BOD Chairman of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Viktor Rashnikov made a report on the supply of metal goods onto the domestic market in the course of a meeting on the Russian metallurgical sector’s problems supervised by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on July 24, 2008. MMK’s top executive said over 85% of the Russian metallurgical market’s needs were met by home producers in 2007, and the figures kept coming up every year. MMK, on its part, makes one-fifth of all the metal goods produced in the country, while its development strategy is a prime example of how a Russian

Sverdlovsk Region’s public prosecutor for transport issues placed a claim against Polygon’s management with Beloyarskiy district’s court. The official insists on banning the storage of food waste within less than fifteen kilometers of Koltsovo airport and Uktus airport. Polygon’s present dump is located within only 6.5 kilometers of Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg; the land allotment has been provided by the regional Ministry for Federal Property Management. The proximity of the food waste dump threatens the safety of flights operated from the Koltsovo and Uktus, as hundreds of birds fly to

‘We found these two retail gasoline traders guilty of violating the current legislation,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service Tatiana Kolotova said at a recent press conference in Yekaterinburg. Yekaterinburgnefteprodukt and LukoilPermnefteprodukt have been sued for a price collusion that involved AI 76 (80), AI 95 (96), and diesel fuel. The collusion lasted from January 1, 2007 to March 27, 2008. ‘We demanded that both companies must stop colliding. The Service will have to initiate administrative suits and impose some fines on the offenders. The decision

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of private individuals’ demand deposits and other investments in TagilBank went down by 40.40% (from 148.825 million RUR to 88.686 million RUR) in January-June 2008.

Mechel Bank announced it was about to launch a re-branding campaign and to change its current name to Commercial Bank Monetniy Dvor (the Mint). The decision was taken at the bank’s extraordinary general meeting on July 23, 2008, the bank’s press officer reports. The re-branding has been brought about by the bank’s growth and large-scale development. ‘The former name primarily referred to the city of Chelyabinsk; however, the bank is now operating all over the Urals, that is, in Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, and Orenburg Regions as well as in Moscow,’ the press officer explains. ‘The bank

‘Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service grew alarmed when Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg started raising its jet fuel prices at the end of 2007. We started monitoring Koltsovo as well as some other airports’ pricing policies and sent a letter to the Service’s headquarters. The letter said the fuel prices might have gone up due to price increases launched by the producer factories,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service Tatiana Kolotova said at a recent press conference in Yekaterinburg. ‘We’ve been keeping an eye on the jet fuel market

VIM AVIA will keep operating flights from Yekaterinburg until July 28, 2008. The carrier and Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg managed to reach an agreement on the restructuring of the airline’s debt. At the moment, VIM AVIA owes the airport over 12 million RUR for ground servicing. Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg has already laid a claim against VIM AVIA and Domodedovo Airlines related to the money the carriers are reported to owe the airport for ground maintenance of their aircraft. The claim is to be dealt with by Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration. ‘If this company fails to pay off

Sberbank of Russia is the Urals’ No.1 bank in terms of plastic card issuance. Sberbank’s Ural branch provided its customers with over 2.65 million cards in the second quarter of 2008 alone, which was more than 180,000 cards better than in the previous quarter, the bank’s press officer reports. The bank currently runs 1,490 ATMs and 360 transaction terminals. These self-service devices can be used to make loan payments and pay one’s phone and housing bills as well as the road police’s fines. In addition, one can top up one’s bank card account or transfer money from one bank card account to

Yekaterinburg’s future Academic district is going to get a multifunctional medical center that will meet all the demands imposed by modern medical science. The center will consist of polyclinics for children and grownups, a clinical hospital, and an emergency service substation. The total area of the medical facilities will come to 60,000 square meters. In addition, the center may host some divisions of Ural State Medical Academy. The project’s managers intend to get the authorities’ approval to put up the medical center within the green belt area.

Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation completed the working documentation for Severniy Ore Mining and Processing Enterprise based in Krivoi Rog, Ukraine. The documentation is necessary to restore the enterprise’s Lurgi 278 V roast machine. The contract for the delivery of equipment was signed in December 2007. Uralmashzavod is currently working on the most complex units of the mechanical equipment. The first set of carts and the working documentation for the metal work have already been shipped to the customer. The whole set of machinery is to be delivered in January 2009, while the launch is

COMSTAR-OTS (LSE: CMST) has recently appointed former GD of Ural GSM Alexander Arnautov General Director of Ural Telephone Company (COMSTAR’s daughter enterprise). Alexander Arnautov is going to replace former GD Mikhail Permyakov and is to carry out a complex reorganization of the company in accordance with COMSTAR’s corporate standards, as Ural Telephone Company is expected to get integrated with the whole COMSTAR-OTS Group.

Governor of Saint Petersburg Valentina Matvienko met BOD Chairman of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Viktor Rashnikov to discuss the implementation of the enterprise’s investment project involving the construction of an automobile pressings plant and a maintenance metal goods center. In fact, the work on both construction sites is going ahead of schedule; MMK’s top executive reports the metalwork section will have been finished by the end of the year, the delivery and assembling of all the machinery will begin in February 2009, while the plant’s production lines will have been

The Government of Chelyabinsk Region adopted a special program aimed at supporting the small and medium enterprises’ development in 2009-2011, the spokesperson for the Governor reports. The region’s Minister for Economic Development Elena Murzina reports this program is meant to contribute to the officials’ earlier efforts in the field of business promotion. In fact, over the last three years, the regional government has assisted the setting up of 6,800 SMEs, which was five times better than what was initially planned. As a result, 23,700 new jobs were created, while the people who run these

Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg laid a claim against VIM AVIA and Domodedovo Airlines related to the money the carriers are reported to owe the airport for ground maintenance of their aircraft. The claim is to be dealt with by Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration. At the moment, VIM AVIA operates daily Yekaterinburg-Moscow flights at 7.45 from Koltsovo airport. ‘If this company fails to pay off its debts promptly, the flights won’t be serviced beginning from July 24, 2008. Passengers who bought a ticket for VIM AVIA’s flights will be able to rebook their tickets and use some other

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in SberInvestBank valid for up to 30 days dropped by 100% (from 200 million RUR to zero) in January-June 2008.

As this summer’s Olympics are about to start in Beijing, the Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development offers its customers Olympic-style bank cards. At the moment, five-year chip-based Visa Electron cards with the unique design are available for 400 RUR. If you’ve got a Visa Electron already, you’ll be charged for having it replaced with the stylish one in accordance with the bank’s regular tariff policies, the bank’s press officer reports. ‘Some globally important sports events have an increasingly great part to play in our lives; they bring enthusiasm and inspiration to Russian fans. We

Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration started looking into the claim laid by Ural Federal District’s division of Rostechnadzor (the state environmental, technological, and nuclear safety watchdog) against Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg. Rostechnadzor insists on freezing the construction of the airport’s third terminal due to lack of construction permits and documents. In case the court finds Koltsovo guilty, Rusgrad, the developer, may have to face administrative liability, which means the construction of the international air terminal will have to be stopped for at least ninety days. The

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in VUZ Bank valid for up to 30 days plummeted by 100% (from 34.5 million RUR to zero) in January-June 2008.

The Urals’ section of the All-Russian Stunt-Flying Championship began at Loginovo airfield a little while ago. Teams from flying clubs located in Kurgan, Kurtamysh, Ishim, Tyumen, Nizhniy Tagil, Magnitogorsk, Perm, Chelyabinsk, and Yekaterinburg took part in the competition, the spokesperson for Ural Airlines reports. After the four-day contest, the winning team will be selected and some best pilots will get recruited onto the country’s national team. In addition, a school for young pilots is to be set up in Yekaterinburg at the end of summer. ‘Apart from the direct purpose of awarding sports

Ural Federal District’s division of Federal Financial Market Service halted the issue of Great Eurasian University Complex’s registered uncertified shares. The decision to halt the issue was registered on May 23, 2008.