Moscow, Russian Federation — December 14th, 2000 — Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT), Russia’s largest GSM 900/1800 mobile operator, received “Company of the Year” national business Award from a popular Moscow business weekly “Kompaniya” at an official ceremony in Moscow last night. This award is designed to honour companies that have achieved the most impressive results during the year 2000.
The award, established last year to “recognize and reward Russian companies which proved their ability to successfully compete with leading Western companies”, is among the most respected. It is awarded in eight categories, which represent leading industries of Russia’s new economy: banking, metallurgy, oil and gas, telecommunications, food production, insurance, retail, auditing and consulting. The eight award categories are designed to recognize best achievement in each industry.
“We decided that the awards should be judged by an independent panel of Kompaniya’s journalists who talk to representatives of all industries practically on a daily basis. Consultations with analysts and even with representatives of competing companies made the evaluations objective”, said Andrei Grigoriev, the editor-in-chief of the magazine.
In the nomination “Telecommunications”, “Mobile TeleSystems” OJSC has won the “Company of the Year” Award in the face of strong competition from other telecommunications companies. The achievements made by the company this year, in particular, reaching the mark of one million active subscribers, have placed MTS among the league of leading European cellular providers. Every month witnesses an explosive growth of MTS customer base, adding to the number of people who appreciate the high level of MTS network and the quality of service.
One of the main achievements of the company in 2000 was the successful Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange, which raised approximately US$353 million. The additional financing is being used to further develop the company.
In 2000 MTS has continued its regional expansion. Having commenced operations in four new regions since the beginning of 2000, MTS now has the largest GSM network in the country and provides cellular communications services in 21 regions of Russia.
“We are honoured to have been chosen as a Company of the Year award winner”, — said Mikhail Smirnov, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC. “This distinction underscores our leadership position in providing mobile communication services on the Russian market. This is a terrific recognition of our achievements to date and I would like to acknowledge everyone at MTS who has contributed to the success we have achieved this year.”
Kompaniya is a weekly business magazine published since 1998. It focuses on current problems and future potential of Russian business. Its target audience is top and middle management, specialists, analysts in leading industries and business school students.
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For further information contact:
MTS
Press Secretary
Eva Prokofyeva
tel: +7 (095) 104-49-38
e-mail: eva@mts.ru |
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statement to conform them to actual results. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically, the Company’s most recent Form F-1. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors,” that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures; rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, risks associated with operating in Russia, volatility of stock price, financial risk management, and future growth subject to risks.
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT) is Russia’s leading GSM 900/1800 mobile cellular operator. MTS has GSM 900/1800 licenses to provide mobile cellular telephony services in 34 regions of the Russian Federation, covering 45% of the country’s population. It has commenced operations in 21 regions covering more than 41 million people. Information about MTS’s activities and services can be found on our website at www.mtsgsm.com |
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