Proceed in three steps: 1. Written request: send the company a written inspection request stating the purpose and specific scope of inspection; 2. Waiting period: only if the company fails to reply or provide access, or explicitly refuses, within 15 days of receiving the request, may a lawsuit be filed; 3. Entrusted inspection: during the litigation, inspection may be entrusted…

Yes. Under Articles 78, 79, and 80 of the newly revised Company Law, the supervisor (or the board of supervisors) is vested with statutory supervisory powers—including examining the company’s finances, attending board of directors meetings, raising inquiries or proposals, and conducting investigations when the business operates abnormally—and is entitled to access the company’s financial materials relevant to the performance of…

The law does not list ‘bank account statements’ as a standalone statutory object of inspection. If a claim to ‘inspect bank statements’ is pleaded as a separate item of relief, courts generally do not uphold it. Note, however, that bank statements constitute auxiliary ledgers within the accounting books and are also attachments to the original vouchers, and may therefore be…

No. The accounting books and accounting vouchers may only be inspected, not copied; copying is limited to the articles of association, the register of shareholders, meeting minutes and resolutions, and the financial accounting reports. Inspection may be entrusted to intermediary institutions such as accounting firms and law firms, and the newly revised Company Law no longer requires the shareholder’s physical…

A shareholder of a limited liability company may: 1. Inspect and copy: the articles of association, the register of shareholders, the minutes and resolutions of shareholders’, board of directors’, and board of supervisors’ meetings, and the financial accounting reports; 2. Inspect (but not copy): the company’s accounting books and accounting vouchers (a written request stating the purpose must first be…

Generally, no. Judicial practice strictly distinguishes a ‘supervisor’s right to inspect’ from a ‘shareholder’s right to inspect’: a supervisor’s right pertains to the sphere of internal corporate governance and carries a public-law character; whether or not it is exercised does not directly implicate the supervisor’s own civil rights and interests. Accordingly, the board of supervisors or a supervisor typically lacks…

The newly revised Company Law introduces a ‘look-through inspection’ rule, permitting a shareholder to inspect and copy the relevant materials of a wholly owned subsidiary (including its articles of association, register of shareholders, meeting minutes, financial accounting reports, accounting books, and accounting vouchers, among others). A critical distinction: this rule reaches only ‘wholly owned subsidiaries’ (100% shareholding). For a majority-controlled…

The most fundamental solution is to complete registration as a shareholder of record at the earliest possible time, transferring the equity into the name of the actual investor and eliminating the nominee arrangement. Where registration as a shareholder of record is not yet possible, the following must be ensured: execute a written nominee shareholding agreement and have it notarized; retain…

The judicial interpretation requires the court to focus on mediation, first facilitating shareholders to negotiate for the company’s continuance through means such as the company or shareholders purchasing the shares or a capital reduction. Only if mediation fails will the court order dissolution in accordance with the law.

Not necessarily. The court must also comprehensively determine whether “serious difficulties have arisen in operation and management and continuance of the company would cause material loss to shareholders’ interests,” and whether the matter remains unresolved after other avenues have been exhausted. The inability to hold a meeting for two years is merely one of the most common circumstances and does…