UrBC, Magnitogorsk, January 14, 2019. MMK Group’s mutual benefit fund’s turnover came to more than one billion rubles in 2018; the money only comes from the borrowing parties’ fees, which means any loan is interest-free. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, the mutual benefit fund has over 21,000 members at the moment, that is, almost every one in two trade union members. More than 17,000 members applied for a loan in 2018. Eligible to apply are the borrowers who have been the members of the mutual benefit fund for at least three months. The loan amount also depends on the

UrBC, Moscow, January 14, 2019. The Bank of Russia issued a warrant aimed at the management of JPMorgan’s Russian branch as the bank failed to comply with the Russian anti-money-laundering legislation, the former’s website states. The warrant has to do with the administrative offense as described in Article 15.27 of Russia’s Administrative Offense Code (Failure to Comply with the Legal Requirements on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism).

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 14, 2019. Rosatom/Atomenergomash’s asset SverdNIIkhimmash landed a contract with Atomstroyexport for the design, production, and delivery of the equipment for treatment of non-recyclable components for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant’s Power-Generating Unit 1, the company’s press service reports. The contract amounts to more than RUB 1.5bn; the appliances are scheduled to get delivered in the fall of 2020, with the startup and commissioning scheduled for 2023. ‘SverdNIIkhimmash has plenty of successful experience in the field of supplying and commissioning the said

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 14, 2019. MegaFon Ural’s mobile traffic increased by 1.5 times on December 31, 2018 compared with one year earlier, the company’s press service reports. Local users mostly spent time on WhatsApp and Viber and grew very active after 6 PM on December 31; more than 70% of the company’s mobile traffic got delivered through 4G network; the amount of video content also rose by 3.5 times. ‘There’s no need to wait out to make your voice call or send an image or a video through a messenger app after midnight: the network is quite prepared to handle any amount of traffic,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 11, 2019. Ural Airlines are offering their customers reduced-price tickets for Yekaterinburg-Rome and Yekaterinburg-Paris flights. According to the air carrier’s press service, the offer applies to flights to be operated between January 10, 2019 and April 20, 2019. Prices start from RUB 16,000 for Yekaterinburg-Rome-Yekaterinburg flights, from RUB 10,000 for Yekaterinburg-Rome ones, from RUB 13,200 for Rome-Yekaterinburg ones, from 16,000 for Yekaterinburg-Paris-Yekaterinburg ones, from RUB 10,000 for Yekaterinburg-Paris ones, and from RUB 14,000 for

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 11, 2019. Sverdlovsk Region’s public prosecution authorities report that Sverdlovsk Philharmonic has already purchased eleven apartments at 40 Karl Liebknecht St (the building that would need to get pulled down to make room for the new concert hall). The authorities’ statement is now available on the Facebook page created by the apartment building’s supporters. Now Sverdlovsk Region Construction Ministry announced on September 25, 2018 that they had decided on the architectural concept of the philharmonic’s new concert hall. The winning concept was proposed by

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 11, 2019. Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state-regulated consumer rights watchdog) is willing to offer legal advice to drivers who were forced to stay in Koltsovo Airport’s parking lot for longer than the free-of-charge fifteen minutes and thus had to pay extra in parking fees, the division reports in answer to UrBC’s recent query. ‘Under the terms of Russia’s Civil Code (Article 401, Paragraph 1), a person is generally liable for failing to meet certain requirements, through either premeditation or negligence, except for the cases where the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 11, 2019. RSG-Akademicheskoye is coordinating a tender to find a contractor for the would-be storm water drainage infrastructure in Quarter 26 of Yekaterinburg’s District Akademicheskiy, the developer’s press service reports. Under the terms of the contract, the winning bidder will have to put up the entire storm water drainage system in Quarter 26 (Blocks 26.1, 26.5, 26.7, and 26.9), District Akademicheskiy, Yekaterinburg between the date the contract gets signed and July 2019. The opening bid comes to RUB 20,775,358 (20% VAT included). Applicants can submit

UrBC, Moscow, January 11, 2019. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service warns that antimonopoly investigations are under way to look into the bank’s faulty policies, namely, the cases when terms and conditions get worse for already existing deposit contracts, the FAS and Central Bank declare in their joint statement. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service has been faced with quite a few cases when banks adopt unscrupulous practices to attract private customers’ funds onto their deposits. Some banks, for example, would offer higher interest rates on fixed-term deposits and would then take a

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2019. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) extended its special offer on an enhanced annual interest deposit for another month: the offer now holds through January 31, 2019. The decision was made due to the outstanding demand for the bank’s new product, the bank’s press service reports. The deposit in question is one of the UBRD’s most profit-yielding banking products. The annual interest rate can reach as much as 8.5%; the deposit period starts from 210 days, with the interest either paid into your bank card account or added to the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2019. Ural Airlines are offering their customers reduced-price tickets for Moscow-Larnaca-Moscow flights, the air carrier’s press service reports. Prices start from RUB 3,120/€40 (one way, one piece of luggage under 10 kg included) for Promo tickets on Moscow-Larnaca flights; from RUB 4,368/€56 (one way, one piece of luggage under 10 kg included) for Promo tickets on Larnaca-Moscow flights; and from RUB 6,084/€78 (round trip, one piece of luggage under 10 kg included) for Promo tickets on Moscow-Larnaca-Moscow flights. As for Economy tickets, prices start from

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2019. EVRAZ Holding’s Raspadskaya Mine (Raspadskaya Coal Company’s flagship quality coal-making asset) was launched forty-five years ago this month. According to the company’s press service, a solemn ceremony took place at Raspadsky Culture Palace, with additional festivities for the workers on the site itself the day before. The plant’s 376 best workers and long-service employees received federal, local, municipal, and company awards. An ad hoc medal was designed in celebration of the special date and given to two hundred miners in the course of a solemn

UrBC, Moscow, January 10, 2019. Russian Post Unitary Enterprise can now charge customs duties on the Russians’ online purchases, and do so remotely. The duty-free limit has been halved since January 1 and now comes to €500 for all purchases made within one month’s time. According to Kommersant, a pilot project takes off on January 1 to enable Russian Post to charge customs duties on online purchases from abroad remotely. It hasn’t so far been explained what retailer businesses will be involved, but the expectation is that all the major market players will join the project eventually. Under

UrBC, Moscow, January 10, 2019. The World Bank adjusted its June forecast for the global economy’s growth by 0.1 percentage point (the figure is now 2.9% a year) due to a downfall in the trade sector and industrial activity as well as trade tensions, Prime refers to the bank’s Global Economic Prospects report as indicating. The GDP growth expectations for the year 2020 are also more pessimistic: the figure is down by 0.1 percentage point and comes to 2.8%. ‘In all, global growth is projected to moderate from a downwardly revised 3 percent in 2018 to 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2018. EVRAZ Holding’s West-Siberian Metal Plant (ZSMK) completed the overhaul of its Blast Furnace 3. This is expected to increase the time between repairs and make the blast furnace even more productive. Around RUB 2bn got directed to all the renovations, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s Corporate Relations Center reports. ‘The blast furnace jacket is now 90% new replacement; the cooling system got restored 100% and the firebrick lining of the chimney, the tuyere area, and the blast furnace stack have been fully replaced. The furnace’s charging system got repaired as

UrBC, Moscow, December 28, 2018. Russia’s Central Bank annulled the licenses of five Forex dealers: OOO Forex Club, OOO Fix Trade, OOO TrustForex, OOO TeleTrade Group, and OOO Alpari Forex. These businesses can no longer operate on the securities market or act as Forex dealers. ‘The decision to annul the licenses had to do with numerous violations of the Russian securities legislation throughout the year: the companies failed to comply with the Bank of Russia’s regulations, failed to keep up with the internal accounting standards, submitted inaccurate reports to the Bank of Russia, and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) and Visa came up with a few special New Year offers for customers willing to take a break from the cold winter and fly somewhere warmer, the bank’s press service reports. The UBRD customers can now spend their winter break at Dubai Shopping Festival, the world’s largest trade fair held since 1996; the event attracts plenty of visitors every year. ‘Sellers offer discounts on nearly everything that you can find on the Persian Gulf’s shore. Premium goods can be had up to 75% cheaper compared with

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) will provide the financial guarantees for the state-run infrastructure-building project in the Far East. The bank’s Saint Petersburg subsidiary issued AO EKS Group a bank guarantee (RUB 365m) valid through October 29, 2020. Far East Development Corporation acts as the deal’s beneficiary, the UBRD’s press service reports. The bank guarantee is meant to finance the construction of the first portion of highways and storm-water sewers at Rakitnoye, a site within Khabarovsk Priority Development Area

UrBC, Moscow, December 28, 2018. UC RUSAL Chair of the Board of Directors Matthias Warnig has recently resigned, the company reports. Warnig’s successor is expected to get elected at the next BOD meeting on December 27, 2018. ‘I am confident that I can hand over to my successor a successfully developed company. My mission is completed’, said Mr. Warnig. ‘With the planned de-listing of the company from the OFAC’s [The Office of Foreign Assets Control — Ed.] SDN List, we stand in front of a new strategic development, also in the Board of Directors, therefore now is the optimal point in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2018. Ural Airlines are offering their customers reduced-price tickets for Venice flights, the air carrier’s press service reports. Prices start from RUB 4,860 (€60) for Venice-Moscow (Domodedovo) flights and from RUB 4,056 (€52) for Moscow (Domodedovo)-Venice ones (for Promo tickets, one piece of luggage under 10 kg included). The prices are subject to change depending on the euro-ruble exchange rate. This is a limited offer. You can book your tickets between December 25, 2018 and March 30, 2019; the flights will get operated between December 29, 2018 and