Operating Leases (Continued)**

Maturities of lease liabilities were as follows:

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2025** |
|  | **US$** |
| 2026 | 1686 |
| 2027 | 984 |
| 2028 | 383 |
| 2029 |  |
| 2030 and thereafter |  |
| Total undiscounted lease payments | 3053 |
| Less: imputed interest | (112) |
| **Total lease liabilities** | **2941** |

---

The following table provides a summary of the Group's lease terms and discount rates as of December 31, 2024 and 2025:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
| Weighted average remaining lease term(years) | 2.44 | 2.75 |
| Weighted average discount rate(percentage) | 3.60% | 3.60% |

---

Supplemental information related to the Group's operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are as follows:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
| Cash paid for operating leases | 865 | 1,341 | 1,305 |
| Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities | 441 | 3,221 | 2,935 |

---

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **8** | **Accrued expenses and other current liabilities**  |

---

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Accrued advertising and other expenses | 1792 | 5208 |
| Salaries, welfare and outsourcing fee payable | 3812 | 4845 |
| Accrued professional service fees | 295 | 1220 |
| Accrued rental and property management fees | 290 | 299 |
| Accrued staff reimbursements | 44 | 388 |
| Others | 411 | 504 |
| **Total** | **6644** | **12464** |

---

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **9** | **Taxation** |

---

a***Income taxes***

*Cayman Islands*

Under the current tax laws of the Cayman Islands, the Company is not subject to tax on income or capital gains. In addition, upon payments of dividends by the Company to its shareholders, no Cayman Islands withholding tax will be imposed.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **9** | **Taxation (Continued)** |

---

*Hong Kong* 

Commencing from the year of assessment 2018/2019, the first HK$2 million of profits earned by the Group's subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong will be taxed at half the current tax rate (i.e., 8.25%) while the remaining profits will continue to be taxed at the existing 16.5% tax rate. Payments of dividends by the subsidiary to the Company are not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.

*Singapore*

The Company's subsidiary, HelloWorld Online Education PTE.LTD, is established in Singapore and is subject to corporate income tax on its taxable income as determined under Singapore tax laws at a statutory tax rate of 17%.

*Malaysia*

The Company's subsidiary, 51Talk Training SDN.BHD, is established in Malaysia and its income is subject to Malaysia tax laws. Under the prevailing Malaysian tax law (Income Tax Act 1967 and Budget 2024 provisions), the taxable income generated should be subjected to 15% for the first MYR150 thousand taxable income, 17% for taxable income between MYR150 thousand to MYR600 thousand, and 24% thereafter, while it qualifies as a resident small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). Non-SME resident companies are subject to a uniform 24% corporate income tax rate. The subsidiary was a SME for the year ended December 31, 2023 and became a non-SME for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2025.

*Thailand*

The Company's subsidiary, Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd, is established in Thailand and its income is subject to Thailand tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

*Saudi Arabia*

The Company's subsidiary, Darb Al-Najah Training Company, is established in Saudi and its income is subject to Saudi Arabia tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

*United Arab Emirates*

The Company's subsidiaries, HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT-FZCO and Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ, are established in United Arab Emirates and their income is subject to United Arab Emirates tax laws. The income tax rate is 9% on taxable profits.

*Philippines* 

Entities incorporated in Philippines are subject to enterprise income tax in the Philippines at a rate of 25% for Philippines Co II, and 20% for Philippines Co III. As of December 31, 2024 and 2025, the Company's subsidiaries in Philippines had an accumulated profit.

Payments of dividends by Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III are subject to withholding tax in the Philippines at the rate of 25%. As of December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Group did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of its subsidiaries in the Philippines on the basis of its current intent to permanently reinvest the undistributed earnings.

In addition to corporate income tax, Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III are also subjected to 12% of Value Added Tax on all income generated within the Philippines.

*Vietnam*

The Company's subsidiary, Helloworld Online Education Vietnam Company Limited, is established in Vietnam and its income is subject to Vietnam tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **9** | **Taxation (Continued)** |

---

*Jordan*

The Company's subsidiary, Helloworld Jordan, is established in Jordan and its income is subject to Jordan tax laws. The income tax rate is 20% on taxable profits.

*PRC Withholding Tax on Dividends* 

The EIT Law also imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by a foreign-invested entity ("FIE") to its immediate holding company outside of China, if such immediate holding company is considered as a non-resident enterprise without any establishment or place within China or if the received dividends have no connection with the establishment or place of such immediate holding company within China, unless such immediate holding company's jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. Such withholding income tax was exempted under the Previous EIT Law. The Cayman Islands, where the Company incorporated, does not have such tax treaty with China. According to the arrangement between China Mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion in August 2006, dividends paid by an FIE in China to its immediate holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to withholding tax at a rate of no more than 5% (if the foreign investor owns directly at least 25% of the shares of the FIE). The State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") further promulgated Notice 9 on February 3, 2018, which provides that a "beneficial owner" refers to a person who has ownership and disposal rights to the income or any rights and assets arising from such income, and the tax authority is discretionary to determine whether an enterprise is determined as a "beneficial owner."

The following table sets forth the component of income tax expenses of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025:

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the year ended December 31, 2025** | **For the year ended December 31, 2025** | **For the year ended December 31, 2025** |
|  | **International**<br>**entities** | **Singapore**<br>**entity** | <br>**Total** |
|  | US$ | US$ | US$ |
| Loss before income tax expenses | (5561) | (10055) | (15616) |
| Current income tax expenses | 759 | 56 | 815 |
| Deferred income tax expenses | 427 |  | 427 |
| Income tax expenses | 1186 | 56 | 1242 |

---

---

| | | | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2023** | **2023** | **2024** | **2024** | **2024** |
|  | **International**<br>**entities**  | **PRC**<br>**entities**  | <br>**Total** | **International**<br>**entities**  | **PRC**<br>**entities**  | <br>**Total** |
|  | US$ | US$ | US$ | US$ | US$ | US$ |
| Loss before income tax expenses | (16367) | 1453 | (14914) | (8821) | 1775 | (7046) |
| Current income tax expenses | 281 |  | 281 | 149 | 112 | 261 |
| Deferred income tax (benefits)/expenses | (163) |  | (163) | 15 |  | 15 |
| Income tax expenses | 118 |  | 118 | 164 | 112 | 276 |

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[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**9** **Taxation (Continued)**

*Reconciliation of the differences between statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate:*

Reconciliation of the differences between the Singapore statutory tax rate of 17% and the Group's effective tax rate after the adoption of ASU 2023-09 is as follows:

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the year ended December 31, 2025** | **For the year ended December 31, 2025** |
|  | **Amount** | **Percentage** |
| **Statutory tax** | **(2655)** | **17.0%** |
| **Foreign Tax Effects** |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Mainland China | 501 | (3.2)% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Hong Kong | 252 | (1.6)% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Thailand | 41 | (0.3)% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Saudi Arabia | (14) | 0.1% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Other foreign jurisdictions | 1349 | (8.6)% |
| **Effect of changes in tax laws or rates enacted in the current year** |  | —% |
| **Effect of cross-border tax laws** |  | —% |
| **Changes in valuation allowance** | 1712 | (11.0)% |
| **Nontaxable or nondeductible items** |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Non-taxable income |  | —% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Non-deductible expenses |  | —% |
| **Other adjustments** |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Withholding tax | 56 | (0.4)% |
| **Effective Tax Rate** | **1242** | **(8.0)%** |

---

Reconciliation of the differences between the PRC statutory tax rate of 25% and the Group's effective tax rate for years prior to the adoption of ASU 2023-09 is as follows:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,** | **For the years ended December 31,** |
|  | **2023** | **2024** |
| PRC statutory tax rate | 25% | 25% |
| Effect on tax rates in different tax jurisdiction | (10.97)% | (12.49)% |
| Effect on tax holiday | (0.00)% | 0.00% |
| Impact of preferential tax rates | 0.16% | 0.01% |
| Changes in valuation allowance | (12.39)% | (12.29)% |
| Permanent book-tax differences—non-deductible expenses | (1.91)% | (1.53)% |
| Tax effect of withholding tax | —% | (2.62)% |
| Prior true - ups adjustment | 0.55% | —% |
| Change in unrecognized tax benefits | (1.23)% | —% |
| Effective tax rate | (0.79)% | (3.92)% |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**9** **Taxation (Continued)**

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ***b*** | ***Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities*** |

---

Deferred taxes were measured using the enacted tax rates for the periods in which they are expected to be reversed. Significant components of the Group's deferred tax assets are as follows:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December 31,**  | **As of December 31,**  |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| **Deferred tax assets** |  |  |
| Tax loss carryforwards | 6440 | 8381 |
| lease liabilities | 633 | 660 |
| Defined benefits liabilities | 21 | 35 |
| Accruals and other liabilities | 26 | 13 |
| Share-based compensation | (4) | (4) |
| Unrealized foreign exchange loss | 20 | 18 |
| Less: Valuation allowance | (5377) | (7428) |
| **Total deferred tax assets, net** | **1759** | **1675** |
| **Deferred tax liabilities** |  |  |
| Contract costs related assets | (1029) | (1338) |
| Right-of-use assets | (673) | (712) |
| **Total deferred tax liabilities** | **(1702)** | **(2050)** |
| **Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)** | **57** | **(375)** |

---

US$1,258, nil, US$61, nil and US$45,868 of the tax loss carryforwards will expire in the years ended December 31, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 and thereafter, respectively.

The Group's judgment regarding future profitability may change due to many factors, including future market conditions and the ability to successfully execute the Group's business plans and/or tax planning strategies. Should there be a change in the ability to recover deferred tax assets, the Group's income tax provision would increase or decrease in the period in which the assessment is changed.

***Movement of Valuation Allowance***

The following table shows the movement of valuation allowance for the periods presented:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| **Balance at beginning of the year** | **(4361)** | **(4559)** | **(5377)** |
| Provision | (2387) | (1838) | (2272) |
| Current period reversal | 628 | 1020 | 216 |
| Foreign exchange effect |  |  | 5 |
| Prior true- ups adjustment | 1561 |  |  |
| **Balance at end of the year** | **(4559)** | **(5377)** | **(7428)** |

---

c***Uncertain Tax Positions***

The total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits was US$285 as of December 31, 2023, if recognized, would affect the Group's effective tax rate. The Group recognized uncertain tax benefits in income taxes payable on the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023. After paying corporate income tax of US$148 in compliance with the local laws in June 2024, the Group no longer had any significant outstanding unrecognized tax benefits for that period.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**9** **Taxation (Continued)**

For the years ended December 31, 2023, the Group recognized interests of US$1 and penalties of US$200 related to unrecognized tax benefits in other expenses in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. As of December 31, 2023, the Group recognized interests and penalties of US$201 in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. After paying tax interests and obtaining tax penalties exemption in compliance with the local laws in June 2024, the Group no longer had any outstanding provision for interests and penalties of taxes for that period.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company did not have material uncertain tax positions or related interest and penalties.

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,** | **For the years ended December 31,** |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of the year | 285 |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Gross increases—tax position in prior period |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Gross increases—tax position in current period |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Gross decreases—tax position in prior period | (137) |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Settlement | (148) |  |
| Unrecognized tax benefits at end of the year |  |  |

---

Tax returns of the Company's major subsidiaries in the PRC, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Philippines and Vietnam remain subject to examination by relevant tax authorities for five years, six years, five years, five years, ten years, five years, five years, three years and five years, respectively, from the end of each financial year end of the assessment year. Tax returns of the Company's major subsidiary in Jordan remain subject to examination by the tax authorities for four years from the date of filing the return.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **10** | **Ordinary shares** |

---

Immediately prior to the completion of the IPO, the Company adopted a dual class share structure. All of the outstanding ordinary shares prior to the completion of the IPO were automatically redesignated or converted into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, and all ordinary shares issued in or after the completion of the IPO are Class A ordinary shares. All share-based awards, regardless of grant dates, will entitle holders to the equivalent number of Class A shares once the vesting and exercising conditions on such share-based compensation awards are met. Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company's shareholders, except as may otherwise be required by law.

Each holder of Class A ordinary shares is entitled to one vote per share and each holder of class B ordinary shares is entitled to ten votes per share on all matters submitted to them for a vote.

On June 4, 2020, the Company completed its follow-on offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company sold 4,907,100 Class A ordinary shares at US$1.27 per share, including the exercise of the over-allotment option. The total gross capital raise was approximately US$6,216.

As of December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, 1,500,000,000 ordinary shares have been authorized, including (i) 1,000,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, (ii) 350,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each and (iii) 150,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each of such class or classes however designated by the Board of Directors.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, 1,500,000,000 ordinary shares have been authorized, including (i) 1,000,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, (ii) 350,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each and (iii) 150,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each of such class or classes however designated by the Board of Directors.

As of December 31, 2024, 350,794,377 ordinary shares have been issued, of which 247,187,397 were Class A ordinary shares and 103,606,980 were Class B ordinary shares. 350,794,377 ordinary shares are outstanding, of which 247,187,397 were Class A ordinary shares and 103,606,980 were Class B ordinary shares. The movement of Class A ordinary shares for the year ended 2024 includes settlement of RSU by new issuance of 6,687,180 shares and exercise of 807,000 share options. The Class B ordinary shares hadn't changed for the year ended 2024.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **10** | **Ordinary shares (Continued)** |

---

As of December 31, 2025, 359,059,557 ordinary shares have been issued, of which 255,452,577 were Class A ordinary shares and 103,606,980 were Class B ordinary shares. 359,059,557 ordinary shares are outstanding, of which 255,452,577 were Class A ordinary shares and 103,606,980 were Class B ordinary shares. The movement of Class A ordinary shares for the year ended December 31, 2025 includes settlement of RSU by new issuance of 5,649,420 shares and exercise of 2,615,760 share options. The Class B ordinary shares hadn't changed for the year ended December 31, 2025.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **11** | **Share-based Compensation** |

---

The Company adopted 2013 Employee Stock Option Plan (the "2013 Plan"), 2014 Employee Stock Option Plan (the "2014 Plan", collectively the "Pre-IPO Plans"). In May 2016, the Company adopted the 2016 Share Incentive Plan ("2016 Plan"). The Pre-IPO Plans and 2016 Plan allow the plan administrator to grant stock options, share appreciation rights, dividend equivalent right, restricted share units and restricted shares to employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its affiliates, up to a maximum of 36,229,922 and 4,600,000 Class A ordinary shares, respectively, plus (i) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year from 2017 through 2026, equal to 1.5% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2027, equal to 1.2% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or, in each case, such lesser number of Class A ordinary shares as may be determined by our board of directors, during the term of the Amended and Restated 2016 Plan. If an award under the Pre-IPO Plans terminates, expires or lapses, or is cancelled for any reason, ordinary shares subject to the award become available for the grant of a new award under the 2016 Plan. As of December 31, 2025, after consideration of adjustments for the annual increase and other changes, a total of 53,645,627 Class A ordinary shares are available under the plans.

Under the 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan, the Company granted options to employees. All options granted have a contractual term of ten years, and most of options vest over a three-year or four-year requisite service period, depending on the terms of each award agreement. And granted options generally follow one of the three vesting schedules ("Schedule A", "Schedule B", "Schedule C") below:

● Schedule A: one half (½) of which vest upon the second anniversary of the date of vesting commencement date and 25% of the options vest at the third and fourth anniversary respectively;

● Schedule B: 25% of the options vest at each of the four anniversaries;

● Schedule C: 33% of the options vest at each of the three anniversaries;

The Company granted restricted share units ("RSUs") under the 2016 Plan. Most of RSUs vest over a period of two-year or four-year requisite service period. And granted RSUs generally follow one of the four vesting schedules ("Schedule D", "Schedule E", "Schedule F", "Schedule G") below:

● Schedule D: one half (½) of which vest upon the second anniversary of the date of vesting commencement date and 25% of the options vest at the third and fourth anniversary respectively

● Schedule E: 25% of the RSUs vest at each of the four anniversaries;

● Schedule F: 25% of the RSUs vest at each half year of the two anniversaries;

● Schedule G: 33.33% of the RSUs vest at each of the three anniversaries;

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, total share-based compensation expenses recognized were US$910, US$934 and US$1,331, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, the unrecognized compensation cost was US$2,590. These amounts are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.14 years.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **11** | **Share-based Compensation (Continued)** |

---

Share-based compensation expenses were allocated to operating expenses as follows:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Sales and marketing expenses | (149) | (117) | (322) |
| Product development expenses | (179) | (118) | (53) |
| General and administrative expenses | (582) | (699) | (956) |
| **Total** | **(910)** | **(934)** | **(1331)** |

---

***Stock options***

The Group uses the Binomial option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options. The assumptions used to value the Company's option grants were as follows:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
| Stock options: |  |  |  |
| Contractual term (in years) |  | 10.01-10.01 |  |
| Expected volatility |  | 47.3%-60.2 |  |
| Exercise multiple |  | 2.2-2.8 |  |
| Expected dividend yield |  |  |  |
| Risk-free interest rate (per annum) |  | 1.5%-2.6 |  |
| Expected forfeiture rate (post-vesting) |  |  |  |

---

The Group estimated the risk-free rate based on the yield to maturity of U.S. treasury bonds denominated in USD at the option valuation date. The exercise multiple is estimated as the ratio of fair value of underlying shares over the exercise price as at the time the option is exercised, based on a consideration of empirical studies on the actual exercise behavior of employees. The expected volatility at the date of grant date and each option valuation date was estimated based on the historical stock prices of comparable companies. The Group has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its capital stock, and the Group does not anticipate any dividend payments in the foreseeable future.

The following table sets forth the summary of option activities under the Company's 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan:

---

| | | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | <br>**Options**<br>**Outstanding** | <br>**Weighted**<br>**Average**<br>**Exercise**<br>**Price** | **Weighted**<br>**Average**<br>**Remaining**<br>**Contractual**<br>**Life** | <br>**Aggregate Intrinsic**<br>**Value** | <br>**Weighted Average**<br>**Grant Date Fair**<br>**Value** |
|  |  | **US$** | **(In years)** | **US$** | **US$** |
| **December 31, 2023** | **9202075** | **0.1080** | **2.45** | **238** | **0.3858** |
| Granted | 561600 | 0.0167 |  |  | 0.0532 |
| Exercised | (807000) | 0.1455 |  |  | 0.5697 |
| Expired |  |  |  |  |  |
| Forfeited or cancelled | (39500) | 0.2552 |  |  | 0.3462 |
| **December 31, 2024** | **8917175** | **0.0982** | **1.73** | **2171** | **0.3484** |
| Granted |  |  |  |  |  |
| Exercised | (2615760) | 0.0836 |  |  | 0.3936 |
| Expired |  |  |  |  |  |
| Forfeited or cancelled | (299260) | 0.0652 |  |  | 0.4161 |
| **December 31, 2025** | **6002155** | **0.1062** | **0.55** | **1413** | **0.3253** |
| Vested and expected to vest as of December 31, 2025 | 6002155 | 0.1438 | 0.55 | 1188 | 0.3796 |
| Exercisable as of December 31, 2025 | 6002095 | 0.1438 | 0.55 | 1188 | 0.3796 |

---

The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the estimated fair value of the underlying stock at each reporting date and the exercise price of the underlying awards.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

**11** **Share-based Compensation (Continued)**

***RSUs***

The following table sets forth the summary of the restricted share units' activities in 2024 and 2025:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **Number of**<br>**RSUs** | **Weighted Average**<br>**Grant Date Fair Value** |
|  |  | **US$** |
| **December 31, 2023** | **11217853** | **0.14** |
| Granted | 5459920 | 0.15 |
| Vested | (6687180) | 0.14 |
| Forfeited | (967474) | 0.13 |
| **December 31, 2024** | **9023119** | **0.14** |
| Granted | 7304698 | 0.39 |
| Vested | (5649420) | 0.17 |
| Forfeited | (119479) | 0.69 |
| **December 31, 2025** | **10558918** | **0.29** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **12** | **Loss per share**  |

---

Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of the ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share ("EPS") is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period under the treasury stock method.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, stock options to purchase ordinary shares and restricted share units that were anti-dilutive and excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 15,418,093, 16,271,301 and 16,561,074, respectively, on a weighted average basis.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share for the periods:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| **Numerator:** |  |  |  |
| Net loss attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders | (15032) | (7235) | (16804) |
| **Denominator:** |  |  |  |
| Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding |  |  |  |
| —basic  | 341070214 | 347119359 | 355001931 |
| —diluted | 341070214 | 347119359 | 355001931 |
| Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders | (0.04) | (0.02) | (0.05) |
| Basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders | (2.64) | (1.25) | (2.84) |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **13** | **Commitments and contingencies** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **a** | **Commitments** |

---

Future minimum lease payments for operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 2025 are disclosed in Note 7.

As of December 31, 2025, the Group's future minimum commitments under non-cancelable agreements were as follows:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | <br>**Total** | **Less than One**<br>**Year**  | **Over One** <br>**Year**  |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Purchase commitments | 724 | 724 |  |

---

Purchase commitments mainly include commitments for enterprise routine operations including short-term lease payment.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **13** | **Commitments and contingencies (Continued)** |

---

**b** **Contingencies**

There are no claims, lawsuits, investigations and proceedings, including un-asserted claims that are probable to be assessed, that have in the recent past had, or to the Group's knowledge, are reasonably possible to have, a material change on the Group's financial position results of operations or cash flows.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **14** | **Related party transactions** |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Name of entity**  | **Relationships with the Group** |
| Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs | Controlled by the CEO of the Group |

---

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Group had the following material related party transactions:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;***(a)***  ***Transactions with related parties*** 

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,** | **For the years ended December 31,** | **For the years ended December 31,** |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| *Services provided to Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs* |  |  |  |
| Agent services provided to the Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs\* | 142 | 134 | 101 |
| *Services received from Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs* |  |  |  |
| Product development labor service | 882 | 612 | 2077 |
| Internet service | 183 | 272 | 613 |

---

*\** *Agent services provided to Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs mainly refer to the sale of management service of Philippine tutors, and these Philippine tutors would deliver the lessons services to the students in Mainland China.*

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;***(b)***  ***Balances with related parties*** 

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December, 31** | **As of December, 31** |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Amounts due to Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs\* | 2853 | 3333 |

---

*\** *The balance represents net settled services and other payables and receivables between the Company and Dasheng Holding (HK) Limited, its subsidiary and its consolidated VIEs.*

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **15** | **Profit appropriation and restricted net assets**  |

---

PRC laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by the subsidiaries incorporated in the PRC only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of the Company's subsidiary is required to annually appropriate 10% of net after-tax income to the statutory general reserve fund (Note 2(w)) prior to payment of any dividends, unless such reserve funds have reached 50% of its respective registered capital.

As a result of these and other restrictions under PRC laws and regulations, the Company's PRC subsidiaries are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their net assets to the Company either in the form of dividends, loans or advances of the Group's total consolidated net assets.

Total registered capital of the Company's PRC subsidiaries as of December 31, 2024 and 2025 were US$10,070 and US$10,208, respectively.

***Parent Company Only Condensed Financial Information***

The Company performed a test on the restricted net assets of its consolidated subsidiaries in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-X Rule 4-08(e)(3), "General Notes to Financial Statements" and concluded that it was applicable for the Company to disclose the financial information for the parent company only. For the purposes of presenting parent only financial information, the parent company records its investments in its subsidiaries under the equity method of accounting. Such investments are presented on the separate condensed balance sheets of the parent company as "Deficits of investments in subsidiaries", and shares in the subsidiaries' loss are presented as "Share of loss of subsidiaries" in the condensed statements of comprehensive loss. The parent company only condensed financial information should be read in conjunction with the Group' consolidated financial statements.

The subsidiaries did not pay any dividends to the parent company for the years presented. Certain information and footnote disclosures generally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with US GAAP have been condensed and omitted. The footnote disclosures represent supplemental information relating to the operations of the parent company, as such, these statements should be read in conjunction with the notes to the consolidated financial statements of the Group.

The parent company did not have significant capital and other commitments, or guarantees as of December 31, 2024 and 2025.

The parent company's accounting policies are the same as the Group's policies except for the accounting for the investments in subsidiaries.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **15** | **Profit appropriation and restricted net assets (Continued)** |

---

*Condensed Balance Sheets of the Parent Company*

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **As of December, 31** | **As of December, 31** |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| **ASSETS** |  |  |
| Current assets |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Cash and cash equivalents | 1545 | 48 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 86 | 165 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Amounts due from related parties | 70 | 70 |
| Total current assets | 1701 | 283 |
| Non-current assets |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Amounts due from inter-company entities | 16425 | 16443 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Other non-current assets | 69 | 69 |
| Total non-current assets | 16494 | 16512 |
| **Total assets** | **18195** | **16795** |
| **LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT** |  |  |
| Current liabilities |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 243 | 886 |
| Total current liabilities | 243 | 886 |
| Non-current liabilities |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Amounts due to inter-company entities | 5786 | 4691 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Deficits of investments in subsidiaries | 26878 | 42471 |
| Total non-current liabilities | 32664 | 47162 |
| **Total liabilities** | **32907** | **48048** |
| Shareholders' deficit: |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Class A ordinary shares | 25 | 26 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Class B ordinary shares  | 10 | 10 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Additional paid-in capital | 339249 | 340949 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Surplus reserves | 1 | 1 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accumulated other comprehensive loss  | (685) | (1939) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Accumulated deficit | (353600) | (370404) |
| Total COE's shareholders' deficit | (15000) | (31357) |
| Noncontrolling interests | 288 | 104 |
| **Total shareholders' deficit** | **(14712)** | **(31253)** |
| **Total liabilities and shareholders' deficit** | **18195** | **16795** |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **15** | **Profit appropriation and restricted net assets (Continued)** |

---

*Condensed Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss of the Parent Company*

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Operating expenses: |  |  |  |
| General and administrative expenses | (1410) | (1226) | (1719) |
| Share of loss of subsidiaries | (13350) | (5978) | (15634) |
| Total operating expenses | (14760) | (7204) | (17353) |
| Loss from operations | (14760) | (7204) | (17353) |
| Others | (272) | (254) | 495 |
| Loss before income tax expenses | (15032) | (7458) | (16858) |
| Income tax expenses |  | 136 |  |
| Net loss | (15032) | (7322) | (16858) |
| Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests |  | (87) | (54) |
| Net loss, all attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders | (15032) | (7235) | (16804) |
| Comprehensive loss: |  |  |  |
| Net loss | (15032) | (7322) | (16858) |
| Other comprehensive loss |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Foreign currency translation adjustments | (627) | (373) | (1260) |
| Total comprehensive loss | (15659) | (7695) | (18118) |
| Less: comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | 2 | (14) | (6) |
| Total comprehensive loss attributable to ordinary shareholders | (15661) | (7681) | (18112) |

---

*Condensed Statements of Cash Flows of the Parent Company*

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  | **For the years ended December 31,**  |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Cash flows from operating activities: |  |  |  |
| Net cash used in operating activities | (1109) | (1129) | (1215) |
| Cash flows from investing activities: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Placement of time deposits | (1006) |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Withdrawal of time deposits | 4830 | 1000 |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Net cash used in transactions with intra-Group entities | (4167) | (2833) | (1149) |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (343) | (1833) | (1149) |
| Cash flows from financing activities: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Net cash provided by transactions with intra-Group entities | 773 | 900 | 844 |
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 773 | 900 | 844 |
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 77 | 2 | 23 |
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (602) | (2060) | (1497) |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 4207 | 3605 | 1545 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 3605 | 1545 | 48 |

---

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **16** | **Segment Information** |

---

Based on the criteria established by ASC 280 "Segment Reporting", the Group's chief operating decision maker ("CODM") has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise engaging in businesses activities for which separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by the Group's CODM in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance.

The Group operates in several principal geographical areas. The Group's CODM evaluates the Group's financial information and resources and assesses the performance of these resources on a consolidated basis. The Group concluded that it operates as one reportable segment.

The CODM uses loss from operations, which is the primary measurement, and gross profit to assess the overall performance by comparing loss from operations and gross profit to historical results. The CODM does not regularly review total assets as total assets are not used to assess performance or allocate resources.

The following table presents revenues, cost of revenues, gross profit and loss from operations by reportable segment:

---

| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **For the years ended December 31,** | **For the years ended December 31,** | **For the years ended December 31,** |
|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** | **US$** |
| Net revenues | 27111 | 50692 | 95601 |
| Cost of revenues | (6322) | (11164) | (24944) |
| Gross profit | 20789 | 39528 | 70657 |
| Operating expenses: |  |  |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Sales and marketing expenses<sup>(1)</sup> | (23488) | (33271) | (61985) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Product development expenses<sup>(1)</sup> | (2909) | (3453) | (5423) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;General and administrative expenses<sup>(1)</sup> | (7145) | (9916) | (16347) |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Share-based compensation expenses | (910) | (934) | (1331) |
| Total operating expenses | (34452) | (47574) | (85086) |
| Loss from operations | (13663) | (8046) | (14429) |
| Interest income | 165 | 229 | 358 |
| Other (expenses)/income, net | (1416) | 771 | (1545) |
| Income tax expenses | (118) | (276) | (1242) |
| Net loss | (15032) | (7322) | (16858) |

---

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) Total depreciation and amortization expenses of a single segment were US $99 , US $137 and US $434 , respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

[**Table of Contents**](#TOC)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **16** | **Segment Information (Continued)** |

---

The following table summarizes primary long-lived assets of the Group by geographical location:

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **Right-of-use assets** | **Right-of-use assets** |
|  | **As of December 31,** | **As of December 31,** |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Asia-Pacific region | 2657 | 2520 |
| Other areas | 231 | 691 |
| **Total** | **2888** | **3211** |

---

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **Property and equipment, net** | **Property and equipment, net** |
|  | **As of December 31,** | **As of December 31,** |
|  | **2024** | **2025** |
|  | **US$** | **US$** |
| Asia-Pacific region | 120 | 812 |
| Other areas<sup>(1)</sup> | 243 | 1186 |
| **Total** | **363** | **1998** |

---

(1)Including US$1,186 of the EMEA region as of December 31, 2025.

## Exhibit 4.1

**Exhibit 4.1**

**51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP**

**AMENDED AND RESTATED 2016 SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN**

**ARTICLE 1**

**PURPOSE**

The purpose of the 51Talk Online Education Group Amended and Restated 2016 Share Incentive Plan (the "<u>Plan</u>") is to promote the success and enhance the value of 51Talk Online Education Group, an exempted company with limited liability formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "<u>Company</u>"), by linking the personal interests of the members of the Board, Employees, Consultants and other individuals as the Committee may authorize and approve, to those of the Company's shareholders and, by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance, to generate superior returns to the Company's shareholders. The Plan is further intended to provide flexibility to the Company in its ability to motivate, attract, and retain the services of recipients of share incentives hereunder upon whose judgment, interest, and special effort the successful conduct of the Company's operation is largely dependent. The Plan amends and restates the previously adopted 2016 Share Incentive Plan of the Company (the "<u>2016 Share Incentive Plan</u>"), in its entirety and assumes all awards granted under the 2016 Share Incentive Plan.

**ARTICLE 2**

**DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION**

Wherever the following terms are used in the Plan they shall have the meanings specified below, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The singular pronoun shall include the plural where the context so indicates.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.1"<u>Applicable Laws</u>" means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of the corporate, securities, tax and other laws, rules, regulations and government orders, and the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.2"<u>Award</u>" means an Option, Restricted Share or Restricted Share Unit award granted to a Participant pursuant to the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.3"<u>Award Agreement</u>" means any written agreement, contract, or other instrument or document evidencing an Award, including through electronic medium.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.4"<u>Award Pool</u>" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(a).

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.5"<u>Board</u>" means the Board of Directors of the Company.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.6"<u>Cause</u>" with respect to a Participant means (unless otherwise expressly provided in the applicable Award Agreement, or another applicable contract with the Participant that defines such term for purposes of determining the effect that a "for cause" termination has on the Participant's Awards) a termination of employment or service based upon a finding by the

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Service Recipient, acting in good faith and based on its reasonable belief at the time, that the Participant:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)has been negligent in the discharge of his or her duties to the Service Recipient, has refused to perform stated or assigned duties or is incompetent in or (other than by reason of a disability or analogous condition) incapable of performing those duties;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)has been dishonest or committed or engaged in an act of theft, embezzlement or fraud, a breach of confidentiality, an unauthorized disclosure or use of inside information, customer lists, trade secrets or other confidential information;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c)has breached a fiduciary duty, or willfully and materially violated any other duty, law, rule, regulation or policy of the Service Recipient; or has been convicted of, or plead guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or misdemeanor (other than minor traffic violations or similar offenses);

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d)has materially breached any of the provisions of any agreement with the Service Recipient;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(e)has engaged in unfair competition with, or otherwise acted intentionally in a manner injurious to the reputation, business or assets of, the Service Recipient; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(f)has improperly induced a vendor or customer to break or terminate any contract with the Service Recipient or induced a principal for whom the Service Recipient acts as agent to terminate such agency relationship.

A termination for Cause shall be deemed to occur (subject to reinstatement upon a contrary final determination by the Committee) on the date on which the Service Recipient first delivers written notice to the Participant of a finding of termination for Cause.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.7"<u>Code</u>" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of the United States, as amended.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.8"<u>Committee</u>" means the Board or a committee of the Board described in Article 10.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.9"<u>Consultant</u>" means any consultant or adviser if: (a) the consultant or adviser renders bona fide services to a Service Recipient; (b) the services rendered by the consultant or adviser are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the Company's securities; and (c) the consultant or adviser is a natural person who has contracted directly with the Service Recipient to render such services.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.10"<u>Corporate Transaction</u>", unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means any of the following transactions, provided, however, that the Committee shall determine under (d) and (e) whether multiple transactions are related, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)an amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation or scheme of arrangement (i) in which the Company is not the surviving entity, except for a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the jurisdiction in which the Company is incorporated

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or (ii) following which the holders of the voting securities of the Company do not continue to hold more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c)the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d)any reverse takeover or series of related transactions culminating in a reverse takeover (including, but not limited to, a tender offer followed by a reverse takeover) in which the Company is the surviving entity but (A) the Company's equity securities outstanding immediately prior to such takeover are converted or exchanged by virtue of the takeover into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise, or (B) in which securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Company's outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons different from those who held such securities immediately prior to such takeover or the initial transaction culminating in such takeover, but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(e)acquisition in a single or series of related transactions by any person or related group of persons (other than the Company or by a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan) of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) of securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Company's outstanding securities but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.11 "<u>Disability</u>", unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means that the Participant qualifies to receive long-term disability payments under the Service Recipient's long-term disability insurance program, as it may be amended from time to time, to which the Participant provides services regardless of whether the Participant is covered by such policy. If the Service Recipient to which the Participant provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, "Disability" means that a Participant is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by the Participant by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment for a period of not less than ninety (90) consecutive days. A Participant will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Committee in its discretion.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.12"<u>Effective Date</u>" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.13"<u>Employee</u>" means any person, including an officer or a member of the Board of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, who is in the employment of a Service Recipient, subject to the control and direction of the Service Recipient as to both the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a director's fee by a Service Recipient shall not be sufficient to constitute "employment" by the Service Recipient.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.14"<u>Exchange Act</u>" means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 of the United States, as amended.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.15"<u>Fair Market Value</u>" means, as of any date, the value of Shares determined as follows:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)If the Shares are listed on one or more established stock exchanges or national market systems, including without limitation, The New York Stock Exchange and The Nasdaq Stock Market, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such shares (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on the principal exchange or system on which the Shares are listed (as determined by the Committee) on the date of determination (or, if no closing sales price or closing bid was reported on that date, as applicable, on the last trading date such closing sales price or closing bid was reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)If the Shares are regularly quoted on an automated quotation system (including the OTC Bulletin Board) or by a recognized securities dealer, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such shares as quoted on such system or by such securities dealer on the date of determination, but if selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Shares on the date of determination (or, if no such prices were reported on that date, on the last date such prices were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c)In the absence of an established market for the Shares of the type described in (a) and (b), above, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Committee in good faith and in its discretion by reference to (i) the placing price of the latest private placement of the Shares and the development of the Company's business operations and the general economic and market conditions since such latest private placement, (ii) other third party transactions involving the Shares and the development of the Company's business operation and the general economic and market conditions since such sale, (iii) an independent valuation of the Shares, or (iv) such other methodologies or information as the Committee determines to be indicative of Fair Market Value and relevant.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.16"<u>Incentive Share Option</u>" means an Option that is intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision thereto.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.17"<u>Independent Director</u>" means (i) before the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who is a Non-Employee Director; and (ii) after the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who meets the independence standards under the applicable corporate governance rules of the stock exchange.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.18"<u>Non-Employee Director</u>" means a member of the Board who qualifies as a "Non-Employee Director" as defined in Rule 16b-3(b)(3) of the Exchange Act, or any successor definition adopted by the Board.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.19"<u>Non-Qualified Share Option</u>" means an Option that is not intended to be an Incentive Share Option.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.20"<u>Option</u>" means a right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 5 of the Plan to purchase a specified number of Shares at a specified price during specified time periods. An Option may be either an Incentive Share Option or a Non-Qualified Share Option.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.21"<u>Participant</u>" means a person who, as a member of the Board, Consultant or Employee, or other individuals as the Committee may authorize and approve, has been granted an Award pursuant to the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.22"<u>Parent</u>" means a parent corporation under Section 424(e) of the Code.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.23"<u>Plan</u>" means this 51Talk Online Education Group Amended and Restated 2016 Share Incentive Plan, as it may be further amended and/or restated from time to time.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.24"<u>Related Entity</u>" means any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly, but which is not a Subsidiary and which the Board designates as a Related Entity for purposes of the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.25"<u>Restricted Share</u>" means a Share awarded to a Participant pursuant to Article 6 that is subject to certain restrictions and may be subject to risk of forfeiture.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.26"<u>Restricted Share Unit</u>" means the right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 7 to receive a Share at a future date.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.27"<u>Securities Act</u>" means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States, as amended.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.28"<u>Service Recipient</u>" means the Company, any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company and any Related Entity to which a Participant provides services as an Employee, a Consultant, or a Director.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.29"<u>Share</u>" means Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value US$0.0001 per share, and such other securities of the Company that may be substituted for Shares pursuant to Article 9.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.30"<u>Subsidiary</u>" means any corporation or other entity of which a majority of the outstanding voting shares or voting power is beneficially owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the Company.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2.31"<u>Trading Date</u>" means the closing of the first sale to the general public of the Shares pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act.

**ARTICLE 3**

**SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3.1<u>Number of Shares</u>.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)Subject to the provisions of Article 9 and Section 3.1(b), the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards (including Incentive Share Options) shall initially be 4,600,000 Class A ordinary shares in 2016, plus (i) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year from 2017 through 2026, equal to 1.5% of the total outstanding share capital as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) an annual increase, on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2027, equal to 1.2% of the total outstanding share capital of the Company as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or, in each case, such lesser number of Class A ordinary shares as may be determined by the board of directors of the Company.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)To the extent that an Award terminates, expires, or lapses for any reason, any Shares subject to the Award shall again be available for the grant of an Award pursuant to the Plan. To the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, Shares issued in assumption of, or in substitution for, any outstanding awards of any entity acquired in any form or combination by the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company shall not be counted against Shares available for grant pursuant to the Plan. Shares delivered by the Participant or withheld by the Company upon the exercise of any Award under the Plan, in payment of the exercise price thereof or tax withholding thereon, may again be optioned, granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). If any Restricted Shares are forfeited by the Participant or repurchased by the Company, such Shares may again be optioned, granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 3.1(b), no Shares may again be optioned, granted or awarded if such action would cause an Incentive Share Option to fail to qualify as an Incentive Share Option under Section 422 of the Code.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3.2<u>Shares Distributed</u>. Any Shares distributed pursuant to an Award may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Shares, treasury shares (subject to Applicable Laws) or Shares purchased on the open market. Additionally, in the discretion of the Committee, American Depository Shares in an amount equal to the number of Shares which otherwise would be distributed pursuant to an Award may be distributed in lieu of Shares in settlement of any Award. If the number of Shares represented by an American Depository Share is other than on a one-to-one basis, the limitations of Section 3.1 shall be adjusted to reflect the distribution of American Depository Shares in lieu of Shares.

**ARTICLE 4**

**ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.1<u>Eligibility</u>. Those eligible to participate in the Plan include Employees, Consultants, and all members of the Board, and other individuals, as determined, authorized and approved by the Committee.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.2<u>Participation</u>. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee may, from time to time, select from among all eligible individuals, those to whom Awards shall be granted and shall determine the nature and amount of each Award. No individual shall have any right to be granted an Award pursuant to the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.3<u>Jurisdictions</u>. In order to assure the viability of Awards granted to Participants in various jurisdictions, the Committee may provide for such special terms as it may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy, or custom applicable in the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides, is employed, operates or is incorporated. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to, or amendments, restatements, or alternative versions of, the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes without thereby affecting the terms of the Plan as in effect for any other purpose; *provided, however*, that no such supplements, amendments, restatements, or alternative versions shall increase the share limitations contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted, that would violate any Applicable Laws.

------

**ARTICLE 5**

**OPTIONS**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5.1<u>General</u>. The Committee is authorized to grant Options to Participants on the following terms and conditions:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)<u>Exercise Price</u>. The exercise price per Share subject to an Option shall be determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement which may be a fixed or variable price related to the Fair Market Value of the Shares. The exercise price per Share subject to an Option may be amended or adjusted in the absolute discretion of the Committee, the determination of which shall be final, binding and conclusive. For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent not prohibited by Applicable Laws or any exchange rule, a downward adjustment of the exercise prices of Options mentioned in the preceding sentence shall be effective without the approval of the Company's shareholders or the approval of the affected Participants.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)<u>Time and Conditions of Exercise</u>. The Committee shall determine the time or times at which an Option may be exercised in whole or in part, including exercise prior to vesting; *provided* that the term of any Option granted under the Plan shall not exceed ten years, except as provided in Section 12.1. The Committee shall also determine any conditions, if any, that must be satisfied before all or part of an Option may be exercised.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c)<u>Payment</u>. The Committee shall determine the methods by which the exercise price of an Option may be paid, the form of payment, including, without limitation (i) cash or check denominated in U.S. Dollars, (ii) to the extent permissible under the Applicable Laws, cash or check in Chinese Renminbi, (iii) cash or check denominated in any other local currency as approved by the Committee, (iv) Shares held for such period of time as may be required by the Committee in order to avoid adverse financial accounting consequences and having a Fair Market Value on the date of delivery equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Option or exercised portion thereof, (v) after the Trading Date the delivery of a notice that the Participant has placed a market sell order with a broker with respect to Shares then issuable upon exercise of the Option, and that the broker has been directed to pay a sufficient portion of the net proceeds of the sale to the Company in satisfaction of the Option exercise price; *provided* that payment of such proceeds is then made to the Company upon settlement of such sale, (vi) other property acceptable to the Committee with a Fair Market Value equal to the exercise price, or (vii) any combination of the foregoing. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, no Participant who is a member of the Board or an "executive officer" of the Company within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act shall be permitted to pay the exercise price of an Option in any method which would violate Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d)<u>Evidence of Grant</u>. All Options shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement between the Company and the Participant. The Award Agreement shall include such additional provisions as may be specified by the Committee.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(e)<u>Effects of Termination of Employment or Service on Options</u>. Termination of employment or service shall have the following effects on Options granted to the Participants:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(i)<u>Dismissal for Cause</u>. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participant's employment by or service to the Service Recipient is terminated

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by the Service Recipient for Cause, the Participant's Options will terminate upon such termination, whether or not the Option is then vested and/or exercisable;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(ii)<u>Death or Disability</u>. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participant's employment by or service to the Service Recipient terminates as a result of the Participant's death or Disability:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) the Participant (or his or her legal representative or beneficiary, in the case of the Participant's Disability or death, respectively), will have until the date that is 12 months after the Participant's termination of Employment to exercise the Participant's Options (or portion thereof) to the extent that such Options were vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant's termination of Employment on account of death or Disability;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) the Options, to the extent not vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant's termination of Employment or service, shall terminate upon the Participant's termination of Employment or service on account of death or Disability; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) the Options, to the extent exercisable for the 12-month period following the Participant's termination of Employment or service and not exercised during such period, shall terminate at the close of business on the last day of the 12-month period.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(iii)<u>Other Terminations of Employment or Service</u>. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participant's employment by or service to the Service Recipient terminates for any reason other than a termination by the Service Recipient for Cause or because of the Participant's death or Disability:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) the Participant will have until the date that is 90 days after the Participant's termination of Employment or service to exercise his or her Options (or portion thereof) to the extent that such Options were vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant's termination of Employment or service;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) the Options, to the extent not vested and exercisable on the date of the Participant's termination of Employment or service, shall terminate upon the Participant's termination of Employment or service; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) the Options, to the extent exercisable for the 90-day period following the Participant's termination of Employment or service and not exercised during such period, shall terminate at the close of business on the last day of the 90-day period.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5.2<u>Incentive Share Options</u>. Incentive Share Options may be granted to Employees of the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company. Incentive Share Options may not be granted to Employees of a Related Entity or to Independent Directors or Consultants. The terms of any Incentive Share Options granted pursuant to the Plan, in addition to the

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requirements of Section 5.1, must comply with the following additional provisions of this Section 5.2:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)<u>Individual Dollar Limitation</u>. The aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the time the Option is granted) of all Shares with respect to which Incentive Share Options are first exercisable by a Participant in any calendar year may not exceed $100,000 or such other limitation as imposed by Section 422(d) of the Code, or any successor provision. To the extent that Incentive Share Options are first exercisable by a Participant in excess of such limitation, the excess shall be considered Non-Qualified Share Options.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)<u>Exercise Price</u>. The exercise price of an Incentive Share Option shall be equal to the Fair Market Value on the date of grant. However, the exercise price of any Incentive Share Option granted to any individual who, at the date of grant, owns Shares possessing more than ten percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of shares of the Company may not be less than 110% of Fair Market Value on the date of grant and such Option may not be exercisable for more than five years from the date of grant.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c)<u>Transfer Restriction</u>. The Participant shall give the Company prompt notice of any disposition of Shares acquired by exercise of an Incentive Share Option within (i) two years from the date of grant of such Incentive Share Option or (ii) one year after the transfer of such Shares to the Participant.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d)<u>Expiration of Incentive Share Options</u>. No Award of an Incentive Share Option may be made pursuant to this Plan after the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(e)<u>Right to Exercise</u>. During a Participant's lifetime, an Incentive Share Option may be exercised only by the Participant.

**ARTICLE 6**

**RESTRICTED SHARES**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6.1<u>Grant of Restricted Shares</u>. The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Shares to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Shares to be granted to each Participant.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6.2<u>Restricted Shares Award Agreement</u>. Each Award of Restricted Shares shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify the period of restriction, the number of Restricted Shares granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. Unless the Committee determines otherwise, Restricted Shares shall be held by the Company as escrow agent until the restrictions on such Restricted Shares have lapsed.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6.3<u>Issuance and Restrictions</u>. Restricted Shares shall be subject to such restrictions on transferability and other restrictions as the Committee may impose (including, without limitation, limitations on the right to vote Restricted Shares or the right to receive dividends on the Restricted Share). These restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such times, pursuant to such circumstances, in such installments, or otherwise, as the Committee determines at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6.4<u>Forfeiture/Repurchase</u>. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Shares that are at that time subject to restrictions shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; *provided, however*, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares will be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6.5<u>Certificates for Restricted Shares</u>. Restricted Shares granted pursuant to the Plan may be evidenced in such manner as the Committee shall determine. If certificates representing Restricted Shares are registered in the name of the Participant, certificates must bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Shares, and the Company may, at its discretion, retain physical possession of the certificate until such time as all applicable restrictions lapse.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6.6<u>Removal of Restrictions</u>. Except as otherwise provided in this Article 6, Restricted Shares granted under the Plan shall be released from escrow as soon as practicable after the last day of the period of restriction. The Committee, in its discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions shall lapse or be removed. After the restrictions have lapsed, the Participant shall be entitled to have any legend or legends under Section 6.5 removed from his or her Share certificate, and the Shares shall be freely transferable by the Participant, subject to applicable legal restrictions. The Committee (in its discretion) may establish procedures regarding the release of Shares from escrow and the removal of legends, as necessary or appropriate to minimize administrative burdens on the Company.

**ARTICLE 7**

**RESTRICTED SHARE UNITS**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7.1<u>Grant of Restricted Share Units</u>. The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Share Units to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Share Units to be granted to each Participant.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7.2<u>Restricted Share Units Award Agreement</u>. Each Award of Restricted Share Units shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify any vesting conditions, the number of Restricted Share Units granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7.3<u>Performance Objectives and Other Terms</u>. The Committee, in its discretion, may set performance objectives or other vesting criteria which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Restricted Share Units that will be paid out to the Participants.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7.4<u>Form and Timing of Payment of Restricted Share Units</u>. At the time of grant, the Committee shall specify the date or dates on which the Restricted Share Units shall become fully vested and nonforfeitable. Upon vesting, the Committee, in its sole discretion, may pay Restricted Share Units in the form of cash, in Shares or in a combination thereof.

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7.5<u>Forfeiture/Repurchase</u>. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Share Units that are at that time unvested shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; *provided, however*, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Unit Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units will be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units.

**ARTICLE 8**

**PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO AWARDS**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.1<u>Award Agreement</u>. Awards under the Plan shall be evidenced by Award Agreements that set forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each Award which may include the term of an Award, the provisions applicable in the event the Participant's employment or service terminates, and the Company's authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind an Award.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.2<u>No Transferability; Limited Exception to Transfer Restrictions</u>.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.2.1<u>Limits on Transfer.</u> Unless otherwise expressly provided in (or pursuant to) this Section 8.2, by applicable law and by the Award Agreement, as the same may be amended:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) all Awards are non-transferable and will not be subject in any manner to sale, transfer, anticipation, alienation, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Awards will be exercised only by the Participant; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) amounts payable or shares issuable pursuant to an Award will be delivered only to (or for the account of), and, in the case of Shares, registered in the name of, the Participant.

In addition, the shares shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.2.2<u>Further Exceptions to Limits on Transfer</u>. The exercise and transfer restrictions in Section 8.2.1 will not apply to:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) transfers to the Company or a Subsidiary;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) transfers by gift to "immediate family" as that term is defined in SEC Rule 16a-1(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) the designation of a beneficiary to receive benefits if the Participant dies or, if the Participant has died, transfers to or exercises by the Participant's beneficiary, or, in the absence of

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a validly designated beneficiary, transfers by will or the laws of descent and distribution; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d) if the Participant has suffered a disability, permitted transfers or exercises on behalf of the Participant by the Participant's duly authorized legal representative; or

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(e) transfer to one or more natural persons who are the Participant's family members or entities owned and controlled by the Participant and/or the Participant's family members, including but not limited to trusts or other entities whose beneficiaries or beneficial owners are the Participant and/or the Participant's family members, or to such other persons or entities as may be expressly approved by the Committee, pursuant to such conditions and procedures as the Committee or may establish. Any permitted transfer shall be subject to the condition that the Committee receives evidence satisfactory to it that the transfer is being made for estate and/or tax planning purposes and on a basis consistent with the Company's lawful issue of securities.

Notwithstanding anything else in this Section 8.2.2 to the contrary, but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, Incentive Share Options, Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units will be subject to any and all transfer restrictions under the Code applicable to such Awards or necessary to maintain the intended tax consequences of such Awards. Notwithstanding clause (b) above but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, any contemplated transfer by gift to "immediate family" as referenced in clause (b) above is subject to the condition precedent that the transfer be approved by the Administrator in order for it to be effective.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.3<u>Beneficiaries</u>. Notwithstanding Section 8.2, a Participant may, in the manner determined by the Committee, designate a beneficiary to exercise the rights of the Participant and to receive any distribution with respect to any Award upon the Participant's death. A beneficiary, legal guardian, legal representative, or other person claiming any rights pursuant to the Plan is subject to all terms and conditions of the Plan and any Award Agreement applicable to the Participant, except to the extent the Plan and Award Agreement otherwise provide, and to any additional restrictions deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. If the Participant is married and resides in a community property state, a designation of a person other than the Participant's spouse as his or her beneficiary with respect to more than 50% of the Participant's interest in the Award shall not be effective without the prior written consent of the Participant's spouse. If no beneficiary has been designated or survives the Participant, payment shall be made to the person entitled thereto pursuant to the Participant's will or the laws of descent and distribution. Subject to the foregoing, a beneficiary designation may be changed or revoked by a Participant at any time provided the change or revocation is filed with the Committee.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.4<u>Share Certificates</u>. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificates evidencing the Shares

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pursuant to the exercise of any Award, unless and until the Committee has determined, with advice of counsel, that the issuance and delivery of such certificates is in compliance with all Applicable Laws, regulations of governmental authorities and, if applicable, the requirements of any exchange on which the Shares are listed or traded. All Share certificates delivered pursuant to the Plan are subject to any stop-transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to comply with all Applicable Laws, and the rules of any national securities exchange or automated quotation system on which the Shares are listed, quoted, or traded. The Committee may place legends on any Share certificate to reference restrictions applicable to the Shares. In addition to the terms and conditions provided herein, the Committee may require that a Participant make such reasonable covenants, agreements, and representations as the Committee, in its discretion, deems advisable in order to comply with any such laws, regulations, or requirements. The Committee shall have the right to require any Participant to comply with any timing or other restrictions with respect to the settlement or exercise of any Award, including a window-period limitation, as may be imposed in the discretion of the Committee.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.5<u>Paperless Administration</u>. Subject to Applicable Laws, the Committee may make Awards, provide applicable disclosure and procedures for exercise of Awards by an internet website or interactive voice response system for the paperless administration of Awards.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8.6<u>Foreign Currency</u>. A Participant may be required to provide evidence that any currency used to pay the exercise price of any Award were acquired and taken out of the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides in accordance with Applicable Laws, including foreign exchange control laws and regulations. In the event the exercise price for an Award is paid in Chinese Renminbi or other foreign currency, as permitted by the Committee, the amount payable will be determined by conversion from U.S. dollars at the official rate promulgated by the People's Bank of China for Chinese Renminbi, or for jurisdictions other than the Peoples Republic of China, the exchange rate as selected by the Committee on the date of exercise.

**ARTICLE 9**

**changes in capital structure**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9.1<u>Adjustments</u>. In the event of any dividend, share split, combination or exchange of Shares, amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation, spin-off, recapitalization or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to its shareholders, or any other change affecting the shares of Shares or the share price of a Share, the Committee shall make such proportionate adjustments, if any, as the Committee in its discretion may deem appropriate to reflect such change with respect to (a) the aggregate number and type of shares that may be issued under the Plan (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Section 3.1); (b) the terms and conditions of any outstanding Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable performance targets or criteria with respect thereto); and (c) the grant or exercise price per share for any outstanding Awards under the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9.2<u>Corporate Transactions</u>. Except as may otherwise be provided in any Award Agreement or any other written agreement entered into by and between the Company and a Participant, if the Committee anticipates the occurrence, or upon the occurrence, of a Corporate Transaction, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for (i) any and all Awards outstanding hereunder to terminate at a specific time in the future and shall give each

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Participant the right to exercise the vested portion of such Awards during a period of time as the Committee shall determine, or (ii) the purchase of any Award for an amount of cash equal to the amount that could have been attained upon the exercise of such Award (and, for the avoidance of doubt, if as of such date the Committee determines in good faith that no amount would have been attained upon the exercise of such Award, then such Award may be terminated by the Company without payment), or (iii) the replacement of such Award with other rights or property selected by the Committee in its sole discretion or the assumption of or substitution of such Award by the successor or surviving corporation, or a Parent or Subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of Shares and prices, or (iv) payment of Award in cash based on the value of Shares on the date of the Corporate Transaction plus reasonable interest on the Award through the date when such Award would otherwise be vested or have been paid in accordance with its original terms, if necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9.3<u>Outstanding Awards – Other Changes</u>. In the event of any other change in the capitalization of the Company or corporate change other than those specifically referred to in this Article 9, the Committee may, in its absolute discretion, make such adjustments in the number and class of shares subject to Awards outstanding on the date on which such change occurs and in the per share grant or exercise price of each Award as the Committee may consider appropriate to prevent dilution or enlargement of rights.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9.4<u>No Other Rights</u>. Except as expressly provided in the Plan, no Participant shall have any rights by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of Shares of any class, the payment of any dividend, any increase or decrease in the number of shares of any class or any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or any other corporation. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Committee under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of shares of any class, or securities convertible into shares of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number of shares subject to an Award or the grant or exercise price of any Award.

**ARTICLE 10**

**ADMINISTRATION**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10.1<u>Committee</u>. The Plan shall be administered by the Board or a committee of one or more members of the Board to whom the Board shall delegate the authority to grant or amend Awards to Participants other than any of the Committee members. Any grant or amendment of Awards to any Committee member shall then require an affirmative vote of a majority of the Board members who are not on the Committee.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10.2<u>Action by the Committee</u>. A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The acts of a majority of the members of the Committee present at any meeting at which a quorum is present, and acts approved in writing by a majority of the Committee in lieu of a meeting, shall be deemed the acts of the Committee. Each member of the Committee is entitled to, in good faith, rely or act upon any report or other information furnished to that member by any officer or other employee of the Company or any Subsidiary, the Company's independent certified public accountants, or any executive compensation consultant or other professional retained by the Company to assist in the administration of the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10.3<u>Authority of the Committee</u>. Subject to any specific designation in the Plan, the

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Committee has the exclusive power, authority and discretion to:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a)designate Participants to receive Awards;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b)determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to each Participant;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c)determine the number of Awards to be granted and the number of Shares to which an Award will relate;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d)determine the terms and conditions of any Award granted pursuant to the Plan, including, but not limited to, the exercise price, grant price, or purchase price, any restrictions or limitations on the Award, any schedule for lapse of forfeiture restrictions or restrictions on the exercisability of an Award, and accelerations or waivers thereof, any provisions related to non-competition and recapture of gain on an Award, based in each case on such considerations as the Committee in its sole discretion determines;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(e)determine whether, to what extent, and pursuant to what circumstances an Award may be settled in, or the exercise price of an Award may be paid in, cash, Shares, other Awards, or other property, or an Award may be canceled, forfeited, or surrendered;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(f)prescribe the form of each Award Agreement, which need not be identical for each Participant;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(g)decide all other matters that must be determined in connection with an Award;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(h)establish, adopt, or revise any rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or advisable to administer the Plan;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(i)interpret the terms of, and any matter arising pursuant to, the Plan or any Award Agreement; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(j)make all other decisions and determinations that may be required pursuant to the Plan or as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to administer the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10.4<u>Decisions Binding</u>. The Committee's interpretation of the Plan, any Awards granted pursuant to the Plan, any Award Agreement and all decisions and determinations by the Committee with respect to the Plan are final, binding, and conclusive on all parties.

**ARTICLE 11**

**EFFECTIVE AND EXPIRATION DATE**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11.1<u>Effective Date</u>. The Plan shall become effective on the date of its adoption by the Board or as otherwise specified by the Board when adopting the Plan (the "<u>Effective Date</u>").

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11.2<u>Replacement of Original Plan.</u> The Plan shall replace the 2016 Share Incentive Plan in its entirety, and the 2016 Share Incentive Plan shall cease to be effective upon the Effective Date. The Awards granted and outstanding under the 2016 Share Incentive Plan and the evidencing original Award Agreements shall survive the termination of the 2016 Share Incentive Plan and remain effective and binding under the Plan, subject to any amendment and

------

modification to the original Award Agreements that the Committee, in its sole discretion, may deem necessary or appropriate.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11.3<u>Expiration Date</u>. The Plan will expire on, and no Award may be granted pursuant to the Plan after, the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date. Any Awards that are outstanding on the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date shall remain in force according to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.

**ARTICLE 12**

**AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION, AND TERMINATION**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;12.1<u>Amendment, Modification, And Termination</u>. At any time and from time to time, the Board or the Committee may terminate, amend or modify the Plan; *provided, however*, that to the extent necessary to comply with Applicable Laws, the Company shall obtain shareholder approval of any Plan amendment in such a manner and to such a degree as required, including (a) to increases the number of Shares available under the Plan (other than any adjustment as provided by Article 9), or (b) to permits the Committee to extend the term of the Plan or the exercise period for an Option beyond ten years from the date of grant; *provided, further*, that to the extent permissible under the Applicable Laws, the Board may decide to follow home country practice not to seek the shareholder approval for any amendment or modification of the Plan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;12.2<u>Awards Previously Granted</u>. Except with respect to amendments made pursuant to Section 12.1, no termination, amendment, or modification of the Plan shall adversely affect in any material way any Award previously granted pursuant to the Plan without the prior written consent of the Participant.

**ARTICLE 13**

**GENERAL PROVISIONS**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.1<u>No Rights to Awards</u>. No Participant, employee, or other person shall have any claim to be granted any Award pursuant to the Plan, and neither the Company nor the Committee is obligated to treat Participants, employees, and other persons uniformly.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.2<u>No Shareholders Rights</u>. No Award gives the Participant any of the rights of a Shareholder of the Company unless and until Shares are in fact issued to such person in connection with such Award.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.3<u>Taxes</u>. No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Participant until such Participant has made arrangements acceptable to the Committee for the satisfaction of any income and employment tax withholding obligations under Applicable Laws. The Company or any Subsidiary shall have the authority and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy all applicable taxes (including the Participant's payroll tax obligations) required or permitted by Applicable Laws to be withheld with respect to any taxable event concerning a Participant arising as a result of the Plan. The Committee may in its discretion and in satisfaction of the foregoing requirement allow a Participant to elect to have the Company withhold Shares otherwise issuable under an

------

Award (or allow the return of Shares) having a Fair Market Value equal to the sums required to be withheld. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the number of Shares which may be withheld with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of any Award (or which may be repurchased from the Participant of such Award after such Shares were acquired by the Participant from the Company) in order to satisfy any income and payroll tax liabilities applicable to the Participant with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of the Award shall, unless specifically approved by the Committee, be limited to the number of Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of withholding or repurchase equal to the aggregate amount of such liabilities based on the minimum statutory withholding rates for the applicable income and payroll tax purposes that are applicable to such supplemental taxable income.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.4<u>No Right to Employment or Services</u>. Nothing in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Service Recipient to terminate any Participant's employment or services at any time, nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employment or services of any Service Recipient.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.5<u>Unfunded Status of Awards</u>. The Plan is intended to be an "unfunded" plan for incentive compensation. With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall give the Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company or any Subsidiary.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.6<u>Indemnification</u>. To the extent allowable pursuant to Applicable Laws, each member of the Committee or of the Board shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from any loss, cost, liability, or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by such member in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit, or proceeding to which he or she may be a party or in which he or she may be involved by reason of any action or failure to act pursuant to the Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by him or her in satisfaction of judgment in such action, suit, or proceeding against him or her; *provided* he or she gives the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before he or she undertakes to handle and defend it on his or her own behalf. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such persons may be entitled pursuant to the Company's Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.7<u>Relationship to other Benefits</u>. No payment pursuant to the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits pursuant to any pension, retirement, savings, profit sharing, group insurance, welfare or other benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary except to the extent otherwise expressly provided in writing in such other plan or an agreement thereunder.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.8<u>Expenses</u>. The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company and its Subsidiaries.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.9<u>Titles and Headings</u>. The titles and headings of the Sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.

------

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.10<u>Fractional Shares</u>. No fractional Shares shall be issued and the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, whether cash shall be given in lieu of fractional Shares or whether such fractional Shares shall be eliminated by rounding up or down as appropriate.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.11<u>Limitations Applicable to Section 16 Persons</u>. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Plan, and any Award granted or awarded to any Participant who is then subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, shall be subject to any additional limitations set forth in any applicable exemptive rule under Section 16 of the Exchange Act (including any amendment to Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act) that are requirements for the application of such exemptive rule. To the extent permitted by the Applicable Laws, the Plan and Awards granted or awarded hereunder shall be deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to such applicable exemptive rule.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.12<u>Government and Other Regulations</u>. The obligation of the Company to make payment of awards in Shares or otherwise shall be subject to all Applicable Laws, and to such approvals by government agencies as may be required. The Company shall be under no obligation to register any of the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan under the Securities Act or any other similar law in any applicable jurisdiction. If the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan may in certain circumstances be exempt from registration pursuant to the Securities Act or other Applicable Laws, the Company may restrict the transfer of such Shares in such manner as it deems advisable to ensure the availability of any such exemption.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.13<u>Governing Law</u>. The Plan and all Award Agreements shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Cayman Islands.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.14<u>Section 409A</u>. To the extent that the Committee determines that any Award granted under the Plan is or may become subject to Section 409A of the Code, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award shall incorporate the terms and conditions required by Section 409A of the Code. To the extent applicable, the Plan and the Award Agreements shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A of the Code and the U.S. Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretative guidance issued thereunder, including without limitation any such regulation or other guidance that may be issued after the Effective Date. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that following the Effective Date the Committee determines that any Award may be subject to Section 409A of the Code and related Department of Treasury guidance (including such Department of Treasury guidance as may be issued after the Effective Date), the Committee may adopt such amendments to the Plan and the applicable Award agreement or adopt other policies and procedures (including amendments, policies and procedures with retroactive effect), or take any other actions, that the Committee determines are necessary or appropriate to (a) exempt the Award from Section 409A of the Code and/or preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided with respect to the Award, or (b) comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and related U.S. Department of Treasury guidance.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13.15<u>Appendices</u>. The Committee may approve such supplements, amendments or appendices to the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for purposes of compliance with Applicable Laws or otherwise and such supplements, amendments or appendices shall be considered a part of the Plan; provided, however, that no such supplements shall increase the share limitation contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan without the approval of the Board.

------

## Exhibit 8.1

**EXHIBIT 8.1**

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **List of Principal Subsidiaries of 51Talk Online Education Group** | **List of Principal Subsidiaries of 51Talk Online Education Group** |
| **Subsidiaries:** | **Place of Incorporation** |
| 51Talk English International Limited | Hong Kong |
| China Online Innovations Inc. | Philippines |
| On Demand English Innovations Inc. | Philippines |
| Helloworld Online Education Group | Cayman |
| Helloworld Online Education Group (HK) Limited | Hong Kong |
| Beijing Helloworld Online Technology Co., Ltd. | PRC |
| Nanjing Helloworld Online Information Technology Co., Ltd. | PRC |
| HelloWorld Online Education Pte. Ltd. | Singapore |
| 51TALK TRAINING SDN. BHD | Malaysia |
| Helloworld Education Online (Thailand) Co., Ltd. | Thailand |
| Darb Al-Najah Training Company | Saudi Arabia |
| HelloWorld Online Education Jordan LLC | Jordan |
| HAWO EDUCATION INVESTMENT - FZCO | United Arab Emirates |
| Hawo Online Training L.L.C-FZ | United Arab Emirates |
| HELLOWORLD ONLINE EDUCATION VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED | Vietnam |

---

------

## Exhibit 12.1

**Exhibit 12.1**

**Certification by the Principal Executive Officer**

**Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**

I, Jack Jiajia Huang, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of 51Talk Online Education Group;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The company's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the company and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the company's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the company's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the company's internal control over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The company's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the company's auditors and the audit committee of the company's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the company's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the company's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: April 23, 2026

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Jack Jiajia Huang |
| Name: | Jack Jiajia Huang |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer |

---

------

## Exhibit 12.2

**Exhibit 12.2**

**Certification by the Principal Financial Officer**

**Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**

I, Cindy Chun Tang, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of 51Talk Online Education Group;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The company's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the company and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the company's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the company's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the company's internal control over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The company's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the company's auditors and the audit committee of the company's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the company's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the company's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: April 23, 2026

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Cindy Chun Tang |
| Name: | Cindy Chun Tang |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |

---

------

## Exhibit 13.1

**Exhibit 13.1**

**Certification by the Principal Executive Officer**

**Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**

In connection with the annual report of 51Talk Online Education Group (the "Company") on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "Report"), I, Jack Jiajia Huang, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to my knowledge:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: April 23, 2026

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Jack Jiajia Huang |
| Name: | Jack Jiajia Huang |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer |

---

------

## Exhibit 13.2

**Exhibit 13.2**

**Certification by the Principal Financial Officer**

**Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**

In connection with the annual report of 51Talk Online Education Group (the "Company") on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "Report"), I, Cindy Chun Tang, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to my knowledge:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: April 23, 2026

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Cindy Chun Tang |
| Name: | Cindy Chun Tang |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |

---

------

## Exhibit 15.1

**Exhibit 15.1**

![Graphic](coe-20251231xex15d1001.jpg)

**Office:**+852 2801 6066

**Mobile:**+852 9718 8740

**Email:** rthorp@tta.lawyer

To:**51Talk Online Education Group**

6 Shenton Way, #38-01 OUE Downtown

Singapore 068809

April 23, 2026

Dear Sirs

**51Talk Online Education Group**

We have acted as legal advisers as to the laws of the Cayman Islands to 51Talk Online Education Group, an exempted limited liability company incorporated in the Cayman Islands (the "**Company**"), in connection with the filing by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "**SEC**") of an annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025 ("**Form 20-F**").

We hereby consent to the reference of our name under the heading "Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation" in the Form 20-F, and further consent to the incorporation by reference of the summary of our opinions under this caption into the Company's registration statements on Form S-8 (File No. 333-213457) that was filed on 2 September 2016, Form S-8 (File No. 333-229055) that was filed on 28 December 2018 and Form S-8 (File No. 333-274238) that was filed on 28 August 2023. We also consent to the filing of this consent letter as an exhibit to the annual report on the Form 20-F.

Yours faithfully

**/s/ TRAVERS THORP ALBERGA**

**TRAVERS THORP ALBERGA**

------

## Exhibit 15.2

**Exhibit 15.2**

![Graphic](coe-20251231xex15d2001.jpg)

April 23, 2026

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **To:** | **51Talk Online Education Group (the "Company")** |
|  | 6 Shenton Way, #38-01 OUE Downtown, Singapore 068809 |

---

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We hereby consent to the reference of our name under the headings "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors" and "Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation" in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the "Annual Report"), which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in the month of April of 2026, and further consent to the incorporation by reference of the summary of our opinions in the Annual Report under these captions into 51Talk Online Education Group's registration statements on Form S-8 (File No. 333-213457) that was filed on September 2, 2016, Form S-8 (File No. 333-229055) that was filed on December 28, 2018 and Form S-8 (File No. 333-274238) that was filed on August 28, 2023. We also consent to the filing of this consent letter with the SEC as an exhibit to the Annual Report.

In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, or under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in each case, as amended, or the regulations promulgated thereunder.

Yours faithfully,

---

| |
|:---|
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;/s/ SHIHUI PARTNERS |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**SHIHUI PARTNERS** |

---

------

## Exhibit 15.3

**Exhibit 15.3**

April 23, 2026

**51Talk Online Education Group**

6 Shenton Way, #38-01 OUE Downtown

Singapore 068809

**Re:**Consent Letter – Form 20-F Fiscal Year ended 31 December 2025

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We hereby consent to the reference to our firm under the heading "Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure—Contractual Arrangement with Our Subsidiaries in the Philippines and Its Shareholders" in 51Talk Online Education Group's annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, which will be filed by 51Talk Online Education Group on 23 April 2026 with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and further consent to the incorporation by reference of the summary of our opinions that appear in the annual report on Form 20-F into the registration statements on Form S-8 (File No. 333-213457) that was filed on September 2, 2016, Form S-8 (File No. 333-229055) that was filed on December 28, 2018 and Form S-8 (File No. 333-274238) that was filed on August 28, 2023. We also consent to the filing of this consent letter with the SEC as an exhibit to 51Talk Online Education Group's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025.

---

| |
|:---|
| Very truly yours, |
| **/s/ Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan** |
| **Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan** |

---

------

## Exhibit 15.4

**Exhibit 15.4**

**Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm**

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the following Registration Statements:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· Registration Statement (Form S-8 No. 333-274238)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· Registration Statement (Form S-8 No. 333-213457)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· Registration Statement (Form S-8 No. 333-229055)

of our report dated April 23, 2026, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of 51Talk Online Education Group included in this Annual Report (Form 20-F) of 51Talk Online Education Group for the year ended December 31, 2025.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Singapore

April 23, 2026

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## Exhibit 15.5

**Exhibit 15.5**

![Graphic](coe-20251231xex15d5001.jpg)

**Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm's Consent**

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements on Form S-8 (No. 333-274238), Form S-8 (No. 333-213457) and Form S-8 (No. 333-229055) of our report dated April 25, 2025, with respect to our audits of the consolidated financial statements of 51Talk Online Education Group as of December 31, 2024 and for each of the two years ended December 31, 2024, which is included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

/s/ Marcum Asia CPAs LLP

Marcum Asia CPAs LLP

New York, NY

April 23, 2026

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## Exhibit 16.1

**Exhibit 16.1**

![Graphic](coe-20251231xex16d1001.jpg)

April 23, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, DC 20549

Commissioners:

We have read the statements made by 51Talk Online Education Group, which we understand will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, pursuant to Item 16F of the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 of 51Talk Online Education Group dated April 23, 2026. We agree with the statements concerning our Firm contained therein; we are not in a position to agree or disagree with other statements of 51Talk Online Education Group contained therein.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Marcum Asia CPAs LLP

New York, NY

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