Positive Technologies has held Positive Hack Days for the 12th time. This year, for the first time, the event was held in one of the most popular parks in Moscow – Gorky Park – and was aimed not only at the professional community, but also at a wide audience. The key theme of the event was trust in technology in various aspects, including trust in investment in technology companies. Their representatives, as well as leading Russian brokers and representatives of the stock exchange, discussed the prospects for investment in the high-tech sector.

IN panel discussion moderated by Timofey Martynov, the founder of Smartlab, was attended by Boris Blokhin (Moscow Exchange), Anton Malkov (Tinkoff Bank), Evgeny Sokolsky (BCS), David Pipia (Alfa-Bank), Dmitry Chuiko (Whoosh), Evgeny Zaltsman (Ultimate Capital) and co-owner of Positive Technologies Maxim Pustovoy (Arenadata). They talked about the situation on the stock market, the prospects for investments in the technology sector and the entry of companies into the stock exchange. Participants noted that the situation on the stock market has changed dramatically: until February 2022, foreign funds provided about 80% of all transactions with shares, and today retail investors play a key role, while Russian institutional players have taken a wait-and-see attitude. Nevertheless, according to a number of speakers, from 5 to 10 companies, half of which are representatives of the technology sector, may enter the Moscow Exchange this year or in the next two years.

Positive Technologies co-owner Maxim Pustovoi believes that hundreds of small IT companies in Russia are on the rise today, as Western manufacturers no longer suppress them. He believes that the stock market should create conditions conducive to the entry of such high-margin companies into the stock exchange: “Direct placement is one of the ways. It is necessary to simplify and make clear this way for companies to successfully enter the stock exchange through direct listing.”

In turn, Boris Blokhin, director of the stock market department of the Moscow Exchange, noted that direct placement is generally a rare occurrence in the world, and even more so in Russia: such a practice has not yet developed. “It is necessary to organize this product for the issuer in such a way as to try to eliminate all risks, and keep all the pluses,” he said, agreeing with the need to simplify access to the stock exchange. According to him, the Moscow Exchange will help companies grow to this level; in particular, an over-the-counter platform has been launched, the first transactions on which will take place in the autumn. “Now we have 80% of the market – these are retail investors, while they have quite large capitals. That is, in general, the market works even in such difficult conditions and there is demand, ”added a representative of the Moscow Exchange.