The regular ceremony of giving "Company of The Year" national business awards for 2003 took place yesterday. Participants of the ceremony believe that it has become an intrinsic part of the country's business life over the past five years. Moreover, the nominees not just gain recognition among their colleagues but also enhance their reputations on the world market. At the same time this year's laureates were upset by the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose company was one of the nominees.

The "Company of The Year" awards have been given for the fifth time. The award was established in the time of a crisis, when Russian businesses had to regain ground. According to the organizers of the awards from the RosBusinessConsulting company, the award then played an important role in supporting business activities of Russian entrepreneurs. The nominees included about 100 companies this year. Possibly, the main intrigue of the ceremony was the inclusion of the "disgraced" YUKOS company on the list of nominees, although RAO UES has taken away its prize. "This is a quite important result of our work, especially if one takes into account the fact that its negative aspects are noticed more often. Russian business has found itself in an uneasy situation today, and therefore, the support of our colleagues is very important for us," RAO UES Chairman Anatoly Chubais declared.

As for other nominations, the results were quite predictable. Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD) won the prize in the "Food Industry" category. The expert council of the "Company of The Year" declared Bank of Moscow the best bank. The laureate in the insurance category was the Rossiya insurance company. The high jury awarded the fast developing Sbarro company (nominated in the "Franchising" category) along with other large companies, such as Pyatyorochka and Avoska. Tekhnosila, which has completely changed its concept recently, has failed to become the Company of The Year in the "Shopping Network" category, and the award was given to steadily developing Ramstore.

The Fuel and Energy Industries: RAO UES of Russia; Machine-Building: United Machinery; The Metal Industry: Mechel; The Food Industry: Wimm-Bill-Dann; The Timber Industry: the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill; The Agrarian Industry: The Razgulyay-UKRROS Group; Finances, Bank of The Year: Bank of Moscow; The Insurance Company of The Year: The Rossiya Insurance Company; The Investment Company of The Year: PIOGLOBAL Asset Management; Services, including Business Services: Ernst & Young; Consumer Services for Individuals: The Perekriostok Trading House; Retail Sales: Tekhmarket; Telecommunications: TransTeleCom; Distribution and Sales: Dixis; Franchising: Sbarro; Shopping Network: Ramstore; Transport and Logistics: The Novorossiysk Commercial Seaport; Tourism: Natalie Tours; Information Technologies: 1C.

Discovery of The Year: The First Real-Estate Investment Fund; Business Reputation: Yarpivo; Contribution to the Development of the Industry: Prodimex; Fastest Developing Company: FosterGroup; Client-Orientated Company: Zenit Bank; Corporate Governance: the Perekriostok Trading House; Potential and Prospects: the Stolichnoye Strakhovoye Obshchestvo insurance company; Efficient Policy of Mergers and Takeovers: Norilsk Nickel; Investment Attractiveness of Companies in a Group: the MAIR Industrial Group; Attraction of Foreign Investments to Russia: Brunswick UBS; High Quality of Services: Equant; Efficient Social Policies: Rosbank; Best Marketing: Komus; Best Management: CSKA; Carrying Out of the Mission of Corporate Rights Activists: the RightON Group; Successful Business Strategy: S.P.I. Group; Contribution to Town-Planning: Sistema-Gals; Creation and Improvement of the International-Level Transport Hub in Russia: East Line Group.

Dmitry Kryazhev