Page 23 - bne_newspaper_June_22_2018

Opinion
June 22, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 23
bne:Tech
May, 2018 www.intellinews.com @bneintellinews
Avast to enter London bourse in bid to raise up to $1bn Jaroslav Hroch in Prague
Avast, which owns the popular consumer antivirus company AVG, will apply to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange in the hope of raising $200mn (CZK4.1bn) in primary proceeds from an IPO, the Czech-founded company announced on April 12.
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St Petersburg's start-up scene flourishes on high talent and low costs
Contents
Avast to enter London bourse
in bid to raise up to $1bn 1 Avast to enter London bourse in bid to raise up to $1bn 2 St Petersburg's start-up scene
flourishes on high talent and low costs 3 Romania entrepreneur aims to put home-grown UAV defence technology industry on the map 6
FinTech
Russia's mobile major MTS increases stake in Ozon to 16.7% 9
Blockchain
Romanian startups at the heart
of blockchain energy trading rally 10
Central Europe
Russian-Lithuanian startup Gosu.ai
raises $1.9mn from Russian and
French investors 13
Eurasia
Iran hit by cyber attack that left US
flag on screens 14 Iranian government set to block hugely popular Telegram messaging app 15 Iran's black market phone disconnection drive pushes up legal mobile imports 15
Eastern Europe
Internet catches up with TV on Russian
ad market 17 Sales of connected appliances jump
in Russia 17 Russia's HeadHunter Group seeks
to raise $250mn with NASDAQ IPO 18 Russia ranks second in the world
for digital piracy 18 Russian messaging service Telegram raised another $850mn with ICO 19
Southeast Europe
Russia's HeadHunter Group seeks
to raise $250mn with NASDAQ IPO 20
The Regions This Month 21
Filip Brokes in St Petersburg
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A key benefit of shifting the tax burden entirely to the point of production is that it ensures a greater number of barrels overall are taxed.
In total, the Finance Ministry expects that over the six-year implementation of the manoeuvre the exchequer will gain an additional RUB1-1.6 trillion ($16.15bn-$25.85bn), depending on price fluctuations.
Crucially, this is cash the government will be able to spend. Under the current fiscal rule, when
the oil price is above $40 the additional revenues generated must be used either to cover the deficit or be deposited in the National Welfare Fund. By expanding the number of barrels being taxed, the manoeuvre increases the revenues available for spending while maintaining the $40 fiscal rule.
Sweetening the deal
The tax manoeuvre’s main purpose is to encour- age further modernisation of Russia’s refineries and increase the production and export of lighter fuel products. The assumption is that increases in MET will be borne primarily by refiners in the form of higher gate costs. The removal of export duty also eliminates tax incentives for exporting refined products over crude, placing pressure on domestic refining.
The risk is that this will make refineries servic- ing the domestic market unprofitable, forcing the Kremlin to subsidise them or face the prospect of gasoline imports. The government has proposed the imposition of a negative excise duty – essen- tially a cash subsidy – but proposals reported thus far have been highly complex and of questionable practicality.
Fuelling discontent
Even prior to the implementation of the manoeu- vre, rising petrol prices have already become a political headache to the Kremlin. So far in 2018 the pump price for petrol has risen by around
6% year on year, and diesel has risen by 9%, and the topic was discussed at length during Putin’s annual “Direct Line” press conference. Increased prices at the pump are a highly visible sign of an