On June 20, 2003 Mr. Kakha Bendookidze, CEO of OMZ, met in Moscow with Mr. Peter Woicke, Head of the IFC andmanaging director of the World Bank.

Mr. Bendookidze and Mr. Woicke discussed OMZ’s strategy and development plans as well as thepossibility of setting up a joint MBO fund to finance the sale of OMZ’s non-core businesses to their management.

IFC is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects in the developing world.It promotes sustainable private sector development primarily by:

• Financing private sector projects located in the developing world.
• Helping private companies in the developing world mobilize financing in international financial markets.
• Providing advice and technical assistance to businesses and governments.

OMZ (United Heavy Machinery) is the largest Russian private heavy engineering corporation. The Company designs, engineers, produces, markets and services knowledge intensive equipment and machinery for the on- and offshore oil and gas industry, including transportation, the nuclear energy and mining industries.

The Company’s 2002 GAAP sales amounted to $400* million, approximately a 30% increase over 2001 sales, with a $1,000 million order book as of May 2003. OMZ’s major markets are in Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia. The Company’s sales outside Russia amounted to $131 million in 2002.

OMZ is a publicly traded company on the Russian stock exchange and several international OTC markets. The Company intends to finalize the listing of its depository receipts on the London Stock Exchange in the third quarter of 2003.

* Preliminary results