September 23, 2013. The traffic in Yekaterinburg will get better thanks to the creation of special hubs at the city entrances where one can switch to a different mode of transport, Deputy Mayor of Yekaterinburg for Urban Development, Transport, & Environment Evgeny Lipovitch told the participants of the Eurasian Transport Forum, the official city portal states. The city council is working on the development of the road and street network and pays special attention to the main transport framework. Yekaterinburg orbital motorway is also being expanded. The capacity of the roads is increased

September 23, 2013. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) is going to pay its shareholders 975m RUR worth of dividends for the first half of 2013. The company Board of Directors decided on September 19 to call an extraordinary general meeting (voting by correspondence) to consider the issue of payments, the company’s press service reports. ‘The Board of Directors recommended that the EGM vote for paying the interim dividends of 1.04 RUR per one ordinary share with face value of 10 RUR; this totals to 975,089,537.76 RUR; the sum is to be paid off by January 10, 2014,’ the press release says. The

September 23, 2013. Yekaterinburg Municipal Duma deputies – United Russia members – suggested in the course of their first faction meeting that an open letter to the Russian Federation President should be prepared and presented at the Duma session. The letter should ask the President to support Yekaterinburg’s right to coordinate and host the World Cup 2018 football matches, the city council’s press service reports. The initiative was put forth by Vladimir Kritsky, who was supported by his colleagues and the Soviet of the Federation Member from Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel. The exact

September 23, 2013. Representatives of two innovative Urals-based companies are going to come to Boston for the Russian Innovation Week – a major event for the Russian innovators, Sverdlovsk Region Business Support Fund (which coordinated the trip) reports. The annual RIW is targeted at intensifying cooperation between Russian technological companies and their American counterparts. The main idea behind the event is to show Russia’s potential as one of the most investment-attractive European countries that America could invest in over the following five years. The participating companies –

September 23, 2013. Bank Koltso Urala and Greenwich Shopping Center keep developing their unique co-branding project know as Greencard; the bank issued its 10,000th Greencard today, the bank’s press service reports. The great number of cards means the customers are increasingly interested in this Greencard project. This is something unique to Yekaterinburg at the moment, as Greencard is a fully functional VISA Classic card with a bonus and discounts at Greenwich stores. The card’s other advantage lies in the fact that it also works as the loyalty card for Kupets in Greenwich Supermarket.

September 20, 2013. The Finance Ministry prepared the final drafts of amendments to the Credit History Act that will state clearly that upon the publication of the new Act, the Credit History Bureau will have to annul the empty records and files within six months and not issue any more new dossiers in the future. A credit history file counts as empty if it contains records of data on applications by those borrowers who were not granted a loan, Bank Koltso Urala’s press service reports. The initiative was put forward by the Central Bank over six months ago. The regulatory authority believes

September 20, 2013. Delegations from 18 National Olympic Committees are going to stay at Burgas Resort during the winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014; the resort was built by Sinara Group, the company’s press officer says. ‘Burgas is getting ready to open its doors and show its hospitality to executives of 18 National Olympic Committees. While getting ready for the big event, delegations from Norway, Germany, Latvia, Switzerland, and Japan have already checked the resort out and thought very highly of the location and the service of the place,’ the press release states. The resort team are now

September 20, 2013. Bank NEIVA made a presentation on the features and benefits of its new mobile app NEIVA Mobile that was developed specially for iOS devices – iPhones and iPads – and is targeted at the bank’s corporate customers, the bank’s press service reports. The application supports all the functions of the full-fledged cash and settlement operations system, including financial transactions. NEIVA Mobile allows one to work with accounts of several organizations simultaneously and obtain updated information on current loans or deposits, make bank statements and the loan repayment

September 20, 2013. The trade union members joined in the running race dedicated to the upcoming Machine-Builder’s Day and the 84th anniversary of the company trade union at Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (a member of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation), the corporation’s press service says. 32 competing teams represented their departments, production divisions, and administrations. Prior to the start of the race, all the participants attended an opening parade conducted by the director of the plant’s sports club and the primary judge Yuri Shusharin, who announced the teams

September 20, 2013. Uralvagonzavod’s exhibition facility is now hosting an unusual exhibition called Russia’s Presidents. The exhibition is mainly compiled from a collection created by Art-Sfera and comprises fine art, sculpture, sketching, and 3D objects dedicated to the three presidents of the Russian Federation: Boris Yeltsin, Dmitri Medvedev, and the current president Vladimir Putin, Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s press release says. The exhibition features over 40 works by 30 prominent Russian artists from different parts of Russia: Saint Petersburg, Kazan,

September 19, 2013. The participants of the show that is to take place during the 9th International Arms, Military Vehicles & Ammunition Exhibition Russia Arms Expo 2013 (RAE-2013) have started rehearsing at Staratel range in Nizhniy Tagil recently, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policies Department reports. The rehearsals will last till September 21, when the final demonstration version of the show will be held at the range of Nizhniy Tagil Metal Testing Institute. Nearly all the show participants – Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation, Uraltransmash,

September 19, 2013. Director-General of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation Oleg Sienko topped the rating of best managers in the machine-building industry, according to Kommersant Publishing House. The best managers were selected in every sector; in the IT field, for example, the Director-General of Info Watch Natalya Kasperskaya was selected as the most successful manager. Chairman of Gazprombank Supervisory Board Andrei Akimov was chosen as the best manager among the private banks, and head of Russdragmet Valeriy Oif was selected as the best manager in the metallurgical

September 19, 2013. The Russian Government decided to lift drop the visa regime it used to have with South Korea, Prime reports. ‘The new agreement touches upon the citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea who have regular international passports and are going to make short-term trips (under 60 days long) for business, tourist, or private purposes, or in order to join some cultural, scientific, or sports events,’ the Cabinet’s declaration states. Travelers who enter either country without a visa can stay in the respective host country for up to 90 days within every 180

September 19, 2013. Following the World Football Championship games of 2018, the Mundial heritage will have to be used for the city’s further development and for making the locals’ life more comfortable. This is how Yekaterinburg Council feels, and this viewpoint was taken into consideration by the Moscow designers when deciding on the final layout of the area around Yekaterinburg Central Stadium. The city council’s press service says the amendments to the design documents proposed by the council will mean that modern. Multi-storey parking lots will be put up in place of the temporary flat

September 19, 2013. The amount of money kept at Bank Koltso Urala’s corporate’s settlement accounts rose by 48% in the first half of 2013, the bank’s press service reports. Over these six months, the bank’s working assets exceeded 36bn RUR, its loan book amounted to 24bn RUR, and the private individuals’ savings came to more than 20bn RUR; the amount of money deposited with the bank by legal entities came to 9bn RUR. It should be noted that, according to the data obtained in the course of monitoring the banking sector in the Urals and Western Siberia in the first half of 2013 (this was done

September 18, 2013. An action plan for supporting Sverdlovsk Region businesses was presented at the 4th International Exhibition & Forum Innoprom 2013 and also to Sverdlovsk Region Union of Industrialists & Employers and was approved of by the chairmen of the Union's key committees, Sverdlovsk Region Government's Press Service & Information Department reports. The action plan to support Sverdlovsk Region-based companies was elaborated by the Mid-Urals Development Corporation experts and now comprises a list of subsidies, grants, and tax relief schemes as well as other

September 18, 2013. Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg (a member of Regional Airports Management Company) switched to new jet fuel prices: 1,000 liters of airplane fuel now costs 27,720 RUR, which is 10% less expensive than before. This decision was made by Koltsovo Filling Company (a member of Rosneft) that is in charge of providing jet fuel at the airport, Koltsovo's press service reports. This means that under Rosneft's decision, the price of jet fuel at Yekaterinburg airport is aligned with the Moscow airports' prices. The decrease in prices might affect the cost of the

September 18, 2013. Ural Airlines is going to launch an additional flight to Israel, that is, from Yekaterinburg to Ovda, the airline's press service reports. The new flight will be operated on Tuesdays and Fridays, once every ten to eleven days. Isralux, a travel agent, is to become the primary customer for this flight and is already selling tours for this destination. Ural Airlines operates a scheduled Yekaterinburg-Tel Aviv flight as well.

September 18, 2013. Bank Koltso Urala's retail loan book is now over 14bn RUR big. September typically stands for the start of the business activity season, and this is also true of consumer lending. People come bank from their vacations and summer houses and get down to buying new homes and cars and getting their children ready for school. Bank Koltso Urala's loans proved particularly popular thanks to their improved terms and conditions, convenient services, and the bank's expanded branch network, Koltso Urala reports. This noticeable increase in the bank's loan book

September 18, 2013. The Eurasian Transport Forum will take off at EXPO Exhibition Center in Yekaterinburg tomorrow. The forum is dedicated to the development of the transport industry in the Russian Federation and Ural Federal District and to modernization of transport and transport infrastructure on the basis of a government program called Russia's Transport Strategy in 2013-2020. Representatives of some 50 transport companies from all parts of Russia are going to attend the event. Among the points on the agenda are insurance, leasing, and railway technologies. The round table