MTS, a leading Russian telecom operator, announced earlier this month that it increased its stake in Ozon Holdings, one of the most established Russian e-commerce companies. The operator now own 16.7% of Ozon, up from 13.7% previously, following “a series of transactions with minority shareholders.” MTS invested in Ozon in April 2014, acquiring a 10.8% …
In late April Appodeal raised $8 million in a round led by Impulse VC, a venture fund which is reportedly affiliated to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. This investment brings the total funding raised to date by the startup to $11.5 million, according to CrunchBase. As part of the deal, the fund has received a minority stake in …
Impulse VC leads $8 million round for Russian-founded Appodeal Read More
The collateral damage to the Russian economy caused by the Russian authorities’ efforts to block Telegram will reach $1 billion within a few months, according to software company Flexbby, cited by business daily Kommersant and online publication Meduza. The damage is essentially due to the fact that, by blocking of millions of IP addresses, the crackdown on Telegram has affected …
Russian economy could lose $1 billion this year because of the Telegram ban Read More
The Russian smartphone market continues to grow compared to other parts of the world where mobile Internet penetration has peaked. In this blog, Russian Search Marketing compares smartphone manufacturers’ distribution in Russia to the top 10 smartphone manufacturers’ distribution globally during 2017. According to research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, smartphone distribution in Russia increased by …
Samsung dominates Russian smartphone market with nearly 30% share Read More
Last week MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator, announced the acquisition of a 100% share in Ticketland.ru and a 78.2% share in Ponominalu.ru, two leading event ticket operators in the Russian market. MTS says it expects to establish itself as a leading ticket operator in Russia. The deal “will allow the company to broaden its …
MTS acquires two event ticketing companies, aims for market leadership Read More
Online financial services provider Tinkoff Bank and state-controlled giant Sberbank are currently rolling out mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), after launches late last year. Both are using the network and infrastructure of Tele2, Russia’s fourth-largest mobile operator. Sberbank’s mobile service is targeted at the lender’s existing clients, who comprise around half of all retail customers in …
Last week MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator, announced the acquisition of Praliss Enterprises, the parent company of Gambit Esports, for an undisclosed amount. Gambit Esports has four teams (16 players in total) participating in the most popular cyber game disciplines: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), League of Legends (LoL), Dota 2 and FIFA. Gambit Esports teams have repeatedly earned …
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator) is offering online taxi hailing and medical appointments over video, as Russia’s largest mobile carrier pursues new apps for revenue growth amid stiff wireless price competition. The carrier made an speedy foray into Russia’s taxi business in October after Uber in July agreed to merge its operations into a …
Earlier this month MegaFon, a major Russian mobile operator, announced the completion of a 500 million ruble (around $8.6 million) bond issue with Blockchain settlement. The entire issue was purchased by Raiffeisenbank. The system, which was developed in the course of this year, is intended for bond placement and circulation of digitized assets, making accounting …
MegaFon and Raiffeisenbank complete first Blockchain bond placement in Russia Read More
Earlier this month Russian cell phone operator MTS acquired a majority stake (50,82%) in Oblachyi Retail (“cloud retail” in Russian) for 620 million rubles ($10.8 million at the current exchange rate). The news was reported by local online publication Firrma.ru based on its exchanges with MTS. The funding includes 30 million rubles (roughly $525,000) for debt repayment, …
Russian mobile operator invests $10.8 million in local retail software developer Read More
The creativity of Blockchain entrepreneurs seems to have no limits, but this application is about good old SMS. Many of us have a text-messaging bundle included in their mobile subscription plan, sometimes with an unlimited number of messages. This makes plenty of unused SMS, which we usually don’t even pay attention to. Canopus Technology Ltd., a …
New Blockchain project seeks to leverage unused SMS in a $70 billion market Read More
The legislation adopted last year in Russia to strengthen state control over digital communications is not fully compatible with the new EU regulation in the field of personal data protection, believe Russian experts interviewed by the business daily Vedomosti and East-West Digital News. Such a contradiction, if confirmed, would expose Russian mobile operators to considerable …
