Chapter One
Strategic Positioning
This is Yidian Lingxi's flagship expansion project, not a "client engagement" — it is our main battlefield. We will hold the AIFC Financial Services Provider (FSP) licence in Astana and operate an integrated platform covering local payment, cross-border payment, and value-added financial services.
Relationship with the Middle East Project (Twin-Engine Strategy)
Middle East Project · Dubai Office
| Model | Light-touch office + brand presence |
| Entity | Beijing HQ + Dubai signage |
| Licensing | Partner licences + HK MSO relay |
| Timeline | 3 months to first live deal |
| Capex | Low (rent + signage) |
| Revenue | Service fees + channel spread |
| Positioning | Cash-flow business |
Kazakhstan Project · This Plan
| Model | Capital-heavy JV + own licence |
| Entity | Yidian Lingxi + Kazakh JV partner |
| Licensing | AIFC FSP licence held in-house |
| Timeline | 36-month three-phase build-out |
| Capex | High (paid-in capital + data centre + team) |
| Revenue | Fees + cross-border margin + value-added finance |
| Positioning | Main battlefield · IPO cornerstone |
Payment gross margin sits at 0.3–2 %; financial services gross margin runs 20–40 % — this is the core asset behind IPO valuation.
Chapter Two
Market Opportunity · Why Kazakhstan
Macro Fundamentals
Economy
#1 in Central Asia
Largest Central Asian economy and regional hub
Internet Coverage
92 %
Mature digital infrastructure
Cash Payment Share
86 %
Enormous headroom for digital substitution
Financial Centre · AIFC
Sandbox + FSP
Low licensing threshold, regulator-friendly environment
Policy Tailwinds & Competitive Gaps
| Dimension | Status Quo | Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Policy stance | Elimination of excessive bank fees + build-out of the Instant Payment System (IPS) | Government actively opening the door |
| Financial centre | Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) + FinTech sandbox | Low FSP entry barrier |
| Incumbent PSPs | High fee levels | Low-cost entry play |
| Cross-border capability | Weak | Yidian Lingxi's technical edge |
| SME servicing | Underserved | Must-have market |
Conclusion: Yidian Lingxi's bundled proposition — low cost, high efficiency, local acquiring, cross-border rails — is a genuine must-have, and the market gap is unmistakable.
Chapter Three
Party Roles & the Joint Venture
China Party · Beijing Tiankun Shengda Technology Co., Ltd.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Positioning | Technology provider + product owner + strategic partner |
| Core assets | 10 years of payment industry experience; senior team drawn from China's No. 5 payment institution; 40,000+ active merchants; hands-on delivery of the Tianjin Port online payment build-out |
| Deliverables | Full payment system + product blueprint + risk-control models + technical documentation + operations standards + playbooks |
| Support obligations | 7×24 technical support; major-incident diagnostics; access to global payment corridors, UnionPay, and international card schemes (VISA / MasterCard) |
Kazakh Party · Local Partner
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Positioning | Project sponsor + local resource holder |
| Core assets | Government relations, regulatory access, domestic network, on-the-ground handling of tax, customs and labour matters |
| Support obligations | Assume local compliance, tax, customs and labour-law liability; deliver project investment, capital planning and government-side resources |
The Joint Venture · Project Company (AIFC-Registered)
| Function | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Licence holder + market-facing entity, incorporated at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) |
| Licensing agenda | FSP payment licence + subsequent cross-border FX licence + micro-lending licence |
| Operating scope | Platform operations; interface with government, regulators, local banks and merchants; policy advocacy |
| Infrastructure | Local premises, hardware, in-country data centre, dedicated network lines |
| Market build-out | Merchant acquisition, user operations, field service, local customer support, localised management |
| Project execution | Primary owner of the phased roadmap delivery |
Governance Structure
Joint Working Group
- Formation deadline: within 15 business days after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
- Staffing: each side appoints a dedicated coordinator plus 3–5 core members
- Cadence: weekly working sessions
- Remit: licensing, system integration, product go-live, premises fit-out, staff training, market research, commercial negotiation, drafting of definitive agreements, roadmap execution, and issue resolution
Decision-Making Mechanism
| Level | Mechanism |
|---|---|
| Strategic | Board of Directors (constituted after JV registration) |
| Executive | Weekly meetings of the Joint Working Group |
| Urgent matters | Either side may issue a written notice; the recipient responds within 30 calendar days |
Chapter Four
Product Suite & Licensing Strategy
Four Product Pillars
L4
Value-Added Financial Services
Merchant credit lending · consumer instalments · money-market fund wealth products · insurance distribution · supply-chain finance · open API platform + SaaS · multilingual AI customer service (Ecosystem phase · core to IPO valuation)
L3
Cross-Border Payment Products
Global collections · virtual credit cards (VCC) · cross-border remittance · cross-border e-commerce payments · FX conversion · international card scheme channels (VISA / MasterCard) + UnionPay (China) + leading offshore e-commerce marketplaces
L2
Advanced Payment Capabilities
365-day T+0 real-time settlement · multi-tier B2B real-time split payments (up to 20 parties + reverse refund recovery) · authorised direct debit · one-tap card binding · unified reconciliation
L1
Core Payment Products
E-wallet (top-up / transfer / balance management) · active and passive QR-code payments · H5 online checkout · bank-card acquiring · account-to-account transfers
Industry Solutions
We will tailor integrated payment solutions for the following verticals:
- Public utility bill payments
- Logistics and transportation
- Insurance · retail e-commerce
- B2B group procurement
- Local lifestyle services
Licensing Strategy · The AIFC Route
Primary path: the FSP payment licence at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) — a comparatively low threshold (versus Hong Kong MSO / Singapore MAS PI), with sandbox support from the AIFC FinTech Lab.
Licence Expansion Path
| Phase | Licence | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | FSP payment licence | Launch core payment services |
| Growth | Cross-border FX licence + PCI DSS international security certification | Cross-border payment compliance |
| Ecosystem | Micro-lending licence | Merchant credit + consumer instalments |
| Fallback | Hong Kong MSO (Money Service Operator) / Singapore PSA | Partnering with HK / SG-licensed institutions for corridor access |
Compliance Matrix
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) filing and ongoing programme management
- Anti-bribery, FX controls, data security, privacy protection
- Payment supervision + consumer protection
- Adherence to three legal frameworks: Republic of Kazakhstan + People's Republic of China + AIFC
Chapter Five
36-Month Three-Phase Roadmap
Phase I
MVP Validation
Months 0 – 6
MVP Validation
Months 0 – 6
Core Milestones
- Sign MOU + stand up the Joint Working Group (7 business days)
- Incorporate the JV (AIFC · 15 business days) + inject registered capital
- Pre-file the FSP payment licence application (30 business days) → licence issuance
- Local brand positioning + logo + segment targeting
- Banking partnership talks (at least two of Halyk Bank / Eurasian Bank / peers)
- Execute the legally binding definitive agreement
- Assemble the core team: CEO / CTO / Head of Compliance / Head of Commercial
- Premises: Astana (HQ) + Almaty (operations centre) + Beijing / Shanghai (development team)
- Technical architecture design + build the development environment (CI/CD + K8s + databases)
Phase II
Business Growth
Months 6 – 18
Business Growth
Months 6 – 18
Commercial Acceleration & Compliance Uplift
- Deploy the core payment stack (China-side led · 8 weeks): unified accounts + clearing & settlement + operations management + business support + cross-border payment (baseline) + risk management
- Payment rail build-out: onboard 90 % of Kazakhstan's major banks; upgrade to 365-day T+0 real-time settlement + multi-tier smart split; roll out AI-driven risk control + AML; complete PCI DSS certification
- Rapid customer acquisition: 90,000+ registered users; cross-border remittance + cross-border e-commerce payments + utility bill payments + real-time inter-account transfers
- Cross-border stack upgrade: strengthen AML and telecom-fraud defences; onboard HK / SG payment institution partnerships or file for Hong Kong MSO / Singapore PSA
Phase III
Ecosystem Build
Months 18 – 36
Ecosystem Build
Months 18 – 36
Value-Added Finance Break-Out
- Complete vertical solution suites (China-side led · 8 weeks): supply chain, group procurement, retail, logistics, insurance, cross-border
- Apply for the micro-lending licence: launch merchant credit + consumer instalments + wealth management + insurance distribution
- Scale-out: 500,000+ registered users; open API platform + SaaS services + multilingual AI customer service
- Continued cross-border stack hardening: enhanced AML and telecom-fraud defences; HK / SG institutional partnerships or MSO / PSA licence filings
Thirty-six months, MVP to ecosystem. Three phases, one Yidian Lingxi · Central Asia story.
Chapter Six
Technical Architecture & Business Model
Technical Architecture (Contributed by Yidian Lingxi)
L1
User Touchpoint Layer
E-wallet · H5 · SaaS merchant back-office · Mobile app
L2
Business Service Layer
Payment · settlement · split payments · direct debit · risk control · merchant management
L3
Financial Rail Layer
Local banks · UnionPay · VISA · MasterCard · SWIFT
L4
Infrastructure Layer
Data centre · Kubernetes · CI/CD · PostgreSQL · Redis
Deployment & Disaster Recovery
Deployment
Two-Site, Three-Centre
Kazakhstan-local deployment with off-site data replication in real time
SLA
≥ 99.95 %
Peak transaction throughput sized to market demand
Anti-Fraud
Millisecond
AI-driven risk control: device fingerprinting + biometrics + behavioural analytics + machine learning
Certification
PCI DSS
SSL/TLS encryption + DDoS protection + firewalls + intrusion detection
Business Model · Revenue Streams
| Revenue Type | Phase | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Payment transaction fees | All phases | Baseline revenue |
| Cross-border service fees | Mid-MVP onwards | Premium corridors |
| Value-added service fees | Growth phase onwards | SaaS, open API |
| Lending interest | Ecosystem phase | Merchant loans, consumer instalments |
| Wealth management fees | Ecosystem phase | Money-market funds |
| Insurance commissions | Ecosystem phase | Insurance distribution |
| Platform revenue share | Ecosystem phase | Ecosystem income |
Allocation rules: to be documented in a dedicated agreement — fee tariffs, cost sharing, profit distribution, settlement cycles and revenue-sharing ratios. Project investment, cost, tax and FX settlement will follow Kazakhstan's local regulations plus mutually agreed terms.
Chapter Seven
Compliance, Risk & Action Plan
Intellectual Property Ownership
| Asset | Pre-Delivery | Post-Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Payment system, technical architecture, source code, algorithms, risk-control models, technical documentation | Owned by Yidian Lingxi | Wholly owned by the JV |
| Kazakhstan local payment brand, trademarks, visual identity, merchant network, local operating materials | — | Owned by the JV |
| New technical outputs arising from local customisation | — | Subject to a separate written agreement between the parties |
Confidentiality & Legal Framework
| Clause | Agreement |
|---|---|
| Confidentiality period | Survives termination of the MOU for five (5) years |
| Scope of confidentiality | Technical, commercial, customer, financial, proposal, negotiation and undisclosed planning information |
| Public disclosure | Any public statement by either party requires the other party's prior written consent |
| MOU term | 24 months (extendable by written agreement) |
| Governing law | AIFC (Astana International Financial Centre) law |
| Dispute resolution | Amicable consultation → AIFC International Arbitration Centre · Astana · bilingual (Chinese / English) |
Key Risks & Mitigants
| Category | Specific Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | FSP licence application rejected | Pre-engage the AIFC sandbox; leverage Kazakh partner's government access; fallback to Hong Kong MSO / Singapore PSA |
| Country | Shifts in government relations or policy | Kazakh partner owns the government relationship; phased approach caps single-step exposure |
| Technology | Local-customisation delivery slippage | Yidian Lingxi's ten-year track record plus the Tianjin Port reference; two-site three-centre redundancy |
| Market | User acquisition falls short of plan | Differentiated pricing + government / SOE / bank endorsement partnerships |
| IP | Source-code leakage | Yidian Lingxi retains IP pre-delivery; 5-year confidentiality; contractual controls on employees and contractors |
| FX | Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT) volatility, cross-border capital controls | Cross-border FX licence + multi-currency accounts; short-term reliance on HK / SG payment institutions as relay |
| Geopolitical | Central Asia dynamics / China–Russia–Kazakhstan relations | AIFC's neutral financial-centre status; international arbitration safety net |
Sister-Project Synergies
Position Within Yidian Lingxi's Business Matrix
- Tech reuse: the Middle East signage line's corridor capabilities feed the Kazakhstan cross-border payment module
- Licence complementarity: Hong Kong MSO / Singapore PSA serve as fallback corridors for the Kazakhstan cross-border module
- Market synergy: Chinese traders in the Middle East and Central Asian energy players offer cross-selling opportunities
- IPO angle: the JV's payment revenue plus value-added financial revenue are compliant, IPO-ready income streams
Action Checklist
| Priority | Item | Owner | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 | Complete all representative signatures on the MOU | China party · Yidian Lingxi + Kazakh party | 7 business days |
| P0 | Confirm the Kazakh local partner entity (currently blank in the MOU) | China party · Yidian Lingxi | Within 3 days |
| P0 | Fix JV registered capital and shareholding ratio | Both parties | Within 15 days |
| P1 | Stand up the Joint Working Group + name coordinators | Both parties | 15 business days |
| P1 | Compile the FSP payment licence application package | Kazakh party lead, Yidian Lingxi support | 30 business days |
| P1 | Draft the definitive JV agreement (dedicated agreement) | Both parties + counsel | 45 business days |
| P2 | Sign banking-partnership letters of intent (Halyk Bank / Eurasian Bank / others · ≥ 2) | Kazakh party lead | 60 business days |
| P2 | Design the local brand name and logo | Both parties | 30 business days |
| P2 | Deliver technical architecture design document | Yidian Lingxi | 45 business days |
| P3 | Lease premises: Astana (HQ) + Almaty (operations centre) | Kazakh party | Within 90 days |
| P3 | Assemble the core team (CEO / CTO / Head of Compliance / Head of Commercial) | Both parties | Within 90 days |
Open Items
| No. | Question | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Who is the Kazakh local partner? | Blank in the MOU; must be identified |
| Q2 | JV shareholding ratio? | Drives future dividends and control |
| Q3 | Size of registered capital? | Determines the FSP licence's paid-in capital threshold |
| Q4 | Form of China-party investment? | Cash vs. contributed technology vs. blended |
| Q5 | Layer in Middle East project resources? | In discussions, Mr. Lin noted: "if we want to push it, we can put some resource capital in too" |