The rating agency has recently promoted the rating outlook of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (ММК) from Stable to Positive; the enterprise’s long-term IDR has been affirmed at BB. Fitch Ratings reports the decision to improve the company’s rating outlook was brought about by a great increase in MMK’s ability to provide itself with raw materials over the last few years. What is more, the enterprise is to implement a number of investment projects to build up its raw materials base in the next three to four years. The promotion of the rating outlook also stems from the agency’s positive

OAO Gazpromneft-Ural is to pay a 500,000-ruble fine for committing an administrative offense in the securities market field; the company’s charges are based on Article 15.19 (part 1) of the Russian Federation Administrative Offense Code. The decision to this extent was made by Ural Federal District’s division of the Federal Financial Markets Service.

VSMPO-Avisma Corporation no longer owns a shareholding in OOO Tirus Insurance Company. The corporation used to have 19.9% of the insurer’s stock.

A delegation of Egyptian officials from Advanced Press House is to visit OAO Ural Compressor Plant on September 21, 2010. The delegation consists of four senior position executives from the Egyptian defense industry enterprises, who come to the Urals in order to look at and run a preliminary commissioning procedure of Ural Compressor Plant’s produce that has been prepared to be shipped to Egypt. Advanced Press House is, in fact, the plant’s official representative in Egypt. The two parties signed a cooperation agreement in the spring of 2010, so Ural Compressor Plant is now to deliver its

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin and a shareholder of OAO ChTPZ Andrei Komarov held a meeting dedicated to the upcoming launch of a new steel-smelting unit on the premises of Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant. During the meeting, the name of the new investment project, Iron Ozone 32, was presented to the Governor. The steel-smelting unit in Pervouralsk is the largest investment project Sverdlovsk Region is running this year. The investments will amount to 19 billion RUR; the unit is being completed with the help of the state guarantees and Sberbank of Russia’s loan. The new name,

‘We received a proposal from an American businessman Andrew Welch at the beginning of winter. His idea regarding Artemovskaya heat and power plant was to have a Chinese coal station transferred there. LP Amina, his company, was willing to invest some $5m in order to co-won the station, provided that Sverdlovsk Region’s government delivers all the equipment necessary for the installation and hookup of the Chinese unit. However, a body of experts considered the project and said it could not be implemented: investing in somebody else’s property would have to be very large, and the machinery was