Linde Uraltechgaz underwent some changes in its shareholder structure recently. One BOD member Vladimir Samozdra, who used to own a 9.28% shareholding in the business, is no longer a stockholder. The same is true of Maria Kilimnik, whose shareholding used to amount to 12.71%. At the same time, Linde Aktiengesellschaft raised the number of Linde Uraltechgaz shares it owns to 71.99%. Uraltechgaz and Linde AG set up their joint venture in 2007.

Alfa-Bank will soon go through a reorganization in the form of a merger with Bank Severnaya Kazna. It was decided at the BOD meeting today that the issue would be considered at Alfa-Bank’s extraordinary general meeting. The EGM has been scheduled for March 22, 2011. The shareholders will also have to discuss the ways of informing creditors and the Bank of Russia about the upcoming reorganization and to make changes in the company’s Charter. The Board of Directors decided that the bank’s ordinary shares can be bought out at 1,112 RUR apiece.

Transaero Airlines stopped selling any tickets for Egypt-bound flights, the company’s GD Olga Pleshakova told Russia 24, a TV channel. The General Director explained that tickets for Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh flights became unavailable as early as Sunday, January 30, 2011, ITAR-TASS reports. ‘From legal viewpoint, a carrier cannot refuse a passenger who shows up at a check-in counter with a ticket in their hands, since no official evacuation of Russian citizens was announced and Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh airports have been operating as usual. The number of passengers willing to go

The software piracy rates recorded in Ural Federal District are much lower than Russia’s average figures, Microsoft’s monitoring findings reveal. About 20% out of 3,229 retail outlets inspected in ninety-four Russian cities are offering their customers unlicensed software in one form or another; pirated software was also found preinstalled in 11% sales outlets. As far as Ural Federal District goes, the piracy rates dropped considerably against last fall’s monitoring results and are still lower than Russia’s average figures. 15% of the Urals-based computer stores are offering or recommending

RusRating is calling off the credit rating of BNP Paribas Vostok (A-, with Stable rating outlook), the agency’s website reports. The reason stated for calling off the rating is that the existing agreement between the agency and the bank has expired.