ELECTORAL COMMISSION HAS NEW CHAIRPERSON

At its session yesterday, Vladivostok city municipal electoral commission elected its new chairperson.

The commissioners elected by a secret vote Tatiana Shklyarova, whose candidature was proposed by the regional electoral commission.

Former chairperson Irina Balakhnina did not attend the meeting due to sickness but remained a rank-and-file commissioner. - Yury ROGOV.

KAMCHATKA GOVERNOR DISAGREES WITH CONCLUSIONS BY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT REVIEW ON "SALMON" CASE

Governor Mikhail Mashkovtsev termed as "malicious falsification" the environmental expert review, organized by Kamchatka prosecutors in the course of investigation over salmon overproduction in summer 2002.

Then, the governor permitted to exceed approved salmon quotas without Moscow's sanction. Salmon run in that season was much higher than predicted by scientists, and this might trigger an environmental disaster, because fish overcrowded local rivers and started dying before spawning eggs.

By Mashkovtsev's words, he was shocked with "qualification of experts." Losses from salmon fishery of 2002 calculated by prosecutors totaled 7 billion rubles or three yearly budgets of Kamchatka in part of revenues. Mashkovtsev declared that "experts underestimated the pink salmon run on the west coast nearly 20 times." The year 2002 was even, which means it was high for pink salmon. 48.9 million pink salmon specimens crowded in spawning grounds on the peninsula's west coast, while experts mentioned only 2.8 million specimens in their act. - Yury ROGOV.

DIPLOMACY AND PUMPKIN

Martin Tate is the youngest of accredited diplomatic representatives in Vladivostok, but diplomacy is his free-time activity and main thing is business doing.

He started his business seven years ago with trade operations as many did and set up a company selling New Zealand dairy products. Later, he saw prospects for production and exportation from Primorye of farm products to Japan, where requirements are rather tight.

- Martin, many associate your country with marvelous nature, clean air, crystal water, virgin forest and meadows, environmentally sound products. In other words, something like heaven on earth. But, New Zealand is an industrialized nation as well. How did you manage?

- New Zealand is rather young country in historical terms, and many immigrants have been coming here during last 200 years, with a peak observed in 1950-1960s. Newcomers, many of who were farmers, were welcomed with open arms. The country began blooming thanks to new people who have brought new capitals, new work culture, new ethics, new ideas, new success.

- What does it mean "with open arms?" Please share your experience - Primorye is meeting a sharp deficit of labour, exactly in agriculture.

- Farmers immigrating from East and West Europe, in particular, Holland, Denmark, United Kingdom, South Africa, could buy land without bureaucratic red tape, and their children became New Zealand citizens.

In New Zealand, farmers use land as security for getting bank loans. This, in turn, allows buy more machinery for the farming sector. Land reform in Russia will some time give your farmers same possibilities, and machinery will partly solve the problem of labour shortage. I hope that more people will be working in the farming sector in Primorsky Krai as well. At least, your land reform inspires optimism.

- The vast majority of businesses set up in Primorsky Krai and the Russian Far East as a whole are relating to minerals production. Such cases as Coca-Cola or Primorsky Diamond are very rare in this region. And you set up a production facility recently.

- For cat and dog feed under the trademark "Myasnoff." We import kangaroo meat from Australia and buy grain and poultry locally. Our feeds are available in supermarkets.

- Recently I was treated with Japanese pumpkin. It is much sweeter that varieties cultivated locally. I was told Japan is importing such pumpkin from New Zealand in large quantities. And this pumpkin has been cultivated in Primorsky Krai during last two-three years. Are you involved in this?

- I took a farm in leasehold recently. It grows three pumpkin varieties and exports them to Japan. We have a serious partner there. Soon we will receive equipment for pumpkin grading. As far as I know, several more farms cultivate pumpkin in Primorsky Krai.

The region has a great unused potential for crops cultivation. We would like to produce and export to neighbouring regions beets, carrots, cabbages and other vegetables.

- Do you come from a farmer family?

- Yes. Many in New Zealand come from farmers. Even our former prime minister.

- Why have you chosen Russia for your business, where investment climate is not very attractive as many believe?

- I am in Russia because I had fallen in love. My wife is Russian. My two children have been born in Russia. I like your clearly defined seasons - winter, spring, summer, autumn.

- If we look at the structure of foreign trade between Primorye and New Zealand, we'll see 100% of imports. Why does New Zealand buy nothing in our country?

- It happens so that we have resources that are your export staples - wood, fish, minerals. Next, our market is very small in Russian terms - total population is about 4 million, and Russia is far away. But our country exports, if we can say so, educational programmes. Quite a lot of Russian citizens, including Far Easterners, study language in our universities and receive business education. More Russian tourists come to our country. I don't have visa issue rights for the moment, but know that over 500 Russian citizens were issued student visa through the NZ embassy in Moscow. The number of issued tourists visas has also grown.

- Are there prospects for expanding cooperation?

- I hope that, after the NZ minister of trade and business representatives visit Vladivostok in late May, new ideas and initiatives for developing cooperation will come up. New Zealanders are interested in deliveries to the Russian Far East via Primorye of farm machinery and agricultural technologies, possibilities for investments in joint crops production and processing. - Irina DROBYSHEVA.

VCSP HELD PRESENTATION AT TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS EXHIBITION IN SHANGHAI

Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port (VCSP) attended the exhibition "Chinese Ports" in Shanghai organized in this year concurrently with the exhibition "Transport and Logistics," earlier traditionally held in Germany.

As spokesman for VCSP says, the port is interested in regular container routes to Shanghai. The yearly traffic volume at this port is estimated at 60,000 TEU, the bulk of which goes to the European part of Russia using pseudo transit technologies and various customs clearance schemes.

"Our objective is to attract a line carrier to the port, who would represent a large cargo base, and to start cooperation with such a giant as Coscon," said VCSP marketing department head Yury Sidorenko. "We demonstrated at the exhibition that our port is open to joint projects such as an upgrade of container terminal, procurement of advanced cargo lifting equipment, etc. For better insight in VCSP, we presented short-term and long-term strategies developed by the U.K. marketing company Scott & Wilson."

A presentation of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, organized by the Coordinating Council on Trans-Siberian Transportation, was held in parallel. By words of VCSP chief dispatcher Gennady Zvyagintsev, they had very interesting meetings with bunkering agents operating in Trans-Siberian routes, representatives of MCL, who is a bunkering agent and operator for Sovcomflot's ship serving the line Shanghai - Vladivostok.

A meeting with specialists from Orient International Group was also quite fruitful. It is not unlikely that a multi-purpose vessel capable of carrying both containers and general cargoes will operate the line in the future. VCSP may join, in prospect, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, a governmental organization providing access to all-round information on shipping business - freight rates, expected volumes, trends, analytical studies - on the "one stŪp service" basis. - Yevgeny ITAROV.

FESCO RENOVATING FLEETS

OAO Far Eastern Shipping Company (Fesco) will receive a new bulk carrier of 33,000 dwt in October, said its director general Yevgeny Ambrosov at a news conference.

The ship valued at about $27 million will be launched by one of Japanese yards. Fesco will use it both for carrying cargoes for foreign charterers and for carrying export-import cargoes from Far Eastern ports.

"In addition, we will buy a Polish-built container ship in the second-hand market. It is 7 years old, but its characteristics fully suit us," Yevgeny Ambrosov said. Earlier, he declared that Fesco would build two container ships at a Chinese yard.

Fesco's fleet counts 73 vessels with an average age of 18 years. The company plans to renovate its fleets practically in full during next 4-5 years by bringing the average age to 8-10 years. Besides, Fesco spent $6.5 million for renovation of its in-house container pool. 1,600 new 20-foot containers are expected to arrive in June.

At their annual general meeting on 21 May, Fesco shareholders decided to pay no dividend for 2003 and direct 432 million rubles of net profits to the development fund (410,456,000 rubles) and reserve fund (21,603,000 rubles).

NOTE. 19.8% in Fesco belongs to the former Ministry of Proprietary Relations and 62% to S.V.G. Holdings S.A., controlled by structures close to State Duma member Sergei Generalov.

Elected to Fesco's board of directors were Fesco director general Yevgeny Ambrosov, OOO Industrial Investors president Siman Povarenkin, OOO Industrial Investors first vice president Kirill Rubinsky, OOO Industrial Investors vice president Vladimir Chaika, OOO Industrial Investors human resources director Alexander Krainikov, PromInvestors Asset Management Corp.'s Moscow office director Maxim Likhachev, Minakaza Trading Limited representation deputy director Nikolai Yevstratenko, and two governmental representatives - Vyacheslav Ruksha, head of the Federal Agency of Maritime and River Fleet, and Konstantin Makhov, former adviser to the Ministry of Proprietary Relations. - Oleg KLIMENKO.

VOSTOCHNY PORT: CHANGING OWNERSHIP

As became known to "ZR," ZAO Severstaltrans shared its controlling interest in Primorsky Krai's largest sea port with OAO Coal Company KuzbassRazrezUgol (KRU), Russia's largest coal exporter.

NOTE. KRU, about 60% in which belongs to companies close to Uralskaya GMK, owns 45% in the coal terminal in Ust-Luga port, Leningrad Oblast. Its works with Vostochny through its subsidiary KRUtrade purposefully established for coal exportation. KRUtrade director general Oleg Rosenberg leads the internationally known trading company Rosco, which has an exclusive export agreement with Sokolovskaya owning three coal mines in Kuzbass. KRUtrade ships via Vostochny mainly coke coal supplied by KRU. Power-station coal seller in Asia, including South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, is Swiss trader Glencore, to whom KRU has granted exclusive rights.

ZAO Severstaltrans became one of first major Russian companies attracted by sea ports in Primorsky Krai. Its advent to Vostochny coincided with the notorious killing of port director Valery Bochkov, who had led Vostochny to its best ever performance results. According to some sources, it was Bochkov, who initiated Severstaltrans' coming to the port.

In early 2002, Severstaltrans consolidated 60% of Vostochny's stock buying out shares from management and foreign shareholders. Director general was appointed Vladimir Popov, former deputy director general of Nakhodka Commercial Sea Port.

Severstaltrans holds 17% in Vostochny, and the rest is distributed between its offshore companies - Leverett Holding GmbH (25.4%), UBS AG (10.9%) and raspberry Holdings Limited (10.7%). Another 20% belongs to the former Ministry of Proprietary Relations. New owners immediately took special control of all cash flows.

It should be noted that the year of 2002, first after Severstaltrans' advent to Vostochny, was quite successful for the port: total cargo turnover rose by more than 30% and reached 16.2 million tons. However, experts say that the basis for such an impressive rise has been laid during Bochkov Sr.'s rule (his son Valery is currently Severstaltrans' chief adviser and serving chairman of Vostochny's board of directors). Evidence of that is a 4.8-% decrease in 2003 (15,432,000 tons), with even larger drop (12%) registered at the coal terminal handling coal exports from Kuzbass to Asia-Pacific countries.

It seems that the reason behind selling shares (by some data 20-30%) is Severstaltrans' inability to solve the problem itself (the coal terminal with an annual capacity of 12 million tons needs an upgrade, and KRU is ready to make investments).

By ZR's data, Severstaltrans' stake in OOO East Ural Terminal (specialized mineral fertilizer terminal) may be sold to Silvinit chemical company from Perm Oblast and stake in Eastern Petrochemical Terminal (for handling methanol and liquefied gas) - to TransKhimExport.

A year ago, Severstaltrans sold to Rosneft a 100-% package in ZAO Eastern Oil Loading Terminal, which constructs an oil and product loading terminal in Vostochny.

It seems that Severstaltrans will retain only the general and bulk cargo terminal (Cargo Area No. 1 with an annual capacity of 2.4 million tons) and Berth No. 6 in Cargo Area 2, which it will try to use for organizing an alternative to the prosperous container terminal run by Vostochny International Container Services (VICS), 50%-owned by Vostochny. Port specialists say this is a logical decision, because container business is on the rise and Severstaltrans, with its hands free, could compete with VICS fairly well.

The recent replacement of Vostochny's director general signals the beginning of transformation. New director Alexander Ignatenko came from NevaMetalTrans, St. Petersburg and, before that, was Severstaltrans' director of freight operations. By ZRs data, Ignatenko will be at the helm till November latest and replaced by a Muscovite, rather a financier than port specialist. - Oleg KLIMENKO.

BANK DEPOSITS GREW BY 25% IN FIRST QUARTER

Primorsky Krai banks continue dynamically building up their assets and liabilities in 2004.

As of 1 April, their balance-sheet total exceeded 10.0 billion rubles, a 9.3-% increase on year's beginning. Internal funds grew by 4.3% and amounted to 1,166 million rubles.

88% of credit commitments are resources belonging to individuals and juridical persons. On the whole, fund held for customers grew by 14.4% and amounted to 7,864.2 million rubles. Individual deposits grew by 23%. Issue of bank debt securities grew by 53.1%.

Positive trends in bank operations can be explained by sustained growth of loan operations and more active operations in the stock market. Total net debt held by Primorsky Krai's credit institutions amounted to 5,806.0 million rubles, a 6.5-% increase on year's beginning. Volume of loans issued to non-financial entities and organizations went up by 5.6%.

Individual loans drawn for consumption in the first quarter of 2004 grew by 3.2%. Operations with securities retained essentially same structure as before. Over 70% of the securities portfolio is governmental obligations. Though profitability of governmental bonds GKO-OFZ continues declining, investments in this instrument grew by 2.1 times. The securities portfolio went up by 2.6 times during January - March.

Credit institutions earned 54.2 million rubles in profits (+32.2% on the first quarter of 2003) during first three months, said spokesman for the Central Bank of Russia's Office in Primorsky Krai. - Yevgeny ITAROV.

FISH PROCESSING KNOW-HOW IN PRIMORSKY KRAI

A meeting under the title "Performance in 2003 and Development Prospects for Onshore Fish Processing Industry" held in the administration of Primorsky Krai stated that the existing research potential in developing and introducing advanced technologies goes ahead of production.

By words of Georgy Martynov, deputy head of the Fisheries Department, 2003 became a year of breakthrough in onshore processing. Production of seafood other than fish has considerably grown.

A number of new facilities has been put into operation such as fish processing plants OAO TURNIF and Yuzhnomorskoi, seafood processing shop OOO Ryblesprom, and fish processing plant Kamensky was reconstructed. The total number of fish processing companies reached 108 (versus 68 in 2000), and their collective capacity increased to about 120,000 of various fish products, including 1,500 tons of ready-to-serve products, 6,000 tons of smoked, dry and cured fish, 80,000 tons of frozen fish and seafood.

However, fish processing company managers were not enthused as much as officials. First, they say, the above said figures are rather virtual than real. Such an output can be generated if 100% of the available capacity has enough raw fish, while in reality half of companies use only part of their capacity.

"Onshore demand for raw fish is about 100,000 tons, whereas only 33,000 tons was supplied to the Russian shore," OOO Sitek director general Nina Sevruk asserted in her report.

Short supply of raw fish can be compensated by introduction of high-level processing technologies, and Primorsky Krai achieved much in this respect. The leading new seafood product designer in the Far East and Russia as a whole is TINRO-Centre. Its representative Yury Kuznetsov said in his report that their laboratories are ready to design any technology for any raw material and stressed that farm producers meet deficit of fish meal today.

"We're ready to solve this problem and engineer technologies for converting offal into fish meal. Moreover, we're ready to provide complete technologies with an economic substantiation and all necessary engineering documentation," Yury Kuznetsov said.

Another technology designer is Applied Biotechnology Institute of Dalrybvtuz. It has technologies for making products even from fish skin. One of latest technologies is protein extraction from waste water generated in surimi paste production.

In conclusion of the meeting at the regional administration, an exhibition and tasting of new products was held in the lobby. TINRO-Centre's exposition was in the focus of the public. Its exclusive product was an extract from corbicula, a mollusk variety, which is a kind of broth with a spicy flavour and very healthy. Its production will be started soon specially for the children's hematological hospital. Other products that will hit the market soon are sturgeon in aspic (TINRO has been cultivating sturgeon in Luchegorsk for a long time), seaweed desserts with dried prunes and pineapples, sea snail with olives, cucumaria paste.

OOO AquaTechnologies also presented its products. This young company is specialized in shellfish delicatessen. A year ago, TINRO-Centre developed on their order a technology for preserved "Surf Clam and Anadara in Sauces and Aspics," and today this product is available in the market. Global Trade displayed candied laminaria. Another novelty was a cake based on salmon pate.

In general, there were many interesting things to see and, hopefully, delicatessen tasted at a gathering of specialists will become available to the general public as well. - Yury NURMUKHAMETOV.