MegaFon came up with updates on the most popular mobile devices in February 2012, the mobile carrier’s Ural branch’s press service reports. According to the sales data from the company’s 1,640 own outlets located in 450 Russian cities, among the best-selling devices are: e-modems MegaFon 3G E173 (up to 7.2 Mbit/sec) and MegaFon 3G E352 (up to 14.4 Mbit/sec) as well as MegaFon Minifon TDS-12-1, Nokia X1-01, and Nokia 1616. Samsung S5250, Nokia 5228, Nokia C5 5Mp, Nokia 5230, and Nokia C5-03 proved the chain’s best-selling smartphones in February. In the Urals, the top five most popular

The passenger traffic at Ural Airlines Aviation Company rose by 70% last month compared with February 2011, the company’s press officer reports. In February 2012, Ural Airlines operated 1,516 flights (which was 31% more than a year earlier). This included 484 international flights, 675 domestic flights, and 357 flights around the CIS. 166,463 people flew with the air carrier in February 2012, which was 71% more than in February 2012. 66,353 people used the company’s international flights, 67,400 passengers were on domestic flights, and 32,710 people flew around the CIS. The actual passenger

Secretary-General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Vicente G. Loscertales is to arrive in Yekaterinburg next Saturday, March 17, 2012. The municipal council reports the visit has to do with Yekaterinburg applying as a candidate for hosting the World Universal Exhibition EXPO n the year 2020. In the course of his visit, Loscertales is to meet the top officials of Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region; besides, the agenda of the secretary-general’s stay covers taking a look at the site of the industry & innovations exhibition Innoprom. The primary purpose of Vicente

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) came up with the training plans for its workers, managers, and experts in 2012. Every year, the company issues orders on training MMK employees in various fields selected on the basis of educational needs analysis and applications submitted by the company departments. The training programs involve all of the company’s structural divisions and all employee categories. According to MMK PR Department, a lot of attention is paid to professional training, re-training, and professional development of the company’s workers. The employees get trained and

A group of twenty-two inventors and development engineers at Uravagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation haven’t been receiving any pay for their work since 2009, Genesis Law Office’s press release states. In 2008, the authors of a new invention, a useful make of a tank wagon’s boiler body, signed an agreement with Uralvagonzavod that ensured their remuneration. Under this agreement, payments had to be made every time the useful modification was actually used, every time the make was used in the plant’s production process, and every time the patent was sold or assigned. The

‘We are working on a large-scale upgrade program for Koltsovo Airport’s jet fuel supply system,’ TNK-BP reports. The company announced that its acquisition of Koltsovo Fuel Filling Company, the operator in charge of storing and filling the planes with jet fuel at Yekaterinburg’s international airport, was complete. TNK-BP bought a 100% stake in TZK-Aktiv from Koltsovo Airport and paid $70m for it; the company also bought a 100% shareholding in Koltsovo Fuel Filling Company for $30m. ‘The acquisition was part of our strategy aimed at expanding the range of services we offer and at improving on

Ural Airlines and Emirates signed an agreement that will offer the airlines’ passengers a through check-in option, Ural Airlines’ press service reports. Now the passengers planning to use a connecting flight operated by Emirates to continue their trip can get a single ticket all the way through to their final destination and not worry about the second check-in and luggage drop at Dubai Airport. This will considerably save their time and will make connecting much easier. The service is available to passengers departing from the airports of Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, and Nizhniy

Yekaterinburg-based EXPO 2020 application committee and the architects Foster+Partners signed an agreement of intent on the development of a general layout of an exhibition building in Yekaterinburg that is to house the main theme of EXPO 2020, Global Mind. The agreement was signed in the course of MIPIM International Fair in Cannes. The ceremony took place in Azure Pavilion next to Sverdlovsk Region’s stand where visitors to MIPIM could take a look at Yekaterinburg’s application for hosting the world fair in 2020 throughout the entire fair. Director-General Eric Bugulov signed the agreement

Enel OGK-5’s core business revenues amounted to 60,102m RUR last year, which was 14% better than in the year 2010. The company’s report states that the increase in revenues mainly had to do with the market growing more liberal and the rising electricity prices on the free market. The company’s net profit (calculated in accordance with the IAS) came to 4,964m RUR, which outstripped the figures for 2010 by 34%. The electricity supplier’s net debt reached 27,443m RUR, which was 36% more than in 2010. EBITDA came to 13,550m RUR – a 47% increase against the figures for 2010. The company runs

A developer company called 73 Malyshev St Society is going to start reconstructing Passage department store in the nearest future, the company’s co-owner Igor Zavodovsky said at a press conference. The company made a presentation on the reconstruction project for the Yekaterinburg-based department store Passage today. ‘The reconstruction jobs will start very soon. I believe this work will be finished in eighteen months, so the remodeled Passage will welcome customers again at the end of 2013,’ Zavodovsky added. After the reconstruction, the shopping center’s total area will come to 64,600 sq

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court started the hearing of the claim laid by Avtosan against Beta Motors. The case has to do with a 15.57m RUR debt resulting from the unpaid rent. The court hearing has been set for March 27, 2012.

Bank CIT Finance closed down its offices in Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, and Surgut on March 7, the bank’s press release states. Customers whose needs have not been met will be serviced through contractor banks. VTB24 will be accepting all the payments, while Bank Uralsib will be paying back the deposits and the interest rates, CIT Finance’s release says. Once these three offices have been closed, the bank will be running outlets in six Russian cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, and Novosibirsk, Interfax-AFI reports.

Russia’s Federal Financial Markets Service decided to annul the license entitling Moscow-based Deutsche Bank to acting as a specialized depositary of investment funds, share investment funds and non-state pension funds. The decision was taken after the organization had submitted an application to this effect and provided proof of having no unmet obligations relating to its professional activity.

Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation intends to investigate the efficiency of tax relief schemes offered to RUSAL, says the chamber’s head Sergey Stepashin. ‘We’ll just look at the preferential terms they enjoy, if any, as well as at tax relief and and how efficiently they are using these tax relief schemes in the operation of their Irkutsk-based enterprise,’ Prime quotes Stepashin as saying. Now Deputy Andrei Krutov pointed out at the State Duma Budget & Tax Committee meeting (dedicated to the Accounts Chamber’s performance in 2011) on Tuesday that tax revenues coming from RUSAL’s

The net loss of OAO Mechel (calculated in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards) amounted to 19.674bn RUR in 2011 (compared with 42.929bn RUR in 2010), the company’s report says. The company’s revenues shrank by 5.6 times and amounted to 8.51bn RUR, while its gross profit decreased by 5.3 times and came to 7.7bn RUR in 2011. The enterprise’s pre-tax loss reached 20.08bn RUR last year against 42.03bn RUR worth of profits in the year before.

Chelyabinsk Region division of Rosprirodnadzor detected fourteen violations of the existing environmental law while inspecting ZAO Uralbroiler, the environmental agency’s press service reports. The company was given orders to eliminate the violations. The enterprise is now involved in eight administrative lawsuits.

The mobile carrier MegaFon and Yota signed an agreement on the joint development of Long Term Evolution (LTE), the fourth-generation mobile communication service, in Russia; this LTE will be based on the business model employed by MVNO, Mobile Virtual Network Operator, MegaFon’s press office reports. Under the terms of the agreement, MegaFon will be able to provide the fourth-generation LTE communication services using Yota’s equipment, while Yota will be able to use MegaFon’s network infrastructure.

Extra Balance Corporation no longer has a stake in OAO Oil Plant. According to the data provided by the Republic of Seychelles-based company, the corporation used to hold a 10.498829% shareholding in this Yekaterinburg-based plant.

Before 2020, it is most expedient to work on the high-speed railway link headed for the Urals (the so-called VSM 2 meant for passenger trains traveling at the speed of up to 350 to 400 kph) on the Nizhniy Novgorod-Kazan-Yekaterinburg section, Interfax refers to the interdepartmental work team in charge of VSM 2 development as reporting. The section connecting Moscow and Nizhniy Novgorod will become even speedier in the future, before 2030. Starting July 30, 2010, Sapsan trains travel this route at the speed of up to 240 kph. What is more, by 2020 the high-speed VSM will connect Moscow and

Ford is interested in doing business with MMK; this news was announced at a final meeting at the end of technical audit procedures conducted by experts from Ford’s European representation at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK). For two days, a group of Ford experts and experts from the company’s Russian division Ford Sollers were busy at MMK. The audit involved all of the enterprise’s main divisions and departments related to production of metal goods for the automobile industry. The visitors inspected MMK’s oxygen converter shop, where they could get acquainted with slab production and