Australia’s second most valuable start-up moves assets to the Caymans

The foreign businesses, which includes Airwallex’s Chinese operations, must be substantial to sustain the company’s valuation, which is more than 120 times its Australian revenue. Other publicly listed payments companies, which offer a partial benchmark, tend to trade around 10 to 15 times revenue.

Airwallex’s Australian entity recorded holding $502 million for its clients as of December 31 last year. The company makes money offering banking and money transfer services to clients, many of which are sizeable companies.

Its $59 million in revenue came from $41 million in charging clients for technological developments and support services, and included $8 million from payment and currency conversion fees, $7 million for issuing services, and an uncategorised $2 million.

The parent company tipped $47 million into Australia last year via a share purchase.

‘Pretty good’

“The numbers are pretty good,” said one venture capital investor, who does not have a stake in Airwallex but reviewed the ASIC filing.

The same document also shows that Airwallex’s Australian company moved 100 per cent of its shareholding in the group’s New Zealand business and 99.99 per cent of the Indian business to the Cayman Islands on January 1. Indian law requires one share to remain in the country.

Technology advocates commonly argue that governments should provide grants and incentives to start-ups to support Australia’s jobs market and economy.

An Airwallex spokesman said the company employed 200 staff based in Australia and invested here in technology training. He confirmed that Airwallex, which was previously headquartered in Hong Kong, had shifted its primary office to Singapore.

“Each of our regional Airwallex entities complies with their respective governments’ corporate regulations and requirements, including Airwallex Australia,” the spokesman said. “The company will continue to file its audited financial statements with ASIC as required.”

Airwallex has a roster of high-powered investors, mostly from China and Australia, some of whom count it among their largest successes on paper, while others are significant business partners.

The $607 billion Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent has a stake as does Sequoia China, the local arm of the storied American venture capital firm that is preparing to become an independent outfit as geopolitical tensions grow.

Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures has also invested in Airwallex alongside ANZ, which provides accounts in Australia to Airwallex, and large Australian VC fund Square Peg Capital.

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