A professional accident took place at Uralelectrokhimpribor industrial complex in Lesnoy on December 26. As the agency’s representative has been told by a spokesperson for Technological and Atomic Surveillance Administration of the Sverdlovsk Regional Branch of Rostekhnadzor, state technical inspection, two people were hurt while operating hoisting gear, one of whom was killed with the other one badly injured. The causes of the accident are to be investigated by a specially set up committee.

Business loans make up 74.7% of all the profits coming from crediting operations, goes the corollary of Bank information bureau after processing the data related to regional independent lending agencies’ activity throughout January to September 2005. An increase in the amount of loans has resulted in increase in interest yields. Profits brought about by these crediting operations have reached a point of 23.3% of all Sverdlovsk Region lending agencies’ consolidate returns where business loans comprise 74.7% of all the profits yielded from crediting operations, with profits from natural person

The independent lending agencies of Sverdlovsk Region have experienced some financial growth over the nine months of 2005. The positive balance between their incomes and expenses has gone up by 48.5% and exceeded all of last year’s figures. Yields coming from foreign currency and ingot transactions carried out by the lending agencies have come to a point of 28.4% of consolidate returns by October 1, 2005, which has been caused by considerable revaluation of funds in foreign currency. This information is given with reference to Bank information bureau

Throughout January to September 2005, Ural Federal District Subsoil Resources Agency has annulled 40 licenses previously issued to businesses dealing in natural resources due to a number of reasons. According to Uralnedra (Ural Subsoil Resources), most licenses are being cancelled because they have already expired, because the extracting projects have been completed, or following the company’s rejection of the license renewal. A minor part of licenses is cancelled for reasons of contract violation by the company.

Following orders given by Ural Federal District Deputy Attorney General Yuriy Zolotov, large scale inspections of how legitimate the business activity of enterprises and economic entities located in Ural Federal District and dealing in production and distribution of drinking water is were carried out by the Ural Federal District Public Prosecution Department alongside with its regional divisions and local authorities, as the spokesperson for Mr Zolotov says. Within the framework of the inspections, numerous instances of outright violation of sanitary and hygienic regulations and requirements

The Ural Estate Chamber has recently made the results of the annual contest held among real estate agencies of Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region public. There were eight nominations, with the ‘Best Real Estate Agent on the Housing Market-2005’ given to Novosel, the ‘Best Business Estate Company in’ given to Dial, the ‘Best Tenancy Agent in Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region’ given to Brodskiy and Kuznetsov Real Estate Company, the ‘Best Real Estate Agent in Sverdlovsk Region Market’ given to Nash Dom of Nizhniy Tagil, the ‘Greatest Developer of Real Estate Business Etiquette and Management

It has been decided by the Board of Directors of Uralmashzavod (part of Uralmash Industrial Services division of OMZ) to appoint Boris Vassilyev General Director of Uralmashzavod. Mr. Vassilyev had up to that moment been employed in the capacity of GD by Konstar Turbine Works of Krivorozhye. This company’s speciality is production and maintenance of gas-turbine engines, turbine expanders, steam turbines and other types of power equipment. Mikhail Matvienko, former GD, has been appointed Chair of the Board of Uralmashzavod. His new post is to do with the supervision of issues related to the

The Ural Federal District Subsoil Resources Agency announced a contest for those willing to do a geological research on two mineral wells (## 4, 111) situated within Talitskiy field on December 24; these wells are thought to be prospective in terms of mineral groundwater extraction to be used in health resort therapy as well as for bottling. Participants are expected to apply within five days of the contest announcement via mass media.

The trade center building industry in the Urals is going to receive $ 561 billion in investments in the years 2006-2007. Yekaterinburg is assumed to get over the half of the total sum since six new mega outlets with a total area of 320,000 square meters are going to be introduced as early as next year. Perm, in its turn, is getting $ 101 million in investments, with Chelyabinsk and Tyumen receiving $ 132 million and $ 53 million, respectively. These are the Swedish IKEA, Metro Cash&Carry wholesaler, Vremya group (represented by Park House Trade Center), and Regions plc that are believed

DIXIS electronic appliances and phone retailer has made about $ 7 million over the eleven months of 2005, of which nearly $ 700,000 were contributed by the company’s Ural subsidiary, the company’s spokesperson said to the agency’s representative. The sales have been on the rise since November (exceeding October figures by 19%); the total turnover over the last eleven months is one and half times (53%) as big as last year’s corresponding period. As the company’s PR Director Tatiana Moskalyova reports, these are Nokia 1100, SonyEricsson K700i, Nokia 2600, Nokia 6101, Nokia 2650, Samsung SGH -

SKM Trading Business Company is planning to introduce some Top-Mart retail chain stores in Yekaterinburg, the chain’s General Director Andrei Korabelnkov told the agency’s representative. The outlets will deal in health and beauty products; they will be conveniently located in residential areas such as the southern suburb of ZHBI, the northern Uralmash and the south-western Yugo-Zapadniy. About ten stores are going to be introduced in Yekaterinburg and its satellites throughout 2006. ‘We are a local business, so it’s not in the company’s drawn-up plans to expand outside Sverdlovsk Region,’ Mr

Marek Krseck, GD of Skoda Steel, has been appointed Director of OMZ SpecStal. The company deals in metal billets made from special kinds of steel for machine-building and other industrial branches and makes about one-fifth of all the money coming from the orders within its field. Spetsstal’s plants are located in Russia (workshop units within Izhor Works of Kolpino and Uralmash of Yekaterinburg) and Czech Republic (Skoda Steel of Plzen). Mr Krseck has been Chair of Skoda Steel (a full subsidiary of OMZmetallurgy) since 2004. He is now going to succeed Igor Gorskiy who has been running the

‘The road-building project for 2006 cuts two ways: capital construction and short-term renewal, with the amount of allocations the same as last year, that is, 5.5 billion RUR,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Alexei Vorobyov announced at the press conference. ‘We are planning to move on to the north of Sverdlovsk Region and work in such areas as Ivdel, Severouralsk, and Karpinsk. The roads heading for Tyumen and Perm Regions are also going to be renovated; still, the emphasis in construction and renewal is put upon the roads in Yekaterinburg and its outskirts,’ Mr Vorobyov said.

Sverdlovsk Region Forestry Committee is going to put up a standing wood auction. Put to an auction are three patches of 3.5 hectares (opening bid 72,000 RUR), 0.07 hectares (opening bid 700 RUR) and 12 hectares (opening bid 104,000 RUR) in Turinsky sector of Lensky forestry, a patch of 2.75 hectares (opening bid 23,000 RUR) and a coniferous area of 5.1 hectares (opening bid 55,000 RUR) in Novomarkinsky forestry, and a deciduous area of 12.5 hectares (opening bid 59,000 RUR) and a patch of 5.8 hectares (opening bid 40,000 RUR) in Shariginsky forestry.

‘Basic research development in Sverdlovsk Region will be backed-up by $ 1 million in 2006,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Alexei Vorobyov announced at the press conference. ‘At the moment, state orders are being placed by the government within the framework of an open competition; the topicality is being determined by the Russian Academy of Sciences,’ he said. ‘Applied science is also getting some financial support; the amount of money given for this branch development is expected to be satisfactory,’ Mr Vorobyov said.

A foreign developer is about to enter Yekaterinburg’s housing market: an American-based Astor Group is going to introduce two share holding building projects in the spring of 2006. ‘We are currently scheming out two projects, an economy Aston Park dwelling at an intersection of Kishinev St. and Kunarskaya St. and a business class Aston Plaza in Radishchev St.,’ General Director of Aston Builders CJSC (part of Aston Group) Konstantin Drozdov said to the agency’s representative. According to Mr Drozdov, Aston Park and Aston Plaza’s maximum height will come up to 16 and 25 storeys, respectively.

The Court of Arbitration of Tartar Republic dismissed the claim laid by Nefis Cosmetics plc to Kalina concern plc regarding libel. According to a Kalina’s spokesperson, the plaintiff had expected the court to classify concern’s published statements as to the plaintiff’s continual violation of trademark legislation as erroneous and disgracing, and to place a letter of apologies as well as the script of the court’s. Meanwhile, the Court of Arbitration of Sverdlovk Region proceeded with the suit of Kalina concern plc against Nefis Cosmetics plc stating that the defendant be fined for illegal use

The banking sector of Sverdlovsk Region experienced an increase of 33.2% in investments in 2005. Over a half of all the investments was accumulated by the region’s independent banks. Private savings made up nearly a half (52.8%) of all the money, whereas about one-quarter (24.8%) came from legal entities and various proprietors, with issued securities, bank-to-bank loans and deposits, and budgetary and non-budgetary funds making up 9.9%, 5.7%, and 3.6%, respectively, of the total sum. Private savings appear to keep their position as the most significant source of investments: the increase in

Deputy General Director of Irbit chemico-pharmaceuticals plc’s Evgeniy Tsimbal is kept in detention at the moment, the Public Prosecutor for Irbit inter-regional Department Vladimir Khoroshikh said to the agency’s representative. He reports that the criminal lawsuit against E. Tsimbal, who is charged with having sold 500 grams of narcotic substances, is currently under investigation by the General Department of Russian Federal Drug Trafficking Bureau for Sverdlovsk Region. ‘The investigation could take up to two months, and Mr Tsimbal is to be kept in detention for all that time,’ Mr

An extraordinary general meeting of energy suppliers TGK–9 plc shareholders was adjourned with a decision to restructure the company by doing a merger with energy supplier Sverdlovskaya generiruyushaya kompania plc and energy supplier Permskaya generiruyushaya kompania plc, which is going to make TGK–9 the second largest regional energy supplier that makes all core decisons vital to the prospective company structure with the help of minority shareholders, yielding only to TGK–5.