NEWS

Sollers (RTS: SVAV) expects the Russian automotive market to expand in 2010 by 10%, the company's marketing director, Valery Tarakanov, said during the 13th International Auto-Forum. "2010 will be a year of stabilization. We expect slight growth of 10%," Tarakanov said. He added that penetration on the automotive market in Russia would come to 380 cars for every 1,000 persons by 2020. It was earlier reported that the Sollers Group had reduced its sales of cars and small commercial vehicles in January-February 2010 by 10% to 6,870 units.

Tatarstan State Council Chairman, Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Education of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Chamber of Regions, Farid Moukhametshin will take part in the 18th plenary session of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Strasbourg (France).

Tatar State Puppet Theatre “Akiyat” (“Fairytale”) will participate in two theatrical festivals, which will be held in Turkey from March 22 to April 1. Tatarstan puppeteers have received an invitation from the international organization TURKSOY. Kazan artists will participate in the international theatrical festival in Eskishehir city and the international theatrical festival “Etos” in Ankara. “Akiyat” puppet theatre will show Gabdullah Tukai’s play “Su Anasy” (“The Water Spirit”) in the Tatar language to foreign audience.

The Tatarstan Ministry of Industry will today host the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between General Electric and Tatarstan production companies and organisations, with the assistance of the ministry. General Electric is to be represented at the meeting by the GE Energy executive director Ruslan Pakhomov and corporate director for JSC Gazprom Toomas Liiv. The cooperation with GE was launched at a meeting between Tatarstan Industry and Trade Minister Ravil Zaripov and top managers of GE Rus, part of the General Electric group, in August 2009.

The Sollers Company is currently considering the possibility of car and engine assembly in Egypt, as a statement made by the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade says. “Not have we only discussed the possibility of car assembly on the territory of Egypt, but also that of engine assembly”, - as the RF Minister of Industry and Trade Victor Khristenko said summing up the results of the negotiations conducted with the Egypt Minister of Industry and Trade Rashid Mohammad Rashid. Now there are AutoVaz cars being produced in Egypt. “We are interested in keeping it up so that other Russian brands can appear on the Egypt market”, - Khristenko noted.

RT Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov held meeting with representatives of Turkish holding Sisecam in House of RT government. They discussed further development of project on constructing plant for producing sheet glass in special economic zone “Alabuga”. We remind that a year ago special economic zone “Alabuga” and company "Trakya cam Sanayi" (a member of holding Sisecam) concluded agreement about cooperation and Turkish party expressed intention to expand its presence in Russian market by building a plant for producing sheet glass on the territory of Republic Tatarstan.

The items of cooperation on a line of directions were discussed by head of the RT government Rustam Minnikhanov and the representatives of Ernest & Young company. The meeting took place at the RT Cabinet.

March 15, Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev signed the Law on introduction of amendments to article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Tatarstan on accession to office by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan that clarifies the text of the oath of office of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The international architectural design bureau Populous, the one that developed the architectural concept of the central stadium for the Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi along with Mosproject-4, has given their consent to work on designing the stadium for International Summer Universiade 2013. The sum to the tune of about 5 billion 679 million rubles has been put up for the construction of the football stadium.

The facility seats 45000 spectators. Such a facility, which comes up to the 5-stars FIFA standards, will make it possible for competitions of the highest international level, European and global semifinals and pregames of Europe and to be held in Tatarstan.

The RT government in tandem with the Sollers company has come up with a programme allowing a range of additional discounts with regard to “Fiat” vehicles, stamped out in Tatarstan and which are part of the state program of recycling old cars and subsidizing the acquisition of brand-new automobiles.

As part of the federal recycling programme, RT citizens will get a chance to purchase FIAT automobiles, produced in the Republic, at the discount of up to 150000 rubles. Hopefully, as a result of this, an additional 2500 FIATS and about 1000 commercial FIAT Ducato vehicles will be sold.