SMBU signed MOU with AFK Sistema

On December 22,an MOU between Shenzhen MSU-BIT University and AFK Sistema was signed online.The signing ceremony was presided over by First Vice Rector Sergey Shakhray and attended by AFK Sistema’s Chairman of Board Vladimir Yevtushenkov, SMBU Rector Li Hezhang, as well as representatives of teachers and students of the University.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov,Chairman of AFK Sistema,said in his remarks that the companyis a major private investor into the real sector of economy, with assets covering more than 10 sectors. The focus of Sistema’s investment portfolio is on high-tech companies, including Russia’s largest telecommunications carrier MTS, microelectronics industry leader Element, as well as developers and manufacturers in smart city, ground and airborne communications, space communications, navigation equipment,and drone solutions. The company has had long-term cooperation with China. The signing of this MOU is not only of practical significance, but also of strategic importance. It is hoped that through future cooperation,both parties will establish business connectionsin variousfields such as telecommunications, biotechnology, and venture capital among others, and build a bridge for the continuous exchange of knowledge and capabilities between the two countries in promising fields such as microelectronics and the internet of things, etc.

Rector Li Hezhang thanked Sistema on behalf of all faculty members and studentsfor its attention to student growth and career development, as well as its support for the University's scientific research and technological innovation. He noted that SMBU is a high-level research university founded in Shenzhenby the governments of China and Russiain collaboration with two prestigious universities. Carrying the glorious mission of developing talent for the China's Belt and Road Initiative,the University is committed to offering top-notch education and quality research and innovation activities, cultivating high-caliber innovative talent for China-Russia strategic cooperation and regional economic and social development, and achieving academic excellence.Sistema is a Russian publicly traded diversified holding company with outstanding performance and prominent strengths. Therefore, it is bound to provide the University’s graduates with abeneficial platform to demonstrate their talents and make career achievements.

He added that the signing of the MOUis a major achievementthat keeps up with the times and looks into the future. He believed that the partnership between the twosides is a combination of their strengthens and therefore is of positive and important significance. He sincerely hoped that both parties can strengthen personnel exchanges and cooperation, explore the establishment of student learning bases and excellent graduate supply mechanisms, set up joint laboratories, jointly teach undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students,conduct research collaboration and technological R&D in electronics, IT,  network, big data, materials, and biology among others, so as to contribute to the development of the most cutting-edge scientific and technological fields of the two countries.

About AFK Sistema

AFK Sistema is a Russian publicly traded diversified holding companyserving approximately 150 million consumers in a variety of sectors including telecommunications, high-tech, banking, electronics and retail, wood processing, agriculture, real estate, hotel and tourism, medical services and biotechnology, etc. Founded in 1993, the company recorded arevenue of 656.9 billion rubles in 2019, with total assets worth 1.3 trillion rubles as of December 31, 2019. Sistem’s GDRs are traded on the London Stock Exchange with stock code "SSA" and its common stock has been approved for trading on the Moscow Exchange under the ticker symbol "AFKS".

The microchip packaging and assembly plantof Mikron (owned by Element Group), Russia's largest microelectronics manufacturer and exporter, has been successfully put into operation in Shenzhen. Moreover, Sistema has conducted investment cooperation in China through partnership with Russia-China Investment Fund, as well as scientific and commercial cooperation in modern medicine in collaboration with Chinese biotechnology companies (such as Capital Bio Technology).