ENTRUST AGREEMENT
Exhibit
10.3
[Cautionary
Note: This Agreement has been translated into English from the original Chinese
language version.]
This
agreement was entered into and by both parties listed as below in the conference
room of Shenzhen Media Investment Co., Ltd on November 20, 2004.
Shenzhen
Media Investment Co., Ltd (hereinafter
“Party A”),
Legal
Address:
5D,
Building C, Jinxiu Garden, overseas Chinese town, Nanshan District, Shenzhen.
PRC
Tel.:
00-0000-00000000
Fax:
00-0000-00000000
Shenzhen
New Media Consulting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter
“Party B”),
Legal
Address:
Rm
0000, Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx Av., Futian District, Shenzhen
Tel.:
00-0000-00000000
Fax:
00-0000-0000000
(Present
Add.:
Xx
X0000, Jiangsu Building, Xxxxxx Xxxxx Rd, Shenzhen, P.R.China
518026)
Whereas:
1.
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Party
A and Sale and Marketing Publication House (hereinafter “Publication
House”) signed the “Operation and Management Right Agreement” (hereinafter
“Contractual Agreement”) on October 23, 2003, as amended. Party A has
certain rights with respect to the operation of the business of
Publication House.
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2.
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Party
A is intended to entrust Party B to manage the personnel and the
funds
that related to the contracted business and provide services such
as
strategic planning and consulting, and establish domestic marketing
channels, etc. Party B agreed to accept the entrust from Party A..
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3.
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Party
A and Party B reached an agreement of aforesaid business (hereinafter
“Entrustment”) through negotiation as
follows:
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1:
Definitions
In
this
agreement, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context
clearly dictates otherwise.
1.1
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Contractual
Agreement: as defined in Whereas
1
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1.2
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Entrustment:
as defined in Whereas
3
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1.3
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Administration
fee: as defined in article 3.3
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1.4
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Contracted
Businesses: the businesses related to the management right that Party
A
has already been granted by the Publication
House.
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Contracted
businesses include:
(1)
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Right
to publish, including publishing and printing affairs of all publications,
and all other relevant operational business owned by Publishing
House;
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(2)
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Advertising
right, including exclusive right of advertising business of all the
publications owned by Publishing
House;
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(3)
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Right
to use intangible assets, such as brand, trade xxxx,
etc.;
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(4)
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Right
to strategic decision-making and contracting with external parties
with
respect of investment, joint-venture, cooperation and
contracting.
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(5)
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Right
of financial management and the operation of Publishing
House.
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2.
Entrustment
2.1 |
Party
A agrees to entrust Party B to manage its personnel, funds of Party
A that
related to the contracted businesses under this agreement, and Party
B
agrees to provide services like planning, consulting, and establishing
marketing network in PRC, etc. Party B agrees to accept this entrustment
from Party A under this agreement.
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2.2 |
Both
parties agree that Party B manages the personnel and funds of Party
A,
which are related to the contracted businesses starting from the
effective
date of this agreement. However, Party B does not participate directly
in
the operation of contracted businesses of Party A; Party B offers
services
such as strategic planning, consulting and establishing marketing
network
in PRC, etc. for Party A during the term of this
entrustment.
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2.3 |
Both
parties agree, except the full, clear, accurate and non-misleading
written
disclosure provided by Party A to party B prior to the agreement,
which
obtains the clear consent of Party B in the form of agreement or
other
written documents, (except the clause involved in article 3.3 of
this
agreement), Party B has no obligation to bear any other commitment
made by
Party A or any obligations and covenants thus occurred or existed
before
the date of this agreement. The above-mentioned commitment made by
Party
A, and the obligation and covenants thus occurred or existed without
the
written conformation and acceptance of Party B, shall be borne by
Party A,
and Party A shall fully compensate all the losses, expenses and other
expenditure thus incurred to Party B in a timely
way.
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2.4 |
The
term of this entrustment is nine years. Upon the expiration, Party
B has
the priority to be entrusted with the management of personnel and
funds of
Party A that related to the contracted businesses and to provide
services
such as planning, consulting and establishing marketing network in
PRC,
etc.
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2.5 |
During
the term of this entrustment, once Party B’s accumulated profit reaches
RMB 10,000,000, Party B can purchase the non-state-owned equity of
Party A
with such accumulated profit. The equity purchase agreement shall
be
signed separately.
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3.
Expenses and Terms of Payment
3.1 |
In
order to compensate the costs that Party A has incurred for obtaining
the
operation and management right from Sales and Marketing publishing
house,
both parties agree that Party B shall pay Party A with total amount
of RMB
12,000,000 with nine annual installments (approximately RMB 1,333,333.33
per year)
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3.2
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Both
parties agreed that Party A shall pay the Administration Fee to Party
B
according to the following terms:
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Party
A
shall pay all Administration Fee stated in article 3.3 of this agreement to
Party B before the date of 31st December once per year.
3.3
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Both
parties agreed, the Administration Fee charged by Party B is 100%
of
annual business income of Party A (including non-operating income),
it
shall be paid to Party B by Party A within 10 days upon the completion
and
release of annual report; at the same time, all operation costs incurred
by Party A are undertaken by Party B.
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4.
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Validity
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4.1 |
The
agreement shall come into effect on the date that it is duly signed
by the
authorized representatives of both
parties.
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5.
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Representations
and Warranties
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5.1 |
Party
A makes statement to Party B and guarantees the
follows:
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(1)
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Party
A has been duly incorporated and organized, and is validly existing
in
good standing, under the laws of China. Party A has all requisite
power
and authority, corporate to possess, lease and operate its assets
and
engage in the businesses under its business license and articles
of
association.
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(2)
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Party
A obtains all requisite power and authority, corporate to enter into
and
to perform its obligations under this agreement and other related
agreements and to carry out the terms hereof and the transactions
contemplated herby.
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(3)
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Party
A’s execution of this agreement will not conflict with or result in
breach
of any of the following or violate any item of follows: (a) the articles
of association, business license or other similar organizational
documents
of Party A; (b) any material contract in which Party A is involved,
except
Party A has obtained the approval of any other parties in such contract;
(c) any Chinese law, judgment, arbitral award or command released
by any
court, arbitration institutions, government or governmental organization
that have the jurisdiction over any assets that belong to Party A.
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(4)
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During
the term of this agreement, Party A obtains the contractual right
to the
contracted business. This contractual right is sole, exclusive and
not
restricted by the right of third parties, except that Party A has
already
informed to Party B before the date of this
agreement.
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(5)
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All
the required certificates, notice, licenses, official documents or
certificates of authorization, letters of approval, letter of
renunciation, archives or registration that necessary for parties
to
fulfill the agreement have been obtained from or filed with and registered
with concerned government authorities, and those files, certificates,
notice, licenses, official documents or certificates of authorization,
letters of approval, archives or registration are
valid;
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(6)
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Except
the events have been disclosed to Party B, there is no pending litigation,
arbitration, investigation or other legal proceedings in connection
with
the contracted businesses which may (1) affect the validity of the
transaction contemplated hereby; or (2) bring great adverse impacts
on the
contracted businesses;
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(7)
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Any
statement provided and guaranteed by Party A, or the items in this
agreement, and all other documents, certificates or materials provided
by
Party A that mentioned in this agreement are not materially misstated,
and
no material fact is concealed or
misled.
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(8)
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Unless
confirmed and approved in written by Party B, Party A bears the obligation
of not releasing any confidential information of Party B. Party A
should
also require its employees or others once employed by Party A to
bear the
same obligation.
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5.2 |
Party
B makes statement and guarantees to Party A as
follows:
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(1)
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Party
B has been duly incorporated and organized, and is validly existing
in
good standing, under the laws of China. Party B has all requisite
power
and authority, corporate to possess, lease and operate its assets
and
engage in the businesses under its business license and articles
of
association.
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(2)
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Party
B obtains all requisite power and authority, corporate to enter into
and
to perform its obligations under this agreement and other related
agreements and to carry out the terms hereof and the transactions
contemplated hereby.
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(3)
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Party
B’s execution of this agreement will not conflict with or result in
breach
of any of the following or violate any item of follows: (a) the articles
of association, business license or other similar organizational
documents
of Party B; (b) any material contract in which Party B is involved,
except
Party B has obtained the approval of any other parties in such contract;
(c) any Chinese law, judgment, arbitral award or command released
by any
court, arbitration institutions, government or governmental organization
that have the jurisdiction over any assets that belong to Party
B.
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(4)
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Unless
confirmed and approved in written by Party A, Party B bears the obligation
of not releasing any confidential information of Party A. Party B
should
also require its employees or others once employed by Party A to
bear the
same obligation.
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6.
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Commitment
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Except
the obligations for Party A and B that stipulated in this agreement, both
parties are also committed in following terms:
6.1 |
Party
A and Party B herein agree to coordinate with each other, and complete
the
remaining work related to the contemplated transaction in this agreement
under no further payment of consideration. In order to achieve this
purpose, both parties in this agreement shall adopt or try to adopt
all
necessary actions that included (but not limited to): (1) undertake
necessary procedures for the entrust; (2) sign and deliver all the
documents and certificates that to be signed and delivered by both
parties; and (3) apply for all necessary notice, licenses, official
documents, certificates of authorization, letters of approval,
registration statements from the relevant governmental department
or the
third party (depends on situation ), to ensure the full enforcement
of the
agreement. Any issues in connection with the agreement but not included
in
this agreement shall be settled by the negotiation of both parties
through
a fair, equal and adequate method.
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6.2
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Party
A should adopt all necessary actions under 6.1 of this agreement
to assist
Party B in to obtains the fully control of personnel and funds under
the
contracted business on the earliest practicable
day.
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6.3 |
Before
Party B takes fully control of related personnel and funds under
the
contracted business, Party B is not obligated in any debt or legal
matters
caused by Party A. Party A is fully responsible for these
matters.
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6.4 |
Upon
bilateral consent, if any party (“the actual beneficiary”) receives any
fund or becomes beneficiary from a third party’s action but should have
been collected by the proper beneficiary according to this agreement,
the
actual beneficiary should transfer the fund and gains to the proper
beneficiary or negotiate with the proper beneficiary in order to
ensure
that proper beneficiary receives the fund, gains or its equivalents.
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6.5 |
In
the case that any event occurs between the commencement of this agreement
and the termination of this agreement, which could adversely influence
the
agreement, Party A should inform Party B immediately in written form.
The
situations include (but not limited to) any lawsuit, arbitration,
investigation or other procedures, the written instructions or comments
from any government department, or any material change of contracted
business.
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7. |
The
expenses bearing.
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7.1
|
Both
parties bear their own expenses and taxes that generated by the process
of
implementation of this agreement.
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8. |
Liability
for breaching this
agreement
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8.1
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Subject
to article 9, if any situation as follows incurred either party,
it shall
be regarded as a breach of the
agreement:
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(1)
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Violating
any obligation or commitment stipulated in this
agreement
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(2)
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Any
stated representations or warranties are misrepresented or misleading
(either in good faith or bad
faith).
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8.2 |
If
the above-mentioned situations occur, the conforming party has the
right
to require the non-conforming party to provide remedies within 30
days. If
the breaching party fails to provide remedies within that period,
the
conforming party reserves the right to cancel this agreement. In
addition,
the
breaching party should compensate the other party for any damages
and
expenses caused directly or indirectly by such
breach.
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9. |
Act
of God
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9.1
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The
act of god stated in this agreement refers to those situations that
are
unforeseeable, unavoidable and the consequences of such are
uncontrollable.
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9.2
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The
failure to fulfill this agreement of either party due to the act
of god
would not be regarded as breach of agreement. However, that party
should
act on their best effort to reduce the possible damages incurred
to the
other party.
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9.3
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The
non-performing party, due to the act of god, should provide notarized
written evidence, which proves the incurrence of act of god within
10 days
from the occurrence of such event.
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10. |
Amendment,
cancellation and Termination of the
agreement.
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10.1
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Unless
otherwise stated, this agreement shall be terminated upon the occurrence
of the following situations:
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(1)
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Both
sides unanimously decide to cancel this agreement through
negotiation;
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(2)
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The
purpose of the agreement can not be achieved by both parties because
of
act of god;
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(3)
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Because
of one party’s breach the agreement, the party abides the agreement have a
right to terminate this agreement according to the stated in the
cause
8.2.
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(4)
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This
agreement is defined as invalid by a court or other authorized department
of PRC.
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10.2
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In
the cased that this agreement is terminated because of one party’s breach
the agreement, the power of the other party to claim for remedies
is
unaffected.
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10.3
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This
agreement can be amended and supplemented upon bilateral consent.
Amendment and supplements should be made in written form. The agreement
will become effective upon being signed formally by both
sides.
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11. |
Settlement
of Disputes.
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11.1
|
All
disputes between the Parties arising out of or in connection with
this
agreement shall be settled between the Parties by
discussion and mutual accord. If a mutual accord cannot be reached
between
the Parties, either party could submit the dispute to a court with
jurisdiction.
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11.2
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When
the lawsuit is pending, except matters being litigated, both parties
should continue performing all other obligations that stated in this
agreement.
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12. |
Others.
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12.1
|
Any
amendment of the agreement must be in written form and signed by
both
parties. The amendment is an integral part of the
agreement.
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12.2
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Without
prior written consent of the other party, neither party can convey
or
transfer all or any right and interests, responsibility or the obligation
under this agreement.
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12.3
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If
the court and proper government authorities determine that any clause
of
this agreement to be invalid, such decision does not affect other
clauses
in this agreement.
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12.4
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The
agreement constitutes the only agreement between both parties. It
precedes
all prior oral or written statements, promises, understandings, letters
of
intent, memorandums and agreements between both
parties.
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12.5
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According
to this agreement, any notice delivered from one party to the other
should
be made in written form, in Chinese language and via Express Mail
or fax
(the addresses of both parties are listed at the beginning of the
agreement). If it is delivered through express mail, the date of
actual
acceptance should be regarded as the stated date of acceptance on
the
receipt. If it is delivered through fax, upon the confirmation message
from fax machine, we deem it as being
delivered.
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12.6
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The
title of the agreement is set up for the purpose of convenience to
read.
It can not be used for the purpose of affecting the explanations
of the
stated terms in this agreements.
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12.7
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This
agreement is made in four sets, each party have two sets. All these
copies
are equally authentic.
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Party
A:
Shenzhen Media Investment Co., Ltd.
/s/
Xxxxxx Xx
(Corporate
Seal)
Party
B:
Shenzhen New Media Consulting Co., Ltd.
/s/
Yingsheng Li
(Corporate
Seal)
November
20, 2004