Working capital technology provider Taulia is expanding its footprint in Asia, appointing a new country head for China and establishing a presence in both China and Singapore.

Taulia has appointed Haiyan Zhuang to set up and strengthen its move into China. Zhuang, who is based in Shanghai, joins from technology-as-a-service firm OneConnect Smart Technology, where he held the position of head of supply chain fintech.

He has previously held senior positions at Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Bank of China, including five years as vice-president and senior sales manager for trade finance and cash management at Deutsche Bank’s Shanghai office.

San Francisco-headquartered Taulia says China and Singapore are “markets of strategic importance” to its client base. Its network already has around 280,000 suppliers across 35 countries in the Asia Pacific region, it says.

The expansion follows a major funding round completed in July last year, which raised US$60mn from Ping An Insurance Company, JP Morgan and Saudi Aramco.

It also builds on the appointment of Steve Scott as head of Asia Pacific in April 2020 – described at the time as a pivotal moment for the company’s offering in the region.

Cedric Bru, chief executive of Taulia, says the region is “buzzing with the extraordinary growth of homegrown companies who are looking for greater scale and an increased role on the global stage”.

He says the company plans to continue its expansion across Asia, adding: “Our existing client base is increasingly investing in the region and will value the support and expertise we can provide to their operations. We are looking forward to enabling all businesses in the region to thrive through better working capital management.”

The announcement comes as Taulia looks to add inventory management and financing solutions to its traditional receivables and payables finance offering.

Bru told GTR ahead of the launch in April that an estimated US$44tn is “locked in supply chains” at any given moment. By purchasing inventory from a supplier and holding it, before invoicing the buyer after delivery, Taulia says it can unlock that working capital.

Taulia has also made several senior hires in recent months, appointing former HSBC trade head Alexander Mutter and New York-based director Andy Lee.