Chinese investors buy stake in 'Russian iPhone' Yota

By bne IntelliNews October 22, 2015

bne IntelliNews -

 

Hong Kong-based REX Global Entertainment Holdings has bought a 65% stake in the maker of the double-screened 'Russian iPhone', Yota Devices, for $100mn, the company's CEO Vladislav Martynov said on October 21.

Martynov said that REX Global could inject $50mn to fund the third-generation Yota phone, and their knowledge of the Chinese market could boost sales there. The remaining shares in Yota are owned by Rostec, a Russian state-owned defence and technology agency (25.1%), and managers including Martynov (10%).

The YotaPhone, featuring an LCD screen on one side and an e-ink 'paper' screen on the other, was Russia's first contender on the global smartphone market.

As the Russian government steps up its import substitution drive because of tensions with the West, the design received strong backing from state officials also concerned with intelligence threats posed by Western technology.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was an early YotaPhone adopter, and President Vladimir Putin gave one to Chinese Xi Jinping at their 2014 meeting in Berlin. Chechen leader and active Intstagram user Ramzan Kadyrov was also one of the promoters of Yota.

"Do not buy an iPhone," Kadyrov wrote on Instagram. "Patriotism and love for your country come through deeds."

The second generation of the phone was launched in 2014 in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and costs around $500. Its main difference from the previous model is that its second screen is touch-sensitive, can send text messages, respond to calls and perform other basic operations.

Among the innovations considered for the still unreleased YotaPhone 3 design, the company is considering a battery that will charge from solar light, with sensors stuck to the screen. Another idea is to use the glass of the screens as sound speakers.

 

 

 

Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

Drum rolls in the great disappearing act of Russia's banks

Jason Corcoran in Moscow - Russian banks are disappearing at the fastest rate ever as the country's deepening recession makes it easier for the central bank to expose money laundering, dodgy lending ... more

Kremlin: No evidence in Olympic doping allegations against Russia

bne IntelliNews - The Kremlin supported by national sports authorities has brushed aside "groundless" allegations of a mass doping scam involving Russian athletes after the World Anti-Doping Agency ... more

PROFILE: Day of reckoning comes for eccentric owner of Russian bank Uralsib

Jason Corcoran in Moscow - Revelations and mysticism may have been the stock-in-trade of Nikolai Tsvetkov’s management style, but ultimately they didn’t help him to hold on to his ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Ukraine's birth rate plummets to 300-year low as country’s population collapses
    7 days ago
  2. EU finally boosts defence investment into arms production as Ukraine runs out of ammo
    1 month ago
  3. Fresh evidence suggests that the April 2022 Istanbul peace deal to end the war in Ukraine was stillborn
    7 days ago
  4. Don't mention the "D" word - Ukraine
    4 days ago
  5. UBN: The US Needs to Wake Up
    5 days ago
  1. Russia could pay off its entire external debt tomorrow, in cash
    25 days ago
  2. Speculation swirls of “Men in Blue” in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack linked to FSB
    29 days ago
  3. Albanians campaign on social media to keep bus bridge created in freak accident
    1 year ago
  4. BRICS announce a blockchain-based payment system to create a common currency
    27 days ago
  5. Saudi Arabia to scale back plans for Neom city
    14 days ago

Reports

Dismiss