Aquarius asks the state to co-finance the production of smart electronics

Electronics manufacturer Aquarius intends to invest 40 billion rubles by 2026. in expanding production and creating new products, in particular smart TVs, watches and speakers. To do this, the company asks the state to partially co-finance projects, introduce incentives for the sale of gadgets through preferential lending, and limit parallel imports of foreign electronics. Other market participants believe that targeted subsidies to one organization will harm competition, but support restrictions on parallel imports.

Kommersant got acquainted with the Russian Gadget project, developed by the Aquarius company and sent to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko on August 15. It follows from the document that the company plans to invest 40 billion rubles by 2026. in expanding the production of smartphones, laptops, tablets and other equipment, as well as creating our own smart TVs, watches and speakers.

The draft states that 4.5 billion rubles. needed to increase capacity in Tver and Shuya. Another 3 billion rubles each. the company intends to spend on entering the capital of an Asian IT developer for access to technologies (which one is not specified) and a Russian distributor. The company is asking the state to provide these funds. The remaining 29.5 billion rubles. will be invested in development, production and marketing.

The company also asks the government to ensure “parallel import regulation”, provide subsidies and VEB guarantees for the creation of stocks of electronic component base (ECB), provide preferential loans for expanding production, subsidize working capital for sellers for the purchase of Russian devices, preferential loans for the purchase of gadgets for individuals etc. As a result, Aquarius expects to occupy 20% of the laptop market and 7% each of the smartphone and tablet market in the consumer segment. It is proposed to release gadgets on the Android OS, and computers on the Astra Linux OS.

Dmitry Grigorenko’s office reported that the appeal was sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Digital Development “for consideration and response.” Aquarius declined to comment; the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Digital Development did not respond to Kommersant.

A year ago, Rostelecom presented its project to develop a domestic smartphone. The company proposed introducing restrictions on parallel imports of foreign devices and starting sales of smartphones on the Aurora OS (owned by Rostelecom) in the consumer segment; the project was estimated at 480 billion rubles. until 2030 (see “Kommersant” dated November 17, 2022).

The head of RDW Technology, Sergei Akopov, believes that Aquarius plans to produce smartphones and tablets on the Android OS, since most of the Russian market is occupied by this system: “Sales on this OS will be guaranteed to be higher, and the company’s costs will quickly pay off.”

The state should not invest in one specific manufacturer, but lending instruments can be expanded to all Russian electronics developers, says a top manager of a Russian computer manufacturer. “The project does not look realistic; perhaps Aquarius simply decided to demonstrate to the state its readiness for mass production of devices,” believes Kommersant’s interlocutor.

Fplus (which produces smartphones, tablets, etc.) believes that Russian consumer electronics should develop without targeted government subsidies, since “this makes the market uncompetitive.” “We need to work in the consumer market based on the fact that the offer must be competitive, the existing sales channels fully satisfy the needs,” the holding emphasizes.

But FPlus also admits that certain tools from the Aquarius project, such as cashback for the purchase of a Russian device or financing of marketing promotion, “would be useful.” The holding also agrees that it is necessary to take measures to revise the parallel import mechanism in relation to foreign consumer electronics. In the summer (see Kommersant on June 17), the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, said that the authorities were considering the possibility of banning the parallel import of LG and Samsung devices.

Timofey Kornev