現行法律法規對公眾公司實施的股權激勵已有較為明確的監管規則，針對激勵股權預留事項，上市公司及掛牌公司均允許設置不超過當次股權激勵計劃擬授予權益數量20%的預留權益，以在股東大會審議通過股權激勵計劃后12個月內明確授予對象并完成后續激勵。對于非公眾公司而言，是否有必要預留激勵股權？預留的方式及比例如何把握？新《公司法》實施后，預留過程有哪些注意事項？針對上述問題，我們結合實務經驗總結了如下操作指引。

　　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、預留激勵股權的重要性

　　1、 The Importance of Reserved Incentive Equity

　　（一）什么是預留激勵股權

　　（1） What is reserved incentive equity

　　指公司在初創階段或者在首次實施股權激勵時，事先在股權結構中保留的一部分專門用于未來授予員工、管理層或其他關鍵人員的股權，它具有以下特點：

　　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. ?計劃性：在公司成立之初或早期階段進行的預留規劃；

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

　　2. ?目的性：專門為激勵相關人員而設置，通過股權賦予利益，激發特定人員的積極性和歸屬感；

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

　　3. ?靈活性：可根據公司發展階段和激勵對象的實際情況進行分配或收回。

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

　　（二）預留激勵股權的重要性

　　（2） The Importance of Reserved Incentive Equity

　　1. 激勵現有員工、吸引未來人才公司在股權結構中明確預留用于激勵員工的股權，對現有員工可以起到潛在的暗示和激勵意義，意味著現有員工通過自身努力不僅可以獲得基本的勞動報酬，還有可能通過獲得公司股權間接享受公司經營發展帶來的超額回報；而對于未來擬引進的人才，預留的激勵股權則是公司招聘時的有力談判籌碼，尤其是在公司初創階段無法給出高薪的情況下，預留的激勵股權可以用于補償管理層及骨干共同參與創業的風險。

　　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. 避免公司股權結構的頻繁變動在（詳見前文：激勵股權來源怎么選，股權轉讓還是增資？）一文中，我們曾提到，無論是通過增資還是股權轉讓的方式實施股權激勵，都會在不同程度上引起現有股東持股比例的變化，進而可能導致部分股東的關鍵利益受到影響。比如，公司擬通過股權轉讓激勵員工的，需要確定由誰轉讓股權，而不同的轉讓時點、轉讓時公司所處的階段都會對轉讓價格產生實質影響，進而給轉讓方帶來一定的稅負成本；公司擬通過增資激勵員工的，需要考慮增資對現有股東股權稀釋的影響，公司中如有國有股東的，低于國有股東入股公司的價格對員工進行股權激勵的，可能因涉及國有資產流失而難以滿足國資監管的相關要求；當公司股權結構較為分散時，股權激勵的實施可能會導致部分股東的持股比例跨越關鍵節點（詳見前文：什么是創始人必知的六大股權生命線？），影響股東權利的行使甚至公司控制權的穩定等。因此，公司在成立之初或早期階段就事先規劃并預留激勵股權，可以有效地避免股權激勵的實施對公司股權結構的影響，使得公司在確定股權激勵的來源、數量、價格時有更多的操作空間和選擇余地。

　　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. 便于動態調整股權在（詳見前文：初創公司存在多名創始人時如何合理分配股權？）一文中，我們曾建議初創公司設置動態股權調整機制，其中即包括預留期權池。通過預留的這部分股權，靈活地調整創始股東間的股權、處理激勵員工的進出，甚至還可以用于吸引外部投資人。比如，在公司未能達到實施股權激勵的節點或預留的股權未能全部釋放給員工時，超額預留的激勵股權可以對外轉讓以吸引外部投資人；現有的創始團隊成員或激勵對象發生特定情形退出公司時，已授予的激勵股權可以特定的價格轉回預留的期權池；反之，為公司發展作出突出貢獻的員工則可以通過預留機制被授予更多的激勵股權。因此，設置一定比例的預留激勵股權可以使公司在股權結構分配上始終處于一個進可攻、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、預留激勵股權的持有形式

　　2、 Form of Holding Reserved Incentive Equity

　　（一）放在核心創始人名下指預留激勵股權由核心創始人代為持有，在將來引入新合伙人或實施股權激勵計劃時進行股權轉讓。該種持有形式常見于控制權明確尤其是一人創業的情況，便于作為實際控制人的核心創始人加強對公司的控制權，同時也因缺乏明確的預留文件和明顯區別于核心創始人自行持有股權的外觀載體，對現有員工的潛在激勵意義較弱，對未來擬引入的人才缺乏證明力。公司在是否能夠實施股權激勵以及實際可激勵的股權上限上容易受核心創始人影響，產生一言堂的情況。此外，伴隨著公司不同的發展階段和股權激勵的實施時點，在落實股權激勵政策時會給核心創始人轉讓股權帶來不同的稅負成本。公司如在提交上市申請前12個月內通過核心創始人對激勵對象實施股權轉讓的，激勵對象可能會因此而被要求適用三年的鎖定期，即承諾所持新增股份自取得之日起36個月內不得轉讓。

　　（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）在多名創始人間平均分配指預留激勵股權由多名創始人按照相對持股比例分配，分別代為持有，在將來引入新合伙人或實施股權激勵計劃時分別按比例進行股權轉讓。該種持有形式常見于多人共同創業的情況，在確認激勵股權來源時基于公平原則更易接受，有助于減少創始人之間的分歧。缺點與將預留激勵股權放在核心創始人名下雖無本質差異，但仍有一處突破，即當公司未來實施股權激勵時，理論上每名創始人都要按相對持股比例進行一次股權轉讓，流程更為繁瑣。

　　（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）直接放在新設持股平臺指直接設立一個或多個持股平臺（常見為有限合伙企業，也可以設立公司）持有預留激勵股權，并由公司核心創始人（通常為實際控制人）或其指定人士作為普通合伙人，其他聯合創始人作為有限合伙人。在將來公司引入新合伙人或實施股權激勵計劃時，可以由預留持股平臺向激勵對象直接轉讓持有的公司股權，也可以由預留持股平臺的的合伙人向激勵對象轉讓合伙份額，使激勵對象間接持有公司股權。該種持有形式一勞永逸，可以充分的發揮預留激勵股權的積極意義，優點是可通過實際控制人擔任普通合伙人的操作確保其控制權不被稀釋，方便公司進行股權激勵的實施和管理并進行風險隔離；缺點則是視持股平臺的普通合伙人選擇方案，整個持股平臺可能因被實際控制人控制而在上市后按照證券監管要求鎖定三年。具體詳見前文：激勵載體怎么選，直接持股還是間接持股？

　　（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、預留激勵股權的比例設置激勵股權預留的合適數量取決于多個因素，包括公司的規模、發展階段、財務狀況、業務需求以及人才戰略等。預留的過少，可能導致激勵股權不夠分配時需要額外履行相應程序增發激勵股權；預留的過多，如公司有意在境內登陸資本市場的，申報IPO前未發放完畢的激勵股權需要及時明確權屬。通常而言，預留的激勵股權比例在10%-20%之間較為常見，公司在確定具體數字時，可以綜合考慮如下因素：

　　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）公司的發展階段創立之初的公司可能需要預留更多股權以吸引和留住關鍵人才。

　　（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）未來的融資計劃存在后續融資需求的，為避免持續的融資稀釋激勵股權的價值，需要適當提高預留比例。

　　（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）行業競爭情況所處行業正處于競爭激烈環境的，可能需要更多股權來吸引優秀人才。

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

　　（四）代為持有主體的財務狀況新《公司法》實施后，新設有限公司的注冊資本繳付期限縮短為5年。因此，公司在考慮預留激勵股權比例時，需要結合股權激勵的實施時點以及代為持有激勵股權的股東的資金實力綜合考量，避免因預留規模過大面臨的實繳困難，進而導致的激勵股權因欠繳出資所面臨的失權風險。

　　（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）對控制權的影響如公司實際控制人不作為預留激勵股權持股平臺的普通合伙人的，在考慮預留激勵股權數量時，需確保預留股權不會影響公司的控制權穩定。

　　（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》對預留激勵股權的影響

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

　　新《公司法》實施后，非公眾公司預留激勵股權將在如下方面受到影響：

　　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》有限公司注冊資本的限期認繳制，公司在預留激勵股權時需要綜合考慮預留份額對應的實繳金額及股權激勵計劃的預計實施時間，謹慎確認預留規模。

　　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》有關轉讓無瑕疵股權法律責任的規定，如預留激勵股權以股權轉讓方式實施的，無論是來源于作為核心創始人的大股東，還是來源于多名共同創始人，只要轉讓方在出資期限內對未實繳股權進行轉讓的，就持續存在對受讓方承擔補充出資責任的法律風險。

　　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》橫向法人人格否認制度的明確，預留激勵股權的持股平臺如同為實際控制人控制的，當實際控制人利用其控制的公司和持股平臺濫用公司法人獨立地位和股東有限責任，逃避債務，嚴重損害公司債權人利益的，持股平臺和公司需要就對方的債務承擔連帶責任。

　　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.

　　就上述事項，詳見前文的專篇分析：必須實繳？股東繳付出資必知事項？、讓股東和關聯公司承擔連帶責任的“公司法人人格否認”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?

　　總結綜上所述，對于非公眾公司而言，新《公司法》實施后，仍有必要預留一定的激勵股權，預留的方式建議選擇新設有限合伙企業作為持股平臺，預留比例建議在10%-20%區間內結合實際情況具體確認，預留過程需注意新《公司法》實施后有關注冊資本限期實繳的要求。

　　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.

　　本文由  濟南股權合伙設計  友情奉獻.更多有關的知識請點擊  http://www.aibangwang.cn/   真誠的態度.為您提供為全面的服務.更多有關的知識我們將會陸續向大家奉獻.敬請期待.

　　This article is designed by Jinan Equity Partnership for Friendship Dedication For more related knowledge, please click http://www.aibangwang.cn/ Sincere attitude To provide you with comprehensive services We will gradually contribute more relevant knowledge to everyone Coming soon.