UrBC, Moscow, January 10, 2019. The World Bank adjusted its June forecast for the global economy’s growth by 0.1 percentage point (the figure is now 2.9% a year) due to a downfall in the trade sector and industrial activity as well as trade tensions, Prime refers to the bank’s Global Economic Prospects report as indicating. The GDP growth expectations for the year 2020 are also more pessimistic: the figure is down by 0.1 percentage point and comes to 2.8%. ‘In all, global growth is projected to moderate from a downwardly revised 3 percent in 2018 to 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2018. EVRAZ Holding’s West-Siberian Metal Plant (ZSMK) completed the overhaul of its Blast Furnace 3. This is expected to increase the time between repairs and make the blast furnace even more productive. Around RUB 2bn got directed to all the renovations, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s Corporate Relations Center reports. ‘The blast furnace jacket is now 90% new replacement; the cooling system got restored 100% and the firebrick lining of the chimney, the tuyere area, and the blast furnace stack have been fully replaced. The furnace’s charging system got repaired as

UrBC, Moscow, December 28, 2018. Russia’s Central Bank annulled the licenses of five Forex dealers: OOO Forex Club, OOO Fix Trade, OOO TrustForex, OOO TeleTrade Group, and OOO Alpari Forex. These businesses can no longer operate on the securities market or act as Forex dealers. ‘The decision to annul the licenses had to do with numerous violations of the Russian securities legislation throughout the year: the companies failed to comply with the Bank of Russia’s regulations, failed to keep up with the internal accounting standards, submitted inaccurate reports to the Bank of Russia, and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) and Visa came up with a few special New Year offers for customers willing to take a break from the cold winter and fly somewhere warmer, the bank’s press service reports. The UBRD customers can now spend their winter break at Dubai Shopping Festival, the world’s largest trade fair held since 1996; the event attracts plenty of visitors every year. ‘Sellers offer discounts on nearly everything that you can find on the Persian Gulf’s shore. Premium goods can be had up to 75% cheaper compared with

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) will provide the financial guarantees for the state-run infrastructure-building project in the Far East. The bank’s Saint Petersburg subsidiary issued AO EKS Group a bank guarantee (RUB 365m) valid through October 29, 2020. Far East Development Corporation acts as the deal’s beneficiary, the UBRD’s press service reports. The bank guarantee is meant to finance the construction of the first portion of highways and storm-water sewers at Rakitnoye, a site within Khabarovsk Priority Development Area

UrBC, Moscow, December 28, 2018. UC RUSAL Chair of the Board of Directors Matthias Warnig has recently resigned, the company reports. Warnig’s successor is expected to get elected at the next BOD meeting on December 27, 2018. ‘I am confident that I can hand over to my successor a successfully developed company. My mission is completed’, said Mr. Warnig. ‘With the planned de-listing of the company from the OFAC’s [The Office of Foreign Assets Control — Ed.] SDN List, we stand in front of a new strategic development, also in the Board of Directors, therefore now is the optimal point in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2018. Ural Airlines are offering their customers reduced-price tickets for Venice flights, the air carrier’s press service reports. Prices start from RUB 4,860 (€60) for Venice-Moscow (Domodedovo) flights and from RUB 4,056 (€52) for Moscow (Domodedovo)-Venice ones (for Promo tickets, one piece of luggage under 10 kg included). The prices are subject to change depending on the euro-ruble exchange rate. This is a limited offer. You can book your tickets between December 25, 2018 and March 30, 2019; the flights will get operated between December 29, 2018 and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2018. Tyumen Region is expected to start using new telecom solutions and enjoy a much speedier telecommunication sector development in the next five years, as MegaFon and Tyumen Region Government signed a cooperation agreement to launch IT and telecommunication technologies in the area’s various economic sectors, MegaFon’s press service reports. Governor of Tyumen Region Alexander Moor and MegaFon Ural’s Director Valeriy Velichko agreed to work together on a number of innovative projects and digital technologies, including certain components of the Smart City

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2018. EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant (NTMK) completed the upgrades of the automation and remote control systems at Zavodskaya, one of its key railway stations, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s press service reports. Zavodskaya Station now runs on an up-to-date microprocessor/computer-based switches-and-signals interlocking system rather than the old relay-based one. The system manages the station’s forty-four switches and fifty-nine signals in an automated mode. Eighty-nine units within the axles count system control the availability of a particular

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2018. EVRAZ Holding’s West-Siberian Metal Plant (ZSMK) is working on a new power substation (estimated capacity: 252 MVA), the company press service reports. ‘The new power substation will be in charge of both the plant’s existing electric power needs and its future demand for more energy occasioned by the upcoming large-scale production development projects. The station is expected to require around RUB 1 billion in investments. The substation is meant to ensure uninterrupted and reliable power supply to our rolled goods department, our steam/air blower

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 27, 2018. ChelPipe Group’s Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChelPipe) and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ) both had their their environmental management systems audited for compliance with the international standard ISO 14001:2015, the Group’s press service reports. The two plants’ environmental management system proved efficient. ChelPipe got audited by the international certificating body SAI Global and PNTZ by TUV Rheinland. The certification authorities’ auditors were quite impressed with the Group’s environmental protection programs. For one, a large-scale

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 26, 2018. Ural Airlines’ Vladivostok-Sapporo flight got operated for the first time on December 21, 2018, the air carrier’s press service reports. ‘Passengers got treated to some Japanese chocolates at Knevichi Airport. Upon their arrival in Sapporo, they were also greeted with a warm welcome and souvenirs supplied by Ural Airlines and Hokkaido Prefecture. The greeting ceremony was attended by Hokkaido Land, Transport, & Infrastructure Ministry officials and representatives of Chitose Airport,’ the press service says. ‘We operated our first flight to Sapporo

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 26, 2018. Holders of the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s 120-day-grace-period credit cards have spent RUB 4.5 billion using these cards since the beginning of the year, the bank’s press service reports. ‘Women proved to be the more active card users and made 10.8 million transactions (amounting to RUB 2.5 billion all in all) throughout this year. Yet, even though men used their credit cards less often, they generally spent a greater amount of money per transaction,’ the press service says. According to the bank’s big data findings, the credit

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 26, 2018. Ural Airlines operated their first flight from Moscow Region’s Zhukovsky Airport to Kazakhstan’s capital Almaty and then the Almaty-Zhukovsky one on December 24, 2018. According to the air carrier’s press service, there were a number of special celebrations both on the way to Almaty and back. ‘Passengers flying to Kazakhstan’s largest city had a welcome ceremony and could have some tea and cake at the airport terminal; the first passenger to check in for the flight also received some souvenirs from the airport,’ the press service says. Zhukovsky-Almaty

UrBC, Moscow, December 26, 2018. There will be significantly fewer tour operators and travel agents on the Russian market next year as a result of the natural selection process that took off five years ago, Interfax refers to Russia’s Tour Operators Association’s (ATOR) Executive Director Maya Lomidze as stating. ‘The year 2019 will be the one of structural change. The number of key market players will decrease greatly, both in the tour operators’ segment and the travel agents’ one. The natural selection that began in 2014 will reach its peak next year and will change the market for good.

UrBC, Moscow, December 26, 2018. Sverdlovsk Region proved Russia’s No.5 federal constituency in terms of how many new credit cards got issued by local banks this year; the rating features forty Russian constituencies all in all. According to the National Credit History Bureau, Sverdlovsk Region-based banks issued 50.1% more credit cards in November 2018 than in November 2017 (more than 38,000 cards altogether). Moscow, Moscow Region, and Krasnoyarsk Territory are at the top of the rating; their increase in the number of newly issued cards reached 49.2%, 60.7%, and 30.7%, respectively.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 25, 2018. EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works (NTMK) was declared Sverdlovsk Region’s Benefactor of The Year (in the ferrous metallurgy sector) this month. The nominations were part of the Charity Days events that Sverdlovsk Region’s industrial enterprises joined to present their benefactors’ reports for the year 2018. According to the company’s PR Department, EVRAZ NTMK supports thirty schools and kindergartens in Nizhniy Tagil, as well as a number of colleges. This year, a student design office opened in Ural Federal University’s Nizhniy Tagil

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 25, 2018. A new online job-hunting service opens in Magnitogorsk with support from Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), Magnitogorsk Council, and G.I. Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University. Rustatus.pro is a platform that aims to bring students, colleges, and enterprises closer together, MMK’s press service reports. The project is meant to help potential employees find the best working conditions and to help employers select the most competitive applicants. Every applicant will have a personal web page within the platform, with data updates ensured

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 25, 2018. ChelPipe’s Board of Directors adopted a customer-oriented, digital technologies-based business transformation program on December 19. The company intends to direct some RUB 1 billion to the program next year, the company press service reports. ‘A customer-oriented transformation is only logical at this stage of our corporate White-Coated Metallurgy philosophy’s development. The person, that is, our customer, our employee, a resident of the town or constituency where this company operates, is the focus of this philosophy. Given the increasingly fierce

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 25, 2018. Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems (FGC UES) is currently testing a new digital monitoring unit at its 110-kilowatt Olenya-Yamburg Main in Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District; this section of the electric grid is in charge of power supply to the entire district, including Gazprom facilities in the area. The digital monitoring unit will be used to make reference measurements of the grid and main parameters, which is useful for making on-the-spot repair decisions. According to FGC UES Western Siberia’s PR & Media Group, the digital monitoring