UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 7, 2017. Gazprom confirmed a list of technical specifications for split tees ChTPZ Group’s and Rosnano’s joint venture Eterno is going to make for the company, the Group’s press service reports. This import substitution product is meant for repairing and re-launching pipelines under working pressure of up to 9.8 MPA with no interruptions in the fuel transfer. Prior to making a list of specifications, it was necessary to test the pilot samples for airtightness and structure strength; the tests proved that Eterno’s produce meets all of Gazprom’s requirements and is

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, July 7, 2017. Workers of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works and MMK Group’s other member enterprises whose children are starting school this year are going to get some financial help from the company, MMK press service reports. The Group’s Metallurg Charity Fund will provide each family with a one-time allowance of 2,500 RUR between July and September 2017; this is part of the company’s maternity, childhood, and birth rate improvement program. 1,600 families will get involved in the program altogether. The money will get transferred to one of the parents’ account, or to

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 7, 2017. Koltsovo Airport came up with its first airlines’ punctually rating featuring air carriers that operate their flights from the Yekaterinburg-based airport, their press service reports. All airlines got broken down into three different categories: Russia’s largest companies that contributed the most to the airport’s overall passenger traffic; other national companies; and international air carriers. A fifteen-minute-plus delay in departure time was classed as tardiness (excluding the cases when flights got suspended due to bad weather conditions). Pobeda

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 7, 2017. SKB-Bank was among thirty largest national banks in terms of private individuals’ deposits according to Kommersant Finansy, the bank’s press service report. The bank came 30th in the national rating with its 70.7bn RUR worth of private deposits as of June 1, 2017. SKB-Bank is also the country’s 5th largest non-capital bank (that is, among the banks located outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg). According to the newspaper, the country’s two hundred largest Russian banks currently hold around 19 trillion RUR worth of private deposits; the interest rates haven’t

UrBC, Moscow, July 6, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) is expanding its private customer product range, the bank’s press service reports. The bank is launching a consumer loan/credit card refinancing program for customers with loans taken out from other banks. The service is aimed at customers with a good credit history who pay out their current debts in time. The upper money limit has been set at 1m RUR, while the number of loans you can apply to have refinanced isn’t limited. The interest rates start from 13.9% a year, with the repayment period of up to seven

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 6, 2017. Sinara Group and the Chinese corporation CRRC signed an agreement to set up a joint venture in Russia. The new company’s name is Sinara CRRC Rail Transport. According to the Group’s press service, the contract-signing ceremony on July 4, 2017 was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping. The agreement was signed by Sinara Group’s Chair of the BOD Dmitri Pumpyansky and CRRC Chairman of the Supervisory Board Wan Jun. ‘The parties agreed a year ago that they would set up a joint venture in Russia to

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, July 6, 2017. A new 50-megawatt turbine unit will soon get installed at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Central Power Station in order to increase the station’s overall capacity. After MMK processed a number of technical proposals and coordinated a number of tender procedures, the final contract for the delivery of the needed equipment was signed with Ural Turbine Plant. According to MMK press service, the turbine will be manufactured in as little as ten months. The unit will be fitted with the latest automatic control system to ensure energy efficiency and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 6, 2017. RSG-Akademicheskoye is offering discounts to its young customers: they can pay up to 200,000 RUR less for a new home in Yekaterinburg’s Akademicheskiy District, the company press service reports. ‘This district has everything one needs to start an independent life and everything for young families and newly married couples. We have spacious and modern apartments at affordable prices, kindergartens, schools, workout sites, stadiums, shopping malls, and cozy cafes. Add to this bicycle lanes, parks, the neighborhood’s welcoming atmosphere, and the spectacular

UrBC, Moscow, July 6, 2017. Ural Federal District’s online shopping market rose by 18.4% in the first three months of the year, Russian Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT) reports. In Russia on the whole, the online consumer market grew by 14% and reached 240bn RUR. This year’s market is estimated to reach over 1.150 trillion RUR by the end of December. ‘The market growth slowed down a bit in the first quarter of the year, but this mainly has to do with the fact that customers are usually not very active at the start of the year; besides, figures don’t look very impressive when

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 5, 2017. 29 alumni of ChTPZ Group’s Future of White Metallurgy Corporate Training Program have just served their army term in a Group-supported regiment in Gorny Schit, Sverdlovsk Region. ‘A solemn greetings ceremony was organized for the demobilized soldiers at the Group’s Training Center. Their family, friends, the Group’s workers, and the Training Center teachers all came to welcome them back. All the young men were invited to work at the Group’s Finishing Center, Iron Ozone 32 steel-smelting facility, and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant’s pipe-rolling and pipe-drawing

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, July 5, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) launched its Mill 2350 seventy-five years ago this month; the mill was first used to make vehicle armor during the war times, the company press service reports. Mill 2350 was made at Uralmash in Yekaterinburg in 1935 and sent to Zaporizhia. In 1941, armored steel was needed badly, so the equipment, as well as its operators and their families, were all evacuated from Mariupol to Magnitogorsk. The mill then consisted of two heating furnaces, two mill stands, a smelting unit, all connected with roller conveyors. The mill

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 5, 2017. Ural Airlines recently announced it was selling tickets for its Zhukovsky-Tel Aviv flights at a reduced price, the air carrier’s press service reports. Starting from July 4, 2017, tickets can be had for as little as 7,500 RUR (one way, all fees included, one piece of luggage (23 kg) included). The offer holds for flights to be operated between July 6 and October 26, 2017. ‘Tel Aviv is a dynamic yet very peaceful city that makes you feel safe and relaxed. This is a place with a rich history, Noah is believed to have built his Ark here, Perseus rescued

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 5, 2017. A group of delegates from the Chinese province of Heilongjiang (180 representatives of machine-building, construction, bio tech, electronic goods, and agricultural businesses) are going to take part in the 8th International Innoprom 2017 Exhibition, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. A delegation from the province of Henan, headed by the constituency’s governor, and officials from the province of Jilin are also coming to Innoprom. The event’s agenda covers a Chinese-Russian industrial and science/technology business forum

UrBC, Moscow, July 5, 2017. The electronic goods and household appliances chain Eldorado was less profitable than its rival M.Video in 2016: the former’s EBITDA margin declined to 2.2%, whereas that of the latter rose to 5.6%, Interfax reports. M.Video’s EBITDA went up from 8.8bn RUR in 2015 to 10.3bn RUR in 2016. That of Eldorado dropped from 5.1bn RUR down to 2.5bn RUR. Both companies’ EBITDA amounted to 13bn RUR last year and their EBITDA margin to 4.4%. Safmar Group, a business of the Gutzeriev-Shishkhanov family, announced they bought a 57.7% stake in M.Video from the company’s primary

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 4, 2017. Metcombank announced no fee will be charged for the use of its Round customs card between August 1, 2017 and September 30, 2017; nor will there be any commission for card transactions, the bank’s press service reports. The bank also offers its customers a 100% discount on getting a new customs card issued within the given time period. The offer holds for new customers (with accounts not yet registered in Multi-service Payment System) who are first-time Round card users. The offer does not apply to emergency card issue cases. Round customs card is meant for

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 4, 2017. Sinara Group’s Sinara Development is currently working on a new apartment building in the center of Volgograd’s Dzerzhinskiy District. According to the Group’s press service, the construction permit for Romanov was issued on June 8, 2017. The new 23-story building will have its own boiler house and a transformer substation, which means the new home owners will always have a reliable supply of hot water and electric power and can also save money on heating bills. ‘The project was designed with all the residents’ need to have a cozy and safe environment in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 4, 2017. Vice President of Havas Group Jacques Séguéla paid a visit to the construction site of Yekaterinburg Arena on June 30; the stadium is being put up by Sinara Group’s Sinara Development in time for the World Cup 2018, the company press service reports. Deputy Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Vysokinskiy, Sverdlovsk Region’s Minister for International and Foreign Economic Relations Andrei Sobolev, Sinara Group’s Director-General Mikhail Khodorovskiy, and Sinara Development’s Director-General Timur Ufimtsev all came to welcome Séguéla at the site. ‘On the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 4, 2017. Russian Copper Company and Aktyubinsk Region signed a memorandum of cooperation. Aktyubinskaya Copper Company now intends to finance a rehabilitation center in Aktobe (500m tenge all in all) to promote the area’s socioeconomic development, Russian Copper Company’s press service reports. ‘Russian Copper Company invests heavily in CSR projects both in Russia and Kazakhstan, with the goal of facilitating the development of territories where the company operates its assets and of improving the locals’ living standards. The company mostly focuses on social

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 4, 2017. The rating agency Expert RA affirmed SKB-Bank’s credit rating at ruBB, with Stable rating outlook, the bank’s press service reports. The agency feels the bank managed to get both its transaction types and its resource base diversified successfully across customer categories. The current rating is also supported by the bank’s strong market position (No.27 (in terms of private individuals’ loan book) in the national rating as of June 1, 2017), a wide geographical network, low foreign currency risks, and the increased likelihood of being backed up by the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 3, 2017. ChTPZ Group intends to take part in the International Innoprom 2017 Exhibition in Yekaterinburg on July 10-13, 2017. Company shareholders Andrei Komarov and Alexander Fedorov and the Group’s top managers will represent their business there. According to the company press service, the Group is featuring a stand dedicated to its Future of White Metallurgy Corporate Training Program this year. ‘The exhibition is dedicated to ‘smart’, innovative production this year. Starting from 2011, the Group has been training blue-collar professionals fit for an up-to-date