Sverdlovsk Gubernskiy Bank CJSC was ‘white-listed’ by the Federal Antimonopoly Administration for transparency of its consumer loans. According to the Administration, they used the data provided by Regional Russian Banks Association, Russian Banks Association, and a number of other banks; so far, 78 banks have voluntarily disclosed information on loans. The Administration and the Bank of Russia issued some recommendations on loan transparency in May 2005. The underlying principle is providing the would-be borrowers with truthful information on the terms of receiving, using and paying back a

Yekaterinburg Electrical Network Company Ltd. is reported to be servicing 90 sites it does not own since these sites are used to supply the company’s consumers with electricity. Allegedly, the end-users should not be bothered by the fact that the actual owner does not take on the responsibility for maintaining the sites in proper condition. The company is currently dealing with the issue of transferring the data recorded on the transformers and distribution points onto the company’s account; it is also possible that they will eventually either buy the sites or sign servicing agreements,

The Ministry for Public Property Management in Sverdlovsk Region is hoping to buy the majority holding of Mount Belaya JSC as early as 2007, Minster Alexei Molotkov announced at a recent press conference. ‘Sverdlovsk Region currently owns a 15%-share holding of this sports facility. We think we’ll have bought another 23.6% of shares by the end of the year, and we’ll probably become the majority shareholder in 2007,’ Mr Molotkov said. The Minster also observed that they had bought 45,000 shares of Euro-Asian International Transportation and Logistics Center JSC in the first half of 2006, with

Evrazruda JSC (part of Evraz Group) started getting ready for the winter season. Special committees meant for supervising all the preparations were set up in all of the company’s subsidiaries. The committees have to report to the central committee consisting of the company’s experts. The bulk of the preparations should have been finished by October 10, 2006. The technicians of Evrazruda are now examining and repairing the heating, hot- and cold-water facilities, pumps, water-removing equipment, and ventilation systems in all of the company’s mines. They are also fixing the cranage, the

‘One of the Region’s largest plants, Uralmash JSC is still having a hard time,’ Sverdlovsk Region Minister for Industry, Power Engineering and Science Vladimir Molchanov noted in his interview to UrBC representative. ‘The plant found itself in a crisis when it was segmented by the owners. Fragmenting the plant into smaller parts and selling them looks rather dubious; it has already led to a dramatic decrease in the number of the employees (from 14,000 to 3,700, or almost by a factor of four). The plant’s losses amounted to 500 million RUR in 2005,’ Mr Molchanov said.

Experts of Evrazruda JSC (Russian ore maker and part of Evraz Group) assessed the company’s success in managing the quality of raw stuff and ready ore in the first half of 2006. All of the company’s subsidiaries met the quality requirements concerning the iron content in the raw stuff and in the primary ore concentrate. Abagurskiy and Mundybashskiy subsidiaries also met the requirements for the agglomerate and secondary ore concentrate. Yet there was some decrease of ore in the final tailings. Mundybashskiy subsidiary rose the fineness of the concentrate by 2.3% (this eases extraction of

Ten billion RUR will be invested in the development of Chelyabinsk Region power industry, Deputy Chief Engineer of ChelyabEnergo JSC Andrey Shabalin announced at the seminar conducted for a group of journalists. According to Mr Shabalin, the best part of money should come from charging for connecting the clients to the electric networks (the profit is estimated at 4.4 billion RUR) and including the so-called investment component into the supplying tariffs (this should yield 2 billion RUR). ‘We need at least 16.4 billion RUR altogether,’ he said. ‘ChelyabEnergo was treated really well by the

Shareholders of Electromachine JSC refused to raise the company’s authorized capital through an additional share issue worth 1,500,000 RUR. This decision was made at the annual general meeting. The initial idea was to issue 1,500, 000 registered paperless shares with face value of 1 RUR per share, which would cost 200 RUR per share. Yet as the shareholders did not agree to the proposals, no such amendments were made to the company’s Charter.

Chelyabinsk Region Government approved of the proposal consisting in privatizing two municipal enterprises, Emanzhelinsk Printing Works and Pharmaceutics Factory, and making them open joint-stock companies, with the 100% share holding still belonging to Chelyabinsk Region Government. Such decision was made at the Government sitting today. According to Evgeny Teftelev, Chelyabinsk Region Minister of Industry and Natural Resources, the privatization of the two enterprises was actually included in the privatization plan for 2006. After the reorganization takes place, the authorized capital of

Evrazruda JSC, Russian ore maker and part of Evraz Group, started the new special training courses for the company’s potential employees who are currently on the alternative personnel list. The first course will last for four weeks (from July 24 to August 18, 2006); it will be attended by 16 people from the company’s Abagurskiy subsidiary. The course is two-fold, its first half being largely theoretical and the second half consisting in a week’s job training in the position that the person might be later invited to accept. The theoretical part dwells upon the issues of production budget

Ural Airlines JSC summed up the results of the economic activity in the first six months of 2006. The company’s profits rose by 28% altogether, yet the profitability of airlifts (the company’s primary activity) has remained the same as the year before due to efficient use of aircraft; moreover, this figure is 4% greater than the one the company was planning on. Ural Airlines have achieved better results financially throughout January to June 2006 than throughout January to June 2005 since they managed to cut their fixed expenses; there was no need to give overhaul to aircraft, for instance,

Ural Foil JSC (part of SUAL Group) decided to introduce UseTender.com, an electronic tender system, for those willing to supply the company with their goods and services, Director for Information and Analytics of SUAL Holding Urals Roman Lukichev said to UrBC representative. The usefulness of each purchase really depends on the company’s purchasing system as a whole: the more efficient the process, the lower the price. E-tenders simplify the company’s buying routines, as there is no human factor involved, and thus give equal opportunities to all potential suppliers. According to the company’s

Credit Ural Bank held an extraordinary shareholder meeting on July 24, 2006. The meeting was attended by the stockholders possessing 678,319,787 votes, of 83.8% of the company’s voting stock. The most significant point on the agenda was the payment of dividends for the first half of 2006. The shareholders agreed to the suggestion made by the Board of Directors and declared the dividend of .19 RUR per both ordinary and preference share, to be paid no later than September 15, 2006. The attendees also approved of Credit Ural Bank joining the noncommercial Organization of Employers of Chelyabinsk

Evrazruda JSC (part of Evraz Group) started upgrading its filtering equipment at the processing shop of the company’s Abagurskiy subsidiary in Novokuznetsk. The upgrading program provides for gradual withdrawal of the obsolete DSH-68 suction filters and replacing them with the highly efficient DTBO-100 disk filters made by UralChimMash JSC of Yekaterinburg. The company’s technicians and the experts from ZapSibMetallurgMontazh Ltd. are currently replacing one of the five suction filters used in No. 2 processing sector. The new filter is expected to have been tested by mid-August and will have

Ural Airlines JSC looked at the results of its activity in the six months of 2006, and, overall, these results are better than those obtained a year earlier. The passenger turnover, for example, has risen by 13% and came to 1,011,702,000 passenger/kilometers. In January to June 2006, the company have operated 97,666,000 tons/kilometers against 87,406,000 tons/kilometers in January to June 2005 (an increase of 12%). Since the beginning of the year, the company has already serviced 405,045 people, which exceeds the figures for the first half of 2005 by 14%. 252,218 passengers used domestic

According to the Central Bank of Russia, the volume of loans offered by Chelyabinsk Commercial Land Bank CJSC to natural persons for a term of 181 days to a year has decreased by 68.5% throughout January to June 2006; the figure has gone down from 1,777,000 RUR on July 1, 2005 to 558,000 RUR on July 1, 2006. The volume of loans given to natural persons for a term of 91 days to 180 days has also dropped from 45,000 RUR to 25,000 RUR, or by 44% (compared to 2005).

Federal Antimonopoly Service in Sverdlovsk Region dismissed the case initiated by the General Director of Vostok Ltd. concerning Servoskaya power plant today. The plant had allegedly violated the Russian antimonopoly legislation by refusing to supply heating and hot water to certain consumers even though it was actually capable of rendering those services. The other claims have to do with violations in pricing policies and ungrounded use of business tariff for Vostok Ltd. whereas the latter was entitled to private individual tariff. All this, claim the experts from Vostok Ltd., was

UTair Airlines have transferred 16,707 passengers via Moscow (16,099 passengers used Vnukovo airport, 608 people used Domodedovo airport) throughout July 1 to July 23, 2006. Most people fly from Khanty-Mansiysk, Anapa, Sochi, Surgut, Saint Petersburg, and Syktyvkar, reports the company’s spokesperson.

A professional development workshop has been held in Abagurskiy subsidiary of Evrazruda JSC (ore maker, part of Evraz Group) recently. The workshop was designed and developed for the experts from the geological and surveyor departments as well as for the employees from the technological departments of all the subsidiaries of Evrazruda. The seminar was devoted to frequently asked questions concerning the use of Surpac Vision software. Executives from Surpac Minex Group of Australia, the producer of the software, demonstrated the possible ways of its implementation in geological surveyance, in

In 2005, Tyumen Energy Trading Company JSC sold 58,011,917,000 RUR worth of electric power. The company itself bought 71,157,620,549 kilowatt-hours on the wholesale and retail markets reported their spokesperson today. Former part of TyumenEnergo, the company emerged as an independent business on July 1, 2005, when the corresponding decision was made at the shareholder meeting.