Page 112 - RusRPTOct21

Russian-made technology is difficult to assess. The largest market for Russia’s technology exports in 2020, accounting for almost $1bn or a quarter of all sales, was the Netherlands — a low-tax jurisdiction where a number of Russia’s top digital companies, including Yandex and X5 Retail Group, are registered. The US, Germany, Switzerland, China andelarus also accounted for more than $250mn of Russian exports each. Imports of foreign-made technology were stagnant in 2020 at $4.6bn,ringing the technology trade deficit — the difference between Russian exports and imports of tech goods and services — to its lowest level since 2001.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has introduced new rules that apply to car-sharing. We highlight the main changes:
First, the Moscow government decree formally introduces the notion of "car-sharing," which now encompasses not only short-term (less than 24 hours) car rentals but also rentals for more than 24 hours (up to seven days during weekends and holidays). This change formalizes longer-term rentals, which should boost the attractiveness of this option for domestic tourism and weekend trips (both of which have picked up significantly since the pandemic).
Larger cars are now eligible for parking permits at a reduced rate. The new rules allow certain types of cars (E-class) to apply for a reduced rate parking permit under a car-sharing license. Operators already used this type of cars in car-sharing but were not eligible for reduced rate parking permits. Theenefit for car-sharing operators is vastly cheaper parking permits: R370k per year for a normal permit versus just R27.6k for car-sharing operators. Moreover, this would allow using types of cars, such as the Toyota Camry, that would otherwise be uneconomical for car-sharing at the higher parking permit rate. An online application is also being introduced for parking permits for car-sharing operators, which should reduce the costs of the application procedure and speed up processing time.
Integration with Moscow transport is planned to start on January 1, 2022. As we understand, the Moscow transport app would consolidate all car-sharing data and could also begin to function as a kind of aggregator (users would be able to book a car and pay for it). This is an interesting step, as it makes car-sharing a more commoditized service. Yet the main question is whether a significant number of car-sharing users will prefer to use the Moscow transport app (this is an open question, given that the proprietary apps of car-sharing operators are likely to have more flexibility in terms of tariff options and also offer loyalty programs for their users).
Although we do not see the new rules as a major game changer, this
112 RUSSIA Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com