Khanty-Mansiysk – Expert RA has confirmed UTair Aviation’s corporate governance rating at B++ for 2004.

Objective independent analysis of corporate governance systems at Russian airlines, including UTair, has been conducted as part of the Corporate Governance Rating project.

Assessment of corporate governance quality by members of the consortium comprises independent expert analysis of the conformity of Russian companies with internationally recognized corporate governance standards, with regard to the protection of shareholders’ rights, work of management and control bodies, disclosure of information, and non-infringement of the interests of other interested parties in corporate relations.

The B++ rating assigned to UTair has put the airline on the list of the top twenty members of Russia’s business community with regard to this indicator. A company with such a high rating is safe for investors, and its business is open and transparent, the expert council has noted in its concluding report.

Presentation of the results of the National Corporate Governance Rating for 2004 was held at the conference hall of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) on February 24 of this year.

Every company on the rating list has received a certificate to confirm its current corporate governance level.

A full version of the rating list is published in “Expert” magazine on a biannual basis.

As reported earlier, the National Corporate Governance Rating, which is part of the “Improvement of Corporate Governance in Russia” project, is performed with the support of the National Council for Corporate Governance and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).