UrBC, Magnitogorsk, September 13, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) member enterprise MMK METIZ is launching Oracle e-Business Suite as its new corporate information system. The goal is to enhance the company’s operation efficiency and make partner interaction easier. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, the launch of the new software solution is part of a larger project to upgrade MMK Group’s member enterprises’ corporate information systems. In fact, Oracle e-Business Suite v.12-based solution has already been introduced at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works a

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 13, 2019. OOO FORES’s Asbest branch installed a set of six modern containers on the premises to ensure separate collection of waste, the company’s press service reports. Every container is meant for a different kind of waste/recycling (rubber, cardboard, rags, discarded workwear and footwear, and compressor air filters). According to Environmental Analysis Lab Director at OOO FORES’s Asbest branch Tatiana Kuznetsova, the containers meet all the waste sorting requirements. ‘The containers have flooring and doors, so the contents cannot touch the ground or come

UrBC, Moscow, September 12, 2019. The Central Bank of Russia points to money flowing out of foreign currency deposits and flowing into ruble deposits in August, the CBR’s report on Banking Sector Liquidity and Financial Markets indicates. According to the CBR, the foreign currency deposits went up on a considerably smaller scale in August compared with June and the previous twelve months on average. As a result, the yearly growth of private customers’ foreign currency deposits slowed down for the first time since October 2018 and came to 9.5% in late July. Based on the bank’s preliminary

UrBC, Moscow, September 12, 2019. Russia’s net capital outflow increased by 1.3 times in January-August 2019 compared with one year earlier and reached $26.1bn, Interfax refers to the Bank of Russia’s reports as indicating. According to the Central Bank, the increase in the capital outflow was mainly brought about by banks and other organizations building up on their foreign assets. Based on the CBR’s recently adjusted forecast, provided the yearly average oil prices stay at $63 per barrel (baseline scenario), Russia’s net capital outflow will amount to around $40bn in 2019.

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, September 12, 2019. New season began at Children’s Signing School at M.I. Glinka Chelyabinsk State Academy Opera & Ballet Theater; the school was set up at the initiative of ChelPipe Group’s shareholders Alexander Fedorov and Andrei Komarov, the company’s press service reports. 62 young performers in the 6-17 age group are now busy rehearsing and attending their choreography, singing, acting, and speech training classes with Russia’s Honored Artist Boris Kaplun and other experienced teachers, directors, choreographers, and musicians. Thanks to ChelPipe Group’s support,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 12, 2019. The new STRATA Hazard Avert system got launched at EVRAZ Holding’s Mezhegeyugol Mine in Tuva to alert the miners if they enter a dangerous spot and to lock their combine vehicle down, EVRAZ Raspadskaya Coal Company’s press service reports. HazardAvert®’s primary component — a field Generator that creates an electromagnetic marker field — gets mounted directly onto the combine vehicle and produces electromagnetic signals to alert the miners to potentially hazardous areas. The miners have to wear a Personal-Alarm Device (PAD) upon entering the work area

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, September 12, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) keeps investing in robotic process automation, the company’s Information & PR Department reports. MMK Group’s member enterprise OOO MMK-InformService signed a general partnership agreement with UiPath, the global RPA platform-developing leader. According to the company representatives, this partnership is meant to enhance MMK’s RPA efficiency through cutting down on software costs and to let MMK benefit from the RPA-related expertise of both UiPath and its partners: Deloitte, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, and

UrBC, Moscow, September 10, 2019. The price of an economy class plane ticket has gone up by 24.1% on average on the Russian market since January 1, 2019, Izvestia refers to Rosstat as indicating. According to Rosstat, this is the eleven-year high since the recession-hit year 2008 in terms of air travel price increase (prices went up by 24.1% in 2008 as well). In the years in between, price increases fluctuated between 2% and 19% during the January-August span. At the same time, the price of an economy class ticket per every 1,000 km rose by 18.3% in August 2019 against August 2018. Rosstat

67,082 People Enter Sverdlovsk Region in January-July UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. 67,082 people arrived in Sverdlovsk Region in January-July 2019 and 63,709 people left the constituency, Sverdlovskstat reports. This means Sverdlovsk Region’s net migration came to 3,373 people in the seven months of 2019; one year earlier, migration loss reached 1,166 people. 5,106 people left Sverdlovsk Region for other Russian constituencies; 8,479 people arrived in the constituency from abroad, with 7,318 people coming from the CIS member states and 1,161 people coming from other countries.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. Ural Airlines launched direct flights from Moscow Region’s Zhukovsky Airport to Prague on December 26, 2018; 60,273 people have used the flight by August 31, 2019, the air carrier’s press service reports. Prices start from RUB 5,999 (one way) and RUB 12,816 (there and back) for No Luggage tickets (one piece of cabin luggage under 5kg is included). Zhukovsky-Prague-Zhukovsky flights get operated on Airbus liners. ‘Prague is world-famous for its Gothic and Baroque cathedrals, its renowned Charles Bridge and the Jewish Quarter, its Dancing House and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. The heavy mill department at EVRAZ Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Plant (NTMK) made its first batch of hot-rolled steel rods (diameter: 95 mm); the rods are used in machine-building, construction sector, and pipe-manufacturing industry. According to EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Communications Center’s PR Department, the first set of steel rods (total amount: 220,000 kg) was made from carbon and alloyed steels to GOST 050-88 and GOST 4543-2016 standards and has already been shipped to customer. The plant produced rods with the diameter of 70

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. OOO FORES’s Asbest branch keeps working on its environmental monitoring program, the company’s press service reports. ‘The quality of air within the sanitary protection area of FORES’s Asbest subsidiary stayed within the existing environmental requirements on August 20-31, the findings of a research the local branch of Sverdlovsk Region Center for Hygiene & Epidemiology carried out in Asbest and Beloyarsky indicate. The branch’s certified lab took air samples next to 31 Novaya St, next to Yablonka collective gardening community, and next to the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, September 10, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) purchased a number of apartments to provide housing for the staff of Central Clinical Primary Healthcare Unit; the keys were handed over to the doctors in the course of a special ceremony, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. The solemn ceremony was attended by MMK Director-General and Board Member at Central Clinical Primary Healthcare Unit Pavel Shilyayev and Director at Central Clinical Primary Healthcare Unit Alexei Kovalenko. The company bought the apartments as part of MMK’s social welfare

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. Married women use credit cards on a daily basis more often than any other customer category, the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s research findings indicate. Based on the bank’s data, there are, on average, six women and four men among every ten credit card applicants coming to the UBRD. The three most commonly occurring names for the women cardholders are Elena, Natalya, and Olga; for men, the top names are Alexander, Sergey, and Andrei. Interestingly enough, over a half of the credit card holders (56.5%) are married; 25% are single

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. Yekaterinburg Council selected the winners in the competition for the best design concept for an office/culture center in the city’s District Akademicheskiy. Gordeyev-Demidov Architects won the first prize, while Start! and Arkady Kochnev won silver and bronze, respectively, the town council’s website states. ‘The judges’ panel looked into four proposals that made it to the finals: the one presented by Gordeyev-Demidov Architects, the one by Start!, the one by Tatiana Kochneva, and the one by Arkady Kochnev. Gordeyev-Demidov Architects scored 92 points

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. Ural Airlines will be operating a new, direct Yekaterinburg-Vladivostok flight starting November 18, the air carrier’s press service reports. The new non-stop flight is now available thanks to the new Airbus A320neo Ural Airlines purchased recently; this aircraft make is suitable for long-haul flights of up to eight hours long. ‘Ural Airlines are the only airline to offer a non-stop flight from Yekaterinburg to Vladivostok. The new direct flight is, in fact, an addition to the existing three flights a week operated via Irkutsk. Passengers can now save

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 10, 2019. The first set of self-propelled mining equipment arrived at EVRAZ Holding’s Tashtagol Iron Ore Mine as part of a large-scale mine reconstruction project, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s Corporate Communications Center reports. A drilling rig, a production drilling unit, and a load haul dumper have been commissioned at 280 meters below the ground. Three more units will get delivered onto the site before the end of the year. The company intends to complete its fleet of SP vehicles with twenty primary and twelve ancillary units by 2021. ‘The rubber-tired

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 9, 2019. Mayor of Yekaterinburg Alexander Vysokinsky confirmed the latest amendments to the municipality’s program on the development of culture and arts in Yekaterinburg in 2017-2020. According to the city council’s press service, the changes have to do with the amount of funding allocated for the years 2019 and 2020: extra money will come in from a number of sources. RUB 2.8m gets allocated from Yekaterinburg’s budget to coordinate the nationwide Russia’s Cities 2030 Strategic Development Forum; the city’s own development is on the agenda. The city also

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 9, 2019. Amy Storrow was appointed the new U.S. Consul General in Yekaterinburg, the consulate announced on Twitter. According to the consulate officials, the newly appointed U.S. Consul General Amy Storrow intends to spend the next two years building better connections between the Urals Consular District and the United States and is looking forward to getting to know the Urals and Siberia. The new Consul General started working for the U.S. Department of State in 2004, serving in Riga in 2010-2013 and working as the Director of the Bureau of Educational and

UrBC, Moscow, September 9, 2019. The Bank of Russia’s Board of Directors cut the key rate by 25 bp to 7% p.a., the CBR’s website states. ‘Inflation slowdown is continuing. At the same time, inflation expectations remain elevated. The Russian economy’s growth rate is still coming in lower than the Bank of Russia’s expectations. Risks of a global economic slowdown have increased. Risks of inflation accelerating or slowing down by the year-end are balanced. In these circumstances and taking actual inflation dynamics into account, the Bank of Russia has lowered its end-of-year annual inflation