Page 25 - bne_newspaper_October_12_2018

Opinion
October 12, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 25
bne:Tech
May, 2018 www.intellinews.com @bneintellinews
Avast to enter London bourse in bid to raise up to $1bn Jaroslav Hroch in Prague
Avast, which owns the popular consumer antivirus company AVG, will apply to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange in the hope of raising $200mn (CZK4.1bn) in primary proceeds from an IPO, the Czech-founded company announced on April 12.
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St Petersburg's start-up scene flourishes on high talent and low costs
Contents
Avast to enter London bourse
in bid to raise up to $1bn 1 Avast to enter London bourse in bid to raise up to $1bn 2 St Petersburg's start-up scene
flourishes on high talent and low costs 3 Romania entrepreneur aims to put home-grown UAV defence technology industry on the map 6
FinTech
Russia's mobile major MTS increases stake in Ozon to 16.7% 9
Blockchain
Romanian startups at the heart
of blockchain energy trading rally 10
Central Europe
Russian-Lithuanian startup Gosu.ai
raises $1.9mn from Russian and
French investors 13
Eurasia
Iran hit by cyber attack that left US
flag on screens 14 Iranian government set to block hugely popular Telegram messaging app 15 Iran's black market phone disconnection drive pushes up legal mobile imports 15
Eastern Europe
Internet catches up with TV on Russian
ad market 17 Sales of connected appliances jump
in Russia 17 Russia's HeadHunter Group seeks
to raise $250mn with NASDAQ IPO 18 Russia ranks second in the world
for digital piracy 18 Russian messaging service Telegram raised another $850mn with ICO 19
Southeast Europe
Russia's HeadHunter Group seeks
to raise $250mn with NASDAQ IPO 20
The Regions This Month 21
Filip Brokes in St Petersburg
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EO: If there are sanctions that threaten the strength of the Iranian government then whoever mobilised the US to reimpose sanctions deserves credit.
The other question, which is not as important, is: is it a good thing that the US cancelled its agreement with Iran while Germany, France, China and Russia are all tied to this agreement, or should the old agreement have stayed in place with America participating? That's a tough question.
I think the old agreement was better and I didn't support the Americans cancelling their participation in the agreement. I don't think it was the most useful thing to do.
BA: The military phase in Syria is coming to an end. What happens next?
EO: Assad lost his moral authority in the eyes of the rest of the world. I tried to make peace with him and he was dumb enough not to understand how useful it could be. He pulled out at the
last moment in 2008 in what could have been a historical decision.
He slaughtered 500,000 of his own people. It is not something that can be forgotten or forgiven. He will eventually be thrown out. But I hope that he will be thrown out by genuine Syrian parties and not extremists or jihadists.
Is Assad capable of rebuilding his country and making it prosperous? I doubt it. He is from a minority. The choice will be between a tight brutal regime or a genuine strong opposition.
I hope an opposition will emerge. And I think the Russians won’t intervene. If there is a choice between Assad and extremists then there is no choice. But if the choice is between Assad and a genuine opposition in Syria then I think Russia won’t care and won’t intervene in any change.
This interview has been edited for style and brevity.