Mayor of Yekaterinburg Arkadiy Chernetskiy presented his report on the city’s socio-economic development in 2006 to Yekaterinburg Municipal Duma deputies, laying special emphasis on problems related to heavy congestion and public transport. ‘We are going to reduce the number of vans used for public transportation; it is already becoming clear that they are a thing of the past; they did what they were supposed to do, that is, relieve a number of buses, but now we should try and acquire roomier vehicles that will be fewer in number yet capable of transferring more passengers at a time,’ the

The Central Bank of Russia reports that volume of loans given by Ural Interregional Bank to profit-making self-regulatory organizations for up to 30 days went down 100% (from 23.6 million RUR to zero) in January-May 2007.

The first meeting of an ad hoc committee targeted at working through the logistics of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of States meeting in 2009 is going to take place in Yekaterinburg on June 20, 2007, Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Oleg Gusev says. Mr. Gusev reports the committee consists of representatives of the President Administration and of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel attended a meeting devoted to industrial development of the northern parts of the Urals held in Chelyabinsk. The meeting was chaired by the State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov. In his report, the Governor focused on the shortage of power facilities in the region that kept hindering the new industrial enterprises’ growth. He said the agreement signed by Sverdlovsk Region and RAO UES of Russia did not seem to work in terms of any of its parts.

A new trunk road meant for providing a link between the future Academic district and the central and south-western parts of the city is currently under construction in Yekaterinburg. On behalf of the city council, Blagoustroystvo (a municipal enterprise) is routing the road in Serafima Deryabina St. through the South-Western Park, the spokesperson for RENOVA Stroy Group reports. The new road is part of the complex Academic construction project. This is going to become a six-way highway allowing for 80 kph, equipped with a three-meter bicycle track and a 4.5-meter sidewalk. Eventually, a tram

Rosselkhoznadzor (the state agricultural watchdog) stopped giving quarantine permits to importers of rice, sesame, and peanuts from India, even if these goods happen to be transferred through another country. Rosselkhoznadzor’s press officer Alexei Alexeenko explains that these temporary bans have been brought about by instances of sanitary regulations abuse revealed by Russian experts.

Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development lowered its consumer loan interest rates on June 4, 2007. This offer covers loans ranging from 50,000 RUR to 600,000 RUR. ‘Now we can come up with the advantage of very attractive financial terms in addition to a sizeable amount of money, conveniently long period of payment, lack of monthly commissions, and quick processing of a customer’s application that are characteristic of our consumer loans,’ the bank’s press officer says.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of profit-making NGOs’ deposits in METCOMBANK valid for 31 to 90 days went down 52% (from 137 million RUR to 65.5 million RUR) in January-April 2007.

First Deputy Minister for Economics and Labor of Sverdlovsk Region Nikolai Bespamyatnikh chaired a meeting of interdepartmental committee devoted to helping regional enterprises prepare for Russia’s upcoming entrance to the World Trade Organization. The meeting was attended by representatives of Sverdlovsk Region’s executive and legislative branches. It was reported that companies needed to have quality management systems and international certification procedures introduced in order to become economically viable. The Ministry reports most regional enterprises that have already been certified

URSA Bank’s new office was opened in Kemerovo on May 29, 2007; it is conveniently located next to the town hall and the regional administration building as well the city’s main post office, the Musical Theater of Kuzbass, the Drama Theater, Kemerovo State University and quite a few popular cafes and stores. The office deals in all kinds of retail loans as well as loans to small and medium-scale businesses. URSA Bank’s press officer says more than thirty people visited the place on the very first day in order to consult the bank’s experts and get their loans. ‘URSA Bank’s new office is very

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of loans given by UIC Bank to natural persons for 181 days to 1 year went down 37% (from 2.183 RUR to 1.356 RUR) in January-April 2007.

The Ministry for International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region hosted a meeting of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam with representatives of both the regional ministry and the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the spokesperson for the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region reports. The Vietnamese diplomat arrived in Yekaterinburg to help introduce Vietnamese Consulate General in the Urals; he said they were going to complete all the procedures within the course of three to four months and start operating this fall. The consulate’s visa

Crediting organizations’ investments in Grancombank went down 40% (from 346,837,000 RUR to 207,805,000 RUR) on January 1, 2007 against a year earlier, the bank’s balance sheet states.

Bank24.ru held its annual general meeting on May 28, 2007. The shareholders aimed to evaluate the bank’s success in 2006 and approve of the annual report and profit distribution as well as to elect the new Board of Directors. The new Board now consists of S.G. Lapshin, B.P. Dyakonov, Yu.V. Petrovskiy, and two independent directors (Paul Goncharoff and I.A. Chevtaev). The attendees decided to declare 1% dividends, which comes to 10 RUR per one ordinary registered share. They also agreed on Saint Petersburg–based Peterburgbankaudit as their auditor for 2007 and selected the inspection

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel met General Director of Uralmashzavod Nazim Efendiev. The spokesperson for the Governor reports the agenda of the meeting covered the company’s developmental plan originally presented to First Deputy Head of Russian Federation Government Sergey Ivanov (and fully accepted) in April 2007. Mr. Efendiev announced the enterprise had been working hard to restore all the traditional metallurgical, boring, and oil and gas equipment and open-mine excavator production. Besides, they were trying to consolidate their assets and make their design and engineering

‘After the housing prices soared last year, a lot of apartments (like those located in low quality 40- to 60-year-old buildings) became unfairly overpriced, which is why certain leveling off that is going on at the moment is quite justified,’ Guran Tukhashvili of Ural Chamber of Real Estate said to UrBC. ‘According to our estimates, prices are not likely to go up much in terms of either existing homes or those under construction until this fall; some growth is possible in the fall and winter. I don’t think any drastic price changes are to be expected, though,’ Mr. Tukhashvili said.

Evraz Group announced it would like to acquire a share holding of Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corp. for $11.4 per share; the group currently owns approximately 51.4% of Highveld’s shares, and is willing to buy more until July 4, 2007 (the deadline might be extended). Besides, Evraz Group possesses a call option (24.9% of Highveld’s shares belonging to Credit Suisse), Evraz Group’s press officer reports. ‘We believe the price we offer is quite fair and appealing; it actually reflects Highveld’s business potential and is about 31% higher than the price Evraz had to pay Anglo American for a

The 1st International Transport Forum and Russian Transport Exhibition 2007 took place in Yekaterinburg on June 2-4, 2007. The events were coordinated by the Russian Federation Ministry of Transport; their agendas covered issues related to Russia’s transport development strategy in 2007-2020 and modernization of the transport system in 2002-2010. There were also quite a few round table discussions, conferences, and meetings devoted to the socio-economic and geopolitical importance of Russian transport in terms of the country’s development; ways and methods of reforming and improving the

The Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development is going to have a Loan-Giving Day at 91 Lunacharskiy St. on June 7, 2007. Customers will be able to get acquainted with the loan schemes for individual borrowers and retail loan services, get professional advice from the bank’s experts, and take part in a lottery (and win a low-interest loan as a prize). ‘The loan market supply is simply enormous at the moment; it is obvious, however, that different kinds of loans are meant for solving different financial problems. Express loan, for instance, is best for borrowers who only want a relatively

URSA Bank was ranked 3d in the Most Dynamically Developing Banks (2003-2007) rating. The assessment was based on net wealth growth and increases in profits, deposit portfolios, and loan portfolios. URSA Bank was 8th in terms of net wealth, 6th in terms of profit growth, 7th in terms of deposit portfolio growth, and 9th in terms of loan portfolio growth, the bank’s press officer reports.