Page 116 - RUSRptApr17
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Qiwi considers different ways of business development and diversification of revenue streams.
Swedish flatpack furniture giant Ikea on April 20 launched an online store in Russia  for residents of Moscow and the surrounding region. As of April 24 the service will open in St Petersburg and a number of cities in Siberia and in Far Eastern regions. The company plans to roll out online sales in all of the country's regions and cities with high internet penetration and potential interest to online sales, aiming at an additional market of 25mn people who live too far from its retail outlets. Operating in Russia since 2000, Ikea currently runs 14 stores in Mega retailing centres. The company's focus on retail sales comes amid a  bumpy relationship history  with local authorities across Russia, with Ikea threatening to cut back its $1.54bn investment programme there after losing another long-running legal dispute in Smolensk.
Russian online giant Yandex saw its revenue go up 25% year-on-year to RUB20.7bn (€335mn),  the company said on April 27. Yandex' net profit declined 23% to RUB800mn and Ebitda was up 19% to RUB6.9bn. The decline in net profit was primarily caused by fluctuations of foreign currency exchange rates and increased spending on advertising and marketing, a Yandex representative was quoted as saying by Vedomosti. Nearly all of Yandex' revenue, or 94%, comes from sales of ads in search results. In January-March, that segment saw 23% growth to RUB19.5bn. Meanwhile, revenues not related to ad sales grew 77% y/y, which was mostly accounted for by the company's taxi service Yandex.Taxi. The number of taxi rides booked through the service increased nearly fivefold, while revenue leapt 75% to RUB778mn. Yandex.Market e-commerce service grew 24% to RUB1.3bn.
RVC, Russia’s national fund of funds for innovation, the Tomsk State University (TSU) in Siberia and DI-Group, a private Russian management company for VC funds, are expected to ink an agreement in May to set up a joint venture fund,  Interfax-Siberia  reported , citing TSU Rector Eduard Galazhinsky. “The university must become a full-fledged player in a market economy when it comes to intellectual property, for example; it must be able to allocate a certain amount, run a risk with it, invest, and reap profits,” the rector was quoted as saying. How much each of the partners is bringing into the venture has yet to be specified.
9.2.7  Metallurgy & mining corporate news
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) is investigating the Moscow office of Alrosa , the world's biggest diamond miner, in relation to non-core asset sales between 2011 and 2013, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The state-controlled Russian firm, which is the world's largest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms, and the FSB both declined to comment, while the source did not provide any further details. Together with Anglo American's De Beers, Alrosa produces about half the world's rough diamonds.
Evraz reported strong 1Q17 trading update on the back of rising iron and coal prices . Evraz reported strong 1Q17 operating numbers, with a 4% Q/q rise in rolled steel volumes and a 6% Q/q increase in coking coal output. Average price for steel products was up 18%, broadly in line with peers. Meanwhile, average realised coking coal gained 32% Q/q, which was a
116  RUSSIA Country Report  April 2017    www.intellinews.com


































































































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