Russian Business Newspaper (Moscow), November 4, 2003

Moscow hosted the fifth award ceremony of the national business award "Company of the Year 2003". This award is granted every year starting in 1999, and it has become a sort of an Oscar in businesses and finance. The award is organized by the news agency RosBusinessConsulting under the aegis of the Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry.

RAO UES of Russia became the winner in the category Manufacturing as the best company in the Fuel and Energy Complex. Among other winners were United Heavy Machinery (Machine Building), Wimm-Bill-Dann (Food Industry), Mechel (Chelyabinsk Metal Works) (Metal Industry), Arkhangelsk pulp-and-paper plant (Timber Industry) and Razgulyay-UKRROS (Agroindustrial Complex).

Bank of Moscow was announced the bank of the year, Rossiya insurance company was awarded as the Insurance company of the year and PIOGLOBAL Asset Management as the Investment company of the year.

Winners in other nominations were Ernst & Young (For Business Services), Perekriostok trading house (Public Consumer Services), Techmarket (Retail Trade), ZAO TransTeleKom (Telecommunications), Dixis (Distribution And Trade), Sbarro (Franchising), Ramstore (Trade Network), Novorossiysk Seaport (Transport and Logistics), Natalie Tours (Tourism) and 1C (Information Technologies).

In the special categories of the award, First Real Estate Investment Fund was awarded in the nomination Discovery of the Year and Yarpivo in the nomination Business Reputation. Other nominations in this category were For Contribution to Revival of Industry (awarded to Prodimeks), Most Dynamically Developing Company (awarded to FosterGroup) and Customer-oriented Company (awarded to Zenit bank). Among other winners we would like to mention Perekriostok trading house (For Corporate Management), Stolichnaya insurance company (For Potential and Outlooks), Norilsk Nickel (For Efficient Merger and Acquisition Policy), MAIR industrial group (For Investment Attractiveness of Companies Within a Group), UBS Brunswick (For Attracting Foreign Investments in Russia), Equant (For High Quality of Services), RosBank (For Efficient Social Policy), Komus (For Best Marketing) and CSKA (For Best Management). RightON group was awarded for Promoting the Mission of Corporate Rights Advocates, S.P.I. Group - for Successful Business Strategy, Sistema Hals - For Contribution to City Building and East Line - for the Creation and Upgrading of a Transportation Junction Meeting International Standards.

Yelizaveta Konstantinova