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Weekly Lists
March 16, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 25
bne:TMT
Mail.Ru Group to accept bitcoin in payments
for ads
Leading Russian online firm and LSE-listed Mail.ru Group announced that its ad platform myTarget began accepting Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin cash (BCH) as payment means for running ads on the group’s properties, reports East-West Digital News (EWDN).
These properties include Russia’s top social networks Vkontakte (VK) and Onoklassniki (OK) as well as two dozens of online resourc- es related to the Mail.ru and AM.ru portals. In January, according to Mediascope/TNS, the total audience of these properties exceeded 51mn desktop users aged 12-64 across Russia (not taking into ac- count mobile-only users and users from outside Russia).
The move also concerns MyTarget’s ad network. Even publishers who already signed up with this network will receive the option to get paid in cryptocurrency, said the group.
Last year Mail.Ru Group’s advertising revenues amounted to 23.8bn rubles, or around $412mn, up 28.9% from 2016.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has instructed the nation's law enforcers "to check" the transparency of recent lender for 4G licenses in the 1800 MHz band, which were sold for UAH5.4bn (c.$210mn).
According to Groysman, leader of the Radical Party Oleh Liashko has stated that the 4G tender was allegedly conducted "not transparently, while the cost of licenses issued could be much higher", the PM wrote on his official Facebook page on March 12.
Recently, the three largest Ukrainian mobile operators - Kyivstar, Lifecell and Vodafone-Ukraine - purchased 4G licenses in the 1800 MHz band. The 4G tender follows three tenders for 3G mobile licences that were held in February 2015.
The shareholders of Russia’s leading e-commerce company Ozon Holdings will inject up to $92mn into the company to fund its further expansion, reports East-West Digital News (EWDN).
Dubbed “the Russian Amazon” the shareholders will invest RUB3.5bn ($61mn) and possibly as much as RUB5.25bn ($92mn) the shareholders said last week.
The better part of the capital injection will come from Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), which invested in Ozon in 2014, and Baring Vostok, an early investor in the company and Russia’s leading private equity company.
Ukrainian law enforcers "to check" 4G tender
Shareholders of Russian e-commerce firm Ozon to inject $92mn into the company