VLADIVOSTOK SEA PORT HAD ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Shareholders of OAO Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port (VCSP) decided at their annual meeting held on 30 April to pay dividend at 0.0121 rubles per each ordinary share with a face value of 0.1 rubles.

Dividend payments for 2003 will total 21,384,490 rubles (+8.45% on 2002). Another 19,472,545 rubles from net profits will be directed to financing 2003 funds, 14,355,237 rubles to main (additional) capital, 5,117,308 rubles to the reserve fund. The remainder of net profit will be directed to financing funds of the 2004 budget.

Of 12 newly elected board members, three represent OAO Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works: railway transport director Vladimir Andriyanov, Integrative Policies Department deputy head Nikolai Zvyagin and adviser Maxim Morozov.

Also three board members represent the government - Primorsky Krai vice governor Igor Mescheryakov, head of Marine Administration of Port Vladivostok Sergei Cherednichenko and former deputy minister of proprietary relations Gennady Tokulenko.

Other board members are VCSP president Mikhail Robkanov, VCSP vice president Vyacheslav Pertsev and general directors of companies associated with the port: Vasily Svetlyi, Gennady Shidlovsky, Iosif Zarubaiko and Vladimir Vorobyev. - Olga DOBROLYUBOVA.

NO HELICOPTER FLIGHTS ON KAMCHATKA

The State Duma's anti-corruption commission will consider the recent shutdown of Kamchatka's airlines in the aftermath of Sakhalin governor Igor Farkhutdinov'd death in a Mi-8 crash.

This was declared by Vladimir Vasilyev, chairman of the State Duma's security commission, at a news conference in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

"While the peninsula urgently needs to develop tourism, shutdown of three of its four helicopter companies results in significant losses for the region," he said. "However, the reasons why local air companies cannot resume operations are unclear."

Since the helicopter crash in last September, in which Sakhalin governor died, three Kamchatka-based helicopter operators cannot have their flight certificates reissued and get permission to operate flights. The only helicopter operator on Kamchatka, the greater portion of which is accessible only by air transport, is currently Kamchatka Airlines. - Yulia PROKHOROVA.

SPASSKCEMENT ENJOYS ENERGY TARIFF PRIVILEGES

Primorsky Krai governor approved electric power tariff privileges for the second quarter of 2004.

As "ZR" earlier predicted, the intrigue of this subsidy focused on one company - OAO SpasskCement, which has been finally granted the "super-low" tariff of 0.22 rubles per kW.

Tariff privileges given to compensate difference in energy tariffs is one of the main sources of subsidies for developing the Far East's economy. Compensations are earmarked from the federal coffers (460 million rubles for Primorsky Krai in this year) but allocated by governors.

Subsidizing SpasskCement has a long history. The company received first privileges in electric power tariffs in Yevgeny Nazdratenko's rule, but, after a new governor came to power, subsidies to SpasskCement skyrocketed - 40% of all privileges was going to it during last year and a half.

However, situation changed at the end of 2003 - after SpasskCement paid 0.19 and 0.25 rubles per kWh in Q2 and Q3 respectively, tariff was raised to 0.83 rubles (other industrial consumers were paying 1.30 to 1,88 rubles). Already in Q1 of 2004, tariff for SpasskCement was reduced to 0.58 rubles.

Observers explained these sharp and economically illogical fluctuations by political activities of Igor Pushkarev, vice speaker of the region's legislative assembly, who has vast interests in the cement business. As "ZR" earlier predicted, cheap electric energy could be a tool to buy off Pushkarev's refusal to run for Vladivostok mayor in the upcoming elections.

Indeed, when he ultimately refused from campaigning in mid-April, energy tariffs for SpasskCement were brought back to the level of mid-last year.

"ZR" FILE: As of today, electric energy tariffs for industrial consumers in Primorsky Krai vary from 1.30 to 1.95 rubles per kWh. Tariff privileges have been given to seven companies for Q2: SpasskCement - 0.22 rubles/kWh, total subsidy at 72.6 million rubles; Yaroslavsky GOK - 0.36 rubles and 22.4 million rubles), BOR (0.45 and 34.2 million), Primorsky GOK (0.45 and 7 million), GMK Polymetal (0.58 and 24.9 million), Dalzavod (0.60 and 7.5 million), Askold (1.75 and 6.4 million).

It seems that Igor Pushkarev is the first and only of mayoral candidates to have physically availed himself of the campaign that is underway in Vladivostok. According to unofficial sources, he had spent more than $500,000 on PR, but budget subsidies to SpasskCement in the second quarter will be by 66 million rubles more than in Q1. - Andrei BLINOV.

SEVEN OR FOUR?

Primorsky Krai's results in social and economic development in 2003 continue to raise many questions. "ZR" was the first to question the possibility of 7-% growth of the gross regional product (GRP) in last year. Specialists from the Russian Federation State Statistics Committee share these doubts.

It takes quite a lot of time to calculate GRP exactly. As of to date, the State Statistics Committee has approved data for 2002. In that year, growth on 2001 was 104.6% in comparable prices.

GRP grew due to increase in gross added value in the industrial sector (+2%), agriculture (+7.8%), construction (+10.6%), transport (+4.2%), trade and services (+14.7%). Economic growth in 2002 was also supported by a rise in investments at 19.6%, the bulk of which came to industry, agriculture, transport (railways), communication, trade and services.

Data on GRP growth in 2003 are not so obvious. It is clear that physical growth in industry (106.1%), agriculture (118%), trade and services (107%) will result in GRP growth.

On the other hand, slowdown of investment activities (by some data, it was 97.1% in 2003), reduction of the physical volume index in the transport sector as a whole (92.4%) and of traffic volume in the maritime transport industry in particular (by 33%) will negatively affect GRP growth.

Given growth rate of these two economic mainstays of Primorsky Krai, possible rate of GRP growth in 2003 can be 104%, which is by far insufficient to double the region's GRP during 10 years. - Valentina TARASOVA.

KRASAIR EXPANDS PRESENCE IN PRIMORSKY KRAI

KrasAir, Russia's fourth-largest air carrier in terms of traffic volume intends to open new flights from Vladivostok and increase frequency of the existing ones.

By words of KrasAir's deputy director of production Yevgeny Ruzayev, this summer they will start operating flights from Primorsky Krai to Anapa (3 times a week), Volgograd (2 times) and Yerevan (1 time). KrasAir's flights from Vladivostok to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar and Sochi will be operated every day, frequency will be increased for flights to Simferopol (4 times a week), Omsk and Baku (3 times each), Tashkent and Dushanbe (2 times each).

KrasAir builds up the number of frequency of its flights against the background of a sharp rise in the national air transport market as a whole and Primorsky Krai's market in particular. Vladivostok Air declared earlier that its traffic volume in 2003 neared results of 1994, a peak year for Russian air transport. KrasAir representative noted that Vladivostok has good prospects for air business, as ticket sales in Moscow grow from year to year. - Anton DOROSHEV.

FESCO WILL BUILD 5 CONTAINER SHIPS AND BUY 2 BULK CARRIERS

OAO Far Eastern Shipping Company will have five container ships built: two on a Chinese yard and three in Poland.

A contract for 2 container carriers with a capacity of 1,730 TEU was signed with Stocznia Szczecinska Nowa (Poland) was signed in early April. Rights for a third similar ship were fixed with the same yard and will be announced to the yard before 15 February 2005. The first two carriers are expected to be commissioned in late 2007 and the third one in early 2008.

The two Chinese-built container ships will operate powerful plants and carry cargo in refrigerated containers.

"These are ships of the same class as the three ordered in Poland. Maybe, more advanced. The yard with which we work has accumulated good experience in container ship construction, including the specification we need. This specification was developed by German designers and engineers, and the Chinese yard is just a tool for project implementation," said FESCO director general Yevgeny Ambrosov to "ZR."

By his words, FESCO is considering buying in the second-hand market two bulk carriers to ship cargoes of foreign charterers and export-import cargoes from Far Eastern ports. Altogether, FESCO intends to spend on fleet renovation $40 to $50 million from internal funds in this year, with total investments in the order of $200 million. - Oleg KLIMENKO.