September 4, 2013. According to Sverdlovsk Region Agriculture Ministry, there are only 1.4 cafes/restaurants per 1,000 residents in Yekaterinburg, and the rate at which such places open in the city has been going down for the last four years despite the stably high demand. What is more, while the number of restaurants with a medium-range check is on the increase, the upmarket restaurants are now converting into clubs and gradually closing down. At the same time, experts say the Italian, Japanese, and Uzbek cuisine restaurants that are all located close to one another tend to prevail on the

September 3, 2013. A laser technologies center might be built in Sverdlovsk Region. The representatives of APG Gropp talked to the local Industry & Science Minister Vladislav Pinayev about the possibility of setting up such a center on the premises of Regional Metal Sheet-Working Center, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s Press Service & Information Department reports. According to the Director-General of Ire-Poluys (a member of APG Gropp) Nikolai Yevtikiyev, the center’s primary function will consist in introducing laser technologies to the local enterprises’ production chain. ‘We are

September 3, 2013. VUZ-Bank (a member of Life Financial Group) offered new package plans to its corporates to make the enterprises’ settlement transactions even less costly. The bank’s press service reports that the package comprises the most popular cash and settlement transaction services. A customer can now save money and plan all expenses in advance. It’s cheaper to buy services in a package rather than pay for each one separately: a fixed monthly price means a whole range of different services and a 25% discount. These package offers contain a certain number of payment transactions (both

September 3, 2013. A railway carriage full of coal got derailed at Kunavino station of Kamensk, Sverdlovsk Region, the local division of the Emergencies Ministry reports. The information regarding a derailed carriage was delivered to the duty officer’s control board at 12:15 AM, and the emergency teams and an emergency train were sent to the scene of the accident at once. The derailing incident did not affect the timetable in any way. Passenger trains keep passing through Bogdanovitch Station in the normal mode.

September 3, 2013. Ural Airlines is launching a ticket sale on flights operated from Moscow to one of Germany’s oldest cities, Cologne. Throughout September, round trip tickets from Moscow to Cologne and back are available for ?130, including all the fees. The special price is offered on flights operated between October 1 and December 15, 2013, the airline’s press service reports. ‘If you travel to Cologne in November, you can actually witness a very interesting phenomenon: at 11:11 AM on November 11, the 5th season is officially announced in Cologne, just like in the rest of Germany. This is

September 3, 2013. A grand modernization project involving one of the city’s largest sports and concert hall – Arena Avtomobilist Ice Palace – took off in Yekaterinburg. The project is estimated to require 1.5bn RUR worth of investments. Delovoy Dom na Arkhiyereyskoy Management Company acts as the project’s primary investor, Arena Avtomobilist’s press service reports. The reconstruction jobs are expected to take 3 years to complete. The project is believed to pay off in twelve to fifteen years. ‘Most of the money will be directed to putting up an extension to the building of Uralets Hockey

September 2, 2013. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK), one of the leading suppliers of pipes and tubes for the oil and gas industry, got an official notification from Abu Dhabi Company for Offshore Oil Operations (ADCO) to the extent that TMK’s Volzhsky Pipe Plant is now the approved supplier of pipes with TMK PF premium joint threads for the company, TMK’s press service reports. ‘In 2012, TMK delivered its lining tubes with premium threads produced at Volzhsky and some accessories to ADCO for the first time. The shipment comprised lining tubes with the diameter of 7” (177.8mm) with TMK PF

September 2, 2013. The transport freight turnover of organizations and companies based in Sverdlovsk Region amounted to 123.1bn ton-kilometers in January-July 2013, which was 1% less than a year earlier (and 0.9% less than the average figure for the Russian Federation), the region’s Economic Ministry’s press service reports. It should be noted that a decrease in the freight turnover was noticeable for all kinds of transport except for the automobile and inland water one: the figures for the automobile-based freight turnover rose by 6.1% on January-July 2012, those for the inland water

September 2, 2013. Throughout the summer, the mobile carrier MegaFon improved the mobile connection quality as well as increased the speed of 3G Internet connection in 31 towns and cities of Sverdlovsk Region where 250,000 people are based altogether. According to the company’s press service, 85% of Sverdlovsk Region’s population are already located in MegaFon’s stable connection zone. The quality of connection was made better in Yekaterinburg, Nizhniy Tagil, Sysert, Asbest, Kamens-Uralsky, Verkhnyaya Salda, Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Pervouralsk, Aramil, Serov, Rezh, Novouralsk, Krasnoturyinsk,

September 2, 2013. The international rating agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed Sverdlovsk Region’s credit rating at BB+, Interfax reports. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The agency expects a certain drop in the financial indicators due to a slower increase in tax revenues and greater expenses occasioned by the federal authorities’ requirements. S&P believes, however, that these factors will only have a moderate impact on the rating. Stable Outlook reflects the agency’s opinion that the careful spending policy and the economic recovery after 2013 will probably be balanced off with an

September 2, 2013. SKB-Bank got more than 10,000 loan applications in one week, including applications from parents who are sending their children to school. The bank’s press officer reports that the beginning of the fall is typically one of the most expense-loaded periods of the year. ‘People are coming back from their vacations, getting new cars, furniture, and home appliances and sending their children to school. This is why late August and early September is the time when increasingly more people apply for a loan,’ the press officer explains. According to the Public Opinion Fund, 90% of

August 30, 2013. EVRAZ revenues decreased by 3% and came to 7.362bn RUR in the first half of 2013, the company’s official report states. EBITDA came to $939m, which was 20.7% lower than a year earlier. The net loss came to $122m, which was 2.7 times more than a year earlier. ‘While our steel produce sales remained the same as in the first half of 2012 and amounted to 7.8m tons, the financial results of this half-year reflect the dropping steel prices: our revenues decreased to $7,362m, which was 3% lower than in the first half of 2012; besides, our EBITDA went down to $939m,’ says EVRAZ

August 30, 2013. The administrative committee of Yekaterinburg Leninsky District fined Klassika Pharmacy for damaging the façade of the building at 26 Malyshev St; this building hosts one of the pharmacy chain’s outlets, the spokesperson for Yekaterinburg Council reports. The committee members detected a hole in the façade that was used to put the plastic tube that is part of an air conditioner outside. Also, the brick structure of the wall was also damaged. An administrative offense protocol regarding the violation of Article 12 of the Administrative Offenses in Sverdlovsk Region Act was

August 30, 2013. The industrial production index in Sverdlovsk Region rose by 1.2% in January-July 2013 against a year earlier, and this is actually 1.2% better than in the Russian Federation on average, Sverdlovsk Region’s Economics Ministry’s press service reports. According to Sverdlovskstat, the industrial production index for fossil fuels was 106.8% (against the country average of 100.9%), that for the processing industries was 101.1% (against the country average of 99.8%), that of electricity, natural gas, and water production and distribution was 95.9% (against the country average of

August 30, 2013. 279,000 residents of Sverdlovsk Region have been registered at the United Government Services Portal since it was set up. The region’s Government’s press service reports that 63 government and municipal services were converted to electronic format two years before the launch of the portal, and 70 more services came to be offered electronically in the first half of 2013. All in all, 198 government and municipal services are expected to be converted to an electronic format before the end of this year. Besides, Sverdlovsk Region Government decided to introduce more functions for

August 30, 2013. Ural Airlines now offer special prices on flights operated to the capital and the south of Russia from Nizhnevartovsk, the air carrier’s press service reports. Residents of Nizhnevartovsk can now enjoy the special price of the plane tickets for Nizhnevartovsk-Moscow or Moscow-Nizhnevartovsk flights, which starts from 7,500 RUR. Those who want to travel during the off-peak season can buy tickets for connecting flights with a convenient stopover at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport and get to Rostov-on-Don, Gelendzhik, Anapa, and Simferopol. Prices start from 8,500 RUR. There is also

August 29, 2013. The net profit of MRSK Urala decreased by 30% in the first half of 2013 and amounted to 143m RUR. In 2012, the figure was 206m RUR, the company’s report states. The revenues for January to June came to 30.4bn RUR, which is 0.5% more than in 2012 (30.25bn RUR). The company’s pre-tax profit was 302.6m RUR in the first half of 2013 - 2.3 times less against a year earlier (697.5m RUR). The figures were drawn up in accordance with the IAS.

August 29, 2013. 23 multi-purpose centers are expected to be launched in Sverdlovsk Region before the end of the year; the centers will provide all kinds of bureaucratic services to the locals. This network will cost 320m RUR to build, Sverdlovsk Region Economics Minister Dmitri Nozhenko said at a press conference today. This money will be directed to personnel training, staff salaries (there will be 1,200 people working there), and the setting up of the branches. Automobiles fitted with all the necessary equipment will be provided for people living in very remote parts of the area. 19

August 29, 2013. 50 extra budget-funded fellowships were allocated by Sverdlovsk Region Education Ministry to Pervouralsk Metallurgical College. This is a unique case among secondary vocational education establishments, as most students don’t even have to compete to get into places of this kind, ChTPZ Group’s press service reports. The thing is, this college is hugely popular with applicants because of the ChTPZ Group’s Future of White Metallurgy Project: there were 2.5 applicants per one student position on this program this year. ‘The interest in the Future of White Metallurgy Program that

August 29, 2013. Sverdlovsk Region Economics Minister Dmitri Nozhenko said the economic situation in Sverdlovsk Region was overall stable, though he did admit some sectors were stagnating and no necessary growth was to be seen. He said this at a press conference in Yekaterinburg today. ‘I would say the situation is stable on the whole. While this might be true that we are not experiencing the kind of growth we would like to see, and some sectors are stagnating, still, I wouldn’t say this was anything to really worry about,’ the Minister said. Now the Region’s Finance Minister Galina