'As far as our enterprise is concerned, the domestic market is what matters most for our development,’ BOD Chairman of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Viktor Rashnikov says. He believes the company is going to ship more metal goods to domestic consumers this year, as the Russian market keeps experiencing an annual increase of 7% to 10% a year in metal produce consumption. 'Ours is a very good position for using this market’s potential to the fullest: we are both geographically close to the major consumers and have long-term relations with the key customers,’ Mr. Rashnikov

The spokesperson for Evraz Group reports that new equipment meant for improving the performance of the plant’s fourth CC machine arrived at Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works’ LD plant. The new gas cutting unit (made in Austria) is now undergoing the pre-assembly preparations carried out by experts from the plant’s master mechanic division. This gas-cutting unit is a crucial part of the company’s CC machine; it’s supposed to cut the steel work pieces into slabs with great precision, making it possible to get 300-millimeter slabs at 1.3 meters per minute. The Austrian gas-cutting unit will

SKB-Bank made its first coupon payments on ruble bonds on September 20, 2007. The whole sum amounted to 24,310,000 RUR, with the coupon revenue per bond thus coming to 24.31 RUR. National Depositary Center was acting as the paying agent. The bank went through with its first ruble bond issue on June 21, 2007; the issue was worth 1 billion RUR altogether, with the bonds liable to a three-year circulation period. The first coupon annual interest rate was declared at 9.75%, SKB-Bank’s press officer said to UrBC.

The opening ceremony of the Vietnamese Consulate-General in Yekaterinburg is to take place in October 2007. Some high-ranking Vietnamese officials are expected to attend the ceremony, the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said to UrBC. The consulate will be located at 22 Karl Liebknecht St.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of non-profit NGOs’ deposits in Sverdlovsk Gubernskiy Bank valid for 1 to 3 years went down by 66.09% (from 110 million RUR to 37.301 million RUR) in January-August 2007.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by Ural Interregional Bank to natural persons for over 3 years went down by 11.87% (from 14.693 million RUR to 12.95 million RUR) in January-August 2007.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of natural persons’ deposits and investments in Uralprivatbank valid for 181 days to 1 year went down by 20.14% (from 143.522 million RUR to 114.616 million RUR) in January-August 2007.

The regional division of Rostechnadzor (the state environmental, technological, and nuclear safety watchdog) responsible for monitoring the local heating facilities inspected 18 different enterprises on September 17-21, 2007, revealing 133 industrial safety violations, their press officer says. Seven violations were disclosed at Concern Kalina, one of Russia’s major producers of beauty products and household chemicals. For one, Kalina turned a blind eye to the fact that its fourth-category water conduit failed to meet the necessary technical requirements; then, their boiler certificate says

The Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development will celebrate its 17th anniversary on September 28, 2007. The bank’s press officer reports they are giving rather than receiving gifts because of this occasion: for a week, prize-winning quizzes are organized in the studio of Channel 4 every morning for all those who want to make a call and answer some questions on air. A few prizes have been given out already; the prize-winning marathon will come to an end on September 28, 2007.

Given the increasing number of frauds involving misuse of international plastic cards all over the world, Severnaya Kazna thought it best to protect its customers from even potential risks through limiting the maximum amount of cash a Visa or MasterCard cardholder can withdraw through an ATM in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Central and South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Rumania, Turkey, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and Thailand to 15,000 RUR, $600, or ?400 a day beginning from October 1, 2007. This limit can be extended upon the request of a customer going abroad.

Aviaprad’s Turkey-bound flight was delayed by over fifteen hours on September 24, 2007. The carrier’s management has so far been unable to explain why this happened. As a matter of fact, an Aviaprad’s flight gets put off nearly every week.

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works’ strategy targeted at reducing the negative impact the company makes on the environment consists in switching to modern technologies, putting up new conservation facilities where today’s best technologies would be implemented, and doing away with the obsolete equipment in the old production shops. In the early 90s, most of the company’s facilities were badly worn out. 70% to 75% of these facilities have by now been replaced, and some new production units were put up. For example, three coking plants were removed from the coke and by-product processing shop

‘Kamensk Communal Company still has not started paying its multi-million-ruble heating bill,’ IES Multiutilities’ PR Director Elena Ilyina said to UrBC. ‘These circumstances notwithstanding, the heating season did start in the town of Kamensk Uralskiy last Friday. Some districts haven’t got the heating yet, though; these are the old town and Leninskiy district. Kamensk Communal Company still has not produced any documents that could prove that the heating facilities used in these parts of the town are actually ready to be used,’ Ms Ilyina added. Overall, IES Multiutilities’ debtors owe the

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of for-profit financial organizations’ deposits in UralTransBank valid for 181 days to 1 year went down by 100% (from 5.156 million RUR to zero) in January-August 2007.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in Tagilbank valid for 1 to 3 years went down by 57.14% (from 7 million RUR to 3 million RUR) in January-August 2007.

According to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic in the Russian Federation Stanislas de Laboule, a French consulate will be set up in Yekaterinburg before the end of the year. The consulate will probably be located in the vicinity of Ural State University, yet no further details have been officially reported as of yet. The place where the consulate is to be housed has been undergoing some remodeling since the beginning of September. M. Laboule says they have been paying the rent since July 2007, however. The Ambassador reports the consulate will be servicing

Kamensk-Uralskiy division of Rostechnadzor (the state environmental and nuclear safety watchdog) found 104 violations at Klyuchevsk Ferrous Alloys Works in the course of a recent inspection. This resulted in six intermediary provisions and seventeen administrative liability cases against the plant’s executives as well as one report regarding offenses committed by a legal entity. The plant was also charged with two administrative offenses that were handled by a court in Sysert. Rostechnadzor applied for a shutdown of one of the plant’s electric furnaces and two cranes. On September 10, 2007

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in AGROPROMBANK Credit valid for up to 30 days went down by 100% (from 10 million RUR to zero) in January-August 2007.

The Kommersant newspaper came up with a rating of Russia’s most professional managers, with only one Sverdlovsk Region-based executive actually making it to the Top 1,000 Russian Managers list. This was SKB-Bank’s Chairman Mikhail Khodorovskiy. The rating, compiled by the Association of Russian Managers and Kommersant, comprises names of the best managers in eighteen branches of economy. There are, for example, 34 bank executives in the Commercial Banks category. The assessment was actually made by some representatives of Russian business community; most of them would normally meet the

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of state-run for-profit organizations’ deposits in Ural Innovational Commercial Bank valid for 181 days to 1 year went down by 100% (from 501,000 RUR to zero) in January-August 2007.