UrBC, Moscow, April 26, 2012. Ural Mechano-Optical Plant’s bonds (04 Series, total face value 1.5bn RUR) were offered at MICEX today. The issuer suggested that its investors exchange their 03 Series bonds (distributed among qualified investors in February 2011) for 04 Series publicly traded ones. At the close of business on April 20, 2012, the issuer set the coupon interest rate at 10.5% a year (the profit on the eighteen-month offer comes to 10.78%). The size of bond offering at the acceptable and efficient price for the issuer was 1.2bn RUR. Given the current market opportunities, the

UrBC, Moscow, April 26, 2012. The international rating agency Moody’s adjusted the rating outlook of Promsvyazbank to Negative. The experts took this step because of their concern over the bank’s capital adequacy level and the concentration of risks around the bank’s largest borrowers, RBC daily reports. Moody’s took a new stance on the bank: the outlook on the company’s deposit and credit ratings has been demoted from Stable to Negative. This adjustment is based on the analysis of Promsvyazbank’s financial report for 2011 (drawn up in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards), the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 25, 2012. One year ago, Mostostroy 12 was chosen as the general contractor for putting up a bridge across the River Nadym in the course of a tender coordinated by Development Corporation (formerly known as The Industrial Urals-The Polar Urals Corporation). The corporation reports the construction began in September 2011, and the bridge is expected to be launched as soon as December 2014. However, the construction process is already ahead of schedule. The supervising companies’ representatives say they are satisfied with both the quality and the tempo of the process.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 25, 2012. Uraltransmash came up with a financial and administrative performance report for 2011. The company managed to fulfill its purpose-made goods production plan by 134.9% (thanks to additional contracts on government orders) and its civil goods production plan by 101.2%. Special purpose goods made up 91.4% of all the goods produced, while the share of civil goods did not exceed 8.6%. All in all, the plant was able to meet its target production figures for 2011. ‘It should be pointed out that last year, the sales volume was lower than expected due to

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 25, 2012. Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg intends to become a co-owner of Nizhniy Novgorod International Airport. The idea of buying the airport’s shares is to be considered by Yekaterinburg airport’s BOD on April 28, 2012. In addition to this, the agenda of the BOD meeting covers issues related to looking at the results of Koltsovo Airport’s financial and administrative performance in 2011, making changes in the company’s business plan for 2012, and taking the on-board catering division out of Koltsovo Airport.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 25, 2012. Uralkhimplast held the annual general meeting recently. The shareholders approved of the plant’s annual report for 2011 and the accounting report (including the profit and loss statement). It was reported that the company’s net profit in 2011 exceeded that for 2010 by 5.8 times. Sales volumes went up by 11.1% on the previous year. Still, the BOD recommended that the shareholders vote for passing the dividend for the financial year 2011 and investing it in production development, which the stockholders did. Then, a new BOD was elected, comprising Thomas

UrBC, Moscow, April 24, 2012. The stockholders of Khanty-Mansiysky Bank decided in the course of the annual general meeting to pass the dividend and to leave all the net profit (calculated in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards) – 929.72m RUR – at the bank’s disposal, the bank’s press service reports. Yekaterinburg Audit-Center was chosen as the auditor for the financial report compiled in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards, while Deloitte & Touche CIS was chosen as the auditor for the financial report compiled in accordance with the IAS. The bank’s key

UrBC, Moscow, April 24, 2012. Nordea Bank’s assets rose by 46% in the first quarter of 2012 against the first quarter of 2011 and amounted to 266.78bn RUR. The bank’s consolidated lending portfolio reached 203.24bn RUR on April 1, 2012, which was 28% more than a year earlier. The bank’s business loans portfolio came to 176.11bn RUR on April 1, 2012, which exceeded the figures for the first quarter of 2011 by 25%. The retail loans portfolio was 15.41bn RUR, which was 32% better than a year earlier. The bank’s net profit came to 400m RUR on April 1, 2012. Nordea Bank explains this decrease in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 24, 2012. Smeshariki GmbH intends to prosecute a sole trader for the violation of the company’s exclusive rights over the trademark. The claim is now processed by Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court. The defendant demands that a sole trader named Victoria A. Chumakova pay a 50,000-RUR fine for violating the defendant’s exclusive rights over Kar-Karych (Trademark 321868), the image of a character from Smeshariki cartoon series and the character’s name, all of which belongs to Smeshariki GmbH through a corresponding agreement. The court hearing has been set for May

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2012. The Russian National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR) announced the results of the regional stage of its Stock Market Elite 2011 contest. The nominees were selected by the jury on the basis of two main criteria: the company’s bond market turnover and the amount of bond investments. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s Financial Institutions & Investment Services Director Vladimir Zotov was given the diploma of the contest’s laureate by head of Russia’s Federal Financial Markets Service’s Sverdlovsk Region division

UrBC, Moscow, April 23, 2012. Moscow Arbitration Court declared OOO Avianova Aviation Company bankrupt (streamlined proceedings were applied) and ruled that the company must undergo bankruptcy proceedings for six months, the Russian Agency for Legal & Court Information (RAPSI) reports. The court appointed Dmitri Scherban the company’s trustee in bankruptcy. A representatives of OOO Averon (the enterprise that placed the insolvency claim with the court) reported that Avianova never paid them the 2.34m RUR it owed them.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2012. Ural Airlines is offering the Great Patriotic War veterans and disabled an opportunity to fly with one of the company’s scheduled flights to hero cities Moscow and Saint Petersburg and back – free of charge. The offer is valid between May 3 and May 13, 2012. ‘Helping our veterans to visit memorable places and to see their wartime friends and relatives on the day of this country’s most touching holiday is an honorable mission that the company keeps accomplishing for the seventh year in a row. Ural Airlines understands that such flights are special, and pays

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2012. The office of Perfect World Travel Company at 11 Pervomayskaya St in Yekaterinburg is now occupied by other tenants, while the phone number given at the company’s website now belongs to a different business, the new tenants told UrBC. Now seventy travelers coordinated by the Russian tour operator Perfect World were unable to fly to Israel from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport on Sunday. At the airport, the holiday-makers were told that their tickets had not been paid for. Another group of Perfect World’s tourists (between 70 and 90 people) were supposed to have

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 20, 2012. Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Vladimir Vlasov held a work meeting with the members of the interdepartmental committee on the use of foreign workers in the region. The meeting participants discussed the current labor market trends and the possibility of adjusting the quotas for this year. Deputy head of Sverdlovsk Region Division of the Federal Migration Service and head of the Immigration Control Department Yuri Bezborodov explained this year’s foreign workers quotas came to 27,930 people, with 6,050 work permits issued by April 19. This figure

UrBC, Moscow, April 20, 2012. Over thirty representatives of the Russian Government, big businesses, and NGOs held the first meeting of the coordination committee on promoting Yekaterinburg’s application for EXPO 2020 in Moscow. The meeting was chaired by Russia’s acting Industry & Trade Minister Denis Manturov. This in camera meeting was spent discussing the main stages of the process and the part the country’s key ministers could play in promoting the application. It was reported that in case Yekaterinburg’s application wins the future EXPO village would cover the area of more than 550

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 20, 2012. Koltsovo International Airport offered its services to 720,410 passengers in the first quarter of 2012, which was 23.6% more than in the first quarter of 2011. The number of international flyers went up by 31.7% and came to 237,200 people; that of domestic passengers rose by 12.8% (400,650 people), and that of passengers flying to CIS member states increased by 73.7% (82,560 people). The number of sorties went up by 12.2% against January-March 2011 and reached 4,670. The airport’s press service reports the number of passengers flying to Sharm El Sheikh,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 20, 2012. Nezavisimost Group of Companies announced its dealer’s portfolio in Yekaterinburg had grown wider as the company signed an agreement with Peugeot Citroen Rus. The company is to start selling the automobiles produced under the brand at its sales center at 65 Metallurgov St very soon. The new center Nezavisimost Peugeot will offer customers the entire Peugeot product line (available in stock and to order) as well as maintenance services, including mechanical and body repairs. The company is currently furnishing the car mechanic’s area and training the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 20, 2012. First Deputy Mayor of Yekaterinburg Sergey Shvindt took part in a meeting dedicated to the FIFA delegation and the World Cup 2018 Russian coordination committee representatives’ visit to Yekaterinburg on May 14. The inspecting parties will take a look at the number of buildings and facilities that are crucial to hosting the championship as well as see a presentation on what the Urals’ capital will look like by 2018. As the event’s most important facility, Central Stadium, currently belongs to Sinara Group, the company will be directly involved in both

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 20, 2012. The public prosecution authorities of Yekaterinburg Zheleznodorozhny District looked into the data regarding a fire in Tagansky Ryad market in April 2012. The investigation revealed that the said shopping area belongs to ZAO Tagansky Ryad. The company still has not eliminated the violations of the fire safety regulations which Yekaterinburg Zheleznodorozhny District Surveillance Department of Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Ministry of Emergencies detected in 2010. For one, the doors leading to stairways are not fully fitted with self-shutting

The owner of Metalloinvest Holding Alisher Usmanov was declared Russia’s richest man in 2012 in Forbes magazine’s Top 200 list. His fortune was estimated at $18.1bn. The proprietor of NLMK Vladimir Lisin, who topped the rating for the last two years, came second this time with his $15.9bn. He was followed by Severstal’s Alexei Mordashov, who is worth $15.3bn, Interfax reports. The other people in the Top 10 list are Vladimir Potanin (Norilsk Nickel, $14.bn), Vagit Alekperov (LUKoil, $13.5bn), Mikhail Fridman (Alfa-Group, $13.4bn), Mikhail Prokhorov (Onexim, $13.2bn), Viktor Vekselberg