‘We are currently on the look-out for the future owner of President Business Center located at the intersection of Boris Yeltsin St. and Chelyuskintsev St. We are aware of the so-called postponed demand brought about by the economic situation at the moment. At the same time, our main goal is to fill the building with tenants,’ RED Management Company’s Marketing & Development Director Vladilen Stolyarov said in the course of a round table discussion on the launch of new business centers in Yekaterinburg. Now the estimated area of the building comes to about 34,000 sq m; the company

‘The third extension to Antey Business Center will be divided into two smaller sections. The fifty-four-storey tower with the area of 75,000 sq m is expected to be launched in October 2010,’ the owner of Antey Business Center Andrei Gavrilovskiy reported in the course of a round table discussion on the launch of new business centers in Yekaterinburg. Yet the original deadline for the launch of the third extension expired as early as 2008. ‘It was decided that the eleven-storey building that was supposed to have been a hotel will be converted to an office. It is not too late to change one’s

OOO Omega Spirits Group is now on the list of companies that have overdue debt resulting from their bank loans. This news was announced at Sverdlovsk Region Government business support committee’s recent meeting. The meeting was chaired by Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Anatoly Gredin. Omega Spirits Group representative explained that the wholesaler fully paid off its loans to four banks and was able to come to debt restructuring agreements with the rest of them. The only exception to this trend was ZAO Bank VEFK-Ural that was recently declared bankrupt. Anatoly Gredin asked the

The sales of new passenger cars on the Russian market plunged by 37% in January 2010 compared with January 2009 and amounted to 74,090 vehicles, the European Business Association’s car manufacturers committee reports. The sales of AvtoVAZ-produced automobiles declined by 41% and reached 17,310 vehicles. General Motors sold 54% less this January, that is, 6,420 vehicles. The sales of Volkswagen decreased by 22% down to 5,150 vehicles, those of Ford, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, and Toyota dropped by 64%, 51%, and 54%, respectively, and down to 3,150, 2,070, and 3,730 vehicles, respectively. GAZ

‘It’s true that all of the luxury segment car centers had a hard time during the recession. Porsche’s sales, for one, plummeted by over 30% last year compared to 2007 and 2008. We sold about 120 cars in 2007-2008 but only 50 last year. However, things are getting better now, with sales actually going up a bit,’ Director of Porsche Center Yekaterinburg Alexander Lebedev said to UrBC. ‘Porsche cars are obviously enjoying demand again. The local dwellers are mainly interested in Porsche Cayenne at the moment. Also, the year 2010 should be a promising one for the new Porsche Panamera,’ Lebedev