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Weekly Lists
March 31, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 24
bne:TMT
Russian state Rostelecom set to overtake Tele2 on changing mobile market
Latvian fintech pioneer Creamfinance attracts new capital
Russia’s state integrated telecom major Rostelecom is looking to gain control in the T2 TRK Holding joint venture with Tele2, accord- ing to Yury Solovev, the deputy chair of state-controlled VTB Bank, also a co-owner of Tele2 that operates as 3G discounter operator in the Moscow region.
“There have been reports that Rostelecom could gain control over Tele2 after Mikhail Oseevsky was appointed CEO of the state-owned operator, since until recently he was Chairman of the BoD of VTB,” Gazprombank commented on March 30.
The bank sees the news as moderately negative, arguing that “consolidation of Tele2, which is a heavily indebted and loss-making asset, could prove to be a strain on Rostelecom’s financials”.
South African company Capitec Bank Holdings has invested €21mn in Latvian consumer loan provider Creamfinance, local media re- ported on March 27.
The investment comes as part of an investment drive by Cream- finance that earlier attracted €5mn from international venture capital fund Flint Capital. Creamfinance plans to use the money to accelerate its international expansion and broaden its offer in exist- ing markets, LSM reports.
The company offers fast access to loans by using “advanced algo- rithms and machine-learning capabilities” for quick evaluation and scoring of customers’ creditworthiness, the company says on its website.
The Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) announced on March 27 that it is opening an auction for high speed data networks, and suggested it may open the way for new entrants.
The auction could be seen as a reaction to recent criticism from political circles and in the media that the regulator has not kept a close enough eye on the mobile operators. The high cost of mobile data services has become a populist target with politicians of all stripes ahead of elections in October. So much so that Jan Mladek lost his job as trade and industry minister for not moving quickly enough to clamp down on their overcharging.
Czech telecoms regulator offers data networks to new operators