Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service considered the application of Unilever Rus regarding the purchase of a 100% voting shareholding in Concern Kalina that was submitted on October 21, 2011. The application was submitted in accordance with Article 28 of the Competition Protection Act. The Service came to the following conclusion: ‘The data and the documents submitted alongside the application meet the requirements set by Article 32 (part 5) of the Competition Protection Act. Based on Article 33 (part2, paragraph 1) of the Competition Protection Act, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service

‘Yekaterinburg-Expo is a difficult project to complete. No one has ever put up such big buildings here before. All the calculations have been done. The budget is finalized. The customer has all the money. The calculations related to most of the contractors are also finished. So some routine technical work is under way. A lot of public attention is always paid to such large-scale projects, so some smooth team work is needed here,’ Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin said in his interview to Oblastnaya Gazeta. ‘Sadly, there occurred a clash between the contractors and the customer

The modernization committee under the President of the Russian Federation might look into the issues related to the development of Sverdlovsk Region’s aluminum production facilities as soon as in two or three months, Governor Alexander Misharin told the reporters after a meeting with Krasnoturyinsk locals and plant workers. ‘Two to three months are needed to consider all the issues, prepare the documentation, and make decisions. However, most of these decisions have already been made,’ the Governor said when asked how soon the federal authorities might settle the issue of the local aluminum

Ural Airlines keeps on expanding its destinations network in China. Starting February 4, the air carrier will be operating a direct flight to one of China’s largest economic centers and tourist attractions Harbin. Flights will be operated every Saturday. The cheapest tickets are available for ?489 (plus the fees). Now Ural Airlines has been operating convenient flights from Yekaterinburg to China for a few years now. The airline offers a direct flight from Yekaterinburg to Beijing three times a week, and a new flight from Yekaterinburg to Guangzhou (with a stop in Novosibirsk) will be

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev suggested that the modernization committee should look into all the issues related to the development of Sverdlovsk Region’s aluminum-producing facilities soon. Until this committee meets, no electrolysis production facilities will be shut down at UC RUSAL’s Bogoslovsky smelter (the liquidation was announced by RUSAL a while ago). Such was the news that the region’s Governor Alexander Misharin voiced at a meeting with Krasnoturyinsk locals and plant workers on December 1. ‘We have the President’s decision to have the region’s entire aluminum production system

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) declared that METRO Cash & Carry created some discriminatory conditions for some of its fish and seafood suppliers. Such actions constitute a violation of Article 13 (part 1, paragraph 1) of the Federal Act on the Bases of State Regulation of Trading Activity in the Russian Federation. The FAS committee came to the conclusion that making the cost of services METRO offers to its food suppliers in terms of product and sales promotion dependent on the turnover of goods as stated by the supply contract is discriminatory in nature. Thus the food

Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government and Minister for Industry & Science Alexander Petrov spoke about the potential investors of AMUR car factory during his business visit to Novouralsk. Among the criteria that matter to the government as far as the potential investors are concerned is their willingness to set up a full automobile production cycle on the premises of Novouralsk plant, to launch a separate facility for the manufacturing of car parts, and to create a scientific and technological center for advanced car-making technologies. ‘The priority will be given to those car

Rosaviation first issued a permission for Transaero to operate chartered flights to three Italian cities and then called it off, the air carrier claims. The airline has already signed agreements with tour operators and is now threatening to take the case to court. Rosaviation announced last night that the agency had never sent a permission to operate chartered flights to Italy to the air carrier, RBC daily reports. According to the airline, Rosaviation committee approved of their application for the operation of chartered flights from Moscow to Rome on October 28. However, as soon as November

Nomos-Bank still intends to buy the state-owned 44% shareholding in Khanty-Mansiysky Bank, the bank’s Executive Director for International Business Yuri Lekarev said at a banking forum in London, RIA Novosti reports. The bank announced earlier than its share in Khanty-Mansiysky Bank would go down from 31.31% to 7.79% as part of the banking group’s internal restructuring program; the shares were handed over to Nomos-Bank’s two daughter enterprises. The group controls 51.29% of Khanty-Mansiysky Bank’s shares altogether. Now the privatization of the state-owned 44.2% shareholding in the bank

Tyumen Region division of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service declared that the fuel filling station Roschino-GSM, the daughter enterprise of LUKOIL Aero, violated the antimonopoly legislation, Interfax reports. According to the FAS’s press service, the enterprise violated the price-setting proceedings related to the service of filling airplanes with jet fuel. The Service says the filling station operating in Tyumen’s Roschino Airport included the expenses related to filling the planes in the price of the jet fuel, although there is a special rate for this service and it should be counted

Experts from Central Yekaterinburg Department of Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights agency) completed its inspection of Yekaterinburg-based IKEA-DOM located at 87 Metallurgov St, namely, of the Swedish food store, of non-grocery merchandise IKEA Yekaterinburg store, of Bistro café, of a speed-service store, and of an employee cafeteria. Some violations were detected in the course of the inspection. Following the inspection, seven people had to face administrative liability and pay thirteen fines altogether, with charges based on Articles 6.3., 6.6.,

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service allowed Microsoft to buy Skype, the owner of a popular Internet-based telecommunications service, the FAS’s press service reports. ‘The agency looked into Microsoft International Holdings B.V.’s application to acquire the rights over Quick.Ru and Skype Communications S.AR.L.’s business activity and decided to approve of it,’ the press service says. Now Microsoft Corporation went through with the purchase of Skype as early as mid-October, but the formal completion of the transaction in Russia was postponed until the FAS would accept the deal. Meanwhile,

Igor Kim, who, with a number of co-investors, became the owner of Barclays Bank a month ago, started reorganizing his new business. Since the new proprietors are not prepared to make up for the bank’s losses by capital inflow as the British parent enterprise Barclays used to do every year, the bank will start with cutting down on expenses. For one, about a quarter of the employees will be made redundant, while the pay of the remaining staff will be cut by 20%, Kommersant reports. Serious personnel changes began at the bank as soon as the new owners arrived in late October, a few of Barclays’s

Rezhnickel Production Association dumped 24,600 tons of pollutants in the air last year, which amounted to 4.9% of all the harmful emissions in the town of Rezh. These data are available from a public report on the state of and protection of Sverdlovsk Region environment in the year 2010. The report was compiled on the basis of data provided by the state statistical bodies and environmental monitoring agencies as well as information provided by state-run environmental protection agencies and leading conservationist and environmentalist organizations.

Ural Federal District division of Russia’s Federal Financial Markets Service conducted an in-office audit of Yekaterinburg-based Uktus Airport. The inspection revealed some violations of the Russian Federation law, so the company was ordered to eliminate these and to take measures to prevent such violations from happening in the future. The audit was carried out by the Issuers Control Department of Russia’s Federal Financial Markets Service’s Ural Federal District division.

NOMOS-Bank reduced its shareholding in Khanty-Mansiysky Bank down to 7.79%. The bank used to own a 31.31% stake in this Urals-based bank before.

A worker was killed at UC RUSAL’s Bogoslovsky smelter on the night of November 25. The twenty-six-year-old alumina department employee was found dead, Vecherny Krasnoturyinsk reports. ‘The worker was killed under unclear circumstances at the furnace-charge section of the smelter’s alumina department. An ad hoc committee was set up by the enterprise to look into the causes of the accident. The committee comprises some representatives of Rostechnadzor (the state technological, nuclear, and environmental safety agency),’ UC RUSAL reports. This is actually the second time a lethal accident has

Ural Airlines is launching one more scheduled flight from Chelyabinsk. Starting December 5, the air carrier will be operating flights from Chelyabinsk to Moscow, the company’s press office reports. These Moscow-bound flights will be offered daily, with the departure times fitting very conveniently the needs of the businesspeople: the plane leaves Chelyabinsk Airport at 8:00 AM and leaves Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport at 10:05 PM, which means one can enjoy a full working day in the capital. The cheapest tickets are available for 4,500 RUR (one way).

SP Katur-Invest dumped 210 tons of pollutants in the air last year, which amounted to 4.9% of all the harmful emissions in the town of Verkhnyaya Pyshma. These data are available from a public report on the state of and protection of Sverdlovsk Region environment in the year 2010. The report was compiled on the basis of data provided by the state statistical bodies and environmental monitoring agencies as well as information provided by state-run environmental protection agencies and leading conservationist and environmentalist organizations.

Fifteen airports located in Ural Federal District will be reconstructed, with 23bn RUR to be allocated for the purpose by 2015, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Evgeny Kuivashev announced at a recent meeting of the economic policy committee. There are twenty-eight airports in the district altogether, seven of which are international ones, nineteen of which are regional ones, and two of which are just local ones. ‘Our most important task is to develop the short-haul and local air transportation services, this is why the Russian President’s