March 13, 2013. Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed a 300,000- ruble fine on Rostelecom for the latter’s failing to provide the required data on time, the division’s press service reports. On December 10, 2012, an application was submitted to Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service by Voyentelecom. The agency then sent a query to Rostelecom’s Yekaterinburg branch in order to confirm or refute the fact that the company was violating the existing antimonopoly agreement. However, the Yekaterinburg branch did not provide any

March 13, 2013. A new Supervisory Board of Development Corpriation was elected at the company’s extraordinary general meeting in Yekaterinburg, the company’s press service reports. In the course of the meeting, the corporation’s shareholders terminated the powers of the Board members and appointed new executives. The corporation’s new Supervisory Board now comprises: Assistant to Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Boris Kirillov, Director of Sverdlovsk Region Public Property Management Ministry’s Coordination Committee Nikolai Berdnikov,

March 12, 2013. Some festive events took place at Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s head plant to celebrate the anniversary of the day Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was founded (March 11, 1943). Uralvagonzavod acted as one of the founding fathers of this unique military unit seventy years ago, the corporation’s press service says. The actual volunteers offspring – their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren – gathered at Uralvagonzavod’s museum facility on the day of people’s feat; those who served in the famous tank division after the war also attended the

March 12, 2013. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development launched a new ad campaign of its multi-purpose bank card. The campaign is dubbed ‘Your Very Own Bank’ and is based on a story that resembles a bank robbery: five people decided to ‘rob a bank’. The operation was quite a success: they took ‘their very own bank’ with them and were very satisfied with the result: they got one card that ensures all the core banking services, the bank’s press office says. ‘The main idea behind this ad campaign is to show the customers that all the most popular services such as deposits, loans, and

March 12, 2013. The Development Corporation Project might serve as a potential growth point for the creation of an O & G cluster in Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region-Yugra, the Academic Secretary of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Presidium Christophe Yakubson said at a meeting attended by Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President Igor Kholmanskikh and Governor of Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region Natalia Komarova, the corporation’s press service reports. The meeting took place in Nizhnevartovsk on March 6, 2013. The main point on the agenda had to do with the

March 12, 2013. Three new branches of VUZ-Bank were launched in Chelyabinsk Region recently, namely, in Kyshtym, Chebarkul, and Magnitogorsk. All the three branches offer their customers a full range of banking services for private individuals, the bank’s press service reports. The Magnitogorsk branch is now the bank’s 5th one in town, while the branches in Chebarkul and Kyshtym are currently the only outlets of VUZ-Bank in these towns. All in all, VUZ-Bank currently runs 19 offices in Chelyabinsk Region. VUZ-Bank has launched 9 new branches in Ural Federal District since the beginning of the

March 12, 2013. The volume of shipments handled by Sverdlovsk Railways came to 9.6m tons in February 2013, which was 3.3% less than a year earlier. At the same time, the average daily shipments volume rose y 0.1% against February 2012: despite the growing intensiveness of shipments, the final figures look worse this year mainly because this February was shorter than the last (2012 was a leap year), Sverdlovsk Railways’ press service reports. The freight turnover decreased by 2.3% in February 2013 against a year earlier and amounted to 14.23bn ton-kilometers. According to the current data, the

March 11, 2013. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) saved over 400m RUR due to rationalization efforts last year. Over 1,500 good ideas (which comes to 90% of all the proposals) were launched at Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant’s ‘white metallurgy’ departments, the company’s press service reports. All these improvement ideas are targeted at cost savings, improving the quality of produce, increasing productivity, enhancing labor safety, and expanding the lifespan of equipment. Designing a new algorithm for customizing the settings of the coupling sleeve making

March 11, 2013. As of January 1, 2013, the volume of private individuals’ ruble deposits in Ural Federal District-based banks exceeded that of the foreign currency deposits by nearly three times. What is more, the ruble deposits increased by 22% (62.6bn RUR), the foreign currency ones (in ruble equivalents) rose by 8.2% (2.5bn RUR). If one does not take the declining foreign currency exchange rate (in nominal terms) into account, the volume of foreign currency deposits increased by 13.3% in 2012. When one does take the changes in the foreign currency exchange rate into account, the increase

March 11, 2013. Nizhniy Tagil’s public prosecution authorities for the environment and Sverdlovsk Region Natural Resources & Environment Ministry investigated a case of jet fuel soil contamination in the village of Pokrovskoye-1. Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Region, the press service for Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities reports. An inspection revealed that a lot of barrels with some cables and hoses attached to them were half-buried in the snow on the territory of about 30 hectares. No kerosene was being produced at the time of check. Experts took some samples of ice

March 11, 2013. A complaint was placed with Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Antimonopoly Service by OOO Minimax; the company complained about the actions of a tender committee at Ural Electromechanical Plant Federal State Unitary Enterprise when the latter conducted an open e-query on price quotations for DKC components (DIN rail, cable duct, and a wire tray). The query was to be followed by the signature of a contract for the delivery of the said components, the division’s press officer reports. The complaint states that the company would like the antimonopoly body to annul the

March 11, 2013. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant/ChTZ (a member of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) is about to convert its mass-produced B-11 and B-14 bulldozers to joystick-controlled mode, Uralvagonzavod’s press service reports. It is explained that the joystick-controlled B-14 makes were presented to the company’s dealers at a special vehicles exhibition that took place on the eve of a big trade representatives meeting. This tractor, with all its modern ergonomic characteristics and design, will hit the assembly line soon. The new make is the evolutionary result of the

March 7, 2013. TMK, one of the world's leading OCTG manufacturers, prepared a performance report for 2012. The sales of weldless pipes rose by 7% compared with a year earlier and amounted to 2,495,000 tons. The OCTG sales increased by 15% against 2011, mainly thanks to the Russian oil producers’ activity in terms of survey and production, TMK’s press service reports. The total sales volume remained nearly the same as in 2011 and came to 4,238,000 tons. The welded pipe sales decreased by 5% on the year 2011 and reached 1,743,000 tons. At the same time, the OCTG and welded line pipe sales

March 7, 2013. In 2012, the amount of foreign investment rocketed in Sverdlovsk Region, while direct foreign investment actually doubled from $88.5m in 2011 to $192.9m in 2012, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s Press Service & Information Department reports. Sverdlovsk Region First Deputy Economics Minister Anatoly Ogloblin also said in his report on the region’s socioeconomic development program for 2012 that Sverdlovsk Region got a much better position in the rating of Russian Federation constituencies than a year earlier. For one, the region rose from the 51st position in 2011 to the 16th

March 7, 2013. In February 2013, court enforcement officers from Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Service of Court Officers imposed a temporary ban on leaving the country for 601 debtors. Their actions were based on Article 67 of the Federal Enforcement Proceedings Act 229-FZ dated October 2, 2007. This news was announced by the press office of Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Service of Court Officers. The total number of people who have been ignoring the court’s rulings since the beginning of the year comes to 2,877. Their debts total to 2,689,463,000 RUR

March 7, 2013. According to the statistical data provided by Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Tax Service, the region transferred 27.2bn RUR to the Russian Federation’s consolidated budget in January and February 2013, which was 1.2bn RUR, or 5% more than a year earlier, the division’s press officer reports. The division analysts say that the money inflow into the federal budget amounted to 7.2bn RUR, which was 1.3bn RUR, or 15% less than a year earlier; the VAT payments reached 6.3bn RUR, which was 20% less than in January and February 2012. At the same time, the corporate income

March 7, 2013. Starting March 1, a committee responsible for controlling the technological connection to the company’s electric grids in Yekaterinburg started its work at Yekaterinburg Electrical Network Company. The committee is coordinated by MRSK Urala, the company’s press service reports. The committee’s goal is make sure the technological hookup takes places within required deadlines. The committee comprises the region’s Energy & Communal Housing Services Ministry’s representatives and officials from Yekaterinburg Municipal Council, MRSK Urala, Yekaterinburg Electrical Network

March 06, 2013. Sverdlovsk Region Trade Union Federation claims that METRO Cash & Carry fails to react to over 30 court warrants. The trade union organization is planning to lay a claim with the court, asking for disqualification of METRO Russia’s Director-General, Sverdlovsk Region Trade Union Federation’s press officer reports. Sverdlovsk Region Trade Union Federation and its member organization Trade Unity are considering the possibility of placing a claim with the court, asking for disqualification of METRO Russia’s Director-General. At the moment, the company still has not responded

March 06, 2013. A science & engineering council’s meeting took place at Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s head plant. For three days, the representatives of the corporation’s member companies and people from the Moscow-based Corporate Governance Center talked about the promising produce the corporation can offer customers, and the economic and technical efficiency of existing goods, Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s press service reports. The science & engineering council is chaired by Uralvagonzavod’s Chief Engineer and comprises the

March 06, 2013. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development obtained the second tranche on its $20m subordinate loan in late February 2013; the loan period comes to 6 years. The first tranche ($30m) was received in December 2012, the bank’s press service reports. Thanks to these steps, the UBRD managed to increase its supplementary capital and thus increased its overall capital as well in the two months of this year from 12.9bn RUR on January 1, 2013 to 13.6bn RUR on March 1, 2013. According to UBRD International Business Director Sergey Sisoshvili, the subordinate loans made a good