From 2 to 3 December of 2003, a meeting of the JSC CenterTelecom management was held in the corporate headquarters with the directors of all the affiliate companies of the 17 regions of the Central Federal District in attendance. The meeting was dedicated to summing up the results of the first year of the pooled Company's activity.

"Today, we can state with all due confidence - JSC CenterTelecom General Director Mr. Ruben A. Amaryan noted in his presentation - that the Company has been actually operating as one and sole economic mechanism. The pooling of the regional operators' business activities within the framework of the Svyazinvest holding restructuring objectives has thereby been accomplished.

A new business management structure is created, financial streams are pooled, planning and budgeting are adjusted, as well as record keeping and accounts; first steps are made toward unification of industrial and information processes.

Despite all the problems and risks of the transitional period, the Company managed to fulfill its principal commitment: in all the 17 constituents of the Central Federal District the pooling of capitals and business was achieved without the disturbance of the telecommunications infrastructures performance. The most exciting breakthroughs of the former regional operators were not only kept, but also augmented, and the pace of the regional networks development and technical upgrading was accelerated.

The Company income for 2003 will exceed 20 billion rubles (RUR 20 000 000 000). In terms of its technical, finance and economic potential, the Company is ranked 28th among the 100 biggest business enterprises that have the greatest share in this country's economy. Regarding the sales volume, JSC CenterTelecom is rated 4th among the telecommunications companies, after Rostelecom, MTS, and Vympelcom.

Over the last year, the Company has strengthened its position in the capital market. In the investment community, JS Central Telecommunications Company proved itself to be a public market entity which shares are among the 25 highest- liquid securities quoted at the Russian stock market. Yet another evidence of the CenterTelecom creditworthiness is the fact that in the course of an adverse business environment tone of the stock market this September, the Company placed successfully its third bonded loan to the tune of 2 billion rubles (RUR 2 000 000 000).

The nine-moth 2003 activity results testify to a stable growth of the industrial, finance and economic figures of the Company. According to the expected results, the total sales proceeds of the Company will be in the order of 20.8 billion rubles
(RUR 20 800 000 000), which will exceed by 27% the same indicator for 2002. The net return is expected to amount to 1.5 billion rubles (RUR 1 500 000 000), or 138.6% as against the last year's profit. It is especially gratifying to see the growth of earnings from the sales of new services, i.e. a one and half times' increment.

Vice-Governor of the Yaroslavl Region Mr. Sergey Burov took part in the meeting.

It was stressed at the press conference jointly held at the Region's Administration Office for journalists of the central and regional mass media that the Yaroslavl Region, operating in the market environment, is a telling example of an impactful interaction of executive authorities and JSC CenterTelecom, a business enterprise, in creating an efficacious telecommunications infrastructure in a federal constituent.