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  "documentTitle": "KE Holdings (BEKE)",
  "authorId": "51_Muddy_Waters",
  "authorName": "Carson C. Block",
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  "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller",
  "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller",
  "presentationDate": "2021-12-16 00:00:00",
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  "notes": "The slide uses two tables to compare reported agent counts against regulatory limits and internal functional breakdowns.",
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      "text": "Revenue and GTV are a function of agent count, so to justify its fabricated GTV and revenue figures, BEKE has also significantly inflated the number of agents on its platform to pump its stock price.",
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      "text": "Inconsistent SEC Disclosures - Additional Evidence of Agent Overstatement",
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      "text": "Inflated %: 79%",
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      "kind": "paragraph",
      "text": "Even assuming 10% of the labor force is temporary workers, the maximum allowed under PRC law, SAIC data still indicate that BEKE inflates the number of agents in its key Beijing and Shanghai markets by ~79%.",
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      "text": "For example, in its initial F-1 filed in April 2020, BEKE stated that as of Dec 31, 2019, it employed 82,282 direct employees and 76,217 dispatched workers, which was 93% of its full-time employee. If true, this would be an admission of violation of PRC labor laws.",
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      "text": "BEKE's conflicting disclosures also support this assumption. BEKE reports the breakdown of its employee count by function in its SEC filings. Even if we assume that all the dispatched workers are agents, adding them together with the number of agents reported in the function breakdown section still leaves BEKE far short of the agents necessary for its headline agent claims to be true.",
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      "text": "Pursuant to PRC labor laws, temporary employees may only constitute a maximum of 10% of the full-time employee count. BEKE confirmed in its SEC filings that it did not exceed this 10% threshold mandated by Chinese law. Accordingly, even assuming all of the temporary agents were agents, the number is still far short of BEKE's headline agent count. We believe the explanation is clear. Revenue and GTV are a function of agent count, so to justify its fabricated GTV and revenue figures, BEKE has also significantly inflated the number of agents on its platform to pump its stock price.",
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      "kind": "paragraph",
      "text": "We observed discrepancies not only between its SEC filings and local Chinese regulatory filings, but also between the figures reported in BEKE's SEC filings from period to period. Even in its SEC filings, the number of employees fluctuates widely, suggesting, in our opinion, that the Company has trouble keeping its story straight regarding the number of its employees and its agents.",
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      "text": "Labor Dispatching Would Not Explain the Discrepancy",
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      "text": "Table comparing agent claims vs reported staff and dispatched workers over three periods in 2020.",
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