Document:

EX-10.25

 Exhibit 10.25 

Execution Version 

Dated March 28, 2019 

QUTOUTIAO INC. 
 (as
Borrower) 
 ALIBABA INVESTMENT LIMITED 

(as Lender) 
  

 
 CONVERTIBLE
LOAN AGREEMENT 
  
  

 

 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

							
	 Clause No.
	 	Heading	  	 	Page No.	 
	 1.
	 	 Interpretation
	  	 	1	 
	 2.
	 	 Drawdown
	  	 	6	 
	 3.
	 	 Interest
	  	 	7	 
	 4.
	 	 Proposed Conversion
	  	 	7	 
	 5.
	 	 Repayment
	  	 	8	 
	 6.
	 	 Payment Provisions
	  	 	8	 
	 7.
	 	 Representations and Warranties
	  	 	9	 
	 8.
	 	 Undertakings
	  	 	18	 
	 9.
	 	 Events of Default
	  	 	21	 
	 10.
	 	 Assignment
	  	 	23	 
	 11.
	 	 Notices and Service of Proceedings
	  	 	23	 
	 12.
	 	 Miscellaneous
	  	 	24	 
	 13.
	 	 Governing Law; Jurisdiction
	  	 	26	 
	 Schedule 1 Structured Entities and Controlling Documents
	  	 	29	 
	 Schedule 2 Conditions Precedent
	  	 	31	 

 THIS CONVERTIABLE LOAN AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made on March 28, 2019 

BY AND BETWEEN: 
  

	(1)	 QUTOUTIAO INC., an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman
Islands and listed on NASDAQ with stock code “QTT” (the “Borrower” or the “Company”); and 

  

	(2)	 ALIBABA INVESTMENT LIMITED, a business company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands
(the “Lender”). 

 WHEREAS: 

The Lender proposes to provide finance facilities to the Borrower subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. 

NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED as follows: 
  

	1.	 Interpretation 

 

	1.1.	 In this Agreement (including the Schedules and Exhibit), except where the context otherwise requires:

 “Authorisation” means (i) an authorisation, consent, approval, resolution, licence, exemption,
filing, notarisation, lodgement or registration; or (ii) in relation to anything which will be fully or partly prohibited or restricted by law if a Governmental Authority intervenes or acts in any way within a specified period after lodgement,
filing, registration or notification, the expiry of that period without intervention or action; 
 “ADS” means American
depositary shares of the Borrower, with every four ADSs representing one Class A Ordinary Share as of the date hereof; 

“Affiliate” means, (i) with respect to any Person other than a natural person, any other Person that directly or
indirectly Controls, is Controlled by or is under common Control with such first Person, and (ii) with respect to any natural person, any other Person that is directly or indirectly Controlled by such natural person or is a spouse, child,
step-child, parent, step-parent, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister of such natural person and their respective lineal ascendants or descendants; 

“Anti-Corruption Laws” means anti-bribery or anti-corruption related laws or regulations that are applicable to business and
transactions of the Group Companies and their respective Affiliates, including but not limited to laws and regulations relating to anti-corruption and anti-commercial bribery in the PRC, the amended U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act of 1977, as well
as applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws of other countries; 
 “Board” means the board of directors of the
Borrower; 
 “Board of Governors” shall mean the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States (or
any successor); 
 “Borrower SEC Documents” means all registration statements, proxy statements and other statements,
reports, schedules, forms and other documents filed or furnished by the Borrower with the SEC (excluding any forward-looking disclosures set forth in any risk factor sections and any disclosure of non-specific
risks faced by the Group included in any forward-looking statement, disclaimer, risk factor disclosure or other similarly non-specific statements that are similarly cautionary, predictive or forward-looking in
nature), in each case, which should be publicly available at least one (1) Business Day prior to the date hereof, without giving effect to any amendment or supplements thereto filed on or after the Business Day prior to the date hereof; 

“Business Cooperation Agreement” means the Business Cooperation Agreement entered into by and between the Borrower and/or its
Affiliate(s) and the Lender and/or its Affiliate(s) of the Lender, dated on or around the date of this Agreement; 

  
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 “Business Day” means a day (other than a Saturday and Sunday) on which
banks are generally open in the PRC, the Cayman Islands, the State of New York and Hong Kong for normal business; 

“Class A Ordinary Shares” means the Class A ordinary shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the
capital of the Borrower; 
 “Class B Ordinary Shares” means the Class B ordinary shares of US$0.0001
par value per share in the capital of the Borrower; 
 “Companies Ordinance” means the Companies Ordinance of Hong Kong
(Chapter 622 of the laws of Hong Kong), as amended or supplemented from time to time; 
 “Control” of a given Person means
the power or authority, whether exercised or not, to direct the business, management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; provided, that such power or
authority shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon possession of beneficial ownership or power to direct the vote of fifty percent (50%) or more of the votes entitled to be cast at a meeting of the members or shareholders of such Person or power
to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors of such Person. The terms “Controlled” and “Controlling” have meanings correlative to the foregoing; 

“Controlling Documents” means, collectively, the documents set forth on Part B of Schedule 1 to this Agreement; 

“Conversion Amount” means the amount of outstanding principal amount of the Loan to be applied to the subscription of Proposed
Conversion Shares for a Proposed Conversion; 
 “Conversion Date” means the completion date of any Proposed Issuance; 

“Conversion Price” means a price of US$60.00 per Proposed Conversion Share, representing US$15.00 per ADS as of the date of
this Agreement, in each case, as adjusted for any share split, share dividend, combinations, or any similar recapitalization events; 

“Data Protection Obligations” means any applicable laws, contractual obligations, and written policies and terms of use
relating to privacy, information security, network security, cybersecurity, data protection or the processing of Personal Information, including those governing data breach notification, third-party data transfers, cross-border data transfers and
data localization requirements. The applicable laws include but are not limited to relevant PRC laws, regulations, national standards and any other applicable laws in any other country; 

“Depositary” means The Bank of New York Mellon, the depositary of the Borrower’s ADS program; 

“Disclosure Letter” means the disclosure letter delivered by the Borrower to the Lender on the date hereof; 

“Equity Incentive Plan” means the Qutoutiao Inc. Equity Incentive Plan adopted by the Borrower on January 31, 2019; 

“Equity Interests” means, with respect to any Person, all of the shares, interests, rights, participations or other
equivalents (however designated) of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests or units in) such Person and all of the warrants, options or other rights for the purchase, acquisition or exchange from such Person of any of the foregoing
(including without limitation through convertible securities); 
 “Event of Default” means any one of the events or
circumstances specified in Clause 9.1; 
 “Exchange Act” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; 
 “Facility” means a loan facility of a total principal
amount of US$171,050,940 made available by the Lender under this Agreement; 

  
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 “Founder” means Mr. Siliang TAN (谭思亮), a PRC citizen with PRC passport number E73544348; 

“GAAP” means accounting principles generally accepted in the United States; 

“Governmental Authority” means (1) any national, provincial, municipal, local or foreign government or any entity
exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government, (2) any public international organization, (3) any agency, division, bureau, department or other sector of any government,
entity or organization described in the foregoing clauses (1) or (2) of this definition, or (4) any state-owned or state-controlled enterprise or other entity owned or controlled by any government, entity or organization described in
clauses (1), (2) or (3) of this definition; 
 “Government Officials” means (i) officers, employees and other
persons (regardless of seniority) working in an official capacity on behalf of any branch of a government (e.g., legislative, administrative, judicial, military or public education departments) at any level (e.g., county and municipal level,
provincial or central level), or any department or agency thereof; (ii) political party officials and candidates for political office; (iii) directors, officers and employees of state-owned, state-controlled or state-operated enterprises;
(iv) officers, employees and other persons working in an official capacity on behalf of any public international organization (regardless of seniority), e.g., the United Nations or the World Bank; or (v) close relatives of persons
identified above (e.g., parents, children, spouse and parents-in-law); 

“Governmental Order” means any order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, stipulation, determination or award entered by or
with any Governmental Authority; 
 “Group Company” means each of the Company, its subsidiaries and the Structured Entities
(whether or not established after the date hereof), collectively, the “Group” or “Group Companies”; 

“Hong Kong” means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China; 

“Intellectual Property” means all rights, title, interests in and to all proprietary rights of every kind and nature however
denominated, throughout the world, including any and all (i) patents and patent applications (including re-issues, continuations, divisions,
continuations-in-part, renewals or extensions); (ii) trademarks, service marks, trade dress, trade names, corporate names, logos, slogans, and other indications of
origin, together with all goodwill associated with each of the foregoing; (iii) copyrights, copyrightable works, and rights in mask works; (iv) rights in Internet Web sites, domain names, blogs, micro-blogs, and social media accounts;
(v) patent disclosures, inventions, discoveries, improvements, ideas, designs, drawings, algorithms, confidential information, technical information, know-how, trade secrets, formulas, processes,
procedures, specifications, protocols, models, tools, manuals, research data concerning historic and current research and development efforts, including the results of successful and unsuccessful designs, quality assurance and control procedures,
platforms, technology, software (including computer programs, source code, object code, executable code and related documentation), data and databases (whether or not patentable or copyrightable or protectable as trade secrets and whether or not
reduced to practice); (vi) registrations, applications and renewals in any jurisdiction for any of the foregoing; (vii) books and records pertaining to any of the foregoing; (viii) claims or causes of action arising out of past, present or
future infringement or misappropriation of any of the foregoing; and (ix) any rights of the same or similar effect or nature as any of the foregoing anywhere in the world; 

“Lien” means, with respect to any property or asset, any mortgage, pledge, claim, security interest, easement, covenant,
restriction, reservation, defect in title, encroachment or other encumbrance, lien (choate or inchoate), charge, equity, or other restriction or limitation, whether arising by contract or under law; 

  
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 “Loan” means the aggregate principal amount advanced by the Lender pursuant
to the Facility and outstanding from time to time; 
 “Material Adverse Effect” means any event, change, development or
occurrence that, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on (i) the business, shareholders’ equity, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the Group
Companies, taken as a whole (including any material adverse action by applicable Governmental Authorities), or (ii) the ability of the Borrower to enter into this Agreement or the other Transaction Documents or to perform its obligations
hereunder or thereunder; 
 “NASDAQ” means the NASDAQ Stock Market; 

“Ordinary Shares” means Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares of the Borrower; 

“Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, syndicate, person
(including a “person” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), trust, association or entity or government, political subdivision, agency or instrumentality of a government; 

“Personal Information” means any information that is recorded electronically or in any other way that could identify a
specific natural person or reflect any activity of such a person, either by its own or in combination with other information; 

“PRC” means the People’s Republic of China, but solely for the purposes of this Agreement, excluding Hong Kong, the Macau
Special Administrative Region and Taiwan; 
 “Principal Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any Subsidiary
(1) whose revenues, as shown by the latest audited financial statements (consolidated in the case of a Subsidiary which itself has Subsidiaries) of such Subsidiary, constitute at least 25% of the consolidated revenues of such Person and its
consolidated Subsidiaries as shown by the latest audited consolidated financial statements of such Person, (2) whose gross assets, as shown by the latest audited financial statements (consolidated in case of a Subsidiary which itself has
Subsidiaries) of such Subsidiary constitute at least 25% of the gross assets of such Person and its consolidated Subsidiaries as shown by the latest audited consolidated financial statements of such Person, or (3) which generated at least 25%
of the aggregated daily active users generated by the Group in the previous quarter. Without prejudice to any of the foregoing, with respect to the Borrower, “Principal Subsidiary” shall include any of Shanghai Zhicao Information
Technology Co., Ltd. (上海纸草信息科技有限公司), Shanghai Big
Rhinoceros Horn Information Technology Co., Ltd. (上海大犀角信息科技有限公司), Shanghai Quyun Internet Technology Co., Ltd.
(上海趣蕴网络科技有限公司), and Shanghai Jifen Culture Communications Co., Ltd. (上海基分文化传播有限公司); 

“Proposed Issuance” means the allotment and issuance of Shares of the Borrower to the Lender in a single transaction or a
series of related transactions following the date of this Agreement; 
 “Proposed Conversion” means the conversion of the
Conversion Amount into Proposed Conversion Shares upon the completion of a Proposed Issuance as specified in Clause 4; 
 “Proposed
Conversion Shares” means the Shares to be allotted and issued in connection with a Proposed Conversion (each a “Proposed Conversion Share”); 

“Regulation T” means Regulation T of the Board of Governors as from time to time in effect and any successor to all or a
portion thereof establishing margin requirements; 
 “Regulation U” means Regulation U of the Board of Governors as from
time to time in effect and any successor to all or a portion thereof establishing margin requirements; 

  
 - 4 - 

 “Regulation X” means Regulation X of the Board of Governors as from time to
time in effect and any successor to all or a portion thereof establishing margin requirements; 
 “Repayment Date” means the
date falling (i) thirty-six (36) months from the Utilisation Date, or (ii) such a longer period as mutually agreed by the Lender and the Borrower; 

“SAFE” means the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC and/or its local counterparts; 

“SAFE Circular 37” means the Circular on Issues Relating to the Administration of Foreign Exchange of Offshore Investment and
Financing through Special Purpose Vehicles and Round-Tripping Investment by PRC Resident (in Chinese,
“《国家外汇管理局关于境内居民通过特殊目的公司境外投融资及返程投资外汇管理有关问题的通知》
[汇发(2014)37号]”)
 issued by the SAFE on July 4, 2014 and rules and interpretation relating thereto and any succeeding rules; “SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission; 

“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; 

“SEC Filings” means all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents, together with all exhibits, financial
statements, notes and schedules thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, which are filed with the SEC and publicly available at least one (1) Business Day prior to the date hereof, without giving effect to any amendment or
supplements thereto filed on or after the Business Day prior to the date hereof; 
 “Securities Account” means any account
(including without limitation, any securities and cash sub-accounts thereunder) opened or maintained by the Lender in which any Proposed Conversion Shares are at any time held or deposited; 

“Securities Act” means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder; 
 “Shares” means the Class A Ordinary Shares of the Borrower; 

“Subsidiary” or “subsidiary” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 15 of the Companies Ordinance;

 “Tax” or “Taxes” means (a) in the PRC, (i) any national, provincial, municipal, or local
taxes, charges, fees, levies, or other assessments in the nature of tax, including, without limitation, all net income (including enterprise income tax and individual income withholding tax), turnover (including value-added tax, business tax, and
consumption tax), resource (including urban and township land use tax), special purpose (including land value-added tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, and additional education fees), property (including urban real estate tax and land use
fees), documentation (including stamp duty and deed tax), filing, recording, social insurance (including pension, medical, unemployment, housing, and other social insurance withholding), tariffs (including import duty and import value-added tax),
and estimated and provisional taxes, charges, fees, levies, or other assessments of any kind whatsoever in the nature of tax, (ii) all interest, penalties (administrative, civil or criminal), or additional amounts imposed by any Governmental
Authority in connection with any item described in clause (i) above, and (iii) any form of transferor liability imposed by any Governmental Authority in connection with any item described in clauses (i) and (ii) above, and (b) in
any jurisdiction other than the PRC, all similar liabilities as described in clause (a) above; 
 “Transaction
Documents” means this Agreement, the Business Cooperation Agreement and any other documents entered into or to be entered into pursuant hereto or thereto, or otherwise in connection herewith or therewith; provided that, solely for
the purposes of Clause 12.8, Transaction Documents exclude the Business Cooperation Agreement; 
 “%” means per cent. 

  
 - 5 - 

	1.2.	 Except to the extent that the context requires otherwise, any reference in this Agreement to:

  

	 	(a)	 any document shall include that document as in force for the time being and as amended in accordance with the
terms thereof or with the agreement of the parties and with the consent of the Lender, if required hereunder; 

  

	 	(b)	 an “agreement” also includes a concession, contract, deed, franchise, licence, treaty or
undertaking and any waiver or release (in each case, whether oral, written, implied or by operation of law) and includes the same as from time to time amended, supplemented or modified; 

 

	 	(c)	 an “indebtedness” includes any obligation for the payment or repayment of money whether as
principal or surety or in any other capacity and whether present or future, actual or contingent, secured or unsecured; 

  

	 	(d)	 a “law” includes common or customary law and any constitution, decree, judgment, legislation,
order, ordinance, regulation, statute, treaty or other legislative measure, in each case of any jurisdiction whatever (and “lawful” and “unlawful” shall be construed accordingly); 

 

	 	(e)	 a party or parties means a party or parties to this Agreement and includes references to the successors and
assigns (immediate or otherwise) of that party; 

  

	 	(f)	 any collective definition shall be to the persons or things comprising it as a whole or to any one or more of
them or to any part of the relevant thing or matter; 

  

	 	(g)	 any reference to time is to time of Hong Kong unless otherwise stated; and 

 

	 	(h)	 all references to dollars or to “US$” are to the currency of the United States of America.

  

	1.3.	 Unless the context otherwise requires, words importing the singular number only shall include the plural and
vice versa. Words importing any one gender shall include every other gender. 

  

	2.	 Drawdown 

  

	2.1.	 The Borrower hereby requests a full drawdown of the Facility and the Lender shall provide the Facility to the
Borrower within five (5) Business Days from the date the Lender has received all of the documents and other evidence listed in Schedule 2 (Conditions Precedent) in form and substance satisfactory to the Lender (the “Utilisation
Date”). 

  

	2.2.	 The Lender shall only be obliged to comply with Clause 2.1 above if: 

 

	 	(a)	 the Lender has received all of the documents and other evidence listed in Schedule 2 (Conditions
Precedent) in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Lender; 

  

	 	(b)	 the representations and warranties of the Borrower contained in this Agreement are true, correct and not
misleading in all material respects (except for those representations and warranties that are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which shall be true, correct and not misleading to such extent) as of the date hereof and the
Utilisation Date (except for those representations and warranties that speak as of a specific date, which shall be so true and correct as of such date), provided that solely for the purposes of this Clause 2.2(b), in the event the Borrower files
additional registration statements or other reports with the SEC (collectively, the “Supplemental Borrower SEC Documents”) with respect to its proposed issuance of additional shares (if any) subsequent to the date hereof and before
the Utilisation Date, the Lender shall not be entitled to claim that this Clause 2.2(b) is not satisfied solely because the Supplemental Borrower SEC Documents are filed or the Supplemental Borrower SEC Documents contain any disclosure that may
render any representations and warranties of the Borrower contained in this Agreement not true, correct or misleading in all material respects as at the Closing; 

  
 - 6 - 

	 	(c)	 the Borrower shall have performed its obligations hereunder to be performed on or before the Utilisation Date
in all material respects; 

  

	 	(d)	 since the date hereof, there shall not have occurred any circumstance or event that, individually or in the
aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and 

  

	 	(e)	 as of the Utilisation Date, no court or other Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction shall have
enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any law (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) that is in effect and restrains, enjoins or otherwise prohibits consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. 

 

	2.3.	 The Lender shall provide the Loan in the amount of US$171,050,940 to the following account:

 [REDACTED] 
  

	3.	 Interest 

  

	3.1.	 Interest shall accrue on a daily basis on the outstanding principal amount of the Loan from the Utilisation
Date at a compound rate of interest equal to 3% per annum; provided that if an Event of Default occurs, the interest after the occurrence of such Event of Default shall accrue on a daily basis on the outstanding principal amount of the Loan from the
date of the occurrence of such Event of Default at a simple rate of interest equal to 12% per annum. 

  

	3.2.	 Any interest accrued under Clause 3.1 shall become due and payable on the Repayment Date.

  

	3.3.	 The Lender agrees to waive the payment of all accrued interest in respect of the relevant portion of the Loan
converted into Proposed Conversion Shares in connection with a Conversion Request made in accordance with Clause 4.2(a)(i) upon completion of the relevant Proposed Issuance. 

 

	4.	 Proposed Conversion 

 

	4.1.	 Solely in its discretion, the Lender or any of its Affiliates to which the Lender assigns this Agreement and
its rights hereunder pursuant to Clause 10 of this Agreement (where applicable) may request a Proposed Conversion by delivery to the Borrower of a written request (a “Conversion Request”). 

 

	4.2.	 The Conversion Request shall specify: 

 

	 	(a)	 the proposed Conversion Date, which shall be (i) on a date falling on or after the date falling two
hundred and forty (240) calendar days after the date of this Agreement, or (ii) on a date falling on or after the occurrence of an Event of Default; 

 

	 	(b)	 the proposed Conversion Amount, which shall be the full amount of the outstanding principal amount of the Loan;
and 

  

	 	(c)	 the number of Proposed Conversion Shares that the Lender can subscribe for with the proposed Conversion Amount
at the Conversion Price. The entitlement of the Lender to a fraction of a Share shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number of Shares which result from the Proposed Conversion. 

 

	4.3.	 Upon receipt of the Conversion Request, the Borrower shall cooperate with the Lender to allow the Lender at its
own costs to complete commercial, legal, tax, finance or other necessary due diligence to the Lender’s reasonable satisfaction. In the event the Borrower fails to comply with this Clause 4.3, the Lender shall be entitled to withdraw the
Conversion Request. 

  

	4.4.	 The Borrower shall complete the Proposed Issuance on the proposed Conversion Date as specified in the
Conversion Request. 

  
 - 7 - 

	4.5.	 Upon the completion of the Proposed Issuance pursuant to Clause 4.4 above: 

 

	 	(a)	 the proposed Conversion Amount as specified in the Conversion Request shall automatically be applied to
subscribe for the Proposed Conversion Shares at the Conversion Price; 

  

	 	(b)	 the Lender shall be deemed to irrevocably authorise and instruct the Borrower to apply the Conversion Amount in
subscribing for the Proposed Conversion Shares at the Conversion Price; 

  

	 	(c)	 the Proposed Conversion Shares shall be issued and allotted by the Borrower to the Lender or any of its
designated Affiliates on the Conversion Date and the share certificates for such Proposed Conversion Shares shall be despatched to the Lender or any of its designated Affiliates as soon as practicable, but in no event later than three
(3) Business Days after the Conversion Date (unless such Proposed Conversion Shares are in scripless form and are held in a Securities Account); 

  

	 	(d)	 the parties acknowledge that each Proposed Conversion Share shall be issued and allotted at such premium or
discount to reflect the difference between the share price for one (1) Share on the Conversion Date and the Conversion Price; and 

  

	 	(e)	 the Proposed Conversion Shares shall be credited as fully paid and rank pari passu with Shares of the
same class issued prior to the Proposed Issuance on the Conversion Date and shall carry the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared on or after the Conversion Date with respect to such Proposed Conversion Shares.

  

	5.	 Repayment 

  

	5.1.	 Unless the full amount of the outstanding principal amount of the Loan has been converted into Proposed
Conversion Shares in accordance with Clause 4 (Proposed Conversion), the Borrower shall repay in full all principal amounts outstanding in respect of the Loan, together with all accrued and unpaid interest and any other amounts due or
outstanding hereunder on the Repayment Date or the date indicated in a notice delivered in accordance with Clause 9.2 hereof. 

  

	5.2.	 Without the Lender’s prior written consent, the Borrower may not voluntarily prepay the Loan.

  

	6.	 Payment Provisions 

 

	6.1.	 All payments to be made hereunder by one party to another party shall be made available and paid in US$.

  

	6.2.	 Unless otherwise expressly agreed, all payments to be made under this Agreement shall be made to the account as
designated by the Lender in writing after the date of this Agreement. 

  

	6.3.	 If the Borrower is required by law to deduct any tax or other amounts, the Borrower shall pay an additional
amount in cash together with such payment so that, after making such deduction, the Lender receives an amount equal to the payment which would have been due if no deduction had been required. 

 

	6.4.	 If the day on which any payment falls due under this Agreement is not a Business Day, then such payment shall
be made on the next following Business Day. 

  

	6.5.	 For the avoidance of doubt, any Loan repaid or converted in accordance with this Agreement shall be cancelled
and shall not thereafter be available to the Borrower. 

  
 - 8 - 

	7.	 Representations and Warranties 

Except as set forth in the Borrower SEC Documents (to the extent the applicability is reasonably apparent only) or the Disclosure Letter, the
Borrower hereby represents and warrants to the Lender that, as of the date hereof and as of the Utilisation Date: 
  

	7.1.	 Organization, Good Standing and Qualification. The Borrower is an exempted company, duly incorporated,
validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and each of the other Group Companies is duly incorporated or organized, validly existing and in good standing (where such concept is applicable) under the laws of the
jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization. Each Group Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to own or lease all of its properties and assets and to carry on its business as it is now being conducted, and is duly licensed or
qualified to do business in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted by it or the character or location of the properties and assets owned or leased by it makes such licensing or qualification necessary. 

 

	7.2.	 Authorization. The Borrower has all requisite corporate power to enter into this Agreement and the other
Transaction Documents and to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents by the Borrower have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action
on the part of the Borrower. This Agreement and the other Transaction Documents have been or will be duly executed and delivered by the Borrower and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the other parties thereto, constitute or will
constitute legal, valid and binding obligation of the Borrower, enforceable against the Borrower in accordance with their respective terms. 

  

	7.3.	 No Violation. The execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower of this Agreement and the other
Transaction Documents, the issuance of the Proposed Conversion Shares upon conversion of the Conversion Amount, and the consummation of the other transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, do not and will not (i) violate, conflict with or
result in the breach of any provision of the memorandum and articles of association (or similar organizational documents) of any Group Company, (ii) conflict with or violate any law or Governmental Order applicable to any Group Company or the
assets, properties, businesses or operations of any Group Company, or (iii) conflict with, result in any breach of, constitute a default (or event which with the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both, would become a default) under, require
any consent under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration, suspension, revocation or cancellation of, any note, bond, mortgage or indenture, contract, agreement, lease, sublease, license, permit, franchise or other
instrument or arrangement to which any Group Company is a party or result in the creation of any Liens upon any of the properties or assets of any Group Company, except in the case of clauses of (ii) and (iii) above, such conflicts, violations,
breaches, defaults or other events that would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. 

  

	7.4.	 No Default. No Event of Default has occurred and no event has occurred which, with the giving of notice
and/or lapse of time, would constitute an Event of Default. Further, none of the Group Companies (i) is in violation of any provision of its memorandum and articles of association (or similar organizational documents), (ii) is in default, and
no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other
agreement or instrument to which any Group Company is a party or by which any Group Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of any Group Company is subject, or (iii) is in violation of any law or statute applicable to any
Group Company or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court, arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over any Group Company, except in the case of clauses of (ii) and (iii) above, such defaults or
violations that did not or would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. 

  

	7.5.	 Consents. The execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower of this Agreement and the other
Transaction Documents, the issuance of the Proposed Conversion Shares upon conversion of the Conversion Amount, and the consummation of the other transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not require any consent, approval,
authorization or other order of, action by, filing with, or notification to, any Governmental Authority or any third party other than those as have been made or obtained. 

  
 - 9 - 

	7.6.	 Pari Passu Ranking. Its obligations pursuant to this Agreement are its direct, general and unconditional
obligations and rank and will at all times rank at least pari passu in all respects with all its other present and future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness with the exception of any obligations which are mandatorily preferred by law
and not by contract. 

  

	7.7.	 Compliance with applicable laws; Permits. 

 

	 	(a)	 Each Group Company has conducted its business in compliance with all applicable laws in all material respects,
including, without limitation, any and all applicable laws with respect to internet news, advertising, internet audio-visual program transmission, labor and social insurance, and foreign exchange. The Group Companies have all Permits (as defined
below), and have made all filings and registrations with, any Governmental Authority that are required in order to comply with, in all material respects, all laws applicable to their businesses as presently conducted. All such Permits, filings and
registrations are in full force and effect, and no Group Company is in default under any of such Permits, filings and registrations, and to the Borrower’s knowledge, no suspension or cancellation of any of them is threatened.

  

	 	(b)	 There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Borrower, there is not pending, any material investigation by
any Governmental Authority, including the SEC, involving the Borrower or any current or former director or officer of the Borrower. The SEC has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed
by any Group Company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. 

  

	 	(c)	 Saved as disclosed in the section headed “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on form F-1 first filed with the SEC on August 17, 2018, as amended, each holder or beneficial owner of Ordinary Shares who is a domestic resident (as set forth in SAFE Circular 37) and subject to any of the
registration or reporting requirements of SAFE Circular 37 or any other applicable SAFE rules and regulations (collectively, the “SAFE Regulations”), has complied with such reporting, registration, subsequent registration-amendment
requirements and other procedures under the SAFE Regulations with respect to its investment in the Borrower. None of the Group Companies is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Borrower or from making any
other distribution on such Group Company’s capital stock. 

  

	 	(d)	 None of the Group Companies and their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives, agents or
Affiliates has conducted or entered into a contract to conduct any transaction with the governments or any sub-division thereof, agents or representatives, residents of, or any entity based or resident in the
countries that are currently, or at the time such transaction was conducted or such contract entered into were, subject to any sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, the United Nations
Security Council, the European Union or Her Majesty’s Treasury of the United Kingdom (collectively, “Sanctions”); and none of the Group Companies has financed the activities of any person currently subject to any Sanctions. The
Borrower will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds from the Loan, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, Affiliate, joint venture partner or other person or entity for the purpose of financing the
activities of any person currently subject to any Sanctions. 

  

	 	(e)	 None of the Group Companies and their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives, agents or
affiliates has violated, and the Borrower’s participation in the transaction contemplated hereby will not violate, any Anti-Money Laundering Laws (as defined below). As used herein, “Anti-Money Laundering Laws” means all
applicable laws regarding anti-money laundering, including, without limitation, Title 18 U.S. Code sections 1956 and 1957, the USA Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, and international anti-money laundering principals or procedures published by an
intergovernmental group or organization, such as the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, of which the United States is a member and with which designation the United States representative to the group or organization continues to
concur, in each case as amended, and any executive order, directive, or regulation pursuant to the authority of any of the foregoing, or any orders or licenses issued thereunder. There is no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or
governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving any Group Company with respect to Anti-Money Laundering Laws that is pending or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened. 

  
 - 10 - 

	 	(f)	 None of the Group Companies or their respective directors, officers, or employees, or agent, affiliate or other
person acting on behalf of them respectively has violated Anti-Corruption Laws. The Group Companies or their respective directors, officers, or employees, or agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of them respectively has never offered,
paid, promised to pay, or authorized the payment of any money or anything of value, to any Governmental Authority, or Government Official (including any government official to whom the Company or its Affiliates knows or ought to know that all or a
portion of such money or things of value will be offered, given or promised, directly or indirectly): 

  

	 	(i)	 For the purpose of (1) influencing any act or decision of Government Officials in their official capacity;
(2) inducing Government Officials to act or omit to act in violation of lawful duties; (3) securing any improper advantage; (4) inducing Government Officials to influence or affect any act or decision of any Governmental Authority; or
(5) assisting the Company in obtaining or retaining business, or directing business to, the Company; and 

  

	 	(ii)	 In a manner that would constitute a breach of applicable anti-corruption laws. 

 

	 	(g)	 None of the Group Companies nor their respective directors, officers, or employees, or agent, affiliate or
other person acting on behalf of them respectively has ever violated the laws applicable to fair competition, by offering or taking property or other interests to obtain business opportunities or other improper benefits, such as making payments or
paying anything of value to existing or potential business partners (“Business Partners”), in order to impose undue influence on Business Partners or to obtain inappropriate commercial advantage. Business Partners may include
Governmental Authority, non-government customers, suppliers or distributors, owners, directors, managers or other employees of the entities identified above, entities or individuals entrusted by Business
Partners to handle relevant matters, or entities or individuals that may take advantage of the work position or influential power to exercise influence on the transactions between the Company and Business Partners. 

 

	 	(h)	 The Group Companies have maintained, and will continue to maintain, complete and accurate books and records and
effective internal controls in accordance with Anti-Corruption Laws and GAAP. 

  

	 	(i)	 (i) the Group Companies have all licenses, permits, qualifications, accreditations, approvals, consents,
authorizations, franchises, variances, exemptions and orders of any Governmental Authority (collectively, the “Permits”), and have made all necessary filings required under applicable laws, necessary to conduct the business of the
Group Companies, (ii) since its incorporation, none of the Group Companies has received any written notice of any violation of or failure to comply with any Permit or any actual or possible revocation, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation,
termination or material modification of any Permit, and (iii) each such Permit has been validly issued or obtained and is in full force and effect, except in the case of clauses of (i) and (ii) above, such instances that have not or would
not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. 

  
 - 11 - 

	7.8.	 Capitalization; Group Companies. 

 

	 	(a)	 The authorized capital stock of the Borrower consists of 500,000,000 ordinary shares, par value of US$0.0001
per share, which is divided into 415,751,558 ordinary shares, par value of US$0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, par value of US$0.0001 per share, and 34,248,442 Class B Ordinary Shares, par value of US$0.0001 per share,
of which 71,271,248 Ordinary Shares, comprising 37,022,806 Class A Ordinary Shares and 34,248,442 Class B Ordinary Shares, are issued and outstanding as of the date hereof. Except as set forth in this Clause 7.8 and pursuant to this
Agreement, the Borrower has no outstanding warrants, options, bonds, debentures, notes or other obligations, the holders of which have the right to vote (or which are convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for securities having the right to
vote) with the shareholders of the Borrower on any matter. All issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable, are free of preemptive
rights, were issued in compliance with applicable U.S. and other applicable securities laws and were not issued in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal, or similar right. 

 

	 	(b)	 As of the date hereof, 12,175,583 Ordinary Shares were issuable upon the exercise of outstanding share options
under the Equity Incentive Plan. As of the date hereof, 1,480,123 Ordinary Shares were issuable to Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Co., Ltd. pursuant to a share purchase agreement with the Borrower. 

 

	 	(c)	 Except as set forth above in this Clause 7.8 and pursuant to this Agreement, there are no outstanding
(i) shares of capital stock or voting securities of the Borrower, (ii) securities of the Borrower convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or voting securities of the Borrower or (iii) preemptive or
other outstanding rights, options, warrants, conversion rights, “phantom” stock rights, stock appreciation rights, redemption rights, repurchase rights, agreements, arrangements, calls, commitments or rights of any kind that obligate the
Borrower to issue or sell any shares of capital stock or other securities of the Borrower or any securities or obligations convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for, or giving any person a right to subscribe for or acquire, any securities
of the Borrower, and no securities or obligations evidencing such rights are authorized, issued or outstanding. The authorized capital stock of the Borrower is sufficient to accommodate the issuance of the Proposed Conversion Shares upon conversion
of the Conversion Amount. 

  

	 	(d)	 All outstanding shares of capital stock or other securities of the Group Companies (other than any the
Structured Entities organized under the laws of the PRC) are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. The registered capital of each Group Company organized under the laws of the PRC has
been timely contributed in accordance (if so required) with its articles of association. 

  

	7.9.	 Litigation. There is no action, suit, investigation or proceeding or any basis therefor pending against,
or to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened against, any Group Company or any of their respective properties before (or, in the case of threatened actions, suits, investigations or proceedings, that would be before) any Governmental Authority or
arbitrator that would result or would reasonably be expected to result in damages in excess of US$1,000,000 individually or US$5,000,000 in the aggregate, involve any equitable remedy that would materially adversely affect, individually or in the
aggregate, the business of the Group as it is currently conducted, or that in any manner seeks to prevent, enjoin, alter or materially delay the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. 

 

	7.10.	 SEC Filings. 

  

	 	(a)	 The Borrower has timely filed or furnished, as the case may be, all documents required to be filed with or
furnished to the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. 

  
 - 12 - 

	 	(b)	 The SEC Filings (including any exhibits and schedules thereto and other information incorporated by reference
therein), when they became effective or were filed with or furnished to the SEC, as the case may be, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, in each case as in effect at such
time, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make such statements, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not
misleading, in each case as of the date when they became effective or were filed with or furnished to the SEC (other than as corrected, supplemented or clarified in a subsequent SEC Filing which, for the avoidance of doubt, does not include any
subsequent filing made after the Business Day prior to the date hereof). 

  

	 	(c)	 The Borrower has designed and maintains a system of internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in
Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) sufficient to provide reasonable assurances regarding the reliability of financial reporting for the Group. The Borrower (i) has implemented and maintains disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) (A) designed to ensure that material information required to be disclosed by the Borrower in the reports that it files or submits
under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to the Borrower’s management to allow timely decisions regarding
required disclosure and (B) reasonably effective to perform the functions for which they were designed, and (ii) has disclosed, based on its most recent evaluation prior to the date of this Agreement, to the Borrower’s outside
auditors and the audit committee of the board of the Borrower (and made summaries of such disclosures available to the Lender) (A) any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over
financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Borrower’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information and (B) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
employees who have a significant role in the Borrower’s internal controls over financial reporting. 

  

	 	(d)	 There are no outstanding or unresolved comments in any comment letters received from the SEC staff with respect
to any SEC Filing. There are no internal investigations, any SEC inquiries or investigations or other inquiries or investigations conducted by a Governmental Authority pending or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened, in each case, regarding
the Borrower or any of its officers or directors. 

  

	7.11.	 Financial Statements. 

 

	 	(a)	 The financial statements of the Group Companies on a consolidated basis for each of the periods included or
incorporated by reference in the SEC Filings, including the Borrower’s consolidated and audited financial statements prepared in respect of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the SEC included in the Company’s final
prospectus dated September 13, 2018 and the Borrower’s unaudited consolidated financial statements prepared in respect of the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2018 furnished to the SEC on Form
6-K as of March 6, 2019 (the balance sheet contained therein, the “Latest Balance Sheet”), (A) fairly present the consolidated financial condition and the results of operations of the
Group as of the dates and for the periods indicated in such SEC Filings (other than as corrected, supplemented or clarified in a subsequent SEC Filing which, for the avoidance of doubt, does not include any subsequent filing made on or after the
Business Day prior to the date hereof), (B) were prepared in accordance with GAAP applied on a consistent basis (except (i) as may be otherwise indicated in such financial statements or the notes thereto, or (ii) in the case of unaudited
interim statements, to the extent they may exclude footnotes, may be condensed to summary statements or may undergo normal year-end adjustments) and (C) have been prepared from and are consistent
with the books and records of the Group Companies. 

  
 - 13 - 

	 	(b)	 The Group Companies do not have any liabilities or obligations (accrued, absolute, contingent or otherwise) and
there is no existing condition, situation or set of circumstances that could reasonably be expected to result in such liabilities or obligations other than liabilities or obligations (i) reflected on, reserved against, or disclosed in the notes
to, the Latest Balance Sheet, (ii) that were incurred in the ordinary course of business since January 1, 2017, or (iii) liabilities or obligations that have not materially adversely affected and would not reasonably be expected to
materially adversely affect, individually or in the aggregate, the business of the Group as it is currently conducted. There are no unconsolidated subsidiaries of the Borrower or off-balance sheet
arrangements of any type (including any off-balance sheet arrangement required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the
Securities Act) that have not been so described in the SEC Filings nor any obligations to enter into any such arrangements. 

  

	 	(c)	 None of the Group Companies is, immediately prior to this Agreement, or will be, on the date of this Agreement,
in default in the payment of any indebtedness or in default under any agreement governing or creating any indebtedness for borrowed money, obligations evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments or capitalized lease obligations,
except defaults that have not materially adversely affected and would not reasonably be expected to materially adversely affect, individually or in the aggregate, the business of the Group as it is currently conducted. 

 

	7.12.	 Absence of Certain Changes. Since January 1, 2017, the Group Companies have carried on their
respective businesses in the ordinary course, except as reflected in the SEC Filings. There has not been any event, occurrence, development or state of circumstances or facts that has had or could reasonably be expected to have, individually or in
the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. 

  

	7.13.	 Material Contracts. True and complete copies of all agreements to which any Group Company is a party and
which are required to have been filed, or to be filed, by the Borrower pursuant to the Securities Act or the Exchange Act (each a “Material Contract”) have been filed by the Borrower with the SEC pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and since the filing of the most recent SEC Filing filed prior to the date hereof, there has been no material change or amendment to any Material Contract filed as an exhibit to
the SEC Filings. Except for those that have expired or terminated in accordance with their terms, each Material Contract is in full force and effect and is binding on the Borrower and/or the other Group Companies, as applicable, and is binding upon
such other parties, and neither any Group Company nor, to the knowledge of the Borrower, any other party thereto, is in breach of or default under any Material Contract. The Borrower has not sent or received any written communication regarding
termination of, or intent not to renew, any Material Contract in effect, which are referred to or described in the SEC Filings or filed as an exhibit to the SEC Filings. 

 

	7.14.	 Tax. 

  

	 	(a)	 Each Group Company (i) has made or filed in a timely manner (within any applicable extension periods) and
in the appropriate jurisdictions all material foreign, federal and state income and all other tax returns, reports, information statements and other documentation (including any additional or supporting materials) required to be filed or maintained
in connection with the calculation, determination, assessment or collection of any and all federal, state, local, foreign and other taxes, levies, fees, imposts, duties, governmental fees and charges of whatever kind (including any interest,
penalties or additions to the tax imposed in connection therewith or with respect thereto), including, without limitation, taxes imposed on, or measured by, income, franchise, profits, gross income or gross receipts, and also ad valorem, value
added, sales, use, service, real or personal property, capital stock, stock transfer, license, payroll, withholding, employment, social security, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, utility, severance, production, excise, stamp,
occupation, premium, windfall profits, environmental, transfer and gains taxes and customs duties and any other Tax, including all amended returns required as a result of examination adjustments made by any Governmental Authority responsible for the
imposition of any Tax (collectively, the “Returns”), and such Returns are prepared in compliance with applicable law and true, correct and complete in all material respects, (ii) has paid all material Taxes and other
governmental assessments and charges, shown or determined to be due under applicable laws and has withheld and remitted to the appropriate Taxing Authority all material Taxes that it is obligated to withhold and remit (whether or not shown on such
Return, except those being contested in good faith, not finally determined), and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all Taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such Returns apply. None
of the Group Companies has received notice regarding unpaid Taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the Taxing Authority of any jurisdiction, and the Borrower is not aware of any reasonable basis for such claim. No Returns filed by or on
behalf of any Group Company with respect to Taxes are currently being audited or examined. None of the Group Companies has received notice of any such audit or examination. 

  
 - 14 - 

	 	(b)	 Each Group Company is in compliance in all material respects with all terms, conditions and formalities
necessary for the continuance of any Tax exemption, Tax holiday, Tax credit, Tax incentive, Tax refund or other Tax reduction agreement or order available under any applicable law. Each such Tax exemption, Tax holiday, Tax credit, Tax incentive, Tax
refund or other Tax reduction agreement or order is expected to remain in full effect throughout the current effective period thereof after the date of this Agreement and, to the knowledge of the Borrower, is not subject to reduction, revocation,
cancellation or any other changes (including retroactive changes) in the future, and no Group Company has received any notice to the contrary or is aware of any event that may result in repeal, cancellation, revocation, or return of such
entitlements. Each Group Company is in compliance in all material respects with all transfer pricing requirements in all jurisdictions in which they are required to comply with applicable transfer pricing regulations, and all the transactions
between any Group Company and other related persons (including any Group Company) have been effected on an arm’s length basis. All exemptions, reductions and rebates of any Taxes granted to any Group Company by a Governmental Authority are in
full force and effect and have not been terminated as evidenced with valid governmental approvals. None of the Group Companies is treated as a resident for Tax purposes of, or is otherwise subject to income Tax in, a jurisdiction other than the
jurisdiction in which it has been established. 

  

	7.15.	 Intellectual Property. With respect to each item of Borrower Intellectual Property, the Borrower or one
or more of the Group Companies owns or possesses all rights, titles and interests in and to the item if owned by any Group Company, free and clear of any Lien, license or other material restriction (other than licenses granted to third parties in
the ordinary course of business), and possesses all rights necessary, in the case of a licensed item, under the applicable license agreement, to use such item in the manner in which such item is used by any Group Company in the operation of their
business as currently conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted. The Borrower Intellectual Property collectively represents in all material respects Intellectual Property necessary and sufficient for the operation of the business of the
Group Companies as currently conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted. All employees, contractors, agents and consultants of a Group Company who are or were involved in the creation of any Intellectual Property for such Group Company have
executed an assignment of inventions agreement that vests in the Group Company exclusive ownership of all right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property, to the extent not already provided by law. Each Group Company has taken
commercially reasonable measures to register, protect, maintain and safeguard the Borrower Intellectual Property and has executed appropriate nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements and, if registered or applied to be registered, made all
appropriate filings, registrations and payments of fees in connection with the foregoing. To the knowledge of the Borrower, there is no infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of a third party by any Group Company and there is
no action, suit, proceeding, hearing, investigation, charge, complaint, demand or claim regarding any Borrower Intellectual Property. 

  
 - 15 - 

	7.16.	 Real and Personal Property. The Group Companies have good and marketable title in fee simple (in the
case of real property) to, or have valid and marketable rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real and personal property and assets that are material to the business of the Group Companies, in each case free and clear of all Liens,
encumbrances, claims and defects and imperfections of title. 

  

	7.17.	 Data Protection. The Group Companies and any of their Affiliates have complied in all material respects
with all Data Protection Obligations, including in its processing of Personal Information, and there has not been any violation or breach of any Data Protection Obligations. There have been no instances of unauthorized access, loss, theft, use,
modification, disclosure or other misuse of any Personal Information in the possession or control of the Group Companies and any of their Affiliates, except for any instance that did not or would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a
Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Group Companies nor any of their Affiliates have been investigated, inquired about or been subject to any other action by the regulatory body against the Group Companies and any of their Affiliates, or sued or
claimed compensation by any third party as a result of data management or illegal use of data. 

  

	7.18.	 IT System. The software, hardware, servers, networks, interfaces databases, computer equipment and other
information technology owned or used by the Group and used in the business of the Group (the “Borrower Systems”) are adequate for the business of the Group as currently conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted. The
Borrower Systems have not suffered any material failure or any material unpermitted intrusions since the incorporation of the Borrower. The Group maintains security, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, procedures and facilities in
relation to the Borrower Systems consistent with standard practices in the industry in which the Group operates. The Group has secured all necessary license rights from third-party owners of software, Intellectual Property and technology utilized in
connection with the Borrower Systems sufficient for the operation of the Borrower Systems as currently conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted, and are not in breach of any agreements pertaining thereto in any material respect. The use
of open source or public library software, including any version of any software licensed pursuant to any GNU or other public license, in the Borrower Intellectual Property, if any, as currently used, does not require the disclosure to any person,
or materially adversely impact any Group Company’s ownership or use of, or validity or enforceability or confidentiality of, any material Intellectual Property (including rights in source code) owned or purported to be owned by any Group
Company. 

  

	7.19.	 Labor Matters. 

 

	 	(a)	 Each Group Company has (i) complied in all material respects with all applicable laws in respect of
employment and labor (including labor outsourcing), and (ii) entered into a written employment contract with its employees and made all social security contributions or similar contributions (including retirement, life insurance, medical,
hospital, disability, welfare, pension, other employee benefit program and housing fund) in respect of or on behalf of its employees in accordance with all applicable laws in all material respects. The Founder has entered into a legally binding
employment agreement with the applicable Group Company, which contains customary confidentiality, invention assignment, non-compete and non-solicitation obligations of
the Founder, among others. 

  
 - 16 - 

	 	(b)	 All the labor outsourcing agreements entered into by the Group Companies and the outsourcing firms are in full
force and effect, binding on the parties thereto in accordance with their terms. There has been no material change or amendment to any such agreements and neither any Group Company, nor to the knowledge of the Borrower any other party thereto, is in
material breach of or default under any such agreements. The Group Companies have no material contractual relationship with or other material liabilities to the outsourced workers, even if the outsourcing firms fail to fulfill their duties to these
personnel or violate any relevant requirements under the applicable PRC labor laws. 

  

	 	(c)	 There has not been, and there is not now pending or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened, any strike,
union organization activity, slowdown or work stoppage against any Group Company. None of the Group Companies is bound by or otherwise subject to any contract with any labor union or any collective bargaining agreements. 

 

	 	(d)	 Each employee stock ownership plan of the Borrower complies in all material respects with applicable laws and
has been implemented in accordance with its terms. With respect to each employee stock ownership plan of the Borrower, (i) no actions, Liens, lawsuits, claims, proceedings, investigations or complaints are pending or, to the knowledge of the
Borrower, threatened, and (ii) to the knowledge of the Borrower, no facts or circumstances exist that would reasonably be expected to give rise to any such actions, Liens, lawsuits, claims or complaints. 

 

	7.20.	 Related Party Transactions. All related party transactions required to be disclosed under the rules of
the NASDAQ, the Exchange Act or other applicable laws have been accurately described in the SEC Filings in all material respects. Each of such related party transactions was entered into on an arm’s length basis. None of the officers or
directors (or their respective Affiliates) of each Group Company and, to the Borrower’s knowledge, none of the employees (or their respective Affiliates) of each Group Company is presently a party to any material transaction with any Group
Company (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, or
otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or any entity in which any such person has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee or partner or any such person’s Affiliates.

  

	7.21.	 Investment Company. The Borrower is not, and immediately after receipt of the Purchase Price will not
be, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. 

  

	7.22.	 Listing. The ADSs are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act. The
Borrower has taken no action designed to, or which is reasonably likely to, have the effect of terminating the registration of such ADSs under the Exchange Act, nor has the Borrower received any notification that the SEC is contemplating terminating
such registration. The Borrower has not, in the twelve (12) months preceding the date hereof, received notice from the NASDAQ to the effect that the Borrower is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of the NASDAQ.

  

	7.23.	 Structured Entities. The Borrower controls the structured entities set forth on Part A of Schedule 1
(the “Structured Entities”) through the Controlling Documents. Each of the Controlling Documents has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the parties thereto, and constitutes valid and binding obligations of the parties
thereto, enforceable against such parties in accordance with its terms, and there is no enforceable agreement or understanding to rescind, amend or change the nature of such captive structure or material terms of the Controlling Documents. The
Controlling Documents are adequate to enable the financial statements of each Group Company that is a party to a Controlling Document to be consolidated with those of the Borrower in accordance with GAAP. 

  
 - 17 - 

	7.24.	 Margin Regulations. Neither the making of any Loan hereunder nor the use of the proceeds thereof will
violate the provisions of Regulation T, Regulation U or Regulation X of the Board of Governors. 

  

	8.	 Undertakings 

  

	8.1.	 Lock-up. The Lender shall not, at any time from the Utilisation
Date, directly or indirectly, offer, sell, pledge, transfer, assign or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the Loan to any third party without, in each case, the prior written consent of the Borrower, provided that the Lender can transfer
or assign all or any part of the Loan to its Affiliate(s) without the Borrower’s consent or permission. 

  

	8.2.	 Use of Proceeds. The Borrower shall use the net proceeds from the Loan for the Group’s working
capital and other lawful general corporate purposes consistent with past practice and in the ordinary course of business or for the payment of any amount payable hereunder, and shall not use such proceeds (i) for the satisfaction of any portion
of the Borrower’s debt other than payment of any amount payable hereunder or any trade payables in the ordinary course of the Borrower’s business and consistent with past practices, (ii) for the payment of dividends on or the
redemption of any capital stock of the Borrower, ADS or any shares, interests, rights to acquire, warrants, options, participations or other equivalents of or interests in (however designated) stock issued by the Borrower, (iii) for the
settlement of any outstanding litigation, or (iv) for payment of any related party loan of the Borrower, in each case, without the prior written consent of the Lender. 

 

	8.3.	 No use of Lender’s Marks and Logos. Without the prior written consent of the Lender
or its Affiliates, each of the Borrower and the Group Companies shall not, and each foregoing person shall cause any of its Affiliates to not, (a) use in advertising, publicity, announcements, or otherwise, the name of Alibaba or any of its
Affiliates, either alone or in combination of, including but without limitation, “阿里巴巴” (Chinese equivalent for “Alibaba”), “淘宝” (Chinese equivalent for “Taobao”), “天猫” (Chinese equivalent for “Tmall”),
“1688”, “聚划算” (Chinese equivalent for “Juhuasuan”),
“全球速卖通” (Chinese brand for “AliExpress”), “飞猪” (Chinese
equivalent for “Fliggy”), “阿里妈妈” (Chinese equivalent for “Alimama”),
“阿里云” (Chinese equivalent for “Alibaba Cloud”), “阿里通信”
(Chinese equivalent for “AliTelecom”), “一达通” (Chinese brand for “OneTouch”),
“友盟” (Chinese equivalent for “Umeng”), “盒马” (Chinese equivalent for
“Freshippo”), “闲鱼” (Chinese equivalent for “XianYu”), “优酷” (Chinese
equivalent for “YOUKU”), “土豆” (Chinese equivalent for “TUDOO”),
“优视” (Chinese equivalent for “UC/UCWeb”), “阿里游戏” (Chinese
equivalent for “Alibaba Games”),”九游” (Chinese equivalent for “9Game”), “阿里文学” (Chinese equivalent for “Alibaba Literature”), “书旗小说”
(Chinese equivalent for “Shuqi”), “大麦” (Chinese equivalent for “Damai”),
“虾米” (Chinese equivalent for “Xiami”), “高德地图” (Chinese brand
for “AMAP”), “阿里” (Chinese equivalent for “Ali”), “淘” (Chinese equivalent
for “Tao”), “钉钉” (Chinese brand for “DingTalk”), “口碑” (Chinese
equivalent for “Koubei”), “饿了么” (Chinese equivalent for “Eleme”),
“蚂蚁金服” (Chinese brand for “Ant Financial”), “蚂蚁” (Chinese
equivalent for “Ant”), “支付宝” (Chinese brand for “Alipay”),
“余额宝” (Chinese equivalent for “Yu’e Bao”), “芝麻信用”
(Chinese equivalent for “Zhima Credit”), “网商银行” (Chinese brand for “MYbank”),
“花呗” (Chinese equivalent for “HUABEI”), “Alibaba”, “Taobao”, “Tmall”, “Juhuasuan”, “AliExpress”,
“Fliggy”, “Alimama”, “Alibaba Cloud”, “AliOS”, “AliTelecom”, “OneTouch”, “Umeng”, “Freshippo”, “YOUKU”, “TUDOO”, “UC”, “UCWeb”,
“Alibaba Games”, “9Game”, “Alibaba Literature”, “Shuqi”, “Damai”, “Xiami”, “AMAP”, “Ali”, “Tao”, “DingTalk”, “Koubei”, “Eleme”,
“Ant Financial”, “Ant”, “Alipay”, “Yu’e Bao”, “Zhima Credit”, “MYbank”, “HUABEI”, the associated devices and logos of the above brands (including but not limited to the
smiling face device of Alibaba Group, the cow device of Alibaba.com, the Tao doll device of Taobao, the cat device of Tmall, the Ju doll device of Juhuasuan, the pig device of Fliggy, the bracket device of Alibaba Cloud, the hippo device of
Freshippo, the fish device of XianYu, the doughnut device of YOUKU, the smiling face device of TUDOO, the 9 Games device, the Shuqi device of Shuqi, the hand device of Damai, the shrimp device of Xiami, the Gaoxiaode device and the paper aeroplane
device of AutoNavi, the wing device of Dingtalk, the ant device of Ant Financial, the Zhi device of Alipay, the Zhima Credit device, etc.), or (b) represent, directly or indirectly, that any products or services provided by the Borrower or any
Group Company have been approved or endorsed by Alibaba or any of its Affiliates. The Borrower hereby agrees that the Lender or its Affiliates may use any Group Company’s company name, trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, device,
design and/or symbol in its respective marketing materials. The rights and obligations of the Borrower and each Group Company and each other Party under this Clause 8.3 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. 

  
 - 18 - 

	8.4.	 Compliance with Law. The Borrower shall comply, and cause each other Group Company to comply, in all
material respects with all applicable laws, including, without limitation, the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder that are effective; in particular, the
Group shall strictly comply with all applicable Anti-Corruption Laws, Anti-Money Laundering Laws and sanction related laws in its business operations. The Borrower further covenants to the Lender that the Borrower and any other Group Company and any
director, officer, or employee of the Borrower and any other Group Company and any agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Borrower and any other Group Company will not offer to pay, promise to pay, or authorize the payment of any
money or anything of value, to any Government Official (including any government officials to whom the Borrower or its Affiliates knows or ought to know that all or a portion of such money or things of value will be offered, given or promised,
directly or indirectly) for the purpose of (i) influencing any act or decision of Government Officials in their official capacity; (ii) inducing Government Officials to act or omit to act in violation of lawful duties; (iii) securing
any improper advantage; (iv) inducing Government Officials to influence or affect any act or decision of any Governmental Authority; or (v) assisting any Group Company in obtaining or retaining business, or directing business to, such
Group Company. Neither the Borrower nor any other Group Company nor any director, officer, or employee of the Borrower or any other Group Company nor any agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Borrower or any other Group Company
will violate the principle of fair competition in business, by offering or taking property or other interests to obtain or provide business opportunities or other improper benefits, such as making payments or paying anything of value to existing or
potential Business Partners, in order to impose undue influence on Business Partners or to obtain inappropriate commercial advantage. Business Partners may include Governmental Authority, non-government
customers, suppliers or distributors, owners, directors, managers or other employees of the entities identified above, entities or individuals entrusted by Business Partners to handle relevant matters, entities or individuals that may take advantage
of the work position or influential power to exercise influence on the transactions between the Company and Business Partners. The Borrower shall maintain a reasonably complete financial record and reasonably effective internal control measures in
accordance with applicable laws, including Anti-Corruption Laws and GAAP. The Borrower shall establish and maintain an anti-corruption compliance program including but not limited to necessary policies, procedures and internal controls in compliance
with the requirements of Anti-Corruption Laws. As soon as practicable after the Utilisation Date, the Borrower shall, or the Borrower shall cause the applicable Group Company to, use its commercial best efforts to obtain and maintain (i) a
valid internet news license, (ii) all requisite internet audio-visual program transmission license(s), (iii) all requisite value-added telecommunications business license(s), and (iv) all requisite online publication permit(s).

  

	8.5.	 Data Protection. The Group Companies and any of their Affiliates shall comply with all Data Protection
Obligations in all material aspects of the operations of the Company, including paying close attention to the updates of the applicable laws and ensuring compliance with the valid data compliance requirements at any stage. 

  
 - 19 - 

	8.6.	 Indebtedness. 

 

	 	(a)	 Without the Lender’s prior written consent, the Borrower shall not, and shall procure that each other
Group Company incorporated outside the PRC does not, directly or indirectly (i) create any Lien upon the whole or any part of its present or future undertaking, share capital, assets or other properties or revenues (including any uncalled
capital) to secure any financial indebtedness, or any guarantee or indemnity in respect of financial indebtedness, unless, at the same time or prior thereto, the Loan is secured (a) at least equally and rateably by the same Lien or guarantee,
or (b) at the option of the Lender, by such other Lien, guarantee or indemnity reasonably satisfactory to the Lender; or (ii) incur any financial indebtedness (for the avoidance of doubt, including any guarantee in respect of any financial
indebtedness) that matures before the Repayment Date, other than where the aggregate principal amount of all financial indebtedness incurred and/or the subject of any Lien, guarantee or indemnity permitted to be granted pursuant to the foregoing
(i) and/or (ii) (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, the Loan) does not exceed US$20,000,000 in aggregate at any time. 

  

	 	(b)	 Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the Borrower shall procure that each Group Company
incorporated in the PRC does not, directly or indirectly, create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any (i) financial indebtedness (for the avoidance of doubt, including any guarantee in respect of financial indebtedness), or (ii) Lien upon
its undertaking, share capital, assets or other properties, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, other than (x) Liens in existence on the date hereof, or (y) where the aggregate principal amount in respect of financial indebtedness
(including guarantees) incurred and/or the subject of any Lien permitted to be created pursuant to the foregoing (i) and/or (ii) does not exceed the higher of US$50,000,000 and 10% of the Group’s net assets calculated using the
Group’s latest annual audited financial statements. 

  

	 	(c)	 For the avoidance of doubt, any indebtedness incurred for the following purposes shall not be subject to any
restriction contained in Clause 8.6(a) or Clause 8.6(b): 

  

	 	(i)	 indebtedness incurred under this Agreement; 

 

	 	(ii)	 indebtedness in existence on the date hereof; 

 

	 	(iii)	 any indebtedness incurred pursuant to any intercompany loan among the Group Companies; 

 

	 	(iv)	 indebtedness incurred for the purpose of irrevocably and unconditionally repaying the Loan in full and the
proceeds of such indebtedness are applied, immediately upon receipt, to irrevocably and unconditionally repay the Loan in full; or 

  

	 	(v)	 any indebtedness expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement. 

 

	8.7.	 Cash Investment. 

 

	 	(a)	 The Borrower may (i) make any investments in any other Person in cash or cash equivalents, or
(ii) provide any loans to, or provide any guarantee for, any other Person; provided that before and after the making of such investment, loans or guarantees, the balance of the cash, cash equivalents and any other short-term investments
of the Group (on a consolidated basis) is greater than 120% of the outstanding principal amount of the Loan (together with any accrued and unpaid interest thereon) (such position being the “Adequate Liquidity Position”).

  
 - 20 - 

	 	(b)	 Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the Borrower shall not, and shall procure that no other Group
Company will, directly or indirectly, (i) make any investment in any other Person in cash or cash equivalents, or (ii) make any loans to, or providing any guarantee for, any other Person that may result in the Group’s inability to
maintain an Adequate Liquidity Position, unless the amount of all such investments, loans or guarantees incurred shall not exceed, in aggregate, (i) 20% of the cash, cash equivalents and any other short-term investments of the Group (on a
consolidated basis) calculated using the Group’s latest annual audited financial statement if the investment, loan or guarantee shall occur before the beginning of the six-month period preceding the
Repayment Date, or (ii) US$5,000,000 if the investment, loan or guarantee shall occur within the six-month period preceding the Repayment Date. 

 

	8.8.	 Dividend. Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the Borrower shall not declare or make
payment of any dividend or any other distributions in cash or cash equivalents that exceeds 50% of its net profit as set out in its most recent annual audited profit and loss statement (excluding any extraordinary,
non-recurring and non-cash items), provided that any share buyback plan in respect of the Borrower’s share capital approved by the Board shall not be subject
to the restriction herein. 

  

	8.9.	 Fundamental Changes. Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the Borrower shall not and shall
procure that no other Principal Subsidiary will, directly or indirectly, (i) enter into any transaction of merger or consolidation or amalgamation, or liquidate, wind up or dissolve itself (or suffer any liquidation, winding up or dissolution),
or sell all or substantially all of its assets, or (ii) sell, assign, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its property (including exclusive license of its intellectual property to any third party), whether now
owned or hereafter acquired, other than as expressly permitted by the terms of any Transaction Document. 

  

	8.10.	 Change of business. Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the Borrower shall not, and shall
procure that no other Group Company will, make any substantial change to the general nature of the business of the Group (taken as a whole) from that carried on at the date of this Agreement. 

 

	8.11.	 Arm’s length basis. Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the Borrower shall not, and
shall procure any other Group Company not to, enter into any transaction with any related party except on arm’s length terms. 

  

	8.12.	 Registration of Proposed Conversion Shares. The Borrower shall use its best efforts to obtain approvals
(internal, government or otherwise) to have one registration statement to include all the Proposed Conversion Shares and any other shares of the Company held by the Lender and/or its Affiliates at the time (collectively, the “Registrable
Securities”) declared effective (i) within 120 days if the registration statement is on F-1 or (ii) within 30 days if the registration statement is on
F-3, in either (i) or (ii) above, from the date of the issuance of the Registrable Securities or the date of a request made by the Lender for registration for all Registrable Securities, whichever is
later. 

  

	9.	 Events of Default 

 

	9.1.	 Each of the following events shall be an Event of Default: 

 

	 	(a)	 the Borrower fails to pay by the due date any amount payable pursuant to this Agreement at the place and in the
currency in which it is expressed to be payable; 

  

	 	(b)	 without prejudice to Clause 9.1(a), the Borrower fails to perform or observe any of its obligations,
undertakings and warranties hereunder (including, without limitation, Clause 4.3) and continues unremedied for a period of 25 days after its occurrence; 

  
 - 21 - 

	 	(c)	 any representation or statement made or deemed to be made by the Borrower in this Agreement or any other
document delivered by or on behalf of the Borrower under or in connection with this Agreement is or proves to have been incorrect or misleading in any material respect when made or deemed to be made, and the circumstance leading to the incorrect or
misleading representation or statement is not remedied within a period of 25 days after its occurrence; 

  

	 	(d)	 any financial indebtedness (for the avoidance of doubt, including the amount of any liability in respect of any
guarantee) exceeding US$15,000,000 of the Borrower or any Principal Subsidiary is declared due and payable prior to its specified maturity as a result of an event of default (however described); 

 

	 	(e)	 any commitment for any financial indebtedness (for the avoidance of doubt, including the amount of any
liability in respect of any guarantee) exceeding US$15,000,000 of the Borrower or any Principal Subsidiary is cancelled or suspended by a creditor as a result of an event of default (however described); 

 

	 	(f)	 if in respect of the Borrower or any Principal Subsidiary: 

 

	 	(i)	 any order is made by a competent court or other appropriate authority or any resolutions are passed for
bankruptcy, liquidation, winding-up or dissolution or for the appointment of a liquidator, receiver, trustee or similar official of it or of all or a substantial part of its assets; 

 

	 	(ii)	 it is unable or admits inability to pay its debts as they fall due (or is deemed to or declared to be unable to
pay its debt within the meaning of any applicable legislation relating to insolvency, bankruptcy, liquidation or winding up), suspends making payments on any of its debts or, by reason of actual or anticipated financial difficulties, commences
negotiations with one or more of its creditors (excluding the Lender in its capacity as the Lender) with a view to rescheduling any of its indebtedness, or ceases or threatens to cease substantially to carry on business otherwise than for the
purposes of amalgamation, merger or re-construction with the prior written consent of the Lender; or 

  

	 	(iii)	 a moratorium is declared in respect of any indebtedness of the Borrower or such Principal Subsidiary;

  

	 	(g)	 if in respect of the Borrower or any Principal Subsidiary, any corporate action, legal proceedings or other
procedures or steps is taken in relation to: 

  

	 	(i)	 the suspension of payments, a moratorium of any indebtedness,
winding-up, dissolution, administration or reorganisation (by way of voluntary arrangement, scheme of arrangement or otherwise) of the Borrower or such Principal Subsidiary; 

 

	 	(ii)	 the appointment of a liquidator, receiver, administrative receiver, administrator, compulsory manager or other
similar officer in respect of the Borrower or such Principal Subsidiary or any of its assets; or 

  

	 	(iii)	 any analogous procedure or step is taking in any jurisdiction. 

 

	 	(h)	 it fails to notify the Lender of a Material Adverse Effect it suffered on its business, prospects or financial
condition within 10 days after it becomes aware of such Material Adverse Effect; 

  
 - 22 - 

	 	(i)	 any payment obligation or the obligation of the Borrower relating to delivery of the Proposed Conversion Shares
ceases to be legal, valid, binding or enforceable; 

  

	 	(j)	 the Borrower repudiates this Agreement or evidences an intention to repudiate this Agreement;

  

	 	(k)	 a final judgment for the payment of US$10,000,000 or more (excluding any amounts covered by insurance) rendered
against the Company or any Principal Subsidiary of the Company, which judgment is not paid, bonded or otherwise discharged or stayed within 30 days after (i) the date on which the right to appeal thereof has expired if no such appeal has
commenced, or (ii) the date on which all rights to appeal have been extinguished; or 

  

	 	(l)	 any material breach of the Business Cooperation Agreement by the relevant Group Company. 

 

	9.2.	 The Lender may at any time after the occurrence of an Event of Default by written notice to the Borrower do any
or all of the following: 

  

	 	(a)	 (i) for Events of Default listed in Clause 9.1(f), 9.1(g), 9.1(h), 9.1(i) or 9.1(j), declare the Loan (or any
part thereof) together with all accrued and unpaid interest, to be immediately due and payable, whereupon they shall become immediately due and payable; or (ii) for other Events of Default, declare the Loan (or any part thereof) together with
all accrued and unpaid interest, to be payable on demand by the Lender, whereupon they shall immediately become due and payable within five days after the date of such demand; 

 

	 	(b)	 exercise all or any of its rights or remedies under this Agreement; and/or 

 

	 	(c)	 deliver a Conversion Request to the Borrower for a proposed Conversion Date falling on any date on or after the
occurrence of the Event of Default specifying the principal amount to be applied for the subscription of the Proposed Conversion Shares. For the avoidance of doubt and notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained herein or elsewhere, the
Lender shall be entitled to elect to convert any portion or all of the outstanding principal amount of the Loan in accordance with this Clause 9.2, regardless of when such Event of Default occurs, 

provided that if an Event of Default specified in Clause 9.1(f) or Clause 9.1(g) with respect to the Borrower or any of its Principal
Subsidiaries occurs and is continuing, all of the principal of, and accrued and unpaid interest on, the Loan shall become and shall automatically be immediately due and payable without any action on the part of the Lender. 

 

	10.	 Assignment 

This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of each party and its successors and permitted assigns. No party may assign or
transfer any of its rights, benefit or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other parties; provided that the Lender shall be entitled to assign this Agreement and its rights hereunder to any of its Affiliates without
the Borrower’s consent or permission. 
  

	11.	 Notices and Service of Proceedings 

 

	11.1.	 Any notice given in connection with this Agreement must be in English. Any notice or other formal communication
given under this Agreement must be in writing (which includes fax, but not email) and may be delivered or sent by post or fax to the party to be served as follows: 

 

	 	(a)	 to the Borrower at: 

[REDACTED] 
  

	 	(b)	 to the Lender at: 

[REDACTED] 

  
 - 23 - 

 or at such other address or fax number as that party may have notified to the other parties
in accordance with this Clause 11. Any notice or other document sent by post shall be sent by prepaid registered post (if within Hong Kong) or by prepaid airmail (if elsewhere). 

 

	11.2.	 Any notice or other formal communication shall be deemed to have been given: 

 

	 	(a)	 if delivered, at the time of delivery; or 

 

	 	(b)	 if posted, at 10.00 a.m. (local time at the address of the addressee) on the second or, if international, fifth
Business Day after it was put into the post; or 

  

	 	(c)	 if sent by fax, on the date of transmission, if transmitted before 3.00 p.m. (local time at the address of the
addressee) on any Business Day, and in any other case on the Business Day following the date of transmission. 

  

	11.3.	 In proving service of a notice or other formal communication, it shall be sufficient to prove that delivery was
made or that the envelope containing the communication was properly addressed and posted either by prepaid registered post or by prepaid airmail, as the case may be or that the fax was properly addressed and transmitted, as the case may be.

  

	12.	 Miscellaneous 

 

	12.1.	 The Borrower shall (i) bear and pay its own costs, fees and expenses incurred by it, and (ii) timely
reimburse the Lender’s and its advisors’ costs, fees and expenses, in each case, in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby. 

 

	12.2.	 No provision hereof may be amended, waived, discharged or terminated orally, unless by an instrument in writing
signed by the party against whom enforcement of the amendment, waiver, discharge or termination is sought. 

  

	12.3.	 Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement but no failure or delay by the Lender in exercising or enforcing
any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver hereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise or enforcement of any right, remedy, power or privilege preclude any further exercise or enforcement thereof or the exercise
or enforcement of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges herein provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, remedies, powers or privileges provided by law. 

 

	12.4.	 Any provision of this Agreement prohibited by or rendered unlawful or unenforceable under any applicable law
actually applied by any court of competent jurisdiction shall, to the extent required by such law, be severed from this Agreement and rendered ineffective so far as is possible without modifying the remaining provisions of this Agreement. Where,
however, the provisions of any such applicable law may be waived, they are hereby waived by the parties to the full extent permitted by such law to the end that this Agreement shall be a valid and binding agreement enforceable in accordance with its
terms. 

  

	12.5.	 This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, and this has the same effect as if the signatures
on the counterparts were on a single copy of this Agreement. 

  

	12.6.	 The Borrower irrevocably and unconditionally authorises the Lender, without prejudice and in addition to any
right of set-off or other right, power or remedy which the Lender may at any time have by contract, at law, in equity or otherwise, at any time upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, to set off without
notice any sum as may be owed by the Lender to the Borrower in or towards satisfaction of any sum due and payable to the Lender under this Agreement. Where such set-off requires the conversion of one currency
into another, the conversion shall be effected at the exchange rate conclusively determined in a reasonable manner by the Lender to be prevailing in the relevant foreign exchange market at the relevant time. 

  
 - 24 - 

	12.7.	 Confidentiality. 

 

	 	(a)	 Subject to the remaining provisions of this Clause 12.7, each party shall keep confidential and not disclose to
any third party (i) any information exchanged between the parties or any of their respective Affiliates (or any directors, officers, employees, partners or representatives thereof) in connection with the Transaction Documents or the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, (ii) the existence, status and provisions of the Transaction Documents, and (iii) the status and content of any discussion between the parties or any of their respective Affiliates (or any
directors, officers, employees or representatives thereof) in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby or by the other Transaction Documents, unless such information is (w) previously known on a
non-confidential basis by the receiving party, (x) in the public domain through no fault of such receiving party or any of its Affiliates (or any directors, officers, employees or representatives
thereof), (y) received from a person other than the other party or its Affiliates (or any directors, officers, employees or representatives thereof), so long as such person was not, to the knowledge of the receiving party, subject to a duty of
confidentiality, or (z) developed independently by the receiving party without reference to any confidential information (collectively, “Confidential Information”); provided that a party may disclose Confidential
Information to (A) its Affiliates, financing providers, or any officer, director, employee, partners or representative of such party or its Affiliates or financing providers, on a
need-to-know and confidential basis, or (B) to any Governmental Authority (including any stock exchanges) having jurisdiction over such party or its Affiliates if
such disclosure is required by applicable laws. Each party shall use Confidential Information only for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary to perform, the transaction, and shall not use any Confidential Information for any other purposes.

  

	 	(b)	 Notwithstanding any other provisions in this Clause 12.7, if any party believes in good faith that any
announcement or notice is required to be prepared or published pursuant to applicable laws (including any rules or regulations of any securities exchange or valid legal process) or information is otherwise required to be disclosed to any
Governmental Authority, such party may make the required disclosure in the manner it deems in compliance with the requirements of applicable laws or such Governmental Authority; provided that the parties, to the extent permitted by
applicable law, will consult with each other before issuance, and provide each other the opportunity to review and comment upon any press release or public statement with respect to this Agreement or the other Transaction Documents and the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this Clause 12.7, each party may make public statements in response to specific questions by the press, analysts, investors or those attending industry conferences
or financial analyst conference calls, so long as any such statements are not materially inconsistent with previous press releases, public disclosures or public statements made in compliance with this Clause 12.7(b) and do not reveal material, non-public information regarding the other party (including the identity of the other party) or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. 

 

	12.8.	 Indemnity. The Borrower shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Lender and its respective
Affiliates, directors, officers, employees and other agents or representatives from and against any and all losses, damages, liabilities, diminution in value, claims, proceedings, costs and expenses (including fees and disbursements of counsel
reasonably incurred by the indemnified party or person) resulting from or arising out of (i) any fraud or intentional misrepresentation on the part of the Borrower or any breach by the Borrower of any of its representations, warranties,
covenants or agreements in this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, or (ii) any Controlling Document with respect to the Structured Entities becomes not enforceable or the Group is unable to consolidate the incomes of any Structured
Entity (for the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding any disclosure in the Disclosure Letter, the Borrower SEC Documents or any knowledge otherwise acquired by the Lender at any time). 

  
 - 25 - 

	12.9.	 Further Assurances. The Borrower agrees to cooperate with the Lender, and do such other reasonable acts
and things in good faith as may be necessary to effectuate the intents and purposes of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, subject to the terms and conditions hereof and thereof and compliance with applicable laws, including taking
reasonable action to facilitate the filing of any document or the taking of reasonable action to assist the other party in complying with the terms hereof or thereof. 

 

	13.	 Governing Law; Jurisdiction 

 

	13.1.	 This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by the Laws of Hong Kong without regard to any choice of laws
or conflict of laws provisions that would require the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. 

  

	13.2.	 Any dispute regarding this Agreement shall be referred to and finally settled by arbitration at the Hong Kong
International Arbitration Centre (the “HKIAC”) for arbitration in Hong Kong. The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules in force at the time of the initiation of the arbitration, which rules
are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Clause 13.2. There shall be a panel of three (3) arbitrators. The claimant(s) shall appoint one (1) arbitrator, the respondent(s) shall appoint one (1) arbitrator, and the third
arbitrator shall be appointed by the HKIAC. The arbitral proceedings shall be conducted in English. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto. 

 

	13.3.	 The parties agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any party does not perform the
provisions of this Agreement in accordance with its specified terms or otherwise breach such provisions. Accordingly, the parties acknowledge and agree that any party shall be entitled to seek an injunction, specific performance and other equitable
relief to prevent breaches of this Agreement by any other party and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof. The remedies available pursuant to this Clause 13.3 shall be in addition to any other remedy to which it is entitled at law
or in equity, and the election to pursue an injunction or specific performance shall not restrict, impair or otherwise limit any party from, in the alternative, seeking to terminate this Agreement and collect a remedy at law. 

[The remainder of this page has been intentionally left blank.] 

  
 - 26 - 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the party hereto has caused this Agreement to be duly executed by its
authorized directors or officers as of the date first written above. 
  

	
	 Borrower

	
	 /s/ Siliang Tan

	 For and on behalf of

	QUTOUTIAO INC.
	 Name: Siliang Tan

	 Title: Director

	
	 Witness

	
	 /s/ Ivy Chan

	 Name: Ivy Chan

	 Address: [REDACTED]

  
 [Project Fun -
Signature Page to Convertible Loan Agreement - Qutoutiao Inc.] 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the party hereto has caused this Agreement to be duly executed by its
authorized directors or officers as of the date first written above. 
  

			
	 Lender

	
	ALIBABA INVESTMENT LIMITED
		
	 By:
	 	 /s/ Richard C. Lin

	 Name:
	 	 Richard C. Lin

	 Title:
	 	 Authorized Signatory

  
 [Project Fun -
Signature Page to Convertible Loan Agreement - Qutoutiao Inc.] 

 SCHEDULE 1 

STRUCTURED ENTITIES AND CONTROLLING DOCUMENTS 

A. Structured Entities 
 Variable Interest
Entities 
  

	1.	 Shanghai Jifen Culture Communications Co., Ltd. 

 

	2.	 Beijing Churun Internet Technology Co., Ltd. 

 

	3.	 Shanghai Big Rhinoceros Horn Information Technology, Co., Ltd 

Subsidiaries of Variable Interest Entity 
  

	1.	 Shanghai Xike Information Technology Service Co., Ltd. 

 

	2.	 Shanghai Tuile Information Technology Service Co., Ltd. 

 

	3.	 Anhui Zhangduan Internet Technology Co., Ltd. 

 

	4.	 Beijing Qukandian Internet Technology Co., Ltd. 

 

	5.	 Beijing Tai Chi International Sports Development Co., Ltd. 

B. Controlling Documents 
  

	a.	 Equity Interest Pledge Agreement by and among Shanghai Quyun Internet Technology Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai
Quyun”), Shanghai Jifen Culture Communications Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai Jifen”) and each shareholder of Shanghai Jifen 

  

	b.	 Voting Rights Proxy Agreement by and among Shanghai Quyun, Shanghai Jifen and each shareholder of Shanghai
Jifen 

  

	c.	 Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement by and between Shanghai Quyun and Shanghai Jifen

  

	d.	 Exclusive Option Agreement by and among Shanghai Quyun, Shanghai Jifen and each shareholder of Shanghai Jifen

  

	e.	 Loan Agreement by and among Shanghai Quyun and each shareholder of Shanghai Jifen 

 

	f.	 Equity Interest Pledge Agreement by and among Shanghai Quyun, Beijing Churun Internet Technology Co., Ltd.
(“Beijing Churun”) and each shareholder of Beijing Churun 

  

	g.	 Voting Rights Proxy Agreement by and among Shanghai Quyun, Beijing Churun and each shareholder of Beijing
Churun 

  

	h.	 Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement by and between Shanghai Quyun and Beijing Churun

  
 - 29 -Exhibit

Exhibit 4(b)

January 24, 2019

Company Order and Officers’ Certificate
3.950% Senior Notes, Series F due 2028

The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee
2 North LaSalle Street
Suite 700
Chicago, Illinois 60602

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Pursuant to Article Two of the Indenture, dated as of September 1, 2017 (as it may be amended or supplemented, the “Original Indenture”), from AEP Texas Inc. (the “Company”) to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”), as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 17, 2018 (the “Second Supplemental Indenture” and, together with the Original Indenture, the “Indenture”) and the Board Resolutions dated January 24, 2018, copies of which, certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, have been delivered under Section 2.01 of the Indenture and have not been rescinded,

	
			
	1.
	The Company’s 3.950% Senior Notes, Series F due 2028 (the “Notes”) are hereby established.  The Notes shall be in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit 1.

	 
	 
	 

	2.
	The terms and characteristics of the Notes shall be as follows (the numbered clauses set forth below corresponding to the numbered subsections of Section 2.01 of the Indenture, with terms used and not defined herein having the meanings specified in the Indenture or in the Notes):

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(i)
	the aggregate principal amount of Notes which may be authenticated and delivered under the Indenture initially shall be limited to $494,500,000, except as contemplated in Section 2.01(i) of the Indenture and except that such principal amount may be increased from time to time; all Notes need not be issued at the same time and may be reopened at any time, without the consent of any security holder, for issuance of additional Notes, which Notes will have the same interest rate, maturity and other terms as those initially issued;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(ii)
	the date on which the principal of the Notes shall be payable shall be June 1, 2028;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(iii)
	interest shall accrue from December 1, 2018; the Interest Payment Dates on which such interest will be payable shall be June 1 and December 1, and the Regular Record Date for the determination of holders to whom interest is payable on any such Interest Payment Date shall be the May 15 or November 15  preceding the relevant Interest Payment Date; provided that the first Interest Payment Date shall be June 1, 2019 and interest payable on the Stated Maturity

	 
	 
	 

1

	
			
	 
	 
	Date or any Redemption Date shall be paid to the Person to whom principal shall be paid;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(iv)
	the interest rate at which the Notes shall bear interest shall be 3.950% per annum;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(v)
	Optional Redemption.

At any time prior to March 1, 2028, the Notes shall be redeemable at the option of the Company, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, upon not less than thirty but not more than sixty days’ previous notice given to the registered owners of the Notes at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Notes being redeemed that would be due if the Notes matured on March 1, 2028 (excluding the portion of any such interest accrued to the date of redemption) discounted (for purposes of determining present value) to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate (as defined below) plus 15 basis points, plus, accrued interest thereon to the date of redemption.

At any time on or after March 1, 2028, the Notes shall be redeemable at the option of the Company, in whole or in part, at 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to but excluding the date of redemption.

“Comparable Treasury Issue,” means the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term (“remaining life”) of the Notes (assuming, for this purpose, that the Notes matured on March 1, 2028) that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining life of the Notes.

“Comparable Treasury Price” means, with respect to any redemption date, (1) the average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Company obtains fewer than four of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such quotations.

“Independent Investment Banker” means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers appointed by the Company and notified by the Company to the Trustee.

“Reference Treasury Dealer” means a primary U.S. Government securities dealer or dealers selected by the Company and notified by the Company to the Trustee.

2

	
			
	 
	 
	“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Company and notified to the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Company and the Trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer at or before 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding such redemption date. 

“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any redemption, the rate per annum equal to the semiannual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption date.

	 
	 
	 

	

	(vi)
	(a) the Notes shall be issued in the form of a book-entry note represented by a Global Note; (b) the Depositary for such Global Note shall be The Depository Trust Company; and (c) the procedures with respect to transfer and exchange of the Global Note shall be as set forth in the form of Note attached hereto;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(vii)
	the title of the Notes shall be “3.950% Senior Notes, Series F due 2028”

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(viii)
	the forms of the Notes shall be as set forth in Paragraph 1, above;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(ix)
	not applicable;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(x)
	the Notes shall not be subject to a Periodic Offering;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xi)
	not applicable;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xii)
	not applicable;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xiii)
	the Company will pay the principal of the Notes and any premium and interest payable at redemption, if any, or at maturity in immediately available funds at the office of the Trustee at 240 Greenwich Street, Floor 7-East, New York, NY 10286;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xiv)
	the Notes shall be issuable in denominations of $2,000 and any integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xv)
	not applicable;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xvi)
	the Notes shall not be issued as Discount Securities;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xvii)
	not applicable;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xviii)
	not applicable;

	 
	 
	 

3

	
			
	 
	(xix)
	the provisions of Section 4.05 and Article Ten of the Indenture shall apply to the Notes, and

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(xx)
	Restrictive Covenants:

Limitation on Liens.

The Company covenants that for so long as any of the Notes are outstanding that it will not create or suffer to exist any Secured Debt, unless, at the same time, the Notes that are outstanding are also secured by such Lien on an equal and ratable basis.  This restriction does not apply to our subsidiaries, nor will it prevent any of them from creating or permitting to exist Liens on their property or assets to secure any secured debt.  This restriction does not limit:

a)  Permitted Liens; 

b)  Financing of our accounts receivable for electric service; and 

c)  Any other Lien not covered in clause (a) as long as immediately after the creation of such Lien the aggregate principal amount of Secured Debt does not exceed 15% of Net Tangible Assets.

Definitions:

“Debt” means any indebtedness for borrowed money.

“Lien or Liens” means any mortgage, pledge, security interest, or other lien on any utility properties or tangible assets, including, without limitation, the capital stock or comparable equity interest of its subsidiaries, owned on the date hereof or hereafter acquired by the Company or its subsidiaries.

“Net Tangible Assets” means the total of all assets (including revaluations thereof as a result of commercial appraisals, price level restatement or otherwise) appearing on our balance sheet, net of applicable reserves and deductions, but excluding goodwill, trade names, trademarks, patents, unamortized debt discount, energy trading contracts, regulatory assets, deferred charges and all other like intangible assets (which term shall not be construed to include such revaluations), less the aggregate of our current liabilities appearing on such balance sheet. For purposes of this definition, our balance sheet does not include assets and liabilities of our subsidiaries.

“Permitted Liens” means:

4

	
			
	 
	 
	-Liens on property existing at the time of acquisition or construction of such property (or created within one year after completion of such acquisition or construction), whether by purchase, merger, construction or otherwise, or to secure the payment of all or any part of the purchase price or construction cost thereof, including the extension of any Liens to repairs, renewals, replacements, substitutions, betterments, additions, extensions and improvements then or thereafter made on the property subject thereto;
-any extensions, renewals or replacements (or successive extensions, renewals or replacements), in whole or in part, of Liens permitted by the foregoing clauses;
-the pledge of any bonds or other securities at any time issued under any of the Secured Debt permitted by the above clauses; and
-the creation or existence of leases (operating or capital) made, or existing on property acquired, in the ordinary course of business.

“Secured Debt” means any Debt of the Company secured by a Lien (other than a Permitted Lien).

	 
	 

	3.
	You are hereby requested on the date hereof to authenticate $494,500,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.950% Senior Notes, Series F due 2028, executed by the Company and delivered to you concurrently with this Company Order and Officers’ Certificate, in the manner provided by the Indenture.

	 
	 

	4.
	You are hereby requested to hold the Notes as custodian for DTC in accordance with the Blanket Issuer Letter of Representations dated September 19, 2017, from the Company to DTC.

	 
	 

	5.
	Concurrently with this Company Order and Officers’ Certificate, an Opinion of Counsel under Sections 2.04 and 13.06 of the Indenture is being delivered to you.

	 
	 

	6.
	The undersigned Renee V. Hawkins and Thomas G. Berkemeyer, the Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, respectively, of the Company do hereby certify that:

	 
	 

	 
	(i)
	we have read the relevant portions of the Indenture, including without limitation the conditions precedent provided for therein relating to the action proposed to be taken by the Trustee as requested in this Company Order and Officers’ Certificate, and the definitions in the Indenture relating thereto;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(ii)
	we have read the Board Resolutions of the Company and the Opinion of Counsel referred to above;

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(iii)
	we have conferred with other officers of the Company, have examined such records of the Company and have made such other investigation as we deemed relevant for purposes of this certificate;

	 
	 
	 

5

	
			
	 
	(iv)
	in our opinion, we have made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable us to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such conditions have been complied with; and

	 
	 
	 

	 
	(v)
	on the basis of the foregoing, we are of the opinion that all conditions precedent provided for in the Indenture relating to the action proposed to be taken by the Trustee as requested herein have been complied with.

7.    You are hereby requested on the date hereof to reflect the principal amount of $5,500,000 as outstanding on the 3.950% Senior Notes, Series E due 2028, and to instruct DTC to reduce the outstanding principal amount on its system of the 3.950% Senior Notes, Series E due 2028 to $5,500,000 (CUSIP: 00108WAG5 144 A).
    
Kindly acknowledge receipt of this Company Order and Officers’ Certificate, including the documents listed herein, and confirm the arrangements set forth herein by signing and returning the copy of this document attached hereto.

    

6

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Instrument to be executed.
	
	
	Very truly yours,

	 

	AEP TEXAS INC.

	 

	 

	By:  ________________________

	Renee V. Hawkins

	Assistant Treasurer

	 

	 

	And: ________________________

	Thomas G. Berkemeyer

	Assistant Secretary

	 

	 

	Acknowledged by Trustee:

	 

	THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., as Trustee

	 

	 

	By: __________________________
         Vice President

7

Exhibit 1

Unless this certificate is presented by an authorized representative of The Depository Trust Company (55 Water Street, New York, New York) to the issuer or its agent for registration of transfer, exchange or payment, and any certificate to be issued is registered in the name of Cede & Co. or in such other name as is requested by an authorized representative of The Depository Trust Company and any payment is made to Cede & Co., ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL inasmuch as the registered owner hereof, Cede & Co., has an interest herein.  Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.11 of the Indenture, this Security may be transferred, in whole but not in part, only to another nominee of the Depository or to a successor Depository or to a nominee of such successor Depository.
	
					
	No.   R1
	 
	 
	 
	 

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 

	AEP TEXAS INC.

	3.950% Senior Notes, Series F due 2028

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 

	CUSIP:  00108W AH3
	 
	 
	Original Issue Date:  January 24, 2019

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 

	Stated Maturity:
	 
	June 1, 2028
	 
	Interest Rate:    3.950%

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 

	Principal Amount:
	 
	$494,500,000
	 
	 

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 

	Redeemable:
	 
	Yes    X
	No
	 

	In Whole:
	 
	Yes    X
	No
	 

	In Part:    
	 
	Yes    X
	No
	 

AEP TEXAS INC., a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (herein referred to as the “Company”, which term includes any successor corporation under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), for value received, hereby promises to pay to CEDE & CO. or registered assigns, the Principal Amount specified above on the Stated Maturity specified above, and to pay interest on said Principal Amount from December 1, 2018 or from the most recent interest payment date (each such date, an “Interest Payment Date”) to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 in each year, commencing on June 1, 2019, at the Interest Rate per annum specified above, until the Principal Amount shall have been paid or duly provided for. Interest shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months.
The interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date, as provided in the Indenture, as hereinafter defined, shall be paid to the Person in whose name this Note (or one or more Predecessor Securities) shall have been registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date with respect to such Interest Payment Date, which shall be the May 15 or November 15 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date, provided that interest payable on the Stated Maturity or any redemption date shall be paid to the Person to whom principal is paid.  Any such 

E-1

interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for shall forthwith cease to be payable to the Holder on such Regular Record Date and shall be paid as provided in said Indenture.
If any Interest Payment Date, any redemption date or Stated Maturity is not a Business Day, then payment of the amounts due on this Note on such date will be made on the next succeeding Business Day, and no interest shall accrue on such amounts for the period from and after such Interest Payment Date, redemption date or Stated Maturity, as the case may be, except that, if such Business Day is in the next succeeding calendar year, such payment shall be made on the immediately preceding Business Day, with the same force and effect as if made on such date.  The principal of (and premium, if any) and the interest on this Note shall be payable at the office or agency of the Company may from time to time designate for that purpose, in any coin or currency of the United States of America which at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts; provided, however, that payment of interest (other than interest payable on Stated Maturity or any redemption date) may be made at the option of the Company by check mailed to the registered holder at such address as shall appear in the Security Register.
This Note is one of a duly authorized series of Senior Notes of the Company (herein sometimes referred to as the “Notes”), specified in the Indenture, all issued or to be issued in one or more series under and pursuant to an Indenture dated as of September 1, 2017 duly executed and delivered between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., a national banking association, duly organized and existing under the laws of the United States, as Trustee (herein referred to as the “Trustee”) (such Indenture, as originally executed and delivered and as thereafter supplemented and amended being hereinafter referred to as the “Indenture”), to which Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Trustee, the Company and the holder of this Notes. This Note is one of the series of Notes designated on the face hereof as 3.950% Senior Notes, Series F due 2028 initially issued in the aggregate principal amount of $494,500,000.
At any time prior to March 1, 2028, this Note shall be redeemable at the option of the Company, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, upon not less than thirty but not more than sixty days’ previous notice given to the registered owners of this Note at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of this Note being redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on this Note being redeemed that would be due if this Note matured on March 1, 2028 (excluding the portion of any such interest accrued to the date of redemption) discounted (for purposes of determining present value) to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate (as defined below) plus 15 basis points, plus, accrued interest thereon to the date of redemption.

At any time on or after March 1, 2028, this Note shall be redeemable at the option of the Company, in whole or in part, at 100% of the principal amount of this Note being redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to but excluding the date of redemption.  
“Comparable Treasury Issue,” means the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the 

E-2

remaining term (“remaining life”) of this Note (assuming, for this purpose, that this Note matured on March 1, 2028) that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining life of this Note.
“Comparable Treasury Price” means, with respect to any redemption date, (1) the average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Company obtains fewer than four of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such quotations.
“Independent Investment Banker” means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers appointed by the Company and notified by the Company to the Trustee.
“Reference Treasury Dealer” means a primary U.S. Government securities dealer or dealers selected by the Company and notified by the Company to the Trustee.
“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Company and notified to the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Company and the Trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer at or before 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding such redemption date. 
“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any redemption, the rate per annum equal to the semiannual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption date.
The Company shall not be required to (i) issue, exchange or register the transfer of this Note during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of the giving of a notice of redemption of less than all the outstanding Notes of this series and ending at the close of business on the day such notice is given, nor (ii) register the transfer of or exchange of any Notes of this series or portions thereof called for redemption. This Note is exchangeable for Notes in certificated registered form only under certain limited circumstances set forth in the Indenture.
In the event of redemption of this Note in part only, a new Note or Notes of this series, of like tenor, for the unredeemed portion hereof will be issued in the name of the Holder hereof upon the surrender of this Note.
In case an Event of Default, as defined in the Indenture, shall have occurred and be continuing, the principal of all of the Notes may be declared, and upon such declaration shall become, due and payable, in the manner, with the effect and subject to the conditions provided in the Indenture.

E-3

The Indenture contains provisions for defeasance at any time of the entire indebtedness of this Note upon compliance by the Company with certain conditions set forth therein.  This Note will not have a sinking fund.
As described in the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 17, 2018 (the “Second Supplemental Indenture”), relating to the Notes, so long as this Note is outstanding, the Company is subject to covenants described in Article III of the Second Supplemental Indenture.
The Indenture contains provisions permitting the Company and the Trustee, with the consent of the Holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes of each series affected at the time outstanding, as defined in the Indenture, to execute supplemental indentures for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of the Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or of modifying in any manner the rights of the Holders of the Notes; provided, however, that no such supplemental indenture shall (i) extend the fixed maturity of any Notes of any series, or reduce the principal amount thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of interest thereon, or reduce any premium payable upon the redemption thereof, or reduce the amount of the principal of a Note that would be due and payable upon a declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to the Indenture, without the consent of the holder of each Note then outstanding and affected; (ii) reduce the aforesaid percentage of Notes, the Holders of which are required to consent to any such supplemental indenture, or reduce the percentage of Notes, the Holders of which are required to waive any default and its consequences, without the consent of the holder of each Note then outstanding and affected thereby; or (iii) modify any provision of Section 6.01(c) of the Indenture (except to increase the percentage of principal amount of securities required to rescind and annul any declaration of amounts due and payable under the Notes), without the consent of the holder of each Note then outstanding and affected thereby.  The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes of all series at the time outstanding affected thereby, on behalf of the Holders of the Notes of such series, to waive any past default in the performance of any of the covenants contained in the Indenture, or established pursuant to the Indenture with respect to such series, and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of or premium, if any, or interest on any of the Notes of such series.  Any such consent or waiver by the registered Holder of this Note (unless revoked as provided in the Indenture) shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders and owners of this Note and of any Note issued in exchange herefor or in place hereof (whether by registration or transfer or otherwise), irrespective of whether or not any notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Note.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Note or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of and premium, if any, and interest on this Note at the time and place and at the rate and in the money herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, this Note is transferable by the registered holder hereof on the Security Register of the Company, upon surrender of this Note for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Company as 

E-4

may be designated by the Company accompanied by a written instrument or instruments of transfer in form satisfactory to the Company or the Trustee duly executed by the registered Holder hereof or his or her attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Notes of authorized denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount and series will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees.  No service charge will be made for any such transfer, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in relation thereto. 
Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer of this Note, the Company, the Trustee, any paying agent and any Security Registrar may deem and treat the registered Holder hereof as the absolute owner hereof (whether or not this Note shall be overdue and notwithstanding any notice of ownership or writing hereon made by anyone other than the Note Registrar) for the purpose of receiving payment of or on account of the principal hereof and premium, if any, and interest due hereon and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Trustee nor any paying agent nor any Security Registrar shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.
No recourse shall be had for the payment of the principal of or the interest on this Note, or for any claim based hereon, or otherwise in respect hereof, or based on or in respect of the Indenture, against any incorporator, stockholder, officer or director, past, present or future, as such, of the Company or of any predecessor or successor corporation, whether by virtue of any constitution, statute or rule of law, or by the enforcement of any assessment or penalty or otherwise, all such liability being, by the acceptance hereof and as part of the consideration for the issuance hereof, expressly released waived and released.
The Notes of this series are issuable only in registered form without coupons in minimum denominations of $2,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.  As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations, Notes of this series are exchangeable for a like aggregate principal amount of Notes of this series of a different authorized denomination, as requested by the Holder surrendering the same.
All terms used in this Note which are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.
This Note shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture hereinafter referred to, be valid or become obligatory for any purpose until the Certificate of Authentication hereon shall have been signed by or on behalf of the Trustee.
This Note will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. 

E-5

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Instrument to be executed.
AEP TEXAS INC.

By:  ______________________________________

E-6

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Notes referred to in the within-mentioned Indenture.
	
			
	 
	 
	THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST

	 
	 
	COMPANY, N. A.,

	 
	 
	as Trustee

	 
	 
	 

	Date:____________________
	By:______________________________________

	 
	 
	Authorized Signatory

E-7

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto

(PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER
IDENTIFYING NUMBER OF ASSIGNEE)

_______________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
(PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE NAME AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF
________________________________________________________________
ASSIGNEE) the within Note and all rights thereunder, hereby
________________________________________________________________
irrevocably constituting and appointing such person attorney to 
________________________________________________________________
transfer such Note on the books of the Issuer, with full
________________________________________________________________
power of substitution in the premises.

Dated:________________________        _________________________

		
	NOTICE:
	The signature to this assignment must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the within Note in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatever and NOTICE:  Signature(s) must be guaranteed by a financial institution that is a member of the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program (“STAMP”), the Stock Exchange Medallion Program (“SEMP”) or the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program (“MSP”).

E-8

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