Investment Cooperation Agreement
This
Agreement was entered into by the following three parties in the conference room
of Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co., Ltd. on August 1, 2010.
Party A:
Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co., Ltd.
Legal
Representative: Xxxx XXXX
Address:
Xx. 000, Xxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
Party B:
Xxxx XXXX
Party C:
Xxxxxxxx XXX
After
friendly negotiation, based on the principles of equality and mutual benefits,
Party A, Party B and Party C (collectively, “Co-Investors”) hereby enter into
the following Investment Cooperation Agreement with respect to Party A’s project
to acquire and consolidate eight coal mines located in Pinglu County, Yuncheng,
Shanxi Province, which has been approved by the relevant government authorities
(the “Pinglu Project”):
I.
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Project
Background
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In
accordance with Circular [2009] No. 48 issued by the Office Governing Coal Mine
Consolidation of Shanxi Province (“Circular 48”), Party A has been appointed as
a coal mine consolidator and approved to acquire eight coal mines in Pinglu
County, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, and consolidate them into five mines, with
the entity names of the five new coal mines being pre-approved by Circular
48.
The eight coal mines to be consolidated are:
(a)
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Pinglu
County Guanyao Coal Co., Ltd. (“Guanyao Coal Mine” or “Guanyao”), Pinglu
County Dawa Coal Mine (“Dawa Coal Mine” or “Dawa”), Pinglu County Sanmen
Xuhutuo Coal Mine, Shanxi Pinglu Renling Coal Co., Ltd., and Pinglu County
Anrui Coal Co., Ltd.; and
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(b)
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Pinglu
County Daqi Coal Mine, Pinglu County Donggou Coal Mine and Pinglu County
Chuntouao Coal Mine.
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In
accordance with Circular 48, the pre-approved entity names of the five coal
mines set forth in Section I(a) after the consolidation are: Shanxi Pinglu
Dajinhe Coal Co., Ltd., Shanxi Pinglu Dajinhe Wujin Coal Co., Ltd., Shanxi
Pinglu Dajinhe Jinmen Coal Co., Ltd., Shanxi Pinglu Dajinhe Jinyi Coal Co., Ltd.
and Shanxi Pinglu Dajinhe Anrui Coal Co., Ltd. (each, a “Project Company” and
collectively, the “Project Companies”). As the approved consolidator of the coal
mines, Party A will be the registered principal shareholder of each Project
Company.
Party A
has completed its acquisition of the mining assets (including physical assets
and mining rights) of Guanyao and Dawa in June 2010. Pursuant to Circular 48,
Party A has injected the purchased mining assets into two Project Companies
named Shanxi Pinglu Dajinhe Coal Co., Ltd., and Shanxi Pinglu Dajinhe Wujin Coal
Co., Ltd. (collectively, “Phase One of Pinglu Project”). At present, Party A is
actively negotiating with the owners of Pinglu County Sanmen Xuhutuo Coal Mine,
Shanxi Pinglu Renling Coal Co., Ltd., Pinglu County Anrui Coal Co., Ltd., Pinglu
County Daqi Coal Mine, Pinglu County Donggou Coal Mine and Pinglu County
Chuntouao Coal Mine (collectively, “Target Coal Mines”) on the transfer of their
physical assets and mining rights to Party A. The pre-approved names of the
Project Companies corresponding to Target Coal Mines after the consolidation
are: Shanxi Pinglu Dajinhe Jinmen Coal Co., Ltd. (Pinglu County Sanmen Xuhutuo
Coal Mine and Pinglu County Daqi Coal Mine before the consolidation), Shanxi
Pinglu Dajinhe Jinyi Coal Co., Ltd. (Shanxi Pinglu Renling Coal Co., Ltd. and
Pinglu County Donggou Coal Mine before the consolidation) and Shanxi Pinglu
Dajinhe Anrui Coal Co., Ltd. (Pinglu County Anrui Coal Co., Ltd. and Pinglu
County Chuntouao Coal Mine before the consolidation) (collectively, “Phase Two
of Pinglu Project” or the “Project”).
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II.
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Manner
of Cooperation
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As a
large amount of capital is needed for the assets acquisition and consolidation
of the Project, the production efficiency of the coal mines after the
acquisition and consolidation is expected to be greatly improved, and the return
on investment from the coal mines is expected to be high, the Co-Investors agree
to jointly invest in the Project, which includes the acquisition of the assets
of Target Coal Mines, the consolidation of coal mines and the establishment of
the Project Companies. The Co-Investors shall share the profits and bear the
risks and losses from the Project according to the percentages of their
respective investment.
As Party
A is the sole appointed consolidator in the acquisition and consolidation of
Target Coal Mines and is the registered principal shareholder of each
corresponding Project Companies after the consolidation of coal mines, the
Co-Investors agree that, upon the formal registration and establishment of each
Project Company, Party B and Party C appoint Party A as the proxy holder for
their investments in such Project Company pursuant to a proxy agreement to be
subsequently entered into by the parties.
The
Co-Investors agree to appoint their representatives to set up the Investment
Supervisory Committee (the “Committee”) for the Project, which shall be
responsible for reviewing the total capital requirement and investment time
frame for each stage of the Project. During the period from the effectiveness of
this Agreement to the formal registration and establishment of the Project
Companies, Party A shall set up an account jointly managed by the three parties.
The account will be the special account for the Project. The account will be
managed by personnel authorized by the Committee. The duties of the Committee
shall be agreed by the parties separately. The Co-Investors agree that the
Project Companies shall be registered and established under the Company Law of
the People’s Republic of China, and the specific matters in connection with the
establishment of the Project Companies shall be separately agreed.
The
Co-Investors agree to authorize Party A to sign coal mining assets purchase
agreements with Target Coal Mines on behalf of the Co-Investors, and Party B and
Party C will be bound by such agreements signed by Party A on their
behalf.
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III.
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Manner
of Investment; Amount and Percentage of
Investment
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1. Manner
of Investment: the investment shall be in RMB in cash and shall be injected into
the account jointly managed by the three parties.
2.
Investment amount and time: the investment in the Project consists of three
stages: the investment for acquiring the assets of the Target Coal Mines, the
investment for the consolidation of the Target Coal Mines, and the investment
for the registration, establishment and operation of the Project Companies. The
investment amount and time for each stage shall be decided according to the
progress of the Project.
3.
Investment percentage: The Co-Investors agree that their investment percentage
in the three stages of the investment for the Project shall always be: Party A
40%, Party B 30%, and Party C 30%.
IV.
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Project
Management
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1. Before
entering into this Agreement, Party A and Party B have made certain payments for
the Project. Party A and Party B shall submit their previous expenses incurred
in connection with the application to be the coal mines consolidator, and the
expenses paid for the launch and preparation for the Project to the
Committee. The Co-Investors agree that the reasonable amount
of Party A and Party B that is verified and approved by the Committee
can be directly credited for Party A’s and Party B’s investment
amounts.
2. The
Co-Investors unanimously agree that Party A shall be the project manager for the
Project (the “Project Manager”) and shall be in charge of the coal mine
acquisitions, the consolidation, the application for the licenses and
permissions for the Project Companies. Change of the Project Manager must be
agreed by Co-Investors.
3. Party
A shall regularly report the progress of the Project to the Committee, Party B
and Party C shall not directly participate in the detailed management of the
Project. Party B and Party C have the right to inspect the performance of the
relevant Project Companies, and Party A shall report to Party B and Party C the
progress, business and financial conditions of the Project.
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V.
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Profits
and Risks
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1. Before
the registration and establishment of the Project Companies, Co-Investors shall
take responsibilities for the Target Coal Mines that are limited by their
investment amount. Party A agrees that the fund for the Project shall
be used solely for the Project. A separate account shall be established for the
Project. After the establishment of each Project Company, the
relevant Project Company shall be responsible for all of its indebtedness and
liabilities by using all of the assets of such Project Company. The Co-Investors
shall share the profits and bear the risks and losses according to, and subject
to the limitations of, the percentages of their equity injection.
2. The
profits, losses and civil liabilities from joint investment in the Project that
will be managed by Party A shall belong to and shared by the
Co-Investors.
3. Party
A will liable for any loss of the other Co-Investors in the execution of the
joint investment business to the extent such loss is the result of Party A’s
gross negligence or breach of any material terms of the
Agreement. The other Co-Investors may raise objections to Party A’s
execution of the joint investment business. When an objection to a matter is
being raised, the execution of that matter shall be suspended. In the event
there is any dispute with respect to the execution of the matter, it shall be
resolved by the Co-Investors.
4. The
Co-Investors agree in principle that, to the extent permitted by the law, after
a Project Company becomes operational, the dividend to be distributed to the
Co-Investor every year by the Project Company shall be no less than 80% of the
audited annual net income of such Project Company. The specific terms of the
dividend distribution shall be regulated separately in the Articles of
Association for each relevant Project Company.
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VI.
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Transfer
of Investment
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1. The
equity in the Project Companies and any derivative property based on such equity
are the common property of the Co-Investors and shall be owned by the
Co-Investors according to their respective investment percentages in the Project
Companies.
2. The
equity in the Project Companies held by a Co-Investor may be transferred with
the consent of the Co-Investors holding the majority of the voting right (the
transferor is entitled to participating in such consent). Upon the
transfer, transferees of such equity will be entitled to sharing the benefit and
equity of the Project according to their investment percentages.
3. When
any party intends to transfer all or part of his/its equity in the Project
Companies, it/he shall obtain the consent of the Co-Investors holding the
majority of the voting rights (the transferor is entitled to participating in
such consent). Once the transfer is approved, the non-transferring
Co-Investors shall have a right of first refusal, but not an obligation, to
purchase the equity of the transferring Co-Investor on the same terms and
conditions as the third party offer. One or more non-transferring Co-Investors
may purchase the equity to be transferred solely or
collectively. In the event they intend to collectively purchase
such equity, they shall purchase the equity according to their relative
investment percentage to each other.
4. Party
A is entitled to purchasing the equity interest of Party B and/or Party C in the
Project Companies at Party A’s sole discretion at a price determined by an
independent professional appraiser.
VII.
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Other
Rights and Obligations
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1. Party
A and other Co-Investors shall not transfer or dispose of the assets of the
joint investment without the consents of the Co-Investors holding a majority of
the voting rights (the transferor can participate in the vote).
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2.
Without the consent of all of the Co-Investors, no Co-Investor may withdraw
its/his investment from the joint investment.
3. During
the investment cooperation period (including after the establishment of the
Project Companies), each of Party B and Party C agrees to transfer 5.5% voting
right owned by such party relating to their equity in the Project Companies to
Party A so that Party A can cast vote on such 11% additional
equity.
VIII.
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Liabilities
for Breach of Contract
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1. In
order to guarantee the performance of the Agreement, Party A is willing to use
its investment to each relevant Project Company as guarantee to the other
Co-Investors that Party A will be responsible for breach of this Agreement in
the event that any fraud or gross negligence by Party A causes loss by such
Project Company.
2. If any
of Co-Investor fails to make its investment contribution according to Article 3
of this Agreement, such Co-Investor shall be liable for any loss resulted
therefrom.
IX.
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Termination
of Agreement
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This
Agreement will be terminated when:
1. All
the equity of Party B and Party C in Project Companies are purchased by Party
A.
2. All
the equity of Party B and Party C in the Project Companies are specifically
registered under the names of Party B and Party C, respectively, at the
Administration of Industry and Commerce.
X.
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Dispute
Resolution
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Any
dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be resolved by
the Co-Investors through friendly negotiation. In the event it can
not be resolved through negotiation, it shall be submitted to Taiyuan
Arbitration Commission for arbitration according to its temporary rules of
procedure. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all
Co-Investors.
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During
the arbitration process, except for the part subject to the dispute and
arbitration, the performance of this Agreement shall continue.
XI.
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Governing
Law
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The entry
into, effectiveness, interpretation and performance of this Agreement and any
dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be governed by
the laws of the People’s Republic of China.
XII.
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Other
Provisions
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1. The
matters not addressed in this Agreement shall be separately negotiated by Party
the parties.
2. This
Agreement is made in three originals and shall be effective after being sealed
by the three parties and signed by their authorized
representatives.
Party
A: Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co., Ltd.
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Party
B: Xxxx XXXX
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Party
C: Xxxxxxxx XXX
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Representative
(Singature/Seal): /s/ Xxxx Xxxx
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Party
B’s Signature: /s/ Xxxx Xxxx
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Party
C’s Signature: /s/ Xxxxxxxx Xxx
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