The parent company has the actual decision-making power on major issues of its subsidiaries, can decide the composition of the board of directors of its subsidiaries, and can directly exercise the power to appoint directors of the board of directors.
(2) The relationship between parent company and subsidiary company is based on the agreement of share possession or control.
Generally speaking, shareholders with more shares have greater decision-making power over company affairs. Therefore, if a company owns more than 50% of the shares of another company, it can actually control the company. In practice, the shares of most companies are scattered, and as long as they have more than a certain proportion of shares, they can obtain a controlling position. In addition to controlling shares, a company can also control another company by concluding some special contracts or agreements.
(3) The parent company and subsidiaries are independent legal persons.
Although subsidiaries are actually controlled by the parent company, restricted and managed by the parent company in many aspects, and some of them are actually similar to the branches of the parent company, legally speaking, subsidiaries belong to separate legal persons, engage in business activities in their own names and bear civil liabilities alone.
Subsidiaries have their own articles of association, board of directors and other corporate decision-making bodies. A subsidiary has its own separate property, and the property it actually occupies and uses belongs to the subsidiary and has its own balance sheet. The subsidiary and the parent company shall bear their respective responsibilities to the extent of their own property and shall not be related to each other. As the largest shareholder of the subsidiary, the parent company is only responsible for the debts in the operating activities of the subsidiary to the extent of its capital contribution to the subsidiary. To set up a subsidiary, an application must be made in strict accordance with the requirements for setting up a company, and business can be started only after obtaining a business license and going through relevant formalities according to law.
Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Company Law.
Article 20 Shareholders of a company shall abide by laws, administrative regulations and the articles of association, exercise their rights according to law, and shall not abuse their rights to harm the interests of the company or other shareholders; The company's independent legal person status and the limited liability of shareholders shall not be abused to harm the interests of the company's creditors. Shareholders of a company who abuse their rights and cause losses to the company or other shareholders shall be liable for compensation according to law. Shareholders of a company who abuse the independent status of a company as a legal person and the limited liability of shareholders to evade debts and seriously damage the interests of creditors of the company shall be jointly and severally liable for the debts of the company.
Article 21 The controlling shareholders, actual controllers, directors, supervisors and senior managers of a company shall not use their related relationships to harm the interests of the company. Anyone who violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph and causes losses to the company shall be liable for compensation.
Article 217 The meanings of the following terms in this Law: (1) Senior management personnel refer to the managers, deputy managers, financial officers, secretary of the board of directors of listed companies and other personnel stipulated in the articles of association of the company. (2) Controlling shareholders refer to shareholders whose capital contribution accounts for more than 50% of the total capital of a limited liability company or whose shares account for more than 50% of the total share capital of a joint stock limited company; Although the capital contribution or the proportion of shares held is less than 50%, but according to their capital contribution or shares held, shareholders have enough voting rights to the shareholders' meeting and the resolutions of the shareholders' meeting. (3) "Actual controller" refers to a person who is not a shareholder of the company, but can actually control the company's behavior through investment relations, agreements or other arrangements. (4) Relationship refers to the relationship between the controlling shareholder, actual controller, directors, supervisors and senior managers of the company and the enterprises directly or indirectly controlled by them, as well as other relationships that may lead to the transfer of the company's interests. However, state-controlled enterprises are not related only because they are controlled by the state.