Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative investment manager, announced today the launch of Ares European Strategic Income Fund (“AESIF”), a new open-ended direct lending fund that will provide individual investors in Europe and Asia with access to Ares’ European direct lending strategy.

Ares launched its European direct lending strategy in 2007 gaining a first mover advantage in a nascent market. Since this time, the European direct lending strategy has deployed more than €56 billion ($61 billion) in capital, cementing a longstanding and cycle-tested track record. Today, Ares represents the largest direct lending solutions provider to the European market with over €55 billion ($60 billion) of assets under management dedicated to the strategy and more than 85 investment professionals across six originating offices in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Madrid, as of June 30, 2023.

AESIF will be the latest addition to the Ares Wealth Management Solutions (“AWMS”) platform and will be its first offering in the Europe and Asia regions. Leveraging the strength and scale of Ares’ leading global private credit platform and its extensive experience in Europe, AESIF has been designed to deliver a highly diversified portfolio comprised predominantly of directly originated, senior secured floating rate loans to performing businesses in Western Europe. AESIF is intended to offer investors a core income-solution with meaningful downside protection and stable yields in a format that features lower investment minimums relative to traditional alternative investment products.

“The expansion of our wealth product offering reflects Ares’ ongoing commitment to delivering enhanced investment solutions and client services to our rapidly growing base of global individual investors,” said Raj Dhanda, Partner and Global Head of Wealth Management. “With products spanning the real estate, private credit and private equity secondaries asset classes, we look forward to continuing to develop new offerings and remain committed to bringing Ares’ institutional quality private investment solutions to the wealth channel globally.”

“As a pioneer in European direct lending with more than 15 years of experience investing on behalf of institutional investors, we are excited to bring the power of Ares’ origination and execution capabilities to individual investors,” said Blair Jacobson, Partner and Co-Head of European Credit. “We believe that the current market opportunity is one of the most exciting we have seen in years and that our leadership position as a well-capitalized, global platform provides us with competitive advantages in sourcing and managing investments in order to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns on behalf of our investors.”

“This is an exciting step in providing global access to Ares’ market leading investment strategies,” said Mark Serocold, Partner and Head of Wealth Management Solutions EMEA. “We are pleased to launch AESIF, which builds on the strength of our European direct lending strategy and to create broader access to our established product suite for individual investors in Europe and Asia.”

Since the launch of AWMS in 2021, Ares has remained focused on scaling its wealth platform to deliver private market access and education to financial advisors and their clients. With a growing team of over 130 professionals located in offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, AWMS represents one of the most resourced wealth distribution and client service platforms in the alternatives industry today.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of June 30, 2023, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had approximately $378 billion of assets under management, with over 2,600 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

Ares Wealth Management Solutions

As a global brand of Ares Management Corporation, Ares Wealth Management Solutions oversees the product development, distribution, marketing and client management activities of investment offerings for the global wealth management channel. AWMS’ mission is to provide advisors and their clients access to innovative, solutions-oriented investment opportunities across Ares’ platform of industry leading primary and secondary strategies across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. Through its range of institutional and retail structures, coupled with excellent client service and educational resources, AWMS helps investors diversify their portfolios with private market solutions that seek to deliver consistent, long-term growth. For more information, please visit www.areswms.com.

The first European Grand Tour for SERES, a leading power in China’s intelligent electric vehicle industry, has successfully wrapped up. Covering over 10,000 kilometers and 21 countries in a span of 23 days, the tour served as a comprehensive test for the company’s new energy strategy model, the SERES 5, evaluating its power, performance, safety, range, charging capabilities, driving control, and intelligence.

With the goal of rigorously testing the car's capabilities and providing authentic user experiences, the SERES 5 embarked on its European Grand Tour from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Enduring diverse climates, with temperature variations of up to 25 degrees Celsius, and traversing nearly ten different road conditions, the tour passed through Norway, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and 16 other European countries, before returning to the Netherlands.

Throughout the journey, the SERES 5 Grand Tour fleet garnered significant attention from European consumers, with many expressing strong interest in the vehicle's performance. Local media in countries such as France, Italy, and Germany also conducted test drives, experiencing the unique smart driving features of Chinese new energy vehicles.

The quality performance of the SERES 5 during its European Grand Tour exceeded expectations. It demonstrated remarkable endurance, traveling over 10,000 kilometers through challenging terrains like mud, snow, urban areas, and unrestricted highways. The vehicle's charging adaptability was also commendable, successfully utilizing 95% of Europe's charging facilities across the 21 countries visited, fully satisfying the travel needs of European users. Additionally, the driving experience was tailored to meet the preferences of individual drivers, providing them with a more enriching and enjoyable journey. Trond Sandven, the founder of Norwegian dealership Sandven AS, praised the SERES 5 as an outstanding vehicle, surpassing its European competitors in terms of performance.

During the European Grand Tour, the SERES 5 achieved another milestone by completing the delivery ceremony to its first European customers, marking another successful step in SERES Motors' new energy international expansion. At the delivery ceremony, Andreas Bakkerud, SERES 5’s first owner in Norway and the celebrated rally driver and winner of the FIA European Rallycross Championship for two consecutive years in 2011 and 2012, expressed his high satisfaction with the vehicle's efficiency, superb handling on bumpy roads, and attractive balance between weight and power. He expressed a strong desire to own the car immediately after experiencing it. The vehicle's performance in track mode was also impressive, showcasing its ability to accelerate continuously 20 times without noticeable power decline.

As a sporty and luxurious electric SUV, the SERES 5 has been well-received by European consumers since its debut at the Brussels Motor Show earlier in the year. Its distinctive appearance, cutting-edge design, premium materials, outstanding performance, and advanced intelligence have earned it a dedicated following in the European market. The European Grand Tour further reinforced the SERES 5's reputation for excellent adaptability, remarkable performance, driving comfort, and intelligent leadership across all the European countries it visited.

Moving forward, SERES Motors remains committed to providing exceptional service to its users and supporting the growth of the European new energy automotive market. The company will continue to introduce various types of new energy vehicle products to overseas markets, delivering safer, more comfortable, and intelligent driving experiences for customers.

For more information, visit: global-seres.com

Every year over £20 billion is paid via online platforms to the army of freelance workers working for a range of businesses across the UK and, all too often paid very late. Helping these workers and companies get this right since 2019, French fintech Aria is today launching in the UK to be the default deferred payment infrastructure provider for the UK platform economy and B2B marketplaces.

Aria has opened a new office in London and appointed embedded finance and B2B marketplace specialist Tom Lamb as Head of UK to lead its growth efforts and scale the UK team with 6-8 hires expected in 2023. Launching in the UK with both existing clients and new platforms, the launch marks a new chapter on the back of 2000% YoY scale-up growth supporting 20,000 freelancers per month with invoices ranging from £500 to £20,000. They are launching with European leading platforms such as Malt, Brigad and Dweet which are now being funded in the UK and Europe.

Aria supports the growing UK platform economy which comprises the contingent workforce and booming online B2B trade, connecting to marketplaces, transactional SaaS platforms and ERP systems. Aria distributes early payment of supplier invoices and offers deferred payment options for end-clients via their API, letting their platform partners white-label the solution to create brilliant customer experiences and new revenue opportunities.

Aria is Europe's leading deferred payment infrastructure provider for the platform economy, working with over 100 platforms to solve the payment gap between when suppliers need to get paid and when buyers want to pay for goods and services. Making B2B trade seamless for freelance platforms, B2B marketplaces and Vertical SaaS Aria integrates directly into the platform's systems enabling instant direct payments to suppliers across Europe and allowing buyers up to 90 days to pay for goods.

Founded in 2019 in Paris by co-founders Clement Carrier and Vincent Folny, as ex-freelancers themselves they understood the pain of waiting for slow payment and uncertainty of income freelancers experience. Since launching their deferred payment API in 2021, Aria has exploded in France and Europe, to become the leading provider of deferred payment for contingent workforce platforms in Europe, working with the largest freelance platforms and marketplaces such as Malt, Brigad, StaffMe and SThree. With a recent debt raise of £50m from M&G Investments Aria is prepped for further growth in the UK and European market with annual finance capacity of over £1bn.

Clément Carrier, CEO and co-founder of Aria, commented: “We built Aria to make instant B2B payments the new standard for the platform economy. Our growth has been fueled by solving a real problem for freelancers and businesses in a way that lets platforms keep control of their customer experience. Opening up the UK market is an important step in our journey to change the way businesses pay and get paid.”

Freelancers contribute approximately £20 billion to the British economy each year. Yet these statistics are largely based on the gig economy which often doesn’t even include the highly skilled end of the freelancer spectrum. Some estimates push this economic contribution further, stating the spiralling growth of the gig economy in the UK could explode to a £63.25 billion contribution to the UK economy by 2026.

When hiring pauses, the freelancer work continues. Fiverr found 78% of companies will rely on freelancing in 2023 rather than add staff with post-pandemic remote policies making it easier than ever to integrate freelancers. Critical talent gaps make it necessary, with year-on-year growth being greatest for web programming (43%), web design (31%) and social media marketing (25%) according to TechRepublic.

With an average delay of 15.6 days, the UK has recorded the worst late payment figures since the end of 2016. One in ten British companies now delays payment to suppliers by more than 30 days. Aria ensures freelancers get paid in 24 hours and know that invoices will not be missed or go unpaid.

Tom Lamb, Head of UK for Aria, commented: “It’s incredibly exciting to be bringing Aria’s technology to the UK, supporting platforms to solve the biggest problem facing many freelancers and suppliers. Post-Covid and in the current economic climate more and more companies are looking online and for contingent workforce solutions but struggle to get the same terms or experience to which they are accustomed. By working with our platform partners we make solving this crucial issue for businesses and freelancers simple, easy and automated.”

The UK launch marks an important step in Aria’s growth and ambition to be the leading deferred payment infrastructure partner to the platform economy. Hiring Tom Lamb as Head of UK brings in expertise as the company looks to support more diverse B2B marketplaces.

About Aria

Aria is a B2B deferred payment infrastructure for the platform economy. It enables marketplaces and Transactional SaaS to improve their growth by offering instant payments to their providers while maintaining cash flow until their customer has paid. Founded in 2019 in Paris by co-founders Clement Carrier and Vincent Folny. Since launching their deferred payment API, Aria has exploded across Europe, to become the leading provider of deferred payment for contingent workforce platforms, working with the largest freelance platforms and marketplaces such as Malt, Brigad, StaffMe and SThree.

The newly established Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in the UK has recently released the UK's National Semiconductor Strategy. Dr. Shih-Chieh Chang, General Director of Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan had an initial exchange with DSIT. During the exchange, Dr. Chang suggested that Taiwan can become a trustable partner for the UK and that the partnership can leverage collective strengths to create mutually beneficial developments. According to the Strategy, the British government plans to invest 1 billion pounds over the next decade to support the semiconductor industry. This funding will improve access to infrastructure, power more research and development and facilitate greater international cooperation.

Dr. Chang stressed that ITRI looks forward to more collaboration with the UK on semiconductors to enhance the resilience of the supply chain. While the UK possesses cutting-edge capabilities in semiconductor IP design and compound semiconductor technology, ITRI has extensive expertise in semiconductor technology R&D and trial production. As a result, ITRI is well-positioned to offer consultation services for advanced packaging pilot lines, facilitate pre-production evaluation, and link British semiconductor IP design companies with Taiwan's semiconductor industry chain. "The expansion of British manufacturers' service capacity in Taiwan would create a mutually beneficial outcome for both Taiwan and the UK," said Dr. Chang.

The British Office Taipei stated that the UK has been increasing collaboration with Taiwan on semiconductors over the last few years. In 2020, the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult (CSA Catapult) signed a memorandum of understanding with ITRI, paving the way for a long-lasting collaborative partnership. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is also focusing the Digital Trade Network in Taiwan to increase the UK's capability to support semiconductor trade and investment. Recognizing ITRI as a crucial driving force for Taiwan's semiconductor industry development, the British Office Taipei looks forward to more cooperation with ITRI for technological innovation, supply chain collaboration and stronger partnership.

Dr. Chang indicated possible collaboration that can be forged to align the goals of the UK's National Semiconductor Strategy and the positive impact to expect. ITRI, he suggested, can assist in establishing relevant pilot lines by introducing necessary resources to address existing gaps or offering consultation services covering design, packaging and testing prior to mass production. This would help reduce the UK's reliance on external suppliers and thus create job opportunities. To minimize the risk of supply chain disruptions, the linkage of Taiwan's complete semiconductor industry chain can significantly enhance the UK's resilience in the global market as more comprehensive solutions can shorten time-to-market for innovative products and accelerate overall industrial development.

Other than the collaboration with CSA Catapult on GaN semiconductor technologies, ITRI partnered with a renowned British semiconductor equipment manufacturer in 2021, resulting in achievements in areas such as HBLED, MEMS, Micro LED, silicon photonics, and nanoscale analysis. In the same year, ITRI worked with a leading British semiconductor IP manufacturer to jointly build a platform that assists startup companies in leveraging key patents to develop competitive new products. Based on the fruitful results, ITRI is set to expand its collaborative efforts with the UK in 2023, creating win-win opportunities for both sides.

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is one of the world's leading technology R&D institutions aiming to innovate a better future for society. Founded in 1973, ITRI has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan's industries from labor-intensive into innovation-driven. To address market needs and global trends, it has launched its 2030 Technology Strategy & Roadmap and focuses on innovation development in Smart Living, Quality Health, and Sustainable Environment. It also strives to strengthen Intelligentization Enabling Technology to support diversified applications.

Over the years, ITRI has been dedicated to incubating startups and spinoffs, including well-known names such as UMC and TSMC. In addition to its headquarters in Taiwan, ITRI has branch offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in an effort to extend its R&D scope and promote international cooperation across the globe.