MMedvedev to hold Security Council meeting on domestic ship-building.

MOSCOW, June 9 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on
Wednesday will chair a meeting of the Russian Security Council to discuss
problems facing the country's ship-building industry.
According to head of the United Ship-building Corporation Roman
Trotsenko, the industry featured a 62 percent growth in 2009, largely
tanks to a number of big vessels commissioned during the year. Meanwhile,
the global financial crisis has told negatively on the industry, and the
state had to provide support measures to a number of enterprises. Thus,
the government transmitted 1.600 billion roubles to increase the share
capital of the United Ship-building corporation. The funds were used to
restructure the Amur Ship-building Works.
Trotsenko, however, voiced optimism about the industry's prospects.
"The United Ship-building Corporation ended 2009 with a 92 million rouble
profit. It is not very much for our turnover of 150 billion roubles, but
it is still better than 9 billiard rouble losses in 2008. It was the first
year we finished with profits," he said. "The first anti-crisis stage, the
most difficult one, is over, and now we are facing though difficult but
stable situation allowing us to develop further," he noted, acknowledging,
however, that ship-building enterprise were currently working to 52
percent of their capacity.
In the first instance, the United Ship-building Corporation plans to
boost the production of civic ships, not decreasing, however, its output
under defence orders from the state. Its current portfolio includes orders
for 118 ships. The corporation's foreign trade turnover is 7.5 billion
U.S. dollars. In December 2009, it signed contracts with Vietnam and
Kuwait to the total amount of more than 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Currently, not all types of Russian-made ships are competitive on the
world market. Thus, South Korea, China and Japan lead the market for big
passenger vessels, while Russia's niche is the manufacture of small and
medium ships, platforms, and warships.
The United Ship-building Corporation and the Ministries of Transport
and of Industry have drafted a bill aimed to encourage the development of
the domestic ship-building industry. According to Trotsenko, the document
"provides for the creation of specialized ship-building zones, which will
have special tax and customs regimes." The move was projected to level
economic conditions with competitors from China and South Korea, he said,
adding that similar specialized ship-building zones helped Japan, South
Korea and Chine to boost their ship-building industries.

.Four point five magnitude earthquake registered near Kamchatka coast.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, June 9 (Itar-Tass) -- A magnitude 4.5
earthquake has been registered in the Kronotsky Gulf near the eastern
coast of Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula, the Russian Academy of
Sciences' Geophysical service reported on Wednesday.
According to the service, the earth tremor was registered at 17:59
Kamchatka time (09:59 a.m. Moscow time) on June 8. The epicentre was
located some 168 kilometers to the north-east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The quake ficus was at the depth of 33 kilometers.
No casualties were reported. No tsunami warning was issued.

.Moscow City Duma to revise city budget.

MOSCOW, June 9 (Itar-Tass) -- The Moscow City Duma on Wednesday will
consider in the first reading amendments to the city budget bringing its
deficit up by 70.5 billion roubles to reach 190.6 billion roubles.
The bill increases the city's 2010 revenues by more than 57 billion
roubles to total one trillion and 57.4 billion roubles, and the city's
expenditures - by 127.8 billion roubles to reach one trillion and 248.1
billion roubles.
"The budget deficit is projected at 18.3 percent to its revenues net
of federal budgetary funds," head of the city's finance department Yuri
Korostelev said.

.Kamchatka's Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano erupts ash.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, June 9 (Itar-Tass) -- Black ash from the
Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano eruption has fallen out in the settlement of
Klyuchi in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula, a representative from
the local branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Geophysical Service
told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
The volcano, which is the highest (4,750 meters) active volcano in
Eurasia, is currently in the active phase. Thus, during Tuesday, about 400
earth tremors were registered in its vicinity. It was coated with clouds
on Tuesday, so ash eruption was not observable in the settlement of
Klyuchi located 32 kilometers off its foot. Although, in clear weather
local dwellers observe ash, steam and gas eruptions to the height of two
kilometers.
The volcano wakened up in August 2009, and constant monitoring has
been conducted ever since. Experts say that so far the volcano poses no
danger to nearby settlements.
-0-ras


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