现行法律法规对公众公司实施的股权激励已有较为明确的监管规则，针对激励股权预留事项，上市公司及挂牌公司均允许设置不超过当次股权激励计划拟授予权益数量20%的预留权益，以在股东大会审议通过股权激励计划后12个月内明确授予对象并完成后续激励。对于非公众公司而言，是否有必要预留激励股权？预留的方式及比例如何把握？新《公司法》实施后，预留过程有哪些注意事项？针对上述问题，我们结合实务经验总结了如下操作指引。

　　The current laws and regulations have clear regulatory rules for the implementation of equity incentives for public companies. Regarding the reserved equity for incentive, both listed companies and listed companies are allowed to set up reserved equity not exceeding 20% of the proposed equity to be granted in the current equity incentive plan, in order to clarify the beneficiaries and complete subsequent incentives within 12 months after the approval of the equity incentive plan by the shareholders' meeting. Is it necessary to reserve incentive equity for non-public companies? How to grasp the method and proportion of reservation? What are the precautions for the reservation process after the implementation of the new Company Law? In response to the above issues, we have summarized the following operational guidelines based on practical experience.

　　一、预留激励股权的重要性

　　1、 The Importance of Reserved Incentive Equity

　　（一）什么是预留激励股权

　　（1） What is reserved incentive equity

　　指公司在初创阶段或者在首次实施股权激励时，事先在股权结构中保留的一部分专门用于未来授予员工、管理层或其他关键人员的股权，它具有以下特点：

　　Refers to a portion of equity reserved in the equity structure of a company during its start-up stage or when implementing equity incentives for the first time, specifically intended for future grants to employees, management, or other key personnel. It has the following characteristics:

　　1. ?计划性：在公司成立之初或早期阶段进行的预留规划；

　　1. Planning: Reserved planning carried out at the beginning or early stage of the company's establishment;

　　2. ?目的性：专门为激励相关人员而设置，通过股权赋予利益，激发特定人员的积极性和归属感；

　　2. Purpose: specifically designed to motivate relevant personnel, granting benefits through equity, and stimulating the enthusiasm and sense of belonging of specific individuals;

　　3. ?灵活性：可根据公司发展阶段和激励对象的实际情况进行分配或收回。

　　3. Flexibility: Allocation or withdrawal can be made according to the actual situation of the company's development stage and incentive targets.

　　（二）预留激励股权的重要性

　　（2） The Importance of Reserved Incentive Equity

　　1. 激励现有员工、吸引未来人才公司在股权结构中明确预留用于激励员工的股权，对现有员工可以起到潜在的暗示和激励意义，意味着现有员工通过自身努力不仅可以获得基本的劳动报酬，还有可能通过获得公司股权间接享受公司经营发展带来的超额回报；而对于未来拟引进的人才，预留的激励股权则是公司招聘时的有力谈判筹码，尤其是在公司初创阶段无法给出高薪的情况下，预留的激励股权可以用于补偿管理层及骨干共同参与创业的风险。

　　1. Motivate existing employees and attract future talents. The company clearly reserves equity in the equity structure for motivating employees, which can have potential implications and motivational significance for existing employees. This means that existing employees can not only receive basic labor compensation through their own efforts, but also indirectly enjoy the excess returns brought by the company's business development through obtaining company equity; For the talents to be introduced in the future, the reserved incentive equity is a powerful bargaining chip for the company's recruitment, especially in the case where high salaries cannot be offered during the start-up stage. The reserved incentive equity can be used to compensate for the risks of management and key personnel participating in entrepreneurship together.

　　2. 避免公司股权结构的频繁变动在（详见前文：激励股权来源怎么选，股权转让还是增资？）一文中，我们曾提到，无论是通过增资还是股权转让的方式实施股权激励，都会在不同程度上引起现有股东持股比例的变化，进而可能导致部分股东的关键利益受到影响。比如，公司拟通过股权转让激励员工的，需要确定由谁转让股权，而不同的转让时点、转让时公司所处的阶段都会对转让价格产生实质影响，进而给转让方带来一定的税负成本；公司拟通过增资激励员工的，需要考虑增资对现有股东股权稀释的影响，公司中如有国有股东的，低于国有股东入股公司的价格对员工进行股权激励的，可能因涉及国有资产流失而难以满足国资监管的相关要求；当公司股权结构较为分散时，股权激励的实施可能会导致部分股东的持股比例跨越关键节点（详见前文：什么是创始人必知的六大股权生命线？），影响股东权利的行使甚至公司控制权的稳定等。因此，公司在成立之初或早期阶段就事先规划并预留激励股权，可以有效地避免股权激励的实施对公司股权结构的影响，使得公司在确定股权激励的来源、数量、价格时有更多的操作空间和选择余地。

　　2. Avoid frequent changes in the company's equity structure. In the article "How to choose the source of incentive equity, equity transfer or capital increase?", we mentioned that whether implementing equity incentives through capital increase or equity transfer, it will cause changes in the shareholding ratio of existing shareholders to varying degrees, which may affect the key interests of some shareholders. For example, if a company intends to incentivize employees through equity transfer, it needs to determine who will transfer the equity, and different transfer times and stages of the company at the time of transfer will have a substantial impact on the transfer price, thereby bringing certain tax costs to the transferor; If the company intends to incentivize employees through capital increase, it needs to consider the impact of capital increase on the dilution of existing shareholders' equity. If there are state-owned shareholders in the company, offering equity incentives to employees at a price lower than the price of their investment in the company may be difficult to meet the relevant requirements of state-owned asset supervision due to the loss of state-owned assets; When the equity structure of a company is relatively dispersed, the implementation of equity incentives may lead to some shareholders' shareholding ratios crossing key nodes (see previous text: What are the six essential equity lifelines that founders must know?), affecting the exercise of shareholder rights and even the stability of company control. Therefore, planning and reserving incentive equity in advance at the beginning or early stage of a company's establishment can effectively avoid the impact of equity incentives on the company's equity structure, allowing the company more operational space and choices when determining the source, quantity, and price of equity incentives.

　　3. 便于动态调整股权在（详见前文：初创公司存在多名创始人时如何合理分配股权？）一文中，我们曾建议初创公司设置动态股权调整机制，其中即包括预留期权池。通过预留的这部分股权，灵活地调整创始股东间的股权、处理激励员工的进出，甚至还可以用于吸引外部投资人。比如，在公司未能达到实施股权激励的节点或预留的股权未能全部释放给员工时，超额预留的激励股权可以对外转让以吸引外部投资人；现有的创始团队成员或激励对象发生特定情形退出公司时，已授予的激励股权可以特定的价格转回预留的期权池；反之，为公司发展作出突出贡献的员工则可以通过预留机制被授予更多的激励股权。因此，设置一定比例的预留激励股权可以使公司在股权结构分配上始终处于一个进可攻、退可守的局面。

　　3. It is convenient to dynamically adjust equity. In the article "How to allocate equity reasonably when there are multiple founders in a startup company?", we suggested that startups establish a dynamic equity adjustment mechanism, including a reserved option pool. By reserving this portion of equity, the equity between founding shareholders can be flexibly adjusted, employee incentives can be handled, and even used to attract external investors. For example, when the company fails to reach the milestone of implementing equity incentives or the reserved equity is not fully released to employees, the excess reserved incentive equity can be transferred to attract external investors; When existing founding team members or incentive recipients exit the company under specific circumstances, the granted incentive equity can be transferred back to the reserved option pool at a specific price; On the contrary, employees who have made outstanding contributions to the development of the company can be granted more incentive equity through a reserved mechanism. Therefore, setting a certain proportion of reserved incentive equity can keep the company in a situation of both offensive and defensive in terms of equity structure distribution.

　　二、预留激励股权的持有形式

　　2、 Form of Holding Reserved Incentive Equity

　　（一）放在核心创始人名下指预留激励股权由核心创始人代为持有，在将来引入新合伙人或实施股权激励计划时进行股权转让。该种持有形式常见于控制权明确尤其是一人创业的情况，便于作为实际控制人的核心创始人加强对公司的控制权，同时也因缺乏明确的预留文件和明显区别于核心创始人自行持有股权的外观载体，对现有员工的潜在激励意义较弱，对未来拟引入的人才缺乏证明力。公司在是否能够实施股权激励以及实际可激励的股权上限上容易受核心创始人影响，产生一言堂的情况。此外，伴随着公司不同的发展阶段和股权激励的实施时点，在落实股权激励政策时会给核心创始人转让股权带来不同的税负成本。公司如在提交上市申请前12个月内通过核心创始人对激励对象实施股权转让的，激励对象可能会因此而被要求适用三年的锁定期，即承诺所持新增股份自取得之日起36个月内不得转让。

　　（1） Placed under the name of the core founder refers to reserving incentive equity for the core founder to hold on their behalf, and transferring equity when introducing new partners or implementing equity incentive plans in the future. This form of holding is commonly seen in situations where control is clear, especially when one person starts a business, making it easier for the core founder as the actual controller to strengthen their control over the company. However, due to the lack of clear reserved documents and a clear distinction from the appearance of the core founder holding equity on their own, the potential incentive significance for existing employees is weak, and there is a lack of proof for future talent to be introduced. The company is easily influenced by the core founders in terms of whether it can implement equity incentives and the actual maximum number of shares that can be incentivized, resulting in a situation of one-man rule. In addition, with the different stages of company development and the implementation timing of equity incentives, the implementation of equity incentive policies will bring different tax costs to the transfer of equity by core founders. If the company transfers equity to the incentive object through the core founder within 12 months before submitting the listing application, the incentive object may be required to apply a three-year lock up period, which means that the newly added shares held by the commitment cannot be transferred within 36 months from the date of acquisition.

　　（二）在多名创始人间平均分配指预留激励股权由多名创始人按照相对持股比例分配，分别代为持有，在将来引入新合伙人或实施股权激励计划时分别按比例进行股权转让。该种持有形式常见于多人共同创业的情况，在确认激励股权来源时基于公平原则更易接受，有助于减少创始人之间的分歧。缺点与将预留激励股权放在核心创始人名下虽无本质差异，但仍有一处突破，即当公司未来实施股权激励时，理论上每名创始人都要按相对持股比例进行一次股权转让，流程更为繁琐。

　　（2） Equal distribution among multiple founders refers to the reserved incentive equity being distributed among multiple founders according to their relative shareholding ratios, and held on behalf of each other. In the future, when introducing new partners or implementing equity incentive plans, the equity will be transferred proportionally. This form of holding is common in situations where multiple people start a business together, and it is easier to accept based on the principle of fairness when confirming the source of incentive equity, which helps to reduce differences among founders. The disadvantage is that although there is no essential difference between placing reserved incentive equity under the name of the core founder, there is still a breakthrough, that is, when the company implements equity incentives in the future, theoretically each founder must transfer their equity according to their relative shareholding ratio, making the process more complicated.

　　（三）直接放在新设持股平台指直接设立一个或多个持股平台（常见为有限合伙企业，也可以设立公司）持有预留激励股权，并由公司核心创始人（通常为实际控制人）或其指定人士作为普通合伙人，其他联合创始人作为有限合伙人。在将来公司引入新合伙人或实施股权激励计划时，可以由预留持股平台向激励对象直接转让持有的公司股权，也可以由预留持股平台的的合伙人向激励对象转让合伙份额，使激励对象间接持有公司股权。该种持有形式一劳永逸，可以充分的发挥预留激励股权的积极意义，优点是可通过实际控制人担任普通合伙人的操作确保其控制权不被稀释，方便公司进行股权激励的实施和管理并进行风险隔离；缺点则是视持股平台的普通合伙人选择方案，整个持股平台可能因被实际控制人控制而在上市后按照证券监管要求锁定三年。具体详见前文：激励载体怎么选，直接持股还是间接持股？

　　（3） Directly placing it on a newly established shareholding platform refers to setting up one or more shareholding platforms (usually limited partnerships or companies) to hold reserved incentive equity, with the company's core founder (usually the actual controller) or designated person as the general partner, and other co founders as limited partners. In the future, when the company introduces new partners or implements equity incentive plans, the reserved shareholding platform can directly transfer the company's equity held by the incentive object, or the partners of the reserved shareholding platform can transfer partnership shares to the incentive object, so that the incentive object indirectly holds the company's equity. This form of holding is once and for all, which can fully leverage the positive significance of reserved incentive equity. The advantage is that the actual controller can act as a general partner to ensure that their control is not diluted, facilitating the implementation and management of equity incentives and risk isolation for the company; The disadvantage is that depending on the selection plan of the general partner of the holding platform, the entire holding platform may be locked in for three years according to securities regulatory requirements after listing due to being controlled by the actual controller. For details, please refer to the previous text: How to choose incentive carriers, direct shareholding or indirect shareholding?

　　三、预留激励股权的比例设置激励股权预留的合适数量取决于多个因素，包括公司的规模、发展阶段、财务状况、业务需求以及人才战略等。预留的过少，可能导致激励股权不够分配时需要额外履行相应程序增发激励股权；预留的过多，如公司有意在境内登陆资本市场的，申报IPO前未发放完毕的激励股权需要及时明确权属。通常而言，预留的激励股权比例在10%-20%之间较为常见，公司在确定具体数字时，可以综合考虑如下因素：

　　3、 The appropriate amount of reserved incentive equity depends on multiple factors, including the company's size, development stage, financial condition, business needs, and talent strategy. Insufficient reservation may result in insufficient distribution of incentive equity, and additional procedures need to be followed to issue incentive equity; If there is too much reserved, and the company intends to enter the capital market in China, the ownership of the incentive equity that has not been fully issued before the IPO application needs to be clarified in a timely manner. Generally speaking, it is common for the reserved incentive equity ratio to be between 10% and 20%. When determining the specific number, companies can consider the following factors comprehensively:

　　（一）公司的发展阶段创立之初的公司可能需要预留更多股权以吸引和留住关键人才。

　　（1） At the beginning of the company's development stage, it may be necessary to reserve more equity to attract and retain key talents.

　　（二）未来的融资计划存在后续融资需求的，为避免持续的融资稀释激励股权的价值，需要适当提高预留比例。

　　（2） If there is a need for subsequent financing in future financing plans, in order to avoid continuous financing diluting the value of incentive equity, it is necessary to appropriately increase the reserve ratio.

　　（三）行业竞争情况所处行业正处于竞争激烈环境的，可能需要更多股权来吸引优秀人才。

　　（3） The industry is currently in a highly competitive environment and may require more equity to attract talented individuals.

　　（四）代为持有主体的财务状况新《公司法》实施后，新设有限公司的注册资本缴付期限缩短为5年。因此，公司在考虑预留激励股权比例时，需要结合股权激励的实施时点以及代为持有激励股权的股东的资金实力综合考量，避免因预留规模过大面临的实缴困难，进而导致的激励股权因欠缴出资所面临的失权风险。

　　（4） After the implementation of the new Company Law, the payment period for registered capital of newly established limited companies has been shortened to 5 years. Therefore, when considering the proportion of reserved incentive equity, the company needs to take into account the implementation time of equity incentives and the financial strength of shareholders holding incentive equity on behalf of them, in order to avoid the difficulty of actual payment due to the large reserved scale, which may lead to the risk of loss of rights of incentive equity due to unpaid contributions.

　　（五）对控制权的影响如公司实际控制人不作为预留激励股权持股平台的普通合伙人的，在考虑预留激励股权数量时，需确保预留股权不会影响公司的控制权稳定。

　　（5） If the actual controller of the company does not act as a general partner of the reserved incentive equity holding platform, when considering the number of reserved incentive equity, it is necessary to ensure that the reserved equity will not affect the stability of the company's control.

　　四、新《公司法》对预留激励股权的影响

　　4、 The impact of the new Company Law on reserved incentive equity

　　新《公司法》实施后，非公众公司预留激励股权将在如下方面受到影响：

　　After the implementation of the new Company Law, the reserved incentive equity of non-public companies will be affected in the following aspects:

　　1. ??如上文所述，受限于新《公司法》有限公司注册资本的限期认缴制，公司在预留激励股权时需要综合考虑预留份额对应的实缴金额及股权激励计划的预计实施时间，谨慎确认预留规模。

　　As mentioned earlier, due to the limited time subscription system for registered capital of limited companies under the new Company Law, companies need to consider the actual paid up amount corresponding to the reserved shares and the expected implementation time of the equity incentive plan when reserving incentive equity, and carefully confirm the reserved scale.

　　2. ?受限于新《公司法》有关转让无瑕疵股权法律责任的规定，如预留激励股权以股权转让方式实施的，无论是来源于作为核心创始人的大股东，还是来源于多名共同创始人，只要转让方在出资期限内对未实缴股权进行转让的，就持续存在对受让方承担补充出资责任的法律风险。

　　2. Due to the provisions of the new Company Law on the legal liability for transferring flawless equity, if the reserved incentive equity is implemented through equity transfer, whether it comes from the major shareholder as the core founder or from multiple co founders, as long as the transferor transfers the unpaid equity within the capital contribution period, there will continue to be legal risks of bearing supplementary capital liability to the transferee.

　　3. ?受限于新《公司法》横向法人人格否认制度的明确，预留激励股权的持股平台如同为实际控制人控制的，当实际控制人利用其控制的公司和持股平台滥用公司法人独立地位和股东有限责任，逃避债务，严重损害公司债权人利益的，持股平台和公司需要就对方的债务承担连带责任。

　　3. Due to the clear system of horizontal disregard of corporate personality in the new Company Law, holding platforms that reserve incentive equity are treated as if they were controlled by the actual controller. When the actual controller abuses the independent status of the company as a legal person and the limited liability of shareholders, evades debts, and seriously damages the interests of the company's creditors, the holding platform and the company need to bear joint and several liability for each other's debts.

　　就上述事项，详见前文的专篇分析：必须实缴？股东缴付出资必知事项？、让股东和关联公司承担连带责任的“公司法人人格否认”制度是什么？

　　Regarding the above matters, please refer to the dedicated analysis in the previous section: must payment be made in full? What are the necessary information for shareholders to pay their capital contributions? What is the "denial of corporate personality" system that imposes joint and several liability on shareholders and affiliated companies?

　　总结综上所述，对于非公众公司而言，新《公司法》实施后，仍有必要预留一定的激励股权，预留的方式建议选择新设有限合伙企业作为持股平台，预留比例建议在10%-20%区间内结合实际情况具体确认，预留过程需注意新《公司法》实施后有关注册资本限期实缴的要求。

　　In summary, for non-public companies, it is still necessary to reserve a certain amount of incentive equity after the implementation of the new Company Law. It is recommended to choose a newly established limited partnership enterprise as the holding platform for the reservation, and the reservation ratio should be confirmed specifically within the range of 10% -20% based on the actual situation. During the reservation process, attention should be paid to the requirements of the new Company Law regarding the deadline for paid in registered capital.

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