Page 8 - bne_Magazine_April_2018

8 I The Month That Was bne April 2018
Business
Eastern Europe
Russia's e-commerce market grew
by 26% in 2017 to RUB1.725 trillion ($30.4bn), Prime said on February 26 citing data bfrom the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC).
Russia's second-largest state bank VTB will sell its 16.62% stake in the local branch of Burger King fast food chain, the chairman of the bank Herbert Moos told analysts.
One the largest owners of A-class commercial real estate in Moscow, Boris Mints’ O1 Properties, will quit the market and sell its assets to Laysa Group affiliated with Russian Railways, Vedomosti daily reported on March 5. The value of the deal is not disclosed, but the market value of O1 assets was estimated at $4.23bn in June 2017.
The sales of smartwatch devices
in Russia in 2017 rose by 150% to 274,000 units, Vedomosti daily said
on March 6 citing data from M.Video handset retailer. In monetary terms the market grew by 81% to RUB6bn.
The sale of cars in Russia was up by
a quarter y/y in February, as the recov- ery of the sector continues its strong growth, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) reported on March 6. Russian car and LCV sales continued to recover strongly in February, with a 25% y/y increase to 133,177 units, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) that tracks the sales.
New investment in Ukrainian IT com- panies hit $265mn last year, triple the level of 2016, according to a report by AVentures Capital. Of 44 deals signed last year, 90% were with four foreign equity funds: General Catalyst, IVP, Spark and Almaz Capital. Overall, for- eign capital accounted for 96% of total investment, compared to a 50-50 split with local capital in 2016.
Central Europe
Czech car group Skoda Auto, part of Germany's Volkswagen, increased its operating profit in 2017 by 34.6% to €1.6bn. Sales went up by 20.8% to €16.6bn. Last year Skoda sold a record 1.2mn cars.
Slovak/Czech financial group Penta Investments increased its share in the Czech sports betting and gambling company Fortuna Entertainment to 95.8%. Penta bought approximately 10.6% of shares from US investment management firm Franklin Temple-
ton Investments and will start a squeeze out of minority shareholders before delisting the company.
Eurasia
Russian oil company Zarubezhneft signed deals worth more than $700mn with the National Iran Oil Company (NIOC) to develop the Aban and Western Paydar oil fields in a consortium with private sector Iranian oil services company Dana Energy.
Uzbek and Tajik businesspeople signed deals worth $620mn during a business forum hosted as part of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s first official visit to Tajikistan. Uzbek agency Uztrade, which assists small and private businesses and farmers with exports, has a new branch in Dushanbe.
Russia's largest carmaker Avtovaz delayed the launch of its $500mn plant in Kazakhstan by two years until 2021. The 60,000 vehicle/yr plant is delayed due to "difficulties on the Kazakh market" which was "expected to be larger", the company's CEO said.
projects across Southeast Europe,
according to a study carried out by CEE Bankwatch Network. Until recently, the region’s hydropower was relatively underexploited but there has been an explosion in activity recently, including in protected areas.
Romania’s largest private healthcare provider MedLife acquired 80% of Sol- omed, a group of medical services clinics in Arges county. This is the 19th acquisi- tion by MedLife group, which held an IPO on the Bucharest exchange in 2016.
Kosovo found a short-term fix for the energy glitch that slowed digital clocks across the continent by up to six min- utes, but the problem may re-emerge if the underlying issues are not solved. The problem was caused by a spat when Kosovo was unable to produce enough energy for its own needs, and neigh- bouring Serbia – which does not recog- nise Kosovo as independent – refused
to make up the shortfall.
One of the Czech Republic’s biggest engineering groups, Vitkovice Heavy Machinery (VHM), could be saved by the SPV VTK company, owned by Czech businessmen Jaroslav Strnad, one of the country’s main arms producers. SPV VTK has offered to take a 51% stake and solve Vitkovice’s debt problems if credi- tors and a judge agree.
Southeast Europe
Gas transmission system operator Bulgar- transgaz commissioned two companies to draw up a feasibility study on the proposed Balkan gas hub in Bulgaria. Bulgaria wants to store gas from Russia and the Caspian region at the planned hub at the Black Sea port of Varna, which could cost up to €2.4bn to build.
International banks have extended loans and guarantees totalling €727mn for at least 82 hydropower
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