Page 126 - RusRPTNov19

$100mn in AliExpress Russia and has an option on acquiring $194mn worth of JV shares. Once the option would be exercised, the fund would hold 12.9% economic stake and 9.6% voting stake in the JV. Previously Sberbank estimated the valuation of the JV at about $2.2bn Enterprise Value (EV) . The bank reminded that AliExpress is the undisputed leader in Russian e-commerce, with the gross market value in 2018 at around RUB220bn-RUB230bn, being predominantly cross-border trade and almost twice as large as the biggest domestic online retailer Wildberries with RUB111bn.
Russian integrated telecom major Rostelecom and country's second-largest state-controlled VTB Bank consider setting up a big data exchange platform, the head of Rostelecom Mikhail Ovseevsky told Vedomosti daily on October 14. As reported by bne IntelliNews , the deal of selling the stake in Tele2 mobile operator will bring more integration between Rostelecom and VTB. Ovseevsky himself is a former top manager of VTB. Reportedly VTB and Rostelecom plan to share and process big data on clients and user profiles, industry sources told Vedomosti. Other sources said that two state majors aim for a platform similar to Chinese WeChat, an ecosystem that would allow a wide range of services and payment options in a single app.
Sistema_VC , the venture capital arm of Russian multi-industry investment conglomerate AFK Sistema, will invest $10mn in UK start-up SenSat , Vedomosti daily reported on October 1. The company founded in 2015 develops digital copies of physical objects for infrastructure projects. The investment round was headed by Chinese private investment company Tencent, but other investors and shares of equity distributed have not been disclosed. Previously SenSat raised $4.4mn. Sistema_VC will also help SenSat enter Russian market through large infrastructure projects. In 2018 Sistema_VC invested $2.5mn in another IT construction start-up TraceAir, which processes drone-captured information. Other UK start-ups supported by Sistema_VC include KisanHub optimisation for agricultural logistic chains, and DataSince marketing content personalisation. Sistema_VC has capital of RUB10bn ($150mn). In February 2017 Russia's largest bank Sberbank and Maginvest of Viktor Rashnikov invested RUB2bn in the VC in exchange for 20% stake. Other investment of Sistema_VC include VisionLabs face recognition solutions, AI-based virtual cybersports coach gosu.ai, and Russian freelance services platform YouDo.com.
One of Russia's largest online retailers Ozon started to test in-house leasing models for its online sales , Vedomosti d aily reported on October 4 citint the Vice President of the company Nikita Saygutin. The new option will be available for up to six month with a 7% interest on the sales price. In the future Ozon eyes to expand the leasing platform providing it to re-sellers and fin-tech services. Analysts surveyed by Vedomosti n ote that retailers traditionally cooperate with banks for leasing and credit due to challenges in collecting the payments and assessing the creditworthiness of the clients. Another challenge is managing the cash flow of delayed payments. Ozon will establish its own credit scoring system based on the customers' purchase history and plans to turn to courts and third-party collectors in case of delays. The retailer counts to increase sales by up to 10% in certain categories as a result of the programme.
One of Russia's largest online retailers Ozon Holdings boosted its automated pick-up terminal chain Ozon Box to over 4,500 points, and
126 RUSSIA Country Report November 2019 www.intellinews.o