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16 I Companies & Markets bne October 2017
pay its obligations to bondholders, including offloading a management company to BCS Financial Group. The pension fund has assets of about RUB5.5bn ($70mn) representing about 139,000 clients, according to RBK.
However, the worst now seems to be over for Tariko thanks to soaring vodka sales. His drinks holding, Roust, is the world's
“Russky Standart was as prone to the volatility that the whole Russian banking sector has been”
second largest vodka producer and saw its US GAAP revenue jump 16.8% to $131.5mn in January-March, the company reported on September 1. The company's Ebitda was also up 8% to $7.9mn.
At the same time retail credits have been growing this year after more than two years of contraction, which will also bol- ster the bank’s bottom line.
"The January-March 2017 period saw a record growth in [vodka] sales in all markets," Tariko said in a press release.
Roust's growth comes against the backdrop of the Russian vodka market's recovery. In 2016, vodka production grew 16% y/y to 73.2mn decalitres (daL), and retail sales increased by 0.5% to 81mn daL. In January-June 2017, vodka output con- tinued to grow, adding 24% y/y.
The government's crackdown on illegal vodka production thanks to the EGAIS excise duty system is among the main fac- tors benefiting the industry, Vedomosti reported. Previously illegal vodka production accounted for an estimated 40% of all sales, but Vedomosti reports that illegitimate vodka sales in Russia are now insignificant.
London suspends Estonian ride sharing service Taxify
Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw
Estonian ride sharing company Taxify has had its services suspended by the London transport authority over licensing issues.
The halting of services in London is a hurdle to Taxify’s rapid expansion. The company is determined to overcome the problem as soon as possible, Taxify’s founder and CEO Markus Villig said in a blog post published on the company’s website on September 9.
Recently backed by the Chinese ride sharing company Didi Chux- ing, Taxify claims to be the fastest growing ride-sharing company in Europe and Africa with an alleged 2.5mn users in 18 countries, including Hungary, Romania, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
The UK capital’s transport authority Transport for London (TfL) said Taxify did not have a valid license to offer services and ordered the company to halt activity after just three days of operations.
"The law requires private hire bookings to be taken by
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licensed private hire operators at a licensed premises, with appropriate record keeping," according to a statement
on the TfL website.
"Taxify is not a licensed private hire operator and is not licensed to accept private hire bookings in London. TfL has instructed Taxify to stop accepting bookings and it has done."
However, Taxify claims it is offering rides via partnership with a local licensed ride sharing company City Drive Services.
“London has surprised us with the most hostile regulatory body we have ever encountered. More than four months ago we applied for a private hire operator license. Over this time we contacted TfL more than 20 times, without a single reply on the clear status of the application,” Villig wrote in his blog post.
“TfL has done everything in their power to keep the current private hire monopoly in place,” Villig added. The CEO claims some 30,000 users have signed up to use Taxify's services in London so far.