MAYASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8Airwallex, a global payments firm, announced on Tuesday that it will open an office in Israel this week as part of its plans to expand in the Middle East and globally.The financial technology company, which was founded in Australia, stated that its Israeli operations, which will begin on Thursday, will be the first step towards expanding across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in 2023. It already serves several Israeli companies.Or Liban, who will lead the company's Israel operations, stated that the country's high-tech ecosystem, in which startups aim to be global from the start, was a major factor in the company's decision to expand to Tel Aviv."There are a lot of startups that could be relevant for our mergers and acquisition strategy, specifically in the areas of cyber security, fraud detection, and threat prevention". "It's a very active ecosystem", Liban saidHe stated that, while no deals were currently in the works, the company had many opportunities.Airwallex is worth $5.5 billion, has raised $900 million in funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Square Peg, Lone Pine Capital, and 1835i, and processes more than $50 billion in transactions per year. Chinese electric-car giant BYD got a green light from regulators to take over a bankrupt online insurance unit of the scandal-plagued conglomerate Tomorrow Holding with plans to turn it into an auto insurance provider.The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said Tuesday that it approved BYD's 100 percent acquisition of E An Property & Casualty Insurance. Chinese authorities seized the company three years ago.BYD will pay seven million yuan ($1 million) to E An's seven current shareholders, Caixin learned from sources. Five of the shareholders with a combined 70 percent are affiliates of Tomorrow. BYD will also provide 540 million yuan for restructuring costs, to meet various debt obligations and to beef up the insurer's net assets.BYD, the Chinese electric-car manufacturer, has received approval from regulators to acquire a bankrupt online insurance business of the scandal-plagued conglomerate Tomorrow Holding, with ambitions to convert it into an auto insurance provider.The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) approved BYD's 100 percent acquisition of E An Property & Casualty Insurance on Tuesday. The corporation was seized by Chinese officials three years ago. NEWSROOMAIRWALLEX TO EXPAND ITS PAYMENT SERVICESTO ISRAELBYD ACQUIRES ONLINE INSURER AS HOME BASE FOR AUTO INSURANCE UNIT
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