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September 2020 www.intellinews.com I Page 17
of them are users of dedicated mobile internet access services (via modems or routers).
China’s Huawei opens innovations centre in Serbia
Chinese telecommunications equipment and services company Huawei has opened an innovations and development centre in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, the government said in a statement.
The ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, comes few days after the US pushed Serbia and Kosovo to agree not to use 5G equipment that is supplied by untrusted vendors, seen as a reference to Chinese companies. The agreement was part of the deal on economic normalisation that both sides signed under US auspices on September 4.
At the ceremony, Brnabic hailed the opening of the centre and said that it would help her country’s further digitalisation.
Serbia and Huawei agreed on the launch of the hub in 2019.
Brnabic also commented that she has discussed the planned launch of a 5G tender with Huawei and China’s ambassador to Serbia, Chen Bo, who have agreed the future tender should be open and transparent.
Brnabic also said her country was not interested in untrusted technologies and that the tender will respect international standards.
Croatia’s internet traffic up almost 50% in 2Q20 but revenues fall
Internet traffic in Croatia increased by almost 50% in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM).
The increase in traffic was clearly linked to the shift of many activities online during the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; Croatia had a full month of lockdown in April and restrictions were gradually lifted during the quarter.
“In the second quarter of 2020, special
working conditions continued in the electronic communications market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education taught online and many companies in the Republic of Croatia introduced home work,” said the report from HAKOM.
However, this did not translate into an increase
in revenues in the electronic communications market; there was a 5.4% year-on-year decrease in revenues during the quarter, which HAKOM mainly attributed to the 14.2% decrease in revenues from fixed and mobile telephone services. This was attributed to the fall in roaming fees for both Croatians and foreigners when taking their holidays.
Shareholder of Russian agro major Rusagro buys into foodtech
The CEO and shareholder of Russian agricultural major Rusagro, Maxim Basov, has acquired 5% in the new foodtech start-up Elementaree, buying out the first investor Lawrence Lepard for an undisclosed amount, Kommersant daily reported.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, foodtech and e-groceries is the fastest growing segment in Russian e-commerce, boosted by high demand during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
Elementaree delivers over 0.1mn ready-to-cook grocery baskets with recipes weekly in Moscow and its vicinity, St Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The service was founded in 2014 by Olga Zinovyeva.
In 2019 the company had revenues of RUB400mn ($5.34mn), and has doubled its business in 1H20, according to Kommersant. Analysts surveyed by the daily estimated that 5% in Elementaree could