pertwk 80. The three major European payment companies
80. The three major European payment companies
Pavel had simply disappeared without a funeral, but now his remains have finally been found.
Li Xiang funded the construction of a small memorial hall for him in the Hongxing Family Cemetery.
The funeral was very simple. Uyungerile didn't make a fuss and just notified his relatives and friends. Subuda also rushed back from South Korea.
"Mom, how exactly did Dad die?"
Seeing that his daughter was still deeply troubled by her father's death and couldn't let go of it, Uyun decided to reveal the truth: "He and Sasha were smuggling World Cup jerseys together, but Sasha betrayed them and stole the goods. The ashes were brought back from Latvia."
Four sets of remains were found, but it was impossible to tell which was whose. Transporting them back would not be easy, so with Uyun's consent, they were cremated in Latvia.
"It really is Sasha!" Subu said, his face full of regret. "How could I have missed with that shot!"
"He is dead, buried where your father's remains were found."
Wuyun took out a photo from her phone and showed it to her daughter. It was a photo of Galina taken before Sasha was buried alive.
After looking at the photo, Subuda sat there blankly for about ten seconds before throwing herself into her mother's arms and bursting into tears. This was a good thing for her, as she had finally accepted the reality that Pavel had passed away.
It took Subuda nearly half an hour to calm down after crying.
"Mom, you made me go abroad because you were worried about my safety, afraid I'd seek revenge on Sasha. Now that he's dead, can I stay?"
"You've spent so much money, and you're just saying you don't want to leave?"
"Immigration only requires residing in the country for three out of the five years it takes."
Wu Yun looked at her daughter with a serious expression and said, "I know what you're thinking. They already have a child. Stop being so wishful."
Subuda feigned ignorance and said, "What are you talking about? I just wanted to spend more time with you."
Wu Yun said defiantly, "Fine, then I'll go to South Korea with you."
"If we go to South Korea, we can't work, and we still have to pay the mortgage. How are we going to get through these next few years?" Subuda gently shook his mother's arm and pleaded, "Mom, please let me stay. If I can get a job at Shopee, maybe I can have a good future."
You have to leave.
"I already told Brother Xiang that it's an equal exchange. As long as he helps me find my dad, I'll follow him from now on. It's not just wishful thinking on my part."
Wu Yun was furious. She grabbed her daughter's arm and said, "Come on, let's go to the cemetery. I'll take you there now to see why Li Xiang is looking for your father."
"What happened to the cemetery?"
"You'll see when you get there!"
Wu Yun brought her daughter to the memorial hall, but the door was still locked.
Once inside, Wuyun pointed to a marble bench on one side and said, "Lift up this stone slab and see what's underneath."
Subuda was too weak to move it, so Wuyun helped her daughter move the stone slab. The hollow space under the bench was filled with US dollars.
"So much money!" Subu exclaimed.
Wu Yun said excitedly, "Li Xiang is looking for your father to hide money here. When I need it, I can come and get it under the pretext of mourning your father, and no one will suspect anything."
"You think he did it for you?"
"If he really brings this up with you... then he's even less worthy of your attention."
Subu was momentarily overwhelmed and asked in a panic, "The ashes we brought back from Latvia, were they really Dad's?"
"It should be, I saw his keys." Wu Yun got angrier and angrier, so she just blurted out what she needed to say, "What kind of good person do you think your dad is?"
"Sasha wasn't lying about one thing: your father does have another family outside."
"Before he smuggled the goods, he sent the mother and child to Germany for refuge, leaving the two of us to be held hostage by loan sharks. If we hadn't been lucky, would you have even gone to South Korea? We were both working as prostitutes in nightclubs."
"We're still looking for his remains..."
"If you hadn't been so nostalgic, I would have flushed his ashes down the toilet."
Driven by her emotions, Wu Yun acted impulsively, but regretted it afterward. She hurriedly told her daughter, "You can't tell anyone about the money, not even Li Xiang. I'm afraid he'll think I'm loose-lipped."
Wu Yun stroked her daughter's hair and said earnestly, "You've seen what Mom is doing with Li Xiang. I really can't rest easy with you staying in Russia. Go back to South Korea as soon as possible."
"Once you get your legal status and Mom has earned enough money, I'll come to find you."
-
Multinational banks of Deutsche Bank's caliber possess vast social resources, and they offer more than just financial services to their private banking clients.
They can do anything as long as it's within the law.
"I'd like to acquire a payment company in the UK, which should be one of your strengths, right? Could you help me make some connections?"
Li Xiang's initial target for acquisition was the Russian e-wallet Yandex.Money, but Yandex officially rejected the offer.
Settle for second best.
SecPay, a long-established UK third-party payment gateway, is seeking a sale.
The asking price is £1200 million.
SecPay has mature technology and a full set of UK FSA compliance qualifications. After connecting the acquiring system to Shopee, it can directly swipe Visa cards, bypassing the Russian Central Bank, and transfer funds to London.
While Visa cards are quite common in Russia, the barriers to obtaining one are still too high for the lower classes, making it far less convenient than e-wallets.
Good things all have one thing in common—they're too expensive!
Choosing SecPay was the result of Li Xiang's careful consideration and decision-making.
Now that he has access to the Kumarin family's slush fund, he naturally looks down on SecPay, and even Yandex.Money.
Pierce asked, "Which payment company are you planning to acquire?"
"Moneybookers"
As soon as Li Xiang finished speaking, Pierce almost spilled his coffee cup.
"This is a big deal!" Pierce, forgetting about his drink, quickly put down his coffee cup, cleared his throat, and asked, "Have you secured the funding?"
Founded in 2001, Moneybookers was designed to compete with PayPal. It benefited from the large market gap left by PayPal's tightening of its gambling business, which allowed Moneybookers to rise rapidly by taking advantage of "relaxed regulations".
Its core advantage is that it holds a payment license covering the entire EU region.
With over five million registered users and coverage in more than 100 countries, it is one of the top three electronic payment service providers in Europe, second only to PayPal in market share.
"I've done a rough calculation, and I think my own funds can cover 50 to 60 million US dollars."
"That's a bit too little. We need to raise at least 80 million, and then use the rest for leveraged financing."
Pierce's eyes were shining. Such large-scale multinational mergers and acquisitions are rare opportunities. As long as he could participate, it would enhance his resume and immediately elevate his career in the industry.
Li Xiang said, "It's not a matter of money now, it's a matter of not having time."
"Middle Eastern private equity firm Investcorp has been in talks with Moneybookers for over a month regarding a full acquisition, and the deal could be finalized at any time."
"Once they sign it, it's over for me."
"Let's split up. I'll figure out the money, and you guys are in charge of the negotiations. Deutsche Bank is a local European bank. You can't compete with Middle Eastern capital in terms of political and business resources. My money is clean, and they can't even explain where their funds came from."