UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2017. Apple product sales are at their highest in Yekaterinburg, Perm, Surgut, and Nizhnevartovsk, MegaFon’s press service reports. ‘Urals-based customers don’t feel like saving up for their much-coveted smartphones, so they come to MegaFon shops and online stores where the new iPhones are available to buy on credit. Only one in three customers is actually prepared to pay the entire amount up front,’ the press service says. According to MegaFon Ural Retail Director Alexei Bykov, the new iPhones came along with a new range of high-speed mobile Internet

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2017. Albert Yamaliyev’s team from Section 1 of EVRAZ Holding’s Alardinskaya Mine have produced 2,000,000,000 kg of coal since the start of the year, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s Corporate Relations Center reports. ‘Albert Yamaliyev’s team is one of the most famous ones in Kuzbass with a long-standing reputation of a ‘millionaire’ team (as its coal output comes to many millions a year). The management of EVRAZ Raspadskaya Coal Company congratulated the miners on their production record,’ the Center says. The coal was extracted from long-face 3-39. The first

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region’s annual inflation rate stood at 2.7% in September 2017 against September 2016, Sverdlovskstat reports. Food items grew 2.2% more expensive, non-food ones grew 3% more expensive, alcohol is now 6.2% more expensive, and services cost 2.2% more than one year earlier. At the same time, deflation rate stood at 0.3% in September 2017 compared with August 2017.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2017. Yekaterinburg Customs directed over RUR 17bn to the Russian budget in the nine months of 2017, including RUR 7.5bn transferred in the third quarter of the year. According to the authority’s press service, more than 4,800,000,000 kg of goods worth over $6.6bn got declared at their customs points in January-September 2017. The number of importers/exporters reached 1,800 legal entities, which exceeded the figures for a year earlier by 13%. 60,000+ cargo manifests got issued at customs points, up 12% on a year earlier for export manifests and up 38% for

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 6, 2017. KORTROS Group took part in the largest national high-rise building forum 100+ Russia, RSG Abademicheskoye’s press service reports. KORTROS Corporation’s Director for PPP Dovran Garagozov presented his report at the forum’s plenary session (Building Outside the Box). Garagozov said the idea for their project, Akademicheskiy District in Yekaterinburg, was to combine apartment buildings of varying heights (seven to twenty-five storeys high), which would take care of several factors at once. Firstly, this offers customers more choices: some home owners prefer

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 6, 2017. ChTPZ Group’s Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ) carried out a large-scale tree-planting campaign in Pervouralsk, the company press service reports. Some 500 cotoneaster trees, willow trees, apple trees, and lilac bushes got planted in the city streets and parks. The job was done by the town council urban development services and local farms by PNTZ’s order. The trees and shrubs were planted in locations with the heaviest automobile traffic: in Komsomolskaya St, Kosmonavtov Ave, Ilyicha St, and Danilov Park. ‘Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant always takes part in

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, October 6, 2017. The South Urals Chamber of Commerce & Industry underwent scheduled checks by Voyenniy Registr and GOST R. The goal was to look into how well the Chamber carries out certification procedures of local companies and organizations’ quality management systems. According to the CCI’s press service, both Voyenniy Registr and Rosakkreditatsiya committee members pointed to the Chamber’s experts’ great competence in the field of quality management system audits. The committees looked into how the Chamber carries out is certification audits, how much experience

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 6, 2017. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) and Gazprom Burenie LLC signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement at Saint Petersburg International Gas Forum during Russian Energy Week. The paper was signed by TMK Director-General Alexander Shiryayev and Gazprom Burenie DG Damir Valeyev. ‘Under the terms of the agreement, TMK is going to ac as the key supplier of all kinds of steel boring pipes that Gazprom Burenie needs to use for wells at deposits all over Russia (including locations in Western and Eastern Siberia, the Far East, and Yamal Peninsula). The

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 6, 2017. 299,405 consumer loans got issued to Sverdlovsk Region-based borrowers in the first eight months of 2017, which exceeded the figures for one year earlier by 33%, the National Credit History Bureau’s press service reports. 9.94m loans got issued to applicants throughout Russia on the whole in the first half of the year, which was 27% more than in January-June 2016 (7.83m). The loan-issuing activity was at its lowest in August 2017, even though the increase was still 13.2% against August 2016. The overall consumer loan amount came to RUR 1.37 trillion in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 5, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) intends to buy out its BO 05 ISIN RU000A0JTVE3 bonds: there are currently under 30,000 such bonds in circulation, the bank’s press service reports. The bank promises to buy the bonds at 100% of their face value as well as to pay the bond owners the entire accumulated coupon yield by October 18, 2017. The coupon yield for 10th and 11th coupons comes to 0.1% a year (RUR 0.50 per bond), with the consolidated coupon yield amount for two coupon periods at RUR 3m. According to UBRD Financial Markets

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, October 5, 2017. MMK Group’s trade union coordinated its annual tender to decide on the supplier of New Year’s gifts for the employees’ children, MMK press service reports. ‘The tender usually gets coordinated on the eve of Metallurgist’s Day in mid-summer, when you have plenty of time to look into suppliers’ applications in peace and make sure you can get good 32,000 presents for the workers’ children. A committee consisting of fifteen trade union representatives, headed by Chair of MMK Group Trade Union Boris Semenov, looked carefully into all the fifteen+ proposals from

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 5, 2017. Ural Airlines launch a new flight from the South of Russia to Israel’s largest city on November 1, 2017, the air carrier’s press service says. The scheduled Mineralnye Vody-Tel Aviv flight will be operated every Wednesday (departure from Mineralnye Vody: 1:35 PM; departure from Tel Aviv: 4:30 PM). The in-flight time is estimated at 2 hours and 55 minutes; the flight is operated on comfortable A 320 Airbus liners (both Economy and Business seat options are available). Ural Airlines cooperate with R-way Group Israel LTD in this, with the travel agent’s

UrBC, Moscow, October 5, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems is going to renovate the signal lighting appliances in places where electric main support beams intercross with large rivers in Western Siberia, the company press service reports. The crossings will be fitted with 129 new lights and 482 batteries. The new equipment is meant to ensure extra safety for airplane pilots at nighttime and in poor visibility conditions. According to the electric main operation and maintenance requirements, support beams that are over fifty meters tall must bear special marking and be

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 5, 2017. Sinara Development and Ural Real Estate Chamber signed a cooperation agreement that will help sell the developer’s apartment buildings. The agreement was signed at the International 100+ Forum Russia, Sinara Group’s press service reports. The document was signed by Sinara Development’s Commercial Director Alexei Smirnov and Ural Real Estate Chamber’s President Irina Zyryanova. Under the terms of the agreement, estate agents that are members of Ural Real Estate Chamber will be able to offer Sinara Development’s buildings for sale. Alexei Smirnov said the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 4, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) shareholders voted for paying the dividend for the first half of 2017 in the course of a recent annual general meeting. The dividends stem from the company’s ordinary registered shares, MMK website reports. The amount was determined at RUR 0.869 per share, tax-inclusive. $164m will be paid out altogether. ‘This amount equals to 75% of the company’s free cash flow (according to our IAS-based calculations) in the first half of the year and is above the required lower payout limit set by MMK regulations (at least 50%

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 4, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) got its reinforced fittings certified by Belarus’s certification authority BelStandartTsentr, the company press service reports. ‘This certification body carries out independent assessments of production conditions and produce quality for compliance with the Byelorussian standards and regulations,’ MMK says. Based on its certification audit results, BelStandartTsentr confirmed that MMK’s reinforced fittings fully comply with the TR 2009/13/BY security standards and STB 1706-2006 technical requirements. MMK was

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 4, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) and Belagroprombank signed a cooperation agreement, the bank’s press service reports. The two parties intend the paper to support and promote their customers’ international operations. ‘The agreement lays a solid foundation for a long-term partnership. Each of the two banks can now offer the customers of their partner bank a full range of services in accordance with the existing internal policy and procedures,’ says UBRD Head of Sales & Project Financing Department Sergey Okhrimenko.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 4, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region’s public prosecution authorities are currently working on the list of legal entities and sole traders to get inspected in 2018, the authorities’ press service reports. ‘The first stage of inspection-planning involved looking into the preliminary check schedules of legal entities and sole traders for the year 2018 (some 5,800 inspections all in all, down 940 on a year earlier). Prosecutors have already canceled 440 ungrounded inspections on this list so far,’ the press service says. Among the canceled inspections are the ones that were to

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 4, 2017. 25,949 new automobiles (cars and trucks) got sold in Yekaterinburg in the first eight months of the year, which exceeded the figures for one year earlier by 19%, Auto Dealer Yekaterinburg’s press service reports. ‘August proved one of the peak-sales months this year, with 3,675 cars bought from dealers. This is 17% more than in August 2016. The only better sales figures were registered in March and June,’ the agency informs. The top ten bestsellers have remained the same as before, with Lada still No.1 on the market (the brand’s sales rocketed by 48% in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 3, 2017. SKB-Bank adjusted its All-Purpose consumer loan terms and conditions recently, the bank’s press service reports. The changes mainly have to do with the basic annual interest rate, which now starts from as little as 11.9% and depends on the borrower’s actual paying capacity. ‘Our All-Purpose consumer loan is now offered for any consumer needs. You can apply for the loan online using our website or over the phone or at any of our branches. For more details on the eligibility criteria, please visit our website, the press service says. The new terms and