The solemn award presentation ceremony proceeded in the capital-city's “Metropol” Hotel. The RF First Deputy Minister for Finance Mr. Alexey Ulyukayev congratulated the contest winners and laureates on behalf of the Government of Russia. He expressed the hope that domestic companies would further occupy a worthy place on the economy growth map of this country.

“Our journal have been summing up the annual business results for five years running. Each time, the decoration ceremony crowns a successive business season. No significant event in the economic life of Russia escapes our attention; the medals find their heroes, and the nation knows its heroes by sight”, the “Company” journal Editor-In-Chief Mr. Andrey Grigoryev noted.

In each nomination, the winner was selected out of three contender companies. The laureate companies in the “telecommunications” nomination included such well-known Russian operators as Rostelecom and VympelCom joint stock companies.

As was stressed while presenting PJSC Moscow City Telephone Network with the honorary diploma of the winner in the “Company of the Year 2003” contest, despite the mobile technologies rapid penetration into the telecom market, neither business enterprise, nor common citizen of Moscow could do without MGTS. Over the last years, the Company has displayed a dynamic growth, developing by leaps and bounds.

Accepting the honorary diploma of the contest, the Public Joint Stock Company Moscow City Telephone Network Deputy General Director For Economy and Finance Mr. Victor Chervony said: “In years to come, we wish to change our customers' perception of PJSC MGTS so that the Muscovites treat us not as monopoly, but as a reliable and time-tested partner.”

Among the leaders of the Russian business in the other contest nominations are such companies as RAO “EEC of Russia”, “Tyumenskaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya – VR”, “Rusneft”, AKB Avtobank-NIKoil”, and others.