‘Sverdlovsk Region banking sector comprises over 117 crediting businesses at the moment, that is, 27 local commercial banks with about 21 subsidiaries, 25 subsidiaries of regional banks, and 42 Russian Sberbank subsidiaries,’ Deputy Minister of Economics Nikolai Bespamyatnikh announced at the conference. ‘At the moment, the balance of currency comes to 260 billion RUR, the factual assessed capital comes to about 5 billion RUR. There has been given 107 million RUR worth of loans, and something between 60 and 70 billion RUR worth of loans was given to sole traders. Natural persons received

The total turnover of Ural Federal Currency Exchange traders who use the exchange to speculate on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (dealing in shares and corporate stocks) reached a point of 128.603 billion RUR as opposed to 125.747 billion RUR in 2004. The government-payment sector turnover (government papers and Bank of Russia bonds) came up to 17.226 billion RUR (as opposed to 2.991 billion RUR in 2004), which is 5.8 times more than the year before. The Bank of Russia deposit market transactions turnover comprised 43.830 billion RUR as opposed to 27.478 billion RUR in 2004.

Two large regional banks (UBRiR, or Ural Reconstruction and Development Bank and Sverdlotsbank) have fully completed their merger. The first allied banks in the Urals welcomed the beginning of the new year as one bank. From the legal viewpoint, the alliance was spelled out as restructuring of Ural Reconstruction and Development Bank JSC by means of acquisition of Sverdlotsbank CJSC. Sverdlotsbank CJSC was thus deleted from the official state legal entities list on December 29, 2005 and from the crediting businesses list on December 30. Therefore, Sverdlotsbank CJSC is now an integral part of

The issue of limiting nighttime liquor trade in Sverdlovsk Region is currently under discussion. As the UrBC representative was explained by the spokesperson for Ministry of Trade, Food and Service Industry in Sverdlovsk Region, a special committee headed by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Sergei Chemesov is designing a liquor–selling ban project. ‘This project will probably become either a Sverdlovsk Region Government decree or Sverdlovsk Region Government bill; but the issue is not likely to have been settled before summer,’ the spokesperson said.

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel met the newly-appointed Consul General of the Republic of Kirghizia in Yekatrinburg Turdali Orozbayev on January 13. The Consul expressed his willingness to keep up the good partnership ties and cooperation that exist between Sverdlovsk Region and Kirghizia. The turnover in trade and projects, for instance, went up by 35% in 2005 (as opposed to the year before); also, the agreement signed by the two Governments in May 2001 was fully complied with, and the new agreement is on the way. Eduard Rossel mentioned the wish of some regional enterprises to

The Federal Government introduced some antidumping duties on Ukrainian tube and pipe import on January 1, 2006. Some tube suppliers don’t believe this is going to affect the regional market greatly, though. ‘Ural Federal District is known to use Russian tubes only,’ Lyubov Desyatova, Marketing Specialist of Yekaterinburgskaya Stalnaya Kompaniya (Yekaterinburg Steel Company) CJSC, said to the UrBC representative. Ms Desyatova says that Ukrainian tubes and pipes are virtually unknown on the local market. ‘This antidumping duty is more likely to affect the large-diameter tube market,’ she said.

Federal Antimonopoly Service allowed generating companies of Sverdlovsk and Perm Regions (Sverdlovskaya Generiruyushaya Kompaniya JSC and Permskaya Generiruyushaya Kompaniya JSC, respectively) to merge with TGK-9 JSC. The companies’ shareholders decided to merge in the end of 2005; the general meeting of all the three companies’ shareholders aimed at confirming the corresponding changes in the TGK-9 Charter is scheduled for February 20, 2006, and the merger is expected to have been completed by May 2006.

143.600 tons of grain worth 425.809 million RUR has been sold via Ural Regional Currency Exchange since August 2005. This has been done within the framework of government intervention in the grain market.

Magnezit Industrial Complex JSC will have to manage 1.650 billion RUR worth of investments in 2006, and it intends to spend about 500 million on the business maintenance and projects demanded by the supervisory authorities. Over 800 million RUR is going to be allocated for equipment renovation, robotizing, and computerization, Director of the company’s PR Department Marina Chirkova told the UrBC representative.

Hardware plants that are members of MMK JSC group (namely, Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Zavod JSC and MMK-Metiz JSC) reached the output of 500,000 tons in 2005; the output of the latter comprised 206300 tons, the output of the former made up 281900 tons of hardware products, the spokesperson for MMK JSC said to the UrBC representative. The plants are currently undergoing the merging process initiated by the decisions to restructure their joint-stock companies through MMK-Metiz JSC taking over MKZ JSC and becoming fully liable for it, made by the plants’ shareholders at the general

Uraltrubprom JSC (Ural Tube Maker) sold 14 360 tons of tubes in December 2005, which is 22.8% or 2663 tons more than the previous December. 9,400 tons (65.5%) and 4,960 tons (34.5%) of the sold goods are electric-welded joist loop web and oil pipe-line tubes, respectively. During 2005, the total output of Uraltrubprom JSC comprised 159,775 tons, which exceeds the corresponding figures for 2004 by 26,367 tons (19.7%). ‘Our sales for the last year come to 159,970 tons, and exceed the sales for 2004 by 26,529 tons (19,9%)’ the spokesperson for Uraltrubprom said to the UrBC representative.