The gas network modernization operations of Chelyabinskgorgaz JSC in Planovy settlement of Chelyabinsk have reached the completion phase. The modernization will be finished after the replacement of tubes at a 100-meter sector of Planovy pipelines. The new tubes will be of a bigger diameter, so the replacement is to open a possibility of increasing the gas supply of the settlement. The replacement is to be accomplished within two days. The main gas network of Planovy was constructed 25 years ago. Since that time, a lot of new houses have been built. Therefore, gas consumption naturally

On March 14, 2006 1.4% shareholding of Uraltransbank was sold at an auction. The shareholding was put up to the auction by a Gazprom subsidiary, Uraltransgaz Ltd, within the framework of Gazprom getting rid of its marginal assets. The shareholding was acquired by Dorstroyinvest Ltd. According to the spokesperson for Uraltransbank, Dorstroyinvest paid 10 million RUR for the shares, whereas the opening bid was 5 million RUR. Dorstroyinvest Ltd is located at 10 Tramvayny Lane, Yekaterinburg. It might have acted in the third party’s interests.

In 2005, Chelyabinskaya Generiruyushchaya Kompaniya JSC, member of Territorialnaya Generiruyushchaya Kompaniya №10, purchased 1,412,571,000 RUR worth of equipment, raw materials and services. The purchases were made on a competitive basis. Due to the suppliers’ competition the company saved up 52,822,000 RUR off the initially declared purchasing price. The purchases were mainly accomplished through an open competition. In more than 80% of the purchases, the company employed national electronic B2b-energo trading floor. In particular, Chelyabinskaya Generiruyushchaya Kompaniya purchased the

On March 14, 2006, Ural Turbine Works CJSC (part of Renova Group) presented its new PGU-90 combined-cycle plant that is fully competitive with the world’s leading brands yet is more economical at the 4th annual international conferenceexhibition RUSSIA POWER 2006. ‘The Russian and global power engineering markets potential are extremely favorable for our company to become the key player in the field as Yekaterinburg is back in the vanguard of power machine building. Both our company and the current state policy as declared by the President are correspondingly oriented. The new combined-cycle

‘As Gazprom has been getting rid of its marginal assets, its executive Mr Miller ordered that all assets be sold. Thus, UralTransGas sold its 1% something shareholding to UralTransBank today,’ Chairman of UralTransBank JSC Valeriy Zavodov announced at the press conference. ‘UralFinance Bank, supposedly acting on behalf of some Moscow bank, was one of the bidders at this auction. To be able to take part in the auction, a bank has to have a guarantee from a highly capitalized bank, which was not the case with UralFinance. As all of the local banks refused to give it the guarantee, it applied to

According to the spokesperson for Yuriy Zolotov, Deputy Public Prosecutor of Ural Federal District, GD of Mayak Production Association Vitaliy Sadovnikov was removed following the decisions of the public prosecution authorities and of the court sitting of March 13, 2006. The respective decree was signed by the Head of Federal Atomic Energy Agency S. V. Kirienko yesterday. Mr Sadovnikov is being charged with safety violations concerning environmentally hazardous waste treatment based on Clauses 246 and 247 of Russian Criminal Code Deputy GD and Chief Engineer Alexander Suslov will become the

Magnesite Industrial Complex has already retrained 3893 employees in January and February 2006. This has cost the company 890,520 RUR The retraining was made possible due to the special individually designed programs aimed at improving the skills that are currently in greatest demand and help employees form the practical skills in both instructors and workers as well as newcomers. Such retraining scheme meets the requirements of the quality management system. As the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative, there are currently 11,427 people working, of whom 9,585 (87.7%) are in the

Turkish airlines will perform Yekaterinburg-Istanbul flights starting March 26, 2006. According to the spokesperson for Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg, Turk Hava Yollaru will perform two flights a week (Mondays and Thursdays) using A-320 aircrafts; the agreement is now being finalized. ‘The other companies who said they wanted to fly to Yekaterinburg haven’t yet applied for the slots; thus, we’re still waiting to hear from Finnish Airlines and Malev; we’ve also been negotiating with the Chinese Public Airlines that is considering flights to Yekaterinburg,’ the company’s spokesperson Yulia

Metallurgical Works of Zlatoust is going to introduce a competitive purchase system that will cover everything the plant buys, from raw materials to unique equipment and sophisticated technologies to respective services. The first competitive purchase auction is open to 15 suppliers dealing in working clothes. The samples have been tested by the plant committee consisting of safety, laboratory and other specialists. After looking at the prices, paying terms and delivery offers, the committee will make the final decision in the trading firm RusUglemer of Moscow. The order will comprise 56

Konstantin Panfilov, former First Deputy GD of Uglemetbank JSC, was appointed the company’s new GD. The decision was made by the company’s Board of Directors on March 1, 2006. Mr Panfilov succeeded Sergey Babenkov appointed in March 2001. The company’s Board of Directors also commissioned the former director of Uglemetbank Moscow branch to take up the vacant post of the company’s First Deputy GD.

Yuzhnouralsky armaturno-izolyatorny zavod JSC (Reinforcement and insulator works of Yuzhnouralsk) has held a dealer meeting. Among the organizations that took part in the meeting were Horda Ltd. (Moscow), TiT CJSC (St. Petersburg), Aizovets CJSC, Yuzhnouralskaya izolyatornaya kompaniya CJSC (Yuzhnouralsk), Investor-M Ltd. (Kazakhstan), Regionalnaya kompaniya Ltd., Locus-SIP (Yekaterinburg), Srednevolzhskaya elektrotekhnicheskaya kompaniya Ltd. (Samara), Vostokenergokomplekt CJSC (Irkutsk). The meeting was dedicated to the company’s achievements in 2005 and to objectives of the company and its

Within January and February 2006, the aircrafts of Utair JSC conveyed 260,485 passengers. The company’s passenger turnover for the same period came to 375,468,000 passenger-kilometers. The company’s aircrafts have flown 13,216 flight hours. Utair helicopters have flown 6,267 flight hours, the company’s spokesperson said.

The general shareholder meeting of State District Power Plant of Serov resulted in the upcoming merger with OGK-2 JSC. The merger is to be carried out under the conditions of the merger agreements dealing with State District Power Plants of Pskov, Stavropol, Surgut, Serov, and Troitsk, the company’s spokesperson reports. The meeting was also adjourned with the decision to increase the authorized capital to 53.28 million RUR via raising the face value of the company’s shares (it’ll comprise .65 RUR) using the extra profits.

Trubnaya Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya JSC, Russian tube maker, shipped 217,000 tonnes of tubes in February 2006 (.8% more than a year earlier). The company also cast 155,000 tonnes of steel, including 35,000 tonnes of billets, reports the company’s spokesperson.

Simphonia, the mobile phone dealer, has bought a number of Tsifrograd chain stores in Yekaterinburg, Novouralsk, and Kamensk-Uralskiy lately, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative. According to the company’s Commercial Director Andrey Starodubtsev, the amount of money involved in the transaction will not be revealed for the time being. ‘This acquisition has to do with the redistribution of the market shares among the core players. We are going to make the best of the stores we’ve bought,’ Mr Starodubtsev said.

ChelyabEnergoSbyt JSC put a Xerox billing system into operation. This was done to ensure the multi-faceted data processing of the company’s extended client database. The company has gradually been introducing the software programs that allow full automation of sales and purchases of electricity. First, the meterage is filed into the database; then, the billing system provides for the calculation, charging, drawing of bills and invoices, the delivery of the papers and receipts to the consumers, the payment record and customer communication. This will allow the company to become independent of

The Tyumen subsidiary of EnergoGinny, the independent energy distributor, has signed a service agreement with Passenger Vehicles CJSC, the company’s spokesperson reports. The two enterprises are to cooperate within the framework of Energy Supermarket Program and to deal mainly in heating, electricity and water supply contracts analysis. Even though it enjoys the status of the publicly significant enterprise, the passenger vehicle company does not possess any guarantee of rights and privileges in terms of heating and electricity supplies. The contract analysis performed by EnergoGinny has

Magnesite Group is going to invest 125 million RUR to renovate the rotary furnace at one of its works (Magnesite Industrial Complex JSC) within the framework of Investments Project for 2006. The Project is targeted at the increase in the production of ferrous magnesia flux and caustic powder needed for vitrified ware clinker making. At the moment, the foundation is being laid for the stock delivery unit by VOSTIO of Yekaterinburg, the general contractor. The furnace is to be put into operation in September 2006, the spokesperson for Magnesite Group said to UrBC representative.

TyumenEnergo JSC, the energy supplier, has been busy preparing for the spring flood that is predicted to begin in the end of March through giving the general examination to all its subsidiaries, lines and buildings, the company’s spokesperson said. TyumenEnergo JSC has already spent 30 million RUR to ensure there are enough emergency teams, materials and equipment needed for speed restoration projects; a special flood committee comprising the company’s technicians has been set up. The lines of Yuzhniy, Tyumen and Ishim are particularly accident-prone due to massive leakage of thawing snow

Kalina JSC, one of Russia’s most successful health and beauty product maker, has recently been reported to experience a 6.8% decrease in profits in 2005 against the year before and comprised 512.3 million RUR. According to the company’s report, the concern still managed to make 22% more in sales (6.3 billion against 5.2 billion RUR in 2004). Despite the decrease in net profits, Standard & Poor’s announced the increase in the national scale long-term credit rating for Kalina Concern JSC (from ruBBB+ to ruА-) owing to the company’s stable business dynamics and the fairly low financial