Ural Airlines has recently received another A 320 airplane as part of the carrier’s five-year operational leasing agreement. Prior to arriving in Yekaterinburg, the aircraft was used by Air France and is now in the pink of condition. The plane will be used for operating Ural Airlines’ summertime flights as soon as on June 11, 2008, with the ‘maiden flight’ bound for Khojend, Tajikistan. Airbus will then be used for flying to Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, Moscow, and the CIS. A 320 airplanes are often used for operating chartered flights as well, since the noise level is so low that

Chelyabinsk Region keeps working on the region’s socioeconomic development forecasts for 2008-2011. The issues related to drawing up the forecasts were discussed at the Governor’s meeting with the regional mayors on June 11, 2008. The forecasts are prepared in compliance with the federal and regional requirements and are based on the data provided by the executive authorities, municipal councils, and large enterprises. The region’s ongoing economic growth is one of the forecast’s most positive determinants. Chelyabinsk Region’s industrial production rose by 10.1% over the first five months of

Chelyabinsk Region, alongside with tall the other Russian Federation’s constituent entities, has to gradually switch from the licensing system to the self-regulatory organizations system in the building industry between July 1, 2008 and January 1, 2010. On June 11, 2008, a working group was set up in order to develop a single self-regulatory organization for the whole region’s building industry, First Deputy Governor Vladimir Dyatlov announced in the course of PROMASS (the Organization of Employers of Chelyabinsk Region)’s meeting. Some other points on the meeting’s agenda included a report

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by VUZ Bank to private individuals for 91 to 180 days went down by 44.46% (from 2.086 million RUR to 661,000 RUR) in January-May 2008.

United Company RUSAL has successfully launched test production of its colloidal anode paste. The paste is a key component of a new project aimed at developing a unique and entirely environmentally harmless aluminum production technology. The project is expected to require a total of $25m worth of investments. The spokesperson for the company reports the main idea behind the project that is being implemented by UC RUSAL’s Engineering and Construction division is the creation of a perfect Soederberg reduction cell that would affect the environment as little as possible, use raw materials very

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in SberInvestBank valid for 1 to 3 years plummeted by 90.94% (from 27.6 million RUR to 2.5 million RUR) in January-May 2008.

Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation (consisting of Yekaterinburg-based Uralmashzavod and Orsk-based ORMETO-YUMZ Heavy Engineering Joint Stock Co) is going to make a presentation on its oil rigs, pipes, and winches that the company is manufacturing at the moment. O&G enterprises from Russia and the near abroad were invited to the event. Rosneft, Surgutneftegaz, Eurasia, Gazpromneft, NOVATEK, TNK-BP, SSK, SGK, Belarusneft, Ukrgazdobycha, Kazmunaigaz, and Turkmengaz are expected to come. Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation intends to exhibit its engineering projects on the drilling

The global economy might switch to a single currency by 2020, German Gref said in the course of a round table discussion on the economic consequences of a single-currency world. This discussion was coordinated within the framework of the 12th international economic forum in Saint Petersburg. German Gref believes a single world currency may emerge due to the free flow of capital. ‘The U.S. dollar had been the world’s only universal currency until the late nineties; then, the euro emerged. Over the last decade, the euro has grown very competitive, becoming a viable alternative to the dollar,

Officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Moscow headquarters and Ural Federal District’s public prosecution authorities disclosed some new crimes attributed to the so-called black raiders, a group headed by a thirty-five-year-old Yekaterinburg dweller (who is currently on the international wanted file). The officer’s efforts were part of a special economic offense prevention program coordinated by Ural Federal District’s law-enforcement agencies. The members of the group are believed to have created fictitious trade liabilities at one of Sverdlovsk region’s large industrial enterprises

Ural Airlines came up with a performance reports for the five months of 2008. The report makes it obvious that the company has improved all of its development indicators since the beginning of the year. The airline rendered its services to 448,365 passengers in January-May 2008, which exceeds the figures for January-May 2007 by 20%. In May 2008, the passenger turnover rose by 44% against a year earlier and reached 133,229 people: this increase largely has to do with the beginning of the summer vacation season. Passengers who used the carrier’s international flights have outnumbered those who

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of loans given by Bank24.ru to private individuals for 181 days to 1 year went down by 41.5% (from 27.573 million RUR to 16.129 million RUR) in January-May 2008.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by UralTransBank to sole traders for up to 30 days went down by 70.13% (from 63.577 million RUR to 18.987 million RUR) in January-May 2008.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by Uralprivatbank to private individuals for 181 days to 1 year dropped by 22.99% (from 8.296 million RUR to 6.388 million RUR) in January-May 2008.

A group of delegates came back to Chelyabinsk Region from Japan where they were looking into the ways of setting up a joint venture on industrial and consumption waste recycling. Chelyabinsk Region has been cooperating with Japan since 2005, mostly in the field of slag processing and production control. The new venture is expected to result in a set of waste-recycling enterprises and in a better environment in the region. The project is supervised by First Deputy Governor Yuri Klepov, who also chaired the delegation to Japan. While in Japan, the regional officials visited the premises of a

Moscow, 10 June, 2008 - UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminium and alumina producer, is pleased to announce that it has successfully launched test production of the key component of a unique environmentally sound aluminium production technology - colloidal anode paste.љ The total investment in this project will amount to USD 25 million. The main goal of this project, developed by the UC RUSAL Engineering and Construction Division, is the development of the ideal Soederberg reduction cell, which minimises environmental impact on the consumption of raw materials and matches the production

Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service is going to re-hear the case of Yekaterinburgnefteprodukt and Lukoil-Permnefteprodukt (accused of a secret collusion) on June 24, 2008. Head of the Service’s commodity market monopoly control department Yulia Anisimova says the first session did not result in any final decision, as more data and documents were necessary. ‘Should the two companies be found guilty, they will have to stop colliding and face administrative liability in accordance with Article 14.32 of the Administrative Code,’ she notes.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by UralFinPromBank to sole traders for 91 to 180 days dropped by 70.84% (from 27.5 million RUR to 8.02 million RUR) in January-May 2008.

UralTransBank informed its creditors that use the bank’s Yekaterinburg subsidiary at 32a Technicheskaya St that this subsidiary is to be considered only an additional office from now on. The news was announced via the bank’s official website.

ChTPZ Group won control over the key players on the geophysical services market of Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous Region and Tomsk Region: Yuganskneftegazgeofizika and Tomskneftegazgeofizika. The acquisition of two geophysical companies was part of the Group’s strategy targeted at fully meeting the demands of the O&G industry. Last year, the implementation of this strategy resulted in setting up Rimera, a special company that deals in offering exploration, oilfield construction, and pipeline design and construction services to the oil and gas businesses. Rimera is to unite ChTPZ’s

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of loans given by Uralfinance to private individuals for 181 days to 1 year went down by 73.93% (from 165.524 million RUR to 43.147 million RUR) in January-May 2008.