2011 was a rather disappointing year for M&A both globally and in Russia. Compared to the 6% decline in the value of global M&A deals, Russia’s M&A market experienced an even stronger reduction in value, by almost 28%. This is a sign of its continuing higher volatility, but also the result of fewer mega deals …
Report: M&A in the Russian communications and media sector in 2011 and early 2012 Read More
I recall discussing last month some innovation rankings and a number of top-ranked regions of Russia highlighted by RBC daily and its Russian official partners. Siberia was worth praising; it had shown such a terrific innovation spurt. Such national rankings are useful and interesting. But there are also other indicators for an innovation economy, and …
Why European business angels come to Russia’s regions Read More
The lack of qualified human resources appears to be the most difficult issue faced by the fast growing e-commerce industry in Russia, says a report by East-West Digital News. All key positions are affected, from general managers and project managers, to e-marketing specialists to IT and fulfillment teams. The shortage of skilled employees on the …
Report: Russian e-commerce severely hampered by HR shortages Read More
On Wednesday, Vimpelcom, a major Russian mobile operator, announced it will deploy the NFC-based contactless payment system it implemented in St. Petersburg last year within the Moscow subway. Widespread commercial launch in Moscow is scheduled for the end of the year. While most offline and online purchases made in Russia are still paid in cash, …
Contactless payments take their first steps in Russia Read More
One of Russia’s leading business monitors, RBC daily, pooled efforts earlier this month with the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy in putting together a ranking of Russia’s regional innovation activity for the first two months of this year. The four leaders in this ranking are the Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk …
Siberia on its way to create its own analog of Silicon Valley Read More
In light of the fast development of e-commerce in Russia, this spring East-West Digital News and its partners are offering an exclusive series of articles and interviews with fascinating insights into this market, one that’s still little known among most foreign players. Starting with an interview with Travelmenu.ru’s new CEO Katrin Buckenmaier, the series is made …
The Spring of Russian E-Commerce: An Exclusive Global Perspectives Series Read More
Even though the Russian IT market is growing fast, having recovered completely from the 2008-2009 crisis, a number of issues have come to the forefront. The Russian Minister of Communications Igor Shchegolev has reported that the country’s information technologies market saw a growth spurt of 14.6 percent in 2011, and the Ministry of Economic Development predicts …
Is Russia becoming a new frontier for US venture capitalists? With local startups and incubators springing up like mushrooms, a number of foreign tech investors have started to operate in the country, which is striving for modernization. Exemplifying the invest in Russia trend is Tiger Global Management, a New York-based international investment management firm. Over …
US venture capitalists go East: Russia’s startups now more appealing Read More
In contrast to the massive hacker attacks that took place during the parliamentary election on December 4th and over the following weeks, no notable incidents were reported yesterday when Russian voters reelected Vladimir Putin as their president – a sign perhaps of the increased legal risks and political cost for the parties involved. Using computer …
Interest in content delivery networks (CDNs) is growing amongst leading mobile operators in Russia. According to Russian publications AKTR and ComNews.ru, VimpelCom is currently looking for an equipment supplier for a CDN and expects to finalise a tender in the first half of this year. MTS is meanwhile using one operated by the company NGENIX but …
Russia’s mobile operators gear up for OTT services Read More
After years of strategic discussions, long bureaucratic processes, and unsuccessful attempts to launch 4G, 2012 promises to be the breakthough year for LTE deployment in key areas of Russian territory. While three players – Scartel, Rostelecom and Osnova Telecom – had received their own frequencies for LTE deployment by the end of 2011, additional frequencies …
2012 expected to be Russia’s breakthrough year for LTE Read More
Ru-Net, a major Moscow based venture fund, launched the American arm of its activity last month by establishing RTP Ventures, making its $700 million under management available to US Internet, SaaS and cloud computing companies. A few weeks earlier, the fund had participated in a $60 million round of financing – along with German based Rebate Networks …
Russian funds assert themselves on the international venture scene Read More
