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20 I Companies & Markets bne November 2018
The main drivers of cross-border online trade are electronics, footwear and apparel, according to Deloitte as cited by RBC. The average cross-border receipt usually does not exceed RUB1,660 (€22). The rise in cross-border online trade could also be attributed to anticipation of further ruble weakening.
However, the head of the National Association of Long- distance Trade (NADT) Alexander Ivanov argues that CBR's data is skewed and could include transportation costs.
On his estimates cross-border online trade plateaued at about $3bn annually in 2016 with an average receipt of $12.
Analysts surveyed by RBC note that poor regulation of cross- border online trade is another challenge to local retailers who see billions of US dollars leave the domestic market every year. To support local online and traditional retailers, the Federal Customs Service (FTS) plans to introduce a levy on any purchases in foreign online stores delivered to
Russia starting in 2020.
The move could reportedly bring RUB25bn ($0.4bn) to the Rus- sian budget annually and make local e-commerce more competi- tive. Currently foreign online purchases of less than €1,000 per one consumer or below 31kg in weight ate not taxed. The Finance Min- istry already suggested lowering this ceiling to €500 and to €200 in the longer-term, which was not approved by the government.
However, the largest Chinese online retailer Alibaba could dodge tougher regulation through joint ventures with Russian companies. Alibaba is reportedly in talks with VTB Bank, and announced a partnership with Russian internet major Mail.ru, its shareholder mobile operator MegaFon, and the sovereign Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
In the meantime another major emerging local e-commerce player Yandex.Market and Sberbank's joint venture said it will focus on developing a cross-border trade platform that uses non-Chinese suppliers of good quality, mass produced items, as well as announced cooperation with Turkish suppliers.
Czech company Prusa holds an extraordinary position in 3D printing among CEE countries, growing by 17,118%
bne IntelliNews
Asurvey by Deloitte entitled “CE Technology Fast 50”
was dominated by Czech companies, with three reach- ing the top five, Deloitte said in a press release. Czech developer and manufacturer of 3D printers Prusa Research became the fastest-growing technology company in the region with 17,118% growth year-on-year, followed by a Czech online travel agency Kiwi.com (2nd place, 14,377%) and an online pharmaceutical retailer Pilulka Distribuce (5th place, 1,681%).
“Czech firms dominate this year’s rating with unprecedented growth. Kiwi.com did not defend its last year’s victory and was replaced by Prusa Research; however, both firms are growing much faster than the closest competitors and essentially have created their own competition. I am almost certain their results will guarantee top positions for them in the EMEA round of Fast 500,” says Director of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CE Jiri Sauer.
In the area of additive production 3D printing, the Czech Republic has an extraordinary position in the world. The com- panies such as Prusa Research are synonymous to the quality in 3D printing production worldwide, Czech News Agency reported the vice-president of the association Klastr Aditivni Vyroby saying of Klastr of Additive Production.
According to Jan Homola at the International Engineering Fair, the fifth 3D press conference held in Brno, 3D printing is one of the most robust segments in manufacturing technology, and has been growing at a double-digit pace for several years. The fastest growing market is metallic 3D printing. “GE Aviation in Prague has been developing an aircraft engine Catalyst, making it one of the first engines to use printed metal parts in real-life traffic." Homola adds.
Other Czech companies among Deloitte´s top 50 are Proficio Marketing (8th place, 1,228%), StartupJobs.cz (18th place, 605%), INVENTI SOLUTION (23rd place, 534%) and ZOOT (25th place, 513%).
Prusa Research was founded in 2009 as a one-man startup
of Josef Prusa. Within few years it has evolved into one of the most innovative and growing companies in the 3D industry, producing over 1,000 printers a month with a team of 60 people (as of September 2016). Kiwi.com is an online travel agency, providing a fare aggregator, metasearch engine and booking for airline tickets on its website.
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