December 7, 2006

A record-high value of the MICEX Index at the close, 1602.42 points, was registered on Wednesday, 6 December, as a result of trading in securities on the MICEX Stock Exchange. Thus, since the beginning of 2006, the MICEX Index has grown by 58.5%.

The previous record value of the MICEX Index at the close, 1585.04 points, was reached on 6 May 2006. The maximum value of the MICEX Index, 1616.32 points, was reached on 10 May 2006. The lowest historical value of the Index, 18.53 points, was registered on 5 October 1998.

The growth of the MICEX Index reflects the overall increase in the price of shares of Russian companies against a backdrop of growing volumes of trading in corporate securities on the MICEX Stock Exchange (on 5 December 2006, a record-high volume of trading was registered, which amounted to 149.3 billion rubles or 5.6 billion US dollars). In the course of the trading session held 6 December 2006 the biggest growth was shown by shares in Sberbank (+5.33%), Surgutneftegaz (preference shares) (+2.99%) and Rosneft (+2.54%). These securities are among those comprising the calculation base of the MICEX Index.

Today, shares in Gazprom account for 12.3% in the MICEX Index, shares in Norilsk Nickel account for 11.92%, shares in Sberbank account for 11.90%, shares in Rosneft account for 9.78%, shares in RAO UES account for 9.59% and shares in LUKoil account for 9.18%. The proportion of securities comprising the MICEX Index in the total turnover in the share market on the MICEX Stock Exchange exceeds 98%, while the capitalization of securities comprising the basket of the MICEX Index amounts to over 80% of the capitalization of the exchange-based share market.