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Hawex: KYC & AML in the Financial Technology Industry

Hawex Group Ltd

Financial services in a non-face-to-face format are actively being integrated into our lives and, like any new phenomenon, are introducing new concepts and terms. The idea that KYC and AML are identical phenomena is a common misconception of the users who encounter the misuse of the terms now and then. Roman Nekrutenko, CEO of the fintech company Hawex, tells us the key points of the KYC and AML procedures in his company. KYC and AML — regulation in the financial market Indeed, KYC and AML are often used together as part of countering criminal financial fraud and inspecting businesses, but these procedures are not interchangeable. The difference between KYC and AML becomes clear if you learn what their abbreviations stand for. In the context of the financial market, the KYC procedure means "Know Your Customer", and the principle of AML (Anti-Money Laundering) is a whole complex of regulatory operations and methods to prevent the laundering of funds obtained illegally. Therefore, conducting KYC in Hawex allows us to say with high probability that we know the real identities of our clients, and compliance with AML in Hawex helps to detect unreliable financial transactions and significantly reduce the likelihood of illegal funds entering the legal economy. Hawex KYC: why is it necessary to "know your customer"? Have you ever taken a selfie and a photo of your identification document when registering on financial services? If the registration was successful, you were identified by the document and verified by the actual selfie, and thus you successfully passed the KYC procedure. This initial verification and proof of identity are necessary for any financial service provider, including Hawex. To reduce the likelihood of situations when third parties seek to use the company's services by appropriating a photo of someone else's identification document, or persons included in criminal lists. In the absence of KYC, a fraudster can access the services of a financial institution under a false name and use them to conduct transactions anonymously. This is at best. At worst, they may be involved in international lists of financial sanctions and use the software of a financial organization for criminal activity. In addition, they can do fraud on behalf of someone else, which will entail a lot of problems for this person, thus you will not have any doubts about the need for KYC in Hawex. Accordingly, KYC refers to AML as a particular to the general: identification and verification of the identity of a potentially new counterparty is only one of the primary stages of the multi-stage AML system. For Hawex, as for any financial service provider, the client or counterparty is deprived of anonymity through KYC. There is also a psychological aspect to the procedure — the desire to remain anonymous is one of the alarming signs about the client's unreliability. After all, in the case of the legality of income and compliance with the law, a person would not want to conceal their identity when contacting Hawex. Hawex AML: Combating Financial Crimes As part of the fight against financial crimes, Hawex fulfills the list of AML requirements, which are imposed on all participants of the financial market, in accordance with the necessary AML laws, recommendations, regulations and guidelines of regulators. Hawex uses internal control systems and customer due diligence to timely detect individuals who have decided to use the company's services for their illegal purposes. Despite the specific meaning of AML as a fight against criminally acquired funds, it has become the norm in the financial market to mean by this abbreviation a whole range of preventive methods to combat various financial crimes, including sanctions evasion and terrorist financing. Any entity which is the subject of AML requirements faces the high cost of their qualitative compliance and the need to systematically modernize their approaches to work. This is natural, because fraudsters are constantly developing their methods of conducting criminal activity in order to circumvent the protection mechanisms. Financial entities need to strictly comply with KYC and AML in order to reduce the likelihood of using criminally acquired funds in the legal economy. That is why only internationally recognized providers are used to implement Hawex AML procedures. It is important that Hawex is attentive not only to technological tools, but also to hiring its specialists in order to competently comply with all AML requirements. Hawex employs AML-certified specialists who are current members of ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists). These employees keep others informed about trends in the financial world and they are aware of all necessary differences in the laws of international jurisdictions. Hawex in a dynamic market I will assume that in the average user’s view, financial entities are rarely associated with crime fighters. At least, their primary goal is to gain competitive advantage in the market and maximize profits for their shareholders. But I want to emphasize that any financial institution must allocate significant resources to meet the requirements of AML, and Hawex strictly complies with it, said Roman Nekrutenko, CEO of the fintech company Hawex. Competent Hawex AML specialists carry out regular training for the company's personnel in order to promptly inform employees about significant changes in legislation, as well as the latest trends, technologies and the internal control system in the field of AML. The training is conducted not only with the staff of employees who directly work in AML, but also with the "first line of defense" — account managers. It is essential because proper awareness at the stage of the first and consecutive interactions should be in place at the stage of checking a potential client. Hawex follows all trends in international legislation and best practices of financial organizations for appropriate compliance with AML procedures. To minimize inconsistencies during work, Hawex, even during AML procedures, refers to The Four Eyes principle, according to which each stage of work should be validated by several employees. Motivating employees to competently comply with Hawex KYC and AML requirements is an important component of the well-coordinated work of the Hawex staff. We develop a culture of compliance with high standards in our activities and in the activities of our employees. Thus, Hawex regularly undergoes an external audit of the internal control system, which is aimed at identifying any inconsistencies, including those on the part of the company's employees. In case of detection of such inconsistencies, Hawex develops a change plan according to the auditors’ conclusion and implements it as soon as possible. Thus, Hawex not only follows all legal requirements, but also strives for the timely integration of the latest technologies in the field of AML/CTF. Hawex's interest, attention and compliance with dynamic transformations in the field of AML is the key to adequate implementation of all stages of the policy and procedures in order to maintain the company's competitiveness in the market and prevent criminal activities that can harm people and businesses. This article was originally published on Benzinga here. Hawex is a BaaS platform for business – online-banking, acquiring, cryptoprocessing and many more Contact Details Hawex Group Ltd Contact info@hawex.io Company Website https://hawex.com

February 27, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

New Real Estate Savings Bonds Offer 7.00% APY

Compound Banc

Investing in real estate has long been recognized as a path to building wealth while generating passive income, but it’s an asset class that’s historically been out of reach for most people because it’s so expensive to buy property. But now, one financial technology (fintech) company is offering real estate bonds that are accessible to everyone. For as little as $10, everyday investors can buy Compound Banc ’s real estate bond and receive a fixed 7.00% annual compound return on their investments — 125% more than the national average savings rate. Compounding is what happens when earnings — either from capital gains or interest — are reinvested to generate additional earnings over time. Using the Compound Banc calculator, you can figure out how much you will earn from your investment over a given period of time. How It Works Compound Banc’s digital app allows investors to purchase real estate bonds, and the company either lends the funds to cash-generating real estate or invests in the properties. The borrowers pay back Compound Banc with interest on the loans. Compound bonds don’t have a maturity date, so investors can keep earning for as long as they want or cash them out at any time with the click of a button. This fintech doesn’t charge fees for maintenance, setup, redemption or advisers, which eliminates many roadblocks to real estate investing. Compound Banc invests in high-value real estate assets consisting of residential, commercial and industrial properties, which results in a diversified portfolio of stable, income-producing properties and real estate-related debt. It uses technology and data science to implement its strategy of acquiring assets for less than what it believes their intrinsic value is. Compound Banc provides fixed contractual returns because you’re investing in bonds, unlike other investments where past performance is not indicative of future success. While you could put your money in a savings account where the average annual APY is 0.33%, you will lose purchasing power each year because the rate won’t keep up with inflation. Buying Compound Banc’s real estate bond will help you grow your money faster. Compound Banc is a next generation financial technology company, not a traditional bank. We strive to unlock financial freedom for all by building a simple financial ecosystem that makes it possible for the everyday consumer to access assets that have historically been reserved for Wall Street, not Main Street. The firm is known for managing real estate bond offerings to non-accredited investors. Compound Real Estate Bonds (CREB) brings private real estate to the everyday investor’s portfolio without the complexity of it. CREB will invest bond proceeds in real estate debts investments and income-generating commercial real estate across key property types on a global basis. The firm is led by a team with decades of expertise in real estate and alternative asset management and indexing. Our professionals work in offices across the globe, united by a single purpose: unlocking access for everyday investors. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Client Relations Team support@compoundbanc.com

February 27, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Foresight’s Technology Recognized as a Significant Breakthrough by Israel’s Ministry of Defense

Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd.

Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq and TASE: FRSX), an innovator in automotive vision systems, announced today that its QuadSight® stereovision solution was recognized as a significant technological breakthrough by Israel’s Ministry of Defense. The QuadSight solution was tested extensively for more than two years in challenging weather and environmental conditions by the Administration for Research and Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure of Israel’s Ministry of Defense. The tests were conducted to search for an alternative sensor to replace active LiDAR sensors. In addition, the performance of Foresight’s high-resolution point cloud was tested against LiDAR on platforms designed for autonomous driving. The Ministry of Defense concluded that Foresight's passive stereo technology exceeded all requirements and declared it to be a significant technological breakthrough for defense applications. Autonomous vehicles require a sensing system that enables accurate perception of the surrounding environment in order to navigate and detect obstacles. Currently, the most commonly used sensors for military vehicles are active LiDAR sensors which constantly broadcast their location and can be easily detected by the enemy. Foresight’s passive, non-emitting stereo capabilities provide unique 3D perception of the environment. These capabilities are vital to the defense industry, as they leave no energy signature discernible to an adversary. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, Foresight is using forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses its belief that its passive, non-emitting stereo capabilities provide unique 3D perception of the environment that are vital to the defense industry, as they leave no energy signature discernible to an adversary. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Foresight’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, performance or achievements of Foresight could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Foresight's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 31, 2022, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, Foresight undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. Foresight is not responsible for the contents of third-party websites. About Foresight Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq and TASE: FRSX) is a technology company developing smart multi-spectral vision software solutions and cellular-based applications. Through the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries, Foresight Automotive Ltd., Foresight Changzhou Automotive Ltd. and Eye-Net Mobile Ltd., Foresight develops both “in-line-of-sight” vision systems and “beyond-line-of-sight” accident-prevention solutions. Foresight’s vision solutions include modules of automatic calibration and dense three-dimensional (3D) point cloud that can be applied to different markets such as automotive, defense, autonomous vehicles and heavy industrial equipment. Eye-Net Mobile’s cellular-based solution suite provides real-time pre-collision alerts to enhance road safety and situational awareness for all road users in the urban mobility environment by incorporating cutting-edge AI technology and advanced analytics. For more information about Foresight and its wholly owned subsidiary, Foresight Automotive, visit www.foresightauto.com, follow @ForesightAuto1 on Twitter, or join Foresight Automotive on LinkedIn. Contact Details Investor Relations Contact: Miri Segal-Scharia, CEO, MS-IR LLC +1 917-607-8654 msegal@ms-ir.com Company Website https://www.foresightauto.com/

February 27, 2023 08:20 AM Eastern Standard Time

News Release

What’s The Buzz? AI Stocks On The Move (AI, EPAZ, STRC, PLTR, NVDA)

RazorPitch EPAZ

As the field of artificial intelligence continues to rapidly evolve and expand, investing in AI companies has become an increasingly attractive opportunity for investors to capitalize on the growing industry. There are two main methods used by businesses to use artificial intelligence. Many large tech companies use AI to make their existing operations more powerful, such as through high-profile applications like robotics, self-driving cars, and virtual assistants. Some companies also profit directly from AI by selling the hardware, software, services, or expertise that the technology needs. According to Grand View Research, the global artificial intelligence market size was valued at USD 136.55 billion in 2022 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030, making these next few years pivotal in the growth of the sector. With the AI market already large and still growing quickly, plenty of companies can profit from AI. Although picking stocks in a growth industry comes with a lot of uncertainty, these AI stocks are all worth considering. One stock investors should take a look at is EPAZ. Epazz Inc. (OTC: EPAZ) is a mission-critical provider of drone technology, blockchain mobile apps, and cloud-based business software solutions. A few weeks ago, EPAZ detailed an update regarding the ZenaDrone lineup. The company announced that the aerial technology used by ZenaDrone 1000 from EPAZ will soon receive an update to its artificial intelligence (AI) predictive automation software. ZenaDrone Inc., a spinoff of Epazz Inc. Holdings, is a manufacturer of multipurpose drones equipped with machine learning systems, multispectral sensors, and AI technology. The data gathered by ZenaDrone's cameras is used to build an interactive 3D environment. According to the update, the ZenaDrone team will employ predictive AI analytics, or "predictive modeling," a type of analysis that employs methods and resources to create predictive models and make predictions of future outcomes based on acquired data. Following the updates, EPAZ announced that the company is submitting over five Phase I proposals to the U.S. government under its SBIR Phase I program. SBIR Phase 1 allows small businesses with innovative products to receive US government contracts within 90 days of submission. If ZenaDrone is awarded a Phase I contract worth up to $75,000 per proposal, EPAZ will then be in a position to submit for Phase 2 contracts, worth up to $1.2 million per contract. ZenaDrone will gain the ability to be listed as the sole source supplier of its technology, which would allow the U.S. government to purchase the ZenaDrone 1000 without a bidding process. CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D., said, "We are working towards our first government contract using multiple avenues, which will hopefully lead to our first set of government customers, and through The SBIR would open us up to the whole federal government for our drone technology." The possibility of higher returns exists for more seasoned investors or those who don't mind taking on risk on the OTC markets. For investors interested in the high tech and AI sectors, EPAZ offers an attractive play, with competitive technology that the company continues to improve and invest in. Another company that is leveraging the use of AI in its products is C3.AI (NYSE: AI), which operates as an enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software company and offers the C3 AI application platform. The C3 application platform is an application development and runtime environment that enables customers to design, develop, and deploy enterprise AI applications. Additionally, it provides integrated turnkey business AI applications for industries including oil and gas, chemicals, utilities, manufacturing, financial services, defense, intelligence, aerospace, healthcare, and telecommunications. The company’s AI solutions are applicable across multiple industries, which gives it an advantage and makes it a promising long-term investment option. On February 21, C3.ai announced that its expanded collaboration with Amazon Web Services is aimed at leveraging the power of AI to help customers in industries such as defense and intelligence tackle their most pressing business challenges. As part of this collaboration, C3.ai will integrate its AI applications, including C3 AI Law Enforcement, with AWS services such as Amazon Comprehend. C3.ai reported impressive financial results in its previous fiscal quarter. The company’s revenue increased 7% year over year, reaching $64.2 million. Subscription sales grew by 26% to $59.5 million in the previous quarter. Keep an eye out, as this AI stock seems to be trending in the right direction. Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation (NASDAQ: STRC, STRCW) designs, develops, and manufactures a broad range of advanced mobile robotic systems that are designed to enable the safest and most productive workforce in the world. Sarcos robotic systems include baseline software enabling basic controls, teleoperation, and semi-autonomous capabilities. Sarcos will provide additional software options, such as supervised autonomy, as an incremental service. Sarcos' supervised autonomy framework uses multi-modal sensor data to optimally perceive, interact with, and conceptualize unstructured environments. The company’s advanced, success-based AI enables human workers' flexibility, creativity, and improvisation skills to deliver improved workflow performance and safer interactions between humans and machines for jobs in unstructured environments. In addition, Sarcos intends to offer its software solutions separately for sale or license. Drew Hamer, CFO of Sarcos, said, “We see strong demand to purchase Sarcos robotic systems." "We expect to sell solutions for specific markets and use cases based on our customers' needs and applications.” STRC recently announced their preliminary fourth quarter 2022 revenue of $6.1 million and full year 2022 revenue of $14.6 million, each at the high end of their guidance range. The market for robotic security is predicted to expand in the coming years and could reach $71.8 billion by 2027. Keep STRC on your watchlist as the sector continues its growth. Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations. Palantir Gotham, a software offered by PLTR, enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, and facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform. It also offers Palantir Foundry, a platform that transforms the ways organizations operate by creating a central operating system for their data and allowing individual users to integrate and analyze the data they need in one place. In addition, the company also has its Palantir Apollo software, which allows customers to deploy their own software in virtually any environment. PLTR rose last week after posting its first profit of 4 cents a share, albeit non-GAAP. The company earned $31 million on a GAAP measure, or a penny a share. PLTR is closer to reporting GAAP profitability this year due to strong cost control, showing a marked improvement in its business fundamentals. Palantir was able to report a positive GAAP net income in the past quarter and is guided to have a profitable year in 2023; previously, it was not expected to reach breakeven until 2025. One of the top companies in the AI sector right now, would be Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Nvidia provides software development tools to build artificial intelligence applications. For its fiscal fourth quarter, NVDA outperformed Wall Street expectations thanks to an 11% increase in data center chip sales to $3.62 billion, driven by cloud service providers' investments in artificial intelligence technology. Nvidia has taken advantage of the AI boom, because its graphics cards are becoming the de facto standard in data centers around the world. The initial stage of machine learning, known as "training," requires an immense amount of computing power; the subsequent stage, known as "inference," requires less. Both phases however; are well supported by graphics processing unit (GPU) chips produced by NVDA, which are typically used for rendering video games. Razorpitch Inc. is a marketing communications and investor relations firm serving private, pre-IPO, and public companies. RazorPitch specializes in corporate, investor, and stakeholder communications, with a primary focus on sponsored media. Our goal is to raise visibility, expand awareness, and increase value. To learn more, visit RazorPitch.com. Disclaimers: This article contains sponsored content. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides investors a safe harbor in regard to forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, assumptions, objectives, goals, assumptions of future events or performance are not statements of historical fact may be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on expectations, estimates, and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward looking statements in this action may be identified through use of words such as projects, foresee, expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, understands, or that by statements, indicating certain actions & quotes; may, could or might occur Understand there is no guarantee past performance is indicative of future results. Investing in micro-cap or growth securities is highly speculative and carries an extremely high degree of risk. It is possible that an investor's investment may be lost or due to the speculative nature of the companies profiled. RazorPitch is responsible for the production and distribution of this content. RazorPitch is not operated by a licensed broker, a dealer, or a registered investment advisor. It should be expressly understood that under no circumstances does any information published herein represent a recommendation to buy or sell a security. RazorPitch authors, contributors, or its agents, may be compensated for preparing research, video graphics, and editorial content. RazorPitch has been compensated by EPAZ to produce and syndicate this content. As part of that content, readers, subscribers, and webs are expected to read the full disclaimers and financial disclosure statement that can be found on our website. Contact Details Mark McKelvie +1 585-301-7700 markrmckelvie@gmail.com Company Website http://razorpitch.com

February 27, 2023 05:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

OnePlus Announces a Technical Partnership with Perfect World Games about Ray Tracing on Mobile

OnePlus

BARCELONA, SPAIN - Media OutReach - 27 February 2023 - Global leading technology company OnePlus today announces a technical partnership with Perfect World Games on ray tracing technology. Both parties work closely to bring the ray tracing technology to Tower of Fantasy in-game play on the OnePlus 11 5G. “We’re extremely thrilled to cooperate with Perfect World Games to showcase this industry-leading technology that shapes the future of mobile gaming experience on the OnePlus 11 5G”, said Kinder Liu, OnePlus COO and Head of R&D. “OnePlus is dedicated to providing the most immersive game experience to our users and today we take this experience to a new level”. “We’re excited to cooperate with OnePlus to apply this advanced technology that previously only be seen on PCs in mobile phone,” said Dan Xu at Perfect World Games. “As a leading game developer, our mission is to bring the best experience to gamers, and ray tracing technology will dramatically transform the in-game experience”. Ray Tracing on Mobile Gaming Ray tracing is a technology that enables dynamic in-game lighting, reflections, cross-physics illuminations and shadows, allowing for extreme environmental realism when gaming. The newly launched OnePlus 11 5G is equipped with Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 mobile platform that supports hardware accelerated ray tracing technology, which provides the opportunity for OnePlus to work with Perfect World Games to fully explore the potential of ray tracing on mobile. Ray Tracing in Open World MMORPG on Mobile Compared to traditional MMORPG games, incorporating ray tracing in open-world games has significant technical challenges, especially on mobile platform. Perfect World Games developed techniques such as a distance-based dynamic object frame-updating mechanism and range-based ray tracing culling based on light source perspective, which enables players to experience real-time stable frames while enjoying ray tracing effects. Additionally, for the open-world scenes in Tower of Fantasy, the ray tracing acceleration structures are further optimized through employing small object culling and view frustum culling based on camera frustum solid angle. By accurately simulating the propagation and interaction of light rays, players can immerse themselves in the Vera desert and experience the more realistic effect of flames from the surroundings and the hot sand underfoot. Normally, open world MMORPG game experience is more immersive than traditional MMORPG game due to more realism detailed objects, and this experience is further elevated by ray tracing technology. Occlusion and shadows in open world scenes are accurately calculated to precisely illuminate and shade the objects of all sizes and scales in Tower of Fantasy. This is totally different with traditional rendering methods which often miss intricate details in scenes, leading to inaccurate or missing occlusion and shadows. For instance, by calculating the occlusion effect of the scene under a uniform intensity of light, ray tracing on Tower of Fantasy enhances and improves the contrast between light and dark in the visuals, achieving more realistic shadows and ultimately adding a stronger sense of spatial depth and realism to the game's environments. The introduction of mobile ray tracing technology also enables more accurate capturing of shadows and occlusion effects of objects in the distance and behind other objects, resulting in better visual performance compared to traditional rendering techniques. Moreover, with mobile ray tracing enabled, the game improves the effect of simulating the absorption of physically accurate light as it passes through and reflects off water surfaces. Difficulty here is that light is comprised of various wavelengths of light waves, and when these light waves enter the water, they are absorbed differently. Ray Tracing on the OnePlus 11 5G The objective for this partnership is to improve the visual and performance experience on mobile device. To improve the graphics quality, engineers from OnePlus and Perfect World Games co-developed the Real-time Inline Ray Tracing Pipeline and a novel Fast Temporal Convergence Algorithm for Ambient Occlusion, specifically tailored to meet the demands of “Tower of Fantasy” by utilizing a forward rendering pipeline. To cope with the demanding graphics computing power brought by ray tracing technology, the Spatiotemporal Oversampling is employed. Thanks to its over-the-top hardware specs including 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, 256GB ROM with UFS 4.0, and the new Cryo-velocity VC Cooling System, the OnePlus 11 5G can support the real-time rendering of mobile ray tracing on the graphics of Tower of Fantasy. From February 27 th to March 2 nd, OnePlus will showcase ray tracing enabled Tower of Fantasy at Hall 3, 3M10 at MWC 2023. About OnePlus OnePlus is a global mobile technology brand challenging conventional concepts of technology. Created around the “Never Settle” mantra, OnePlus creates exquisitely designed devices with premium build quality and high-performance hardware. OnePlus thrives on cultivating strong bonds and growing together with its community of users and fans. For more information, please visit OnePlus.com or follow us on: Instagram - https://instagram.com/oneplus Facebook - https://facebook.com/oneplus Twitter - https://twitter.com/oneplus LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oneplus Contact Details OnePlus Malcolm Cheng malcolm.cheng@oneplus.com

February 27, 2023 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Borealis Foods Inc. to Go Public Through Business Combination with Oxus Acquisition Corp., Advancing the Mission to Develop Global Food Solutions

Borealis Food Inc

~Borealis Foods Inc. is a food technology company with a mission to address global food security challenges by developing highly nutritious and functional food products that are both affordable and sustainable. The company's focus on affordability and sustainability reflects its commitment to making a positive impact on both human life and the planet. With its unique approach, Borealis has a significant opportunity to create a meaningful and profound impact on the world. ~ ~Palmetto Gourmet Foods, Inc., a wholly owned US subsidiary of Borealis, is a world class food grade manufacturing facility with an annual capacity to produce 600 million highly nutritious, ready-to-eat ramen meals, sold in the US, Canada and soon Europe~ ~ Borealis’ Leadership will continue to lead the Newly Combined Company with Reza Soltanzadeh, MD as CEO and Barthelemy Helg as Chairman ~ ~ The Transaction values Borealis at an equity value of $150 million ~ ~ Transaction expected to close during the third quarter of 2023 ~ Borealis Foods Inc., an innovative food technology company (“Borealis”), and Oxus Acquisition Corp. (“Oxus”) (Nasdaq: OXUSU, OXUS, OXUSW), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced the signing of a definitive business combination agreement on February 23, 2023, that is expected to result in a newly-combined company (the “Company”) under the name Borealis Foods Inc. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, the Company will continue to be led by Borealis’ CEO and Co-Founder Reza Soltanzadeh, and Chairman and Co-Founder Barthelemy Helg. The boards of directors of Borealis and Oxus have each unanimously approved the proposed transaction. Borealis is a food technology company that has developed a high quality, affordable, sustainable and highly nutritious range of plant-based, ready-to-eat meals, which are sold in the US, Canada, and are expected to be soon sold in Europe. Borealis Foods has developed and launched the world’s first mass-produced plant-based ramen meal with 20 grams of complete protein per serving. This achievement in the plant-based protein industry underscores Borealis' commitment to developing cutting-edge solutions to tackle global food challenges. Through continuous research and development, and partnerships with other advanced food-tech companies, Borealis has created ramen meals that are organic, vegan, vegetarian, Halal, Kosher, plant-based, egg and dairy free, non-GMO, MSG free, and TBHQ free, and are manufactured with recyclable packaging. The ramen category represents an estimated $40 billion market and plays an essential role in feeding billions of people worldwide. Reza Soltanzadeh, CEO of Borealis, shared “We are thrilled about the next stage of Borealis and our alignment with Oxus on our shared vision of making healthy and sustainable food accessible to all. By closing a business combination with Oxus, we can fully realize our mission of developing food technology solutions to address global food challenges. This new company represents a significant step forward for us.” Kanat Mynzhanov, CEO of Oxus, said "We, at Oxus Acquisition Corp., have been looking for companies and technologies that have a positive, sustainable, environmental impact on a global basis. Our team has been working hard to find an optimal partner to join us in this quest; we have evaluated many potential candidates and we believe that we have found an excellent partner in Borealis, as a leading platform in food tech, and Palmetto as their first successful application of such innovation on a commercial scale. We believe Borealis is uniquely positioned to revolutionize the global basic food industry.” Oxus raised approximately $172,500,000 million in gross proceeds in its initial public offering, including the proceeds of the exercise of the over-allotment option. It was listed on the NASDAQ on September 21, 2021, to identify and consummate an initial business combination with a target that can benefit from the investment, operating, and innovating experience of Oxus’s management team and sponsor. Transaction Summary Under the proposed transaction terms, Borealis will combine with Oxus and become a publicly traded entity under its existing name. The transaction values Borealis at $150 million equity value. Oxus Capital PTE. Ltd., the sponsor of Oxus, invested $20 million into Borealis as a convertible note in December 2022. In addition, an additional $20 million convertible note from a third-party investor which is expected to fund in April 2023 has been secured. The Company’s board is expected to be comprised of seven directors, five of whom will be independent, consistent with the applicable NASDAQ listing rules. The proposed transaction will require approval of the shareholders of Oxus and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Advisors Oxus: Torys LLP (Canada), Travers Thorp Alberga (Cayman Islands), and Greenberg Traurig, LLP are acting as legal counsel to Oxus (US). EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. is serving as financial advisor and Scalar LLC provided a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Oxus. Borealis: Nixon Peabody LLP (US) and Bennett Jones LLP (Canada) are acting as legal counsel to Borealis. Additional Information and Where to Find It This communication relates to the proposed transaction but does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed transaction and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the proposed transaction. Oxus intends to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 relating to the proposed transaction that will include a proxy statement of Oxus and a prospectus of Oxus. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials will be sent to all Oxus shareholders as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed transaction. Oxus also will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting decision, investors and securities holders of Oxus are urged to read the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about Oxus, Borealis and the proposed transaction. Investors and securities holders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by Oxus through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, the documents filed by Oxus may be obtained free of charge from Oxus’s website at https://www.oxusacquisition.com/or by written request to Oxus at Oxus Acquisition Corp., 300/26 Dostyk Avenue, Almaty, Kazakhstan 050020. Participants in Solicitation Oxus and Borealis and their respective directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Oxus’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about Oxus’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Oxus’s securities is set forth in Oxus’s filings with the SEC, including Oxus’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022. To the extent that such persons’ holdings of Oxus’s securities have changed since the amounts disclosed in Oxus’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the names and interests in the proposed transaction of Oxus’s and Borealis’ respective directors and officers and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the proposed transaction between Borealis and Oxus, including statements regarding the benefits of the proposed transaction, the anticipated timing of the completion of the proposed transaction, the products offered by Borealis and the markets in which it operates, the expected total addressable market for the products offered by Borealis, the sufficiency of the net proceeds of the proposed transaction to fund Borealis’ operations and business plan and Borealis’ projected future results. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to material risks and uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Borealis. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including, but not limited to: (i) the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all; (ii) the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed by Oxus’s business combination deadline and the potential failure to obtain an extension of the business combination deadline sought by Oxus; (iii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction, including the adoption of the business combination agreement by the shareholders of Oxus and Borealis, the satisfaction of the minimum trust account amount following redemptions by Oxus’s public shareholders and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals, among other closing conditions; (iv) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the business combination agreement; (vi) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on Borealis’ business relationships, performance, and business generally; (vii) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Borealis; (viii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Borealis, Oxus or others related to the business combination agreement or the proposed transaction; (ix) the ability to meet NASDAQ listing standards at or following the consummation of the proposed transaction; (x) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, which may be affected by a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which Borealis operates, variations in performance across competitors and partners, changes in laws and regulations affecting Borealis’ business, the ability of Borealis and the post-combination company to retain its management and key employees and general economic and financial market trends, disruptions and risks; (xi) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed transaction; (xii) the risk that Borealis will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; (xiii) the risk that the post-combination company experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; (xiv) the risk of product liability or regulatory lawsuits or proceedings relating to Borealis’ business; (xv) the risk that Borealis is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; (xvi) the effects of COVID-19 or other public health crises on Borealis’ business and results of operations and the global economy and geopolitical climate generally; and (xvii) costs related to the proposed transaction. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of Oxus’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, the registration statement on Form S-4 and proxy statement/prospectus discussed above and other documents filed by Oxus from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially adversely from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Borealis and Oxus assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither Borealis nor Oxus gives or can give any assurance that either Borealis or Oxus will achieve its expectations. No Offer or Solicitation This communication is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed transaction and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of Oxus or Borealis, nor shall there be any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, or exemptions therefrom. Contact Details Oxus Acquisition Corp. media@oxusacquisition.com VYOO Henry Wong henry@vyoobrand.com Company Website https://borealisfoods.ca/

February 24, 2023 05:23 PM Eastern Standard Time

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