Correspondence 0001104659-23-085537 from BEST Inc. (CIK 0001709505)
BEST Inc. (CIK 0001709505)
Date: July 31, 2023 · CIK: 0001709505 · Accession: 0001104659-23-085537
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File numbers found in text: 001-38198
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Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett
ICBC TOWER, 35TH FLOOR
3 GARDEN ROAD, CENTRAL
HONG KONG
TELEPHONE:
+852-2514-7600
FACSIMILE:
+852-2869-7694
Direct Dial Number
+852-2514-7620
E-mail
Address
ygao@stblaw.com
July 31, 2023
CONFIDENTIAL
AND VIA EDGAR
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention:
Ms. Jennifer Thompson
Mr. Tyler Howes
Re:
BEST Inc.
Form 20-F for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022
Filed
April 21, 2023
File No. 001-38198
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of our
client, BEST Inc., a company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”), we respond to the comments
contained in the letter from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”),
dated July 21, 2023 (the “July 21 Comment Letter”) relating to the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Commission on April 21, 2023 (the “Annual Report”).
Set forth below
are the Company’s responses to the Staff’s comments in the July 21 Comment Letter. The Staff’s comments are retyped
below in bold italic font for your ease of reference. The Company respectfully advises the Staff that where the Company proposes to add
or revise disclosure in its future annual reports on Form 20-F in response to the Staff’s comments, the changes to be made
will be subject to relevant factual updates and changes in relevant laws or regulations, or in interpretations thereof.
michael
j.c.M. ceulen
marjory
j. ding
daniel
fertig
adam
C. furber
YI
GAO
ADAM
S. GOLDBERG
MAKIKO HARUNARI
Ian
C. Ho
JONATHAN
HWANG
anthony
d. king
jin
hYUK park
kathryn
kING sudol
christopher
k.s. wong
resident
partners
simpson thacher & bartlett, hong kong is an affiliate of simpson thacher & bartlett llp with offices in:
New
York
Beijing
Brussels
Houston
LONDON
Los
Angeles
Palo
Alto
SÃO
PAULO
TOKYO
Washington,
D.C.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
July 31, 2023
-2-
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Form 20-F for the Fiscal
Year Ended December 31, 2022
Item 16I. Disclosure Regarding
Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections, page 146
1. We
note your statements that none of your directors or officers are representatives of any PRC
government entity and that no shareholder who beneficially owns 10% or more of your total
outstanding ordinary shares is controlled by any PRC government entity in connection with
your required submission under paragraph (a). Please supplementally describe any materials
that were reviewed and tell us whether you relied upon any legal opinions or third party
certifications such as affidavits as the basis for your submission. In your response, please
provide a similarly detailed discussion of the materials reviewed and legal opinions or third
party certifications relied upon in connection with the required disclosures under paragraphs
(b)(2) and (3).
The Company respectfully advises
the Staff that the Company checked and confirmed with all of the Company’s directors and officers in order to confirm that none
of such directors or officers are representatives of any government entity in the PRC. Most of the Company’s directors have non-PRC
nationalities and therefore would not be eligible for membership in the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”), let alone
being any representative of any government entity in the PRC.
As to the Company’s
shareholders that beneficially own 10% or more of the total outstanding ordinary shares of the Company, namely, (i) Mr. Shao-Ning
Johnny Chou, the Company’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and (ii) Alibaba Group Holding Limited, Mr. Chou
has U.S. nationality, and to the best of our knowledge, neither Mr. Chou nor Alibaba Group Holding Limited is controlled by any
government entity in the PRC.
The Company did not rely upon
any legal opinions or third party certifications such as affidavits in connection with its required submission under Item 16I(a).
In connection with the required
disclosures under Item 16I(b)(2) and (3), as to the Company itself, the Company respectfully advises the Staff that the Company
checked and confirmed its register of members in order to confirm that, to the best of its knowledge, (b)(2) no governmental entity
in the PRC or the Cayman Islands owns any shares of the Company, and (b)(3) no governmental entity in the PRC has a controlling
financial interest with respect to the Company.
In connection with the required
disclosures under Item 16I(b)(2) and (3), as to the consolidated foreign operating entities, and as such disclosures have been revised
and updated pursuant to Comment 3 of the July 21 Comment Letter, the Company checked and confirmed the shareholdings of the consolidated
foreign operating entities, most of which are held as to 100%, in order to confirm that, to the best of its knowledge, (b)(2) no
governmental entity in any of the PRC, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore
or Cambodia owns any shares of any of the consolidated foreign operating entities, and (b)(3) no governmental entity in the PRC
has a controlling financial interest with respect to any of the consolidated foreign operating entities.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
July 31, 2023
-3-
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Company did not rely upon
any legal opinions or third party certifications such as affidavits in connection with its required disclosures under Item 16I(b)(2) and
(3).
2. In
order to clarify the scope of your review, please supplementally describe the steps you have
taken to confirm that none of the members of your board or the boards of your consolidated
foreign operating entities are officials of the Chinese Communist Party. For instance, please
tell us how the board members’ current or prior memberships on, or affiliations with,
committees of the Chinese Communist Party factored into your determination. In addition,
please tell us whether you have relied upon third party certifications such as affidavits
as the basis for your disclosure.
The Company respectfully advises
the Staff that the Company checked and confirmed with all of its directors, and all of the directors of its consolidated foreign operating
entities, in order to confirm that none of such members are officials of the CCP. Most of the Company’s consolidated foreign operating
entities have one sole director; in most cases, this sole director is Mr. Shao-Ning Johnny Chou. In the minority of cases where
a consolidated foreign operating entity of the Company has multiple directors on its board, including Mr. Chou and other directors,
most of the other directors have non-PRC nationalities and therefore would not be eligible for membership in, let alone being any official
of, the CCP. The Company did not rely upon third party certifications such as affidavits in connection with its disclosure.
3. We
note your statement under Item 16I(b) that your consolidated foreign operating entities
are incorporated or otherwise organized in the PRC. We also note your list of significant
subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity in Exhibit 8.1, which appears
to indicate that you have subsidiaries outside the PRC. Please note that Item 16I(b) requires
that you provide disclosures for yourself and your consolidated foreign operating entities,
including variable interest entities or similar structures.
· With
respect to (b)(2), please supplementally clarify the jurisdictions in which your consolidated foreign operating entities are organized
or incorporated and provide the percentage of your shares or the shares of your consolidated operating entities owned by governmental
entities in each foreign jurisdiction in which you have consolidated operating entities in your supplemental response.
· With
respect to (b)(3), (b)(4) and (b)(5), please provide the required information for you and all of your consolidated foreign operating
entities in your supplemental response.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
July 31, 2023
-4-
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
In response to the Staff’s
comment, in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Company will revise
its disclosures under Item 16I(b), consistent with the updated disclosures set forth in Annex A.
* * *
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
July 31, 2023
-5-
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
If you have any
question regarding the Company’s responses to the Staff’s comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at +852-2514-7620
(work), +852-6588-7136 (mobile) or ygao@stblaw.com (email).
Very truly yours,
/s/ Yi Gao
Yi Gao
Enclosure: Annex
A
cc: Shao-Ning
Johnny Chou, Chief Executive Officer
George Chow, Chief Strategy
and Investment Officer
Gloria Fan, Chief Financial
Officer
BEST Inc.
Annex A
Comment 3
Our company is incorporated in the Cayman
Islands. The VIEs and other operating entities being consolidated in our financial statements, or the consolidated foreign operating
entities, are incorporated or otherwise organized in the PRC, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Thailand, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Singapore or Cambodia.
To the best of our knowledge, no governmental
entity in any of the PRC, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore or Cambodia
owns any shares of our company or any of the consolidated foreign operating entities.
To the best of our knowledge, no governmental
entity in the PRC (i.e. the applicable foreign jurisdiction with respect to Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP) has a controlling financial
interest with respect to our company or any of the consolidated foreign operating entities.
No member of the board of directors
of our company or any of the consolidated foreign operating entities is any official of the Chinese Communist Party.
Neither the memorandum and articles
of association of our company nor the articles of incorporation (or equivalent organizing document) of any of the consolidated foreign
operating entities contains any charter of the Chinese Communist Party.