‘Top Mart chain stores could definitely become our competitors,’ Deputy General Director of Ives Rocher chain stores Irina Klepikova says. ‘Fierce competition is an integral feature of the local market, so the arrival of a new chain dealing in analogous products is going to make it even worse. Whether Top Mart is going to hit Ives Rocher in particular depends on the brands and the target audience they choose. If their assortment happens to be different from ours, competition won’t get too bad,’ Ms Klepikova added. She also finds the idea of cooperation not improbable

Production of large-caliber electric machines in Sverdlovsk Region has grown by 8.5% over the months of January to November 2005 in comparison with last year’s corresponding months. More metallurgical produce is now being introduced locally, Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Industry, Power Engineering and Science reports. For instance, cast iron, steel, rolled stock and steel pipe production has gone up by 4.4%, 5%, 12.8% and 7.2%, respectively. 8.5% more of large-caliber electric machines, 67.4% more of power transformers, 26.7% more of blast furnace and steel-smelting equipment, 49.7% more of

‘Tinkoff buy-out by Kommercheskaya Nedvizhimost Limited Unit Fund managed by Troika-Dialog Investment Company is to be regarded as real estate investment,’ Director of Troika-Dialog Investment Company’s local subsidiary Irakliy Kiriya told the agency’s representative. Our fund does not deal in trade, so the acquired restaurant is to be offered for long-lease,’ Mr Kiriya went on. ‘Tinkoff buy-out is part of a complex strategy: the first restaurant was bought in Moscow in September, and the future steps are currently under consideration,’ Mr Kiriya said.

The court of Oktyabrskiy district passed its sentence on Alexander Belikh, former Chair of Bank 24.ru plc in Yekaterinburg today. Mr Belikh is found guilty of use of restraint in order to make a deal or prevent its closure, as Article 179 of Russian Federation Criminal Code has it; he got a suspended sentence of one-year imprisonment and was fined 25,000 RUR. Only the allegations and the operative part of the sentence were made public during the sitting, and Mr Belikh is to be given the rest of the sentence document on December 30.

‘We have prospective broadcasters who ask for a new channel in Yekaterinburg calling Sverdlovsk Region broadcasting service all the time,’ Deputy Managing Director of RTRS Federal State Unitary Enterprise (local subsidiary of a federal broadcasting company) Tamara Ermakova said at the press conference. ‘Yet we have already used up the whole potential of the city’s frequency spectrum, and Moscow refuses to even consider applications made from Yekaterinburg as the introduction of a new channel does not appear feasible,’ Ms Ermakova went on. ‘Should we go digital, the channel capacity will boost

Rosselkhoznadzor, federal agricultural committee, is going to ban Norwegian cooled fish import starting January 1, 2006, which is caused by high concentration of heavy metals found in these fish stocks. Yet a number of local fish traders are reported to rate the quality of Norwegian fish supplies as very good. ‘Norwegian cooled fish is virtually the only option there is, so an import ban on this will lead to an increase in frozen fish imports, which is expected to prevent a dramatic soaring of the prices,’ a spokesperson for Aquatoria chain stores said to the agency’s representative.

‘Federal Estate Management Committee and RTRS Federal State Unitary Enterprise are going to announce an investment contest for those willing to complete the construction of the TV tower in Yekaterinburg at the beginning of 2006. I am positive that there are going to be plenty of prospective investors with serious intentions,’ Managing Director of RTRS Federal State Unitary Enterprise Konstantin Sokolov announced at the press conference. ‘Our next step is scheming out a new design since the old one is hopelessly obsolete. This will be followed by the final decision on the general contractor.’

A professional accident took place at Uralelectrokhimpribor industrial complex in Lesnoy on December 26. As the agency’s representative has been told by a spokesperson for Technological and Atomic Surveillance Administration of the Sverdlovsk Regional Branch of Rostekhnadzor, state technical inspection, two people were hurt while operating hoisting gear, one of whom was killed with the other one badly injured. The causes of the accident are to be investigated by a specially set up committee.

Business loans make up 74.7% of all the profits coming from crediting operations, goes the corollary of Bank information bureau after processing the data related to regional independent lending agencies’ activity throughout January to September 2005. An increase in the amount of loans has resulted in increase in interest yields. Profits brought about by these crediting operations have reached a point of 23.3% of all Sverdlovsk Region lending agencies’ consolidate returns where business loans comprise 74.7% of all the profits yielded from crediting operations, with profits from natural person

The independent lending agencies of Sverdlovsk Region have experienced some financial growth over the nine months of 2005. The positive balance between their incomes and expenses has gone up by 48.5% and exceeded all of last year’s figures. Yields coming from foreign currency and ingot transactions carried out by the lending agencies have come to a point of 28.4% of consolidate returns by October 1, 2005, which has been caused by considerable revaluation of funds in foreign currency. This information is given with reference to Bank information bureau

Throughout January to September 2005, Ural Federal District Subsoil Resources Agency has annulled 40 licenses previously issued to businesses dealing in natural resources due to a number of reasons. According to Uralnedra (Ural Subsoil Resources), most licenses are being cancelled because they have already expired, because the extracting projects have been completed, or following the company’s rejection of the license renewal. A minor part of licenses is cancelled for reasons of contract violation by the company.

Following orders given by Ural Federal District Deputy Attorney General Yuriy Zolotov, large scale inspections of how legitimate the business activity of enterprises and economic entities located in Ural Federal District and dealing in production and distribution of drinking water is were carried out by the Ural Federal District Public Prosecution Department alongside with its regional divisions and local authorities, as the spokesperson for Mr Zolotov says. Within the framework of the inspections, numerous instances of outright violation of sanitary and hygienic regulations and requirements

The Ural Estate Chamber has recently made the results of the annual contest held among real estate agencies of Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region public. There were eight nominations, with the ‘Best Real Estate Agent on the Housing Market-2005’ given to Novosel, the ‘Best Business Estate Company in’ given to Dial, the ‘Best Tenancy Agent in Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region’ given to Brodskiy and Kuznetsov Real Estate Company, the ‘Best Real Estate Agent in Sverdlovsk Region Market’ given to Nash Dom of Nizhniy Tagil, the ‘Greatest Developer of Real Estate Business Etiquette and Management

It has been decided by the Board of Directors of Uralmashzavod (part of Uralmash Industrial Services division of OMZ) to appoint Boris Vassilyev General Director of Uralmashzavod. Mr. Vassilyev had up to that moment been employed in the capacity of GD by Konstar Turbine Works of Krivorozhye. This company’s speciality is production and maintenance of gas-turbine engines, turbine expanders, steam turbines and other types of power equipment. Mikhail Matvienko, former GD, has been appointed Chair of the Board of Uralmashzavod. His new post is to do with the supervision of issues related to the

The Ural Federal District Subsoil Resources Agency announced a contest for those willing to do a geological research on two mineral wells (## 4, 111) situated within Talitskiy field on December 24; these wells are thought to be prospective in terms of mineral groundwater extraction to be used in health resort therapy as well as for bottling. Participants are expected to apply within five days of the contest announcement via mass media.

The trade center building industry in the Urals is going to receive $ 561 billion in investments in the years 2006-2007. Yekaterinburg is assumed to get over the half of the total sum since six new mega outlets with a total area of 320,000 square meters are going to be introduced as early as next year. Perm, in its turn, is getting $ 101 million in investments, with Chelyabinsk and Tyumen receiving $ 132 million and $ 53 million, respectively. These are the Swedish IKEA, Metro Cash&Carry wholesaler, Vremya group (represented by Park House Trade Center), and Regions plc that are believed

DIXIS electronic appliances and phone retailer has made about $ 7 million over the eleven months of 2005, of which nearly $ 700,000 were contributed by the company’s Ural subsidiary, the company’s spokesperson said to the agency’s representative. The sales have been on the rise since November (exceeding October figures by 19%); the total turnover over the last eleven months is one and half times (53%) as big as last year’s corresponding period. As the company’s PR Director Tatiana Moskalyova reports, these are Nokia 1100, SonyEricsson K700i, Nokia 2600, Nokia 6101, Nokia 2650, Samsung SGH -

SKM Trading Business Company is planning to introduce some Top-Mart retail chain stores in Yekaterinburg, the chain’s General Director Andrei Korabelnkov told the agency’s representative. The outlets will deal in health and beauty products; they will be conveniently located in residential areas such as the southern suburb of ZHBI, the northern Uralmash and the south-western Yugo-Zapadniy. About ten stores are going to be introduced in Yekaterinburg and its satellites throughout 2006. ‘We are a local business, so it’s not in the company’s drawn-up plans to expand outside Sverdlovsk Region,’ Mr

Marek Krseck, GD of Skoda Steel, has been appointed Director of OMZ SpecStal. The company deals in metal billets made from special kinds of steel for machine-building and other industrial branches and makes about one-fifth of all the money coming from the orders within its field. Spetsstal’s plants are located in Russia (workshop units within Izhor Works of Kolpino and Uralmash of Yekaterinburg) and Czech Republic (Skoda Steel of Plzen). Mr Krseck has been Chair of Skoda Steel (a full subsidiary of OMZmetallurgy) since 2004. He is now going to succeed Igor Gorskiy who has been running the

‘The road-building project for 2006 cuts two ways: capital construction and short-term renewal, with the amount of allocations the same as last year, that is, 5.5 billion RUR,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Alexei Vorobyov announced at the press conference. ‘We are planning to move on to the north of Sverdlovsk Region and work in such areas as Ivdel, Severouralsk, and Karpinsk. The roads heading for Tyumen and Perm Regions are also going to be renovated; still, the emphasis in construction and renewal is put upon the roads in Yekaterinburg and its outskirts,’ Mr Vorobyov said.