Russia proposed a plan to expand settlements in the national currency, the exit of new retailers: highlights August 25

World

• Sony Corporation has revised its recommendations for the retail prices of PlayStation 5 game consoles in several key international markets due to high inflation. Prices will rise in Europe, the UK, Australia, China, Japan and remain the same in the US.

Russia

• The Ministry of Digital Transformation refused Rostec to finance a project to develop a domestic engine for developing games with funds from the Rosinfocominvest fund.
• At a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, which will be held in Kyrgyzstan on August 25-26, it is planned to discuss the issue of expanding the use of national currencies of the EAEU countries for mutual trade agreements.

Finance

• The total amount of funds stolen by fraudsters from bank customers in the second quarter decreased by 14% compared to the first quarter, from 3 billion rubles to 2.8 billion rubles, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation reported.

Business

• Сitigroup has officially announced the phasing out of activities in Russia.

• Business in 2022 reduced the cost of corporate education of employees. The proportion of companies that now have a training program has decreased compared to 2021 from 85% to 74%.

• Irish Bookmate Limited may cease its activities in Russia, the company owns a subscription service of the same name for reading electronic books. Yandex, after buying the Bookmate platform, will develop a book service in the Russian Federation, the former team will focus on the Asian and European markets, the sources said.
• In seven months, Russians have increased their pet product purchases by a third. A check for a purchase in a pet store in January-July amounted to 1.2 thousand rubles.
• Retailers from Iran, China and Turkey are interested in developing their business in Russia and will soon enter the domestic market.
• Russians are moving towards a new model of lean consumption, choosing products at a lower price and focusing more and more on discounts.
• Western companies’ losses after leaving Russia have already exceeded $70 billion, with companies in the fuel and energy sector expected to incur the biggest losses.

Services and media

• The Moscow Arbitration Court invalidated the transaction for the sale of the Russian Forbes to Magomed Musaev in August 2018 for 500 thousand rubles due to the “non-market” amount of the transaction. The court ordered that the magazine be returned to its former owner, Alexander Fedotov.

• SberMarket launched the Open Data resource, which collects data on user behavior within product categories across the board. This data will help brands communicate with users on the SberMarket platform and conduct effective advertising campaigns, the company believes.

• Avito Real Estate has launched a real estate appraisal service that compares similar properties and takes into account several parameters: price changes per 1 m2. meter in a particular house, structural features, data on the area and infrastructure, and more.

• MTS-Bank launched a service for companies to work with staff and freelancers. It will help simplify workflow, find employees for projects, and offer freelancers their services to more businesses.