Page 111 - RusRPTNov19

The number of cashless transactions in Russia soared 30-fold from 5.8 to 172 on average per person between 2010 and 2018, RBC business portal and Kommersant d aily reported on October 3 citing the study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that sees the development of electronic payments systemsinRussiaas"phenomenal".Asreportedby bneIntelliNews, the volume of cashless transactions at RUB48 trillion ($73.6bn) was almost double the amount of withdrawn cash in 2019 , according to the data by the Central Bank of Russia. In the reporting period of 2010-2018 Russian cashless market outgrew all other European peers, the BCG study shows. BCG believes that Russian consumers have leapfrogged the traditional development of payment means, as Russia is also Europe's largest market for e-wallet transactions and the global leader for protected tokenised transactions. Adaptation of contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay was more successful in Russia than in other territories.
9.1.10 Utilities sector news
The Federal Antimonopoly Service suspects that gencos may have engaged in spot electricity price manipulation , Kommersant writes. If the antitrust watchdog manages to prove that this is indeed the case, it could impose turnover-based fines ranging from 3% to 15% of companies' electricity market revenues, which is a significant threat for any generation company. However, there is no indication regarding which companies are being investigated.
Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade is considering a proposal that only Russian companies should be allowed to carry out the design and engineering of renewable energy assets in Russia , Vedomosti daily reported on October 16 citing unnamed sources. As reported by bne IntelliNews, lastmonthRussiangovernmenthasfinalisedthecostofthe renewable energy development programme and is planning to invest RUB725bn ($11bn) by 2050 in the sector, out of which RUB400bn will be spent in 2025-2035. The possible proposal is in line with larger trend in which Russian authorities are searching for ways to use state infrastructure investment to support development of domestic technology rather than hand it
111 RUSSIA Country Report November 2019 www.intellinews.o