Two large regional banks (UBRiR, or Ural Reconstruction and Development Bank and Sverdlotsbank) have fully completed their merger. The first allied banks in the Urals welcomed the beginning of the new year as one bank. From the legal viewpoint, the alliance was spelled out as restructuring of Ural Reconstruction and Development Bank JSC by means of acquisition of Sverdlotsbank CJSC. Sverdlotsbank CJSC was thus deleted from the official state legal entities list on December 29, 2005 and from the crediting businesses list on December 30. Therefore, Sverdlotsbank CJSC is now an integral part of

The issue of limiting nighttime liquor trade in Sverdlovsk Region is currently under discussion. As the UrBC representative was explained by the spokesperson for Ministry of Trade, Food and Service Industry in Sverdlovsk Region, a special committee headed by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Sergei Chemesov is designing a liquor–selling ban project. ‘This project will probably become either a Sverdlovsk Region Government decree or Sverdlovsk Region Government bill; but the issue is not likely to have been settled before summer,’ the spokesperson said.

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel met the newly-appointed Consul General of the Republic of Kirghizia in Yekatrinburg Turdali Orozbayev on January 13. The Consul expressed his willingness to keep up the good partnership ties and cooperation that exist between Sverdlovsk Region and Kirghizia. The turnover in trade and projects, for instance, went up by 35% in 2005 (as opposed to the year before); also, the agreement signed by the two Governments in May 2001 was fully complied with, and the new agreement is on the way. Eduard Rossel mentioned the wish of some regional enterprises to

The Federal Government introduced some antidumping duties on Ukrainian tube and pipe import on January 1, 2006. Some tube suppliers don’t believe this is going to affect the regional market greatly, though. ‘Ural Federal District is known to use Russian tubes only,’ Lyubov Desyatova, Marketing Specialist of Yekaterinburgskaya Stalnaya Kompaniya (Yekaterinburg Steel Company) CJSC, said to the UrBC representative. Ms Desyatova says that Ukrainian tubes and pipes are virtually unknown on the local market. ‘This antidumping duty is more likely to affect the large-diameter tube market,’ she said.

Federal Antimonopoly Service allowed generating companies of Sverdlovsk and Perm Regions (Sverdlovskaya Generiruyushaya Kompaniya JSC and Permskaya Generiruyushaya Kompaniya JSC, respectively) to merge with TGK-9 JSC. The companies’ shareholders decided to merge in the end of 2005; the general meeting of all the three companies’ shareholders aimed at confirming the corresponding changes in the TGK-9 Charter is scheduled for February 20, 2006, and the merger is expected to have been completed by May 2006.

143.600 tons of grain worth 425.809 million RUR has been sold via Ural Regional Currency Exchange since August 2005. This has been done within the framework of government intervention in the grain market.

Magnezit Industrial Complex JSC will have to manage 1.650 billion RUR worth of investments in 2006, and it intends to spend about 500 million on the business maintenance and projects demanded by the supervisory authorities. Over 800 million RUR is going to be allocated for equipment renovation, robotizing, and computerization, Director of the company’s PR Department Marina Chirkova told the UrBC representative.

Hardware plants that are members of MMK JSC group (namely, Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Zavod JSC and MMK-Metiz JSC) reached the output of 500,000 tons in 2005; the output of the latter comprised 206300 tons, the output of the former made up 281900 tons of hardware products, the spokesperson for MMK JSC said to the UrBC representative. The plants are currently undergoing the merging process initiated by the decisions to restructure their joint-stock companies through MMK-Metiz JSC taking over MKZ JSC and becoming fully liable for it, made by the plants’ shareholders at the general

Uraltrubprom JSC (Ural Tube Maker) sold 14 360 tons of tubes in December 2005, which is 22.8% or 2663 tons more than the previous December. 9,400 tons (65.5%) and 4,960 tons (34.5%) of the sold goods are electric-welded joist loop web and oil pipe-line tubes, respectively. During 2005, the total output of Uraltrubprom JSC comprised 159,775 tons, which exceeds the corresponding figures for 2004 by 26,367 tons (19.7%). ‘Our sales for the last year come to 159,970 tons, and exceed the sales for 2004 by 26,529 tons (19,9%)’ the spokesperson for Uraltrubprom said to the UrBC representative.

According to the spokesperson for Sredneuralskiy Winery PLC (part of AVS Group), the plant has been idle since the beginning of the year due to the absence of excise labels. Starting January 1, 2006 the amendments to the State Regulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Strong Liquor and Spirit-Based Drink Production and Turnover Act came into effect, which means that all such produce must now bear a new-standard excise label (the old ones are only valid for drinks produced before January 1, 2006). ‘The new bill demands that the enterprise install some equipment and a new software program in order to place

Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration sitting concerning the suit brought by Kamishlovskiy Metalloobrabativayushiy Zavod CJSC (Metalworking plant of Kamishlov) against Eurogreen Financial Investment Company took place on January 11, 2006. As reported earlier, the reason of suing Eurogreen was its violating the shareholders’ selling privilege since the company had sold some shares of Kamishlovskiy Metalloobrabativayushiy Zavod CJSC to someone who isn’t the proprietor of the plant. The sitting was further postponed until February 21, 2006 because of the arrival of a new defendant, A.

According to the regional supplement of one of the largest national newspapers, public prosecution bodies are going to investigate the entrepreneurial activity performed by AVS Group Holding. Valeriy Saveliev, who was elected deputy of Legislative Assembly House of Representatives in 2005, has chaired the Holding since 2003. The Holding comprises over fifteen enterprises.

‘The introduction of antidumping duty on Ukrainian pipes and tubes is going to bring changes onto the Russian market,’ the spokesperson for Uralskaya Trubnaya Kompaniya PLC (Ural Tube Casting Company) told the agency’s representative. It was made clear that such measures could make Russian tube prices soar. ‘This measure could be seen as effective in terms of protecting the Russian makers’ interests, but we would have been better off buying Ukrainian tubes since they are so much cheaper. Naturally, import limits on Ukrainian tubes and pipes means more production and sales done by Russian

A spoliation attempt was made at Ekaterininskiy Privoz market today. ‘At six AM, some officers of the court accompanied by security guards, entered the market forcing our security guards out,’ Director of Ekaterininskiy Privoz Trade Center Sergei Kharlov reports. By nine o’clock, all the equipment, including two hoisting cranes and three long-length lorries had already been placed within the market territory. The market authorities had managed to summon the police and all of the security staff a little earlier, though.. ‘We just had to prevent the officers of the court from taking any further

47 public catering facilities providing room for 1,927 people were built in Yekaterinburg in 2005, which is seven facilities and 386 seats more than had been planned, reported Svetlana Pimenova, Head of Public Catering Department of Yekaterinburg Public Administration Commodities Market Committee. According to Ms Pimenova, 4 facilities fit for 84 people started operating in the city hotels (as opposed to scheduled 14 facilities fir for 844 people) and 21 facilities fit for 1,305 people are now available inside a number of trade centers.

First Public Mineral Oil Quality Control Laboratory based in Ural Standardization, Metrolo gy and Certification Center started operating in Yekaterinburg, GD of Uraltest Federal State Unitary Enterprise Valentin Sursyakov said to the agency’s representative. According to Mr Sursyakov, the laboratory was opened soon after the winter break. The cost of equipment came to about 10 million RUR. Among its clients are some public surveillance bodies that take mineral oil samples at the local and regional filling stations. ‘Sadly, we receive lots of complaints about the oil quality from the drivers,’

‘Starting January 1, 2006 Tagilvodka JSC does not produce anything due to the absence of excise labels demanded by the amendments to the State Regulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Strong Liquor and Spirit-Based Drink Production and Turnover Act. The new bill also demands that the enterprise install some equipment in order to place the bar code onto the labels, but no equipment has been delivered so far,’ Accountant General of Tagilvodka JSC Oleg Silin said. As Mr Silin reports, the winery will not start operating again until February 1, which makes the budgets incur losses of 500,000 to 600,000 RUR

Austrian Airlines are going to set up their subsidiary in Yekaterinburg, with the official presentation taking place in the Atrium Palace Hotel on January 19. President of Austrian Airlines Group is expected to be present. As the spokesperson for Koltsovo Airport told the agency’s representative, Austrian Airlines will be performing Yekaterinburg-Vienna flights starting April 2006.

1,199 open-air trade units were operating in Yekaterinburg on January 1, 2006, as was announced at the Commodities Market Committee sitting headed by Deputy Mayor Chair Viktor Konteev. 74 units were dismantled in 2005, 25 are currently under the court investigation and 174 units are expected to have been dismantled by the end of 2006. Alongside with the dismantling, some renewal projects are being implemented: 48 open-air trade units were renovated in 2005 (as opposed to the scheduled 52) even though the authorities note that the quality of the work leaves much to be desired. 73 units are

Sverdlovsk Regional Public Institution of Road Management announced the results of the contract auction that took place on December 12, 2005. Bids were offered for the privilege of capturing a state contract on management of highways maintained through the regional budget over the months of January to June 2006. Sverdlovskavtodor Federal State Unitary Enterprise happened to be the winning bidder and now has a strip of Perm-Yekaterinburg bypass, which is an 841002,000 RUR contract, and the Yekaterinburg-Tyumen highway (25th to 147th km), which is a 152982,000 RUR contract, at its disposal.