Predein & Partners PR Agency’s findings indicate that UralBusinessConsulting Agency of Information and Analytics (IAA UrBC) made the greatest contribution to Sverdlovsk Region-based banks’ favorable public image. The agency’s Managing Partner Alexander Predein says these studies were part of the company’s production process. Their bank image-contributing media rating is based on such criteria as the type of publications carried by the media as well as the credibility of their web pages. According to the agency’s report, IAA UrBC has also been producing the greatest number of news items

The Russian Federation Federal Financial Market Service’s Ural Federal District’s division imposed a 500-million-ruble fine on Mayak Asset Management, the Service reports. As it happens, Mayak’s General Director is Alexei Pozdeev.

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court is now looking into Aston Construction and Assembly Administration’s bankruptcy application. The paper was placed with the court by Tsentr Metalla. The company suggested electing Vyacheslav Stepanchenko Aston’s trustee in bankruptcy. Mr. Stepanchenko is a member of the Ural Self-Regulatory Organization of Trustees in Bankruptcy Noncommercial Partnership. The court will have to consider the validity of Tsentr Metalla’s application on August 24, 2009.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) took legal action against Sylvinite and Uralkaliy, accusing the potassium manufacturers of violating the competition protection legislation, namely, Article 10 (part 1, paragraph 1) of the corresponding federal bill. Additionally, the FAS believes Uralkaliy has violated Article 10 (part 1, paragraph 6) of the same act. The legal proceedings were instituted upon the request of TNK-BP Holding, a number of agrochemical enterprises, and some state authorities. The two companies’ alleged offense consisted in setting monopolistically high potassium chloride

According to the Central Bank of Russia, the volume of deposits opened at VUZ-Bank by non-profit nongovernmental organizations for 91 days to 180 days nosedived by a whopping 100% (from 9.114 million RUR to zero) as of July 1, 2009.

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court refused to declare the Federal Antimonopoly Service’s decision regarding MRSK Urala (the interregional network distribution company) illegitimate. The FAS insisted that MRSK Urala had violated the antimonopoly legislation and failed to meet the FAS’s demands to eliminate the violation. The unhappy company appealed against this decision, but the court ruled in favor of the FAS. Now the violation consisted in MRSK Urala making Uralelectromed accept the terms of the electricity supply agreement, even though these terms were both unfavorable for Uralelectromed

VSMPO-Avisma Corporation’s revenues might drop by an impressive 30% by the end of 2009 in comparison with the year 2008, the company’s BOD member Vladislav Tetyukhin announced at this year’s MAKS air show. Tetyukhin explained that the corporation would actually manage to make some net profit in 2009, but he was reluctant to give the exact figures. At the same time, VSMPO-Avisma’s goods output in 2009 is expected to come to 19,000 to 20,000 tons against last year’s 25,600 tons, RIA Novosti quoted the business executive as saying.

UralBusinessConsulting Agency of Information and Analytics found out that Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation might soon close down its Marketing and Project Management Departments under the ongoing internal reform and personnel changes. For one, the company’s Marketing Director Alexei Slavitch-Pristupa and Project Management Director Oleg Golovko have already been made to resign. As a matter of fact, Uralmash got a new General Director on July 9, 2009. Oleg Danchenko came to replace the former GD Nazim Efendiev.

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court ruled in favor of the Federal Antimonopoly Service’s decision to impose a 19.5-million-ruble fine on Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg for the latter’s abuse of its market domination. The airport was accused of refusing ground handling contracts to Siberia Airlines. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) declared in September 2008 that Koltsovo Airport had violated Article 10 (part 1) of the Competition Protection Act by abusing its dominant position on the market. The Russian Federation Administrative Offense Code states this must result in a fine, so the

Four carriers operating in Southeast Asia became Ural Airlines’ partners in August 2009. The agreement with Hainan Airlines was signed on August 14, 2009; it is to be followed by an agreement with Air Macau Company Limited on August 23, 2009. ‘The trips to Macao are often compared to those to Monte Carlo, as both resorts are equally splendid and luxurious. Our customers can now book a ticket to Macao in any of our booking offices as well as in our Wings Travel Club’s outlets. As a matter of fact, making the Chinese air carriers our partners has meant that we can now offer a greater variety of

In the first half of 2009, Klyuchevsk Ferrous Alloys Works’ net loss amounted to 101.19 million RUR, whereas a year earlier, the enterprise made 110.147 million RUR worth of profits. These data are available from the company’s report. The enterprise’s revenues went down by 2.4 times and only reached 707.108 million RUR in January-June 2009. At the same time, the works’ revenues in the second quarter of 2009 were 59% greater than in the first quarter of the year. In fact, the company made 434.361 million RUR in terms of revenues in April-June 2009 due to better produce sales.

‘Our company’s top executives were forced to sue Luxury Life in order to get the rent debts paid because the debtor was not willing to work on the out-of-court settlement,’ Nova-Group Development informed an UrBC reporter. Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court has partially sustained the claim laid by Nova-Group Development against Luxury Life. The plaintiff insisted on being paid $83,780, so the court ruled that $42,110 must be paid by the defendant. Now Luxury Life owns FENDI CASA, a fashionable furniture and home accessories boutique that used to be operating in Yekaterinburg’s Tikhvin

The net profit of Uralenergochermet plummeted by 77.7% in the second quarter of 2009, from 1.03 million RUR in the first quarter of the year to 230,000 RUR in the second quarter. According to the company’s representatives, their net profit decreased so drastically due to dropping sales revenues, which, in its turn, had to do with cutting back on production output by 9.5%.

‘It’s not true that Bank VTB has given up on the claims laid against Pnevmostroymashina and PSM-Gidravlika. We still insist on being paid our 103,529,527.77 RUR and want to have the guarantees of being paid as well. Bank VTB’s Yekaterinburg subsidiary never placed any ‘backing-out’ applications with Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court,’ the bank’s press officer said to an UrBC reporter. Nevertheless, it has been reported earlier that the bank withdrew its action. ‘The claim was placed with the court on June 23, 2009 after Pnevmostroymashina and PSM-Gidravlika failed to meet their loan

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court keeps looking into Grinvil Management Company’s bankruptcy application. The petition, signed by Oxana Y. Kolmogorova, is to be considered on August 19, 2009. According to the company’s balance sheet as of April 1, 2009, their indisputable short-term debts reached 117.34 million RUR. This included 68.4 million RUR worth of loans, 22.19 million RUR worth of supplier and contractor debts, 37,000 RUR worth of wage arrears, and 26.71 million RUR worth of advanced payments. The debtor insists that the creditors’ claims amounted to 117.34 million RUR on the date

Pnevmostroymashina’s profits declined by 35.99 million RUR, or 31.43%, that is, from 114.51 million RUR to 78.51 million RUR. The enterprise says the drop in profits has been caused by the falling demand for their produce.

Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Petr Sumin asked his deputy Yuri Klepov and the region’s Minister for Industry Evgeniy Teftelev to investigate the situation behind each of the region’s troublesome enterprises. ‘There are a few companies here (such as Stankomash and Chelyabinsk Mechanical Plant) that we need to get tough with,’ his spokesperson quoted the Governor as saying. The Governor also asked the government officials to pay more attention to employment problems. ‘This is an issue of paramount importance. We’ve got nearly 65,500 jobless in the region now, including the new college and

The rating agency reports the credit ratings and the ruble bonds ratings of Bank Severnaya Kazna (now the asset of Alfa-Bank) have been called off due to expiry of agreement Rus-Rating had with Bank Severnaya Kazna.

The General Director of Egorshinskiy radio plant Vitaliy Elkin has recently been disqualified for one year. The decision was made by T.V. Solomina, Justice of the Peace of Artemovskiy district court, Sverdlovsk Region. The executive was incapacitated from work for the shortest possible time period thanks to the petitions placed with the court by the plant’s workers and Sverdlovsk Region Union of Defense Enterprises. The GD himself declared that he couldn’t accept the court’s ruling and that he was going to appeal against it.

‘We are aware of what is happening to Inturline right now, and I personally feel that the root of this travel agent’s problems lies in the wrong management,’ Ural Tourism Association CEO Tagir Sultanov said to an UrBC reporter. In the meantime, quite a few Yekaterinburg-based travel agents complain about unsettled financial claims they have against Inturline; some of these companies have already taken their cases to court. ‘The best way out would be to stop operating for a while in order to pay off debts. However, Aleander Chirkov is not willing to take our advice, I’m not sure why. Moreover,