3 August 2005
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Tatarstan Issues $250 Million In Eurobonds
Holding company Svyazinvestneftekhim's general director, Valerii Sorokin, told reporters on 2 August that Tatarstan has issued $250 million in 10-year Eurobonds with a coupon of 7.7 percent, intertat.ru reported the same day. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein investment bank lead-managed the issue. Svyazinvestneftekhim subsidiary SINEK Capital S.A. and the Republic of Tatarstan underwrote some 13 billion rubles ($455 million) of the issue. Subscribers included investment banks and fund managers in Europe and Asia, as well as offshore companies and entities from the United States, Australia and the Republic of South Africa. The funds are to be used to finance investment projects in Tatarstan, including construction of the Tuben Kama Oil Refinery by Tatneft in Tuben Kama and a government-backed housing-construction program.
Premier: Government Does Not Interfere At Tatneft
Tatar Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov said on 1 August that relations between his government, on one hand, and Tatneft and Nizhnekamskneftekhim on the other are "transparent," intertat.ru reported the same day. During his visit to the Kazanorgsintez chemical plant, Minnikhanov was commenting on a statement included in Tatneft's annual report (under U.S. accounting standards) according to which the state wields "hidden influence" over the petrochemical company's management. Minnikhanov called the statement "artificial." "We are for being transparent," Minnikhanov said. "The government doesn't interfere, it works through management bodies -- boards of directors -- as is required by federal law and international standards."
Scorpions To Perform At Kazan Millennium Celebrations
Tatarstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Zile Welieva announced in Kazan on 2 August that the German rock group The Scorpions will perform in Kazan to mark the city's millennium, Interfax-Povolzhe reported the same day. The "Moment Of Glory" program will open the new "Kazan-1,000" ice stadium on 29 August. Project head Vladimir Zubitskii told a news briefing that the project, which was presented for the first time at the Hanover World Fair in 2000, has been performed in Russia only in Moscow and St. Petersburg four years ago. Zubitskii said The Scorpions believe that "visiting such an ancient city is a unique opportunity to become acquainted with the history of Tatarstan."
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
Premier Cites Diamond Deposits In Bashkortostan
Extractable diamond deposits have been found in the Beloretsk region of Bashkorotstan, republican Prime Minister Rafael Baidavletov said after the signing ceremony of a general cooperation treaty on shared use of mineral resources with Moscow on 2 August, an RFE/RL Ufa correspondent reported the same day. On behalf of federal government, the five-year agreement expanding Bashkortostan's rights was signed by Anatolii Ledovskikh, head of the federal agency on the use of mineral resources.
Diamonds have been prospected in Bashkortostan since 1930, and the deposit mentioned by the Bahkir prime minister are is the only one discovered ever since.
Police Look Into Racial Clash In Ufa Suburbs
Nine Ufa residents were reportedly injured as a result of a brawl involving about 50 Vietnamese nationals on 30 July, an RFE/RL Ufa correspondent reported the same day. According to police, the conflict began when the Vietnamese were picnicking. At least 32 suspects were arrested by the police and are facing possible charges of hooliganism.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi