It’s more lucrative to invest in Russian IT than in telecoms

Troika Dialog analysts believe that IT companies in Russia will grow at a rate of 20-25% a year, while telecommunications companies – at just 15-17%. The reason lies in the fact that the mobile telephone market in Russia has reached saturation point, while the IT market is still in its early stages of development. However, the analysts also see obstacles for the growth of the IT sector: in the low level of openness, conditioned by opaque order-placement systems, acute competition and the mass use of so-called "grey" schemes in importing and wholesale selling.