bne_Tech_01_2021

Top Stories 2
Russia goes ahead with eSIM
technology 2 Russia's Nornickel adopts blockchain
for supply chain management 3
Leaders 4
Durov rejects Western funds’ offer
to buy 5%-10% of Telegram with
$30bn valuation 4 Romania arguably among best
locations for digital nomads 7
Investment 8
New Ukrainian VC firm QPDigital
aims to invest up to $100 million
in digital startups 8 Slovenia’s Eligma completes €4mn funding round 9 Sofia-based LAUNCHub Ventures holds first close of new fund on €44mn 9 VTB to acquire 44.8% stake in RTKM
cloud and data centre business
for RUB35bn 10
Russia goes ahead with eSIM technology Fintech & E-commerce 12
CONTENTS
bne:Tech
January 2021 www.intellinews.com @bneintellinews
Russian mobile phone operators are exploring the promising eSIM technology, but the government's attempts to control and centralize the technology are likely to create hurdles.
The communication ministry recently unveiled plans to create a storage system for user profiles of virtual mobile phone SIM cards based on eSIM technology, explaining it by the
need to ensure better protection of subscriber data.
Russia's Nornickel adopts blockchain for supply chain management
Founder Tinkov converts voting
shares in Russian TCS banking group 12 Romania’s eMAG marketplace
launches online financing 13 Russia's Sberbank could buy electronics retailer Citilink for $1bn 13 Albania needs reforms for e-commerce
to thrive, says World Bank 14
Telecom 15
Georgia signs MoU with US on
5G security 15 Turkcell denies any affiliation with
$1.6bn loan in default extended by
Ziraat Bank to Virgin Islands company 16
NIBs 17
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As more and more global companies adopt corporate blockchain solutions, Norilsk Nickel (NorNickel),
the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-
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