Young dreams from the south build in Auckland
Liu Yueting was born in 1991 in northern China and spent most of her childhood wandering in Shanghai. She attended a bilingual elementary school, and at that time, her father was a stock trader, so the family atmosphere had a touch of finance. Her parents saw overseas opportunities and in 2003, the whole family packed up to immigrate to New Zealand when she was just 12 years old, landing directly in Auckland.
A little girl jumped from a Shanghai alley to a South Pacific island. The cultural shock must be significant, but she adapted quickly and enrolled in the local St. Cuthbert's College. This school is a girls' school with a high quality of education, where she laid her English foundation and learned a bit about the local lifestyle.
Don't think that immigration means everything goes smoothly. New Zealand has good educational resources, but Chinese children always have to work twice as hard to keep up. Liu Yueting doesn't have any special aura; she relies on her own resilience to push forward step by step.
After graduating from high school, she didn't rush to spend her days in New Zealand but packed her bags for the University of Melbourne in Australia, majoring in finance. This choice was quite astute, as Melbourne has a strong financial atmosphere, and the university's courses are rigorous. She tackled a lot of professional literature there, learning how to analyze the market and how to use data to communicate.
When she graduated, around 2012, she first returned to China and joined China International Capital Corporation as a financial analyst. Those days allowed her to understand the ins and outs of international capital, handling reports and monitoring data, becoming well-acquainted with the complexities of cross-border transactions. Not long after, she switched to an investment company in Hong Kong, continuing to delve deeper into this field.
In Hong Kong, where the pace is fast, new deals emerge every day along Victoria Harbour. She honed her ability to spot opportunities and acted decisively. These experiences may sound ordinary, but for someone from the second generation of immigrants, they represent substantial accumulation.
Melbourne constructs a foundation for the cloud exchange.
In 2015, Liu Yueting formed a team in Melbourne and founded Airwallex, a company specializing in cross-border payments, targeting the pain points of global settlements for small and medium-sized enterprises. Co-founders include Jack Zhang as CEO and several partners with technical backgrounds, all in agreement because they recognized this market opportunity. At its inception, Airwallex didn't have any flashy features; it focused on core technology, optimizing clearing paths using algorithms and AI to make transactions quicker and cheaper.
In the early years after its founding, the road to financing was bumpy, with investors often feeling that the technology was too complex and intangible. However, Liu Yueting, responsible for compliance and licensing, gritted her teeth and held on, helping the company secure an Australian financial services license. Around 2017, they simultaneously advanced qualifications in Hong Kong and Singapore, a steady move that opened up the Asia-Pacific market.
The company's growth is as rapid as a rocket. Starting in 2018, Airwallex began expanding into Europe and the Americas, tackling challenges like the UK's SWIFT integration and the US's FATF anti-money laundering mechanisms. Liu Yueting's team tackled these tough issues one by one. Don't underestimate the process of applying for licenses; it requires understanding the regulations of various countries, with mountains of paperwork that they must revise repeatedly to ensure compliance without leaving gaps.
By 2020, the pandemic was causing chaos worldwide, but cross-border e-commerce was booming. Airwallex's business happened to catch this wave, with clients ranging from Shopify to Shein, and then to Qantas and Canva, signing significant contracts one after another, leading to a sharp increase in annual transaction volume.
In 2022, the valuation exceeded 5.6 billion USD, at which point the company was already serving hundreds of enterprises across over 100 countries and regions. Financing also went smoothly, with big players like Tencent and Sequoia investing, and a Series F investment of 300 million USD received, pushing the valuation to 6.2 billion USD by August 2024.
Airwallex's strength lies in its practical approach to solving problems. Traditional banks have cumbersome procedures and high fees, while they integrate into enterprise systems like building blocks, creating their own backend clearing paths, resulting in low exchange rate losses and a settlement arrival rate of up to 90% on the same day.
Liu Yueting manages globalization, flying back and forth to negotiate licenses, securing approvals from the Brazilian central bank, overseeing the acquisition of MexPago in Mexico, and applying for Middle Eastern operations. These actions transformed the company from a small player in the Asia-Pacific to a global contender. There are definitely challenges, with fierce competition and strict regulations, and female entrepreneurs also need to manage family responsibilities, but she always emphasizes that team support is key.
They laid out their strategy in AI early on, with generative tools reducing account opening misjudgments by 50% and increasing online efficiency by 40%. These technologies are not gimmicks; they genuinely help businesses save time and money. China's technological foundation is manifesting here, with high execution capability and multi-variable balance allowing Airwallex to establish itself in the conservative financial sector.
Cloud exchange soars with the Chinese chapter.
In June 2024, when the National Business Review (NBR) wealthy list of New Zealand was released, Liu Yueting topped the list of female billionaires with a net worth of 700 million NZD, ranking 30th overall. This marks the first time a Chinese woman has achieved such a position. Once the media highlighted her name, it gained popularity, with her net worth converting to over 3 billion RMB, which would also cause a stir domestically.
Airwallex's valuation of 6.2 billion is its confidence; she holds 6% to 8% of the shares, and her wealth is substantial. This title didn't just fall from the sky; it's the result of ten years of hard work. Liu Yueting is low-key, not appearing on reality shows or sharing motivational speeches, but during a meeting, she mentioned that they built a system to make it affordable and convenient for global clients. This statement sounds simple but reveals the essence: financial technology must serve the real economy and help small and medium-sized enterprises expand overseas without obstacles.
Her success serves as encouragement for Chinese immigrants. There are many Chinese people in New Zealand, but few appear on the wealth rankings. Liu Yueting's breakthrough raises a flag for future generations. From immigrating at 12 to becoming a female billionaire, the journey involved financial education and entrepreneurial practice, with her Chinese background playing a significant role.
The persistence from her father's generation has been passed down; she applies it to licensing and risk control, helping the company avoid pitfalls. The company's client base has expanded to hundreds of thousands, with daily transactions exceeding 10 billion, making it a significant player in the global payment circle. In the first half of 2025, Airwallex will continue to promote AI tools, making account opening faster and fraud detection more accurate, with operations in the Brazilian Latin American market underway and applications in the Middle East in process. These developments will facilitate smoother globalization for enterprises.
Liu Yueting's story is profound; it's not just about having more money but also serves as a sample of how Chinese people are expanding globally. Overseas finance is conservative, but they use technology to pry open doors, making Western capital take notice. Chinese people are often said to be low-key and reserved, but within this restraint lies execution ability, as exemplified by Airwallex. Female entrepreneurship is challenging; she balances her family business relying on a support system, which resonates with many sisters.
The NBR list has refreshed New Zealand's wealth map, and the voice of the Chinese community has become louder, which is favorable for the community. Looking ahead, Airwallex's valuation may surpass 10 billion, and Liu Yueting will continue to promote globalization, providing more avenues for Chinese enterprises to expand overseas. Ultimately, success has no shortcuts; it requires practical learning and step-by-step progress as she does. This is not only a personal legend but also a reflection of the collective wisdom of Chinese people, illustrating the Chinese curve on the international stage.$S