RF Ministry of IT and Communications Finally Approves of 2.9 bln. for IT Start-Ups
The story of establishing a venture fund in Russia to support ICT has finished with registering the Russian ICT investment fund by the Federal Agency on State Property Supervision.
Oct 15, 2007
The fund will be called in short Rosinfocominvest. It will have its own authorized capital of 1.45 bln. rubles ($ 58.23 mln.), which is to double after the emission and come to 2.9 bln. ($ 116.47 mln.) Promising IT-projects might receive up to 100 mln. rubles ($ 4.016 mln.) from the new fund.
The Ministry of Communications decided to establish a venture fund to support ICT-sector more than two years ago. Then the proposal was approved of, and the project was submitted for consideration, which lasted till PM Victor Zubkov ordered to finish the fund registration in a week.
Finally, the Fund registered on October 11th, 2007 was called the Russian ICT investment fund or Rosinfocominvest in short. It is to support promising IT projects to develop. Grigory Bunatyan has been appointed Director General of the given fund, the key figures in the Board of Directors are the Minister of Communications Leonid Reiman and his Deputy Dmitry Milovantsev.
The initial authorized capital amounts to 1.45 bln. rubles, the finance is planned to be raised from the federal budget. Early in 2008 Roscominvest is to hold the additional emission, which is to double its capital, the state shares being fixed after the Ministry of Communications, which initiated the fund creation. The Ministry of Communication tells CNews in 2009 some of the federal shares will be sold to private investors, so that the government stake in the capital will be reduced to 25% plus one share, while in 2010 the government stake in the enterprise will be reduced to nothing.
The fund will start investing into projects as soon as the government stake in its capital reduces to 51%. Only after that promising ICT start-ups might hope to receive investments up to 100 mln. rubles ($ 4.016 mln.) each.
‘It is nice the fund establishment has finally finished, - Sergey Shalmanov, CNews Analytics Analyst, believes. – 100 mln. rubles is enough to support start-ups, which has been confirmed by the venture IT-market experience. When the start-ups start entering the international market they are sure to be in need of other investment, but then there will be other investors. Rosinfocominvest has been created for other tasks. As for future investment, it is likely to go to the telecommunication sector’.
The Ministry of Communications decided to establish a venture fund to support ICT-sector more than two years ago. Then the proposal was approved of, and the project was submitted for consideration, which lasted till PM Victor Zubkov ordered to finish the fund registration in a week.
Finally, the Fund registered on October 11th, 2007 was called the Russian ICT investment fund or Rosinfocominvest in short. It is to support promising IT projects to develop. Grigory Bunatyan has been appointed Director General of the given fund, the key figures in the Board of Directors are the Minister of Communications Leonid Reiman and his Deputy Dmitry Milovantsev.
The initial authorized capital amounts to 1.45 bln. rubles, the finance is planned to be raised from the federal budget. Early in 2008 Roscominvest is to hold the additional emission, which is to double its capital, the state shares being fixed after the Ministry of Communications, which initiated the fund creation. The Ministry of Communication tells CNews in 2009 some of the federal shares will be sold to private investors, so that the government stake in the capital will be reduced to 25% plus one share, while in 2010 the government stake in the enterprise will be reduced to nothing.
The fund will start investing into projects as soon as the government stake in its capital reduces to 51%. Only after that promising ICT start-ups might hope to receive investments up to 100 mln. rubles ($ 4.016 mln.) each.
‘It is nice the fund establishment has finally finished, - Sergey Shalmanov, CNews Analytics Analyst, believes. – 100 mln. rubles is enough to support start-ups, which has been confirmed by the venture IT-market experience. When the start-ups start entering the international market they are sure to be in need of other investment, but then there will be other investors. Rosinfocominvest has been created for other tasks. As for future investment, it is likely to go to the telecommunication sector’.