12-14 February 2007
Marriott Grand Hotel, Moscow

10% Discount for MEsteel Members

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This year’s 3 -day conference programme with 40+ outstanding speakers has been designed to cover all the key strategic issues facing the CIS metals industry today.

Speakers already confirmed include:

The CIS Metals Producers & Metals Servicing Companies: ChTPZ Group, Comtech, Estar Holding, Evrazholding, INPROM, Khartsysky Pipe Works, MAIR Group, Mechel, Metalloinvest , MMK Managing Company, Rusal, Severstal - Invest, Severstal –Resurs, Sokolov-Sarabay Mining and Metal-Enriching Company, Souyzmetalresource, Steel Industrial Company , TMK and UGMK Holding.

International Metals Corporations: Arcelor Distribution, Aricom plc, Bundesverband Deutscher Stahlhandel, CVRD International S.A., Mittal Steel Kryvyi Rih, Nippon Steel Corporation, ThyssenKrupp.

Industry Experts & Regulators: Fitch Ratings, International Financial Corporation, Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau, Koch & Trading, KSLP, Ministry of Industrial Policy in Ukraine

Issues for discussion at this forthcoming event include:

• Key characteristics of the market and growth projections for selected sectors (ferrous, non-ferrous, tube and pipe industries)
• Growth strategies for export markets. International trade dynamics: import and export figures, pricing trends, emerging products, emerging markets
• Special focus on metal companies sales policies. Overview of metal servicing companies development.
• Challenges and opportunities for reducing costs, simplifying supply chain and increasing efficiency for metal production and mining operations.
• Case Studies on investing into expansion and technological modernization of production facilities
• Analysis of recent M&A activities
• Case studies on building optimal financial strategy for metal companies
• Price volatility and its consequences for steel production and trading.
• Spotlight on raw materials sourcing for ferrous and non-ferrous metals industries
• Welded, seamless and non-ferrous tube and pipe industries in the CIS: current state and development prospects.

Special Features Include:

• Special Focus Day - Delivering on Strategic and Investment Objectives: a whole day entirely devoted to case studies, best practices and strategies for success for investing into efficiency improvements, modernization of production facilities, and for building optimal financial strategies to support expansion plans.
• Spotlight on Raw Materials Sourcing: this spotlight session will be run in two parallel streams, providing the opportunity to hear in-depth analysis of optimal sourcing strategies for both the non-ferrous and the ferrous metals industries.
• Spotlight on Optimizing Sales Policy: the session  will focus on building up a professional sales office network in CIS markets and the competition between independent servicing companies and steel company trading houses.
• In-depth Session on Growth Strategies for Export Markets with analysis of existing opportunities in Asian markets, in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

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PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME

DAY ONE: Monday, 12th February 2007

08:45 Registration and refreshments

09:30 Chairman’s welcome and opening remarks

DELIVERING ON STRATEGIC AND INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES

09:40 SESSION ONE – Part I: Investing in Operational Excellence
• How to build effective operations in terms of both scale and product quality? Opportunities for reducing costs, simplifying supply chains and increasing efficiency for metals production and mining operations
• Record production business model: should strategies always be geared towards increasing volumes? Addressing the issue of commodity vs. quality
• CASE STUDY: investing into expansion and the technological modernization of production facilities. Targeting a reduction in energy consumption

- Igor Vier, Vice-President for Commerce, MMK Managing Company
- Konstantin Semerikov, General Director, TMK
- Andrey Saltanov, General Director, Estar
- Victor Makushin, President, MAIR Group

11:00 Morning Coffee and Networking Break

11:30 SESSION ONE – Part II: Investing in Operational Excellence
• Growth through effectively executing projects. CASE STUDY: developing the culture of quality and efficiency
• CASE STUDY: improving efficiency by the higher utilisation of available capacity and brownfield capacity growth
• CASE STUDY: improving corporate governance and board efficiency issues

- Vitaly Sadikov, General Director, ChTPZ Group
- Irina Kibina, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations Director, Evrazholding
- Senior representative, Rusal
- Jay Hambro, Chief Executive Officer, Aricom

13:00 Luncheon

INVESTMENT AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

14:00 SESSION TWO: Corporate Strategic Investments
• What are the factors driving vertical integration in the industry? Analysing consolidation on a national level. Evaluating the economic rationale for international expansion and foreign acquisitions.
CASE STUDY: building a fully self-sufficient vertically-integrated holding company
• Why is steel becoming more attractive for investors? How quickly will the steel industry consolidate? Analysis of recent M&A activities
• Analysing alternative opportunities for expansion (other than acquisition): joint ventures vs. greenfield investments

- Maxim Basov, 1st Deputy General Director, Metalloinvest
- Frank Pannier, General Manager, Mergers and Acquisitions, Mittal Steel Kryvyi Rih
- Geoff Cowley, Chief Executive Officer, Souyzmetalresource (Basic Element Holding)

15:15 Afternoon Tea and Networking Break

15:45 SESSION THREE: Investment Strategy and Sources of Financing
• How can successful strategies, focused on improving company efficiency, increase company value and influence the perceptions of financial market and rating agencies?
• What are the traditional sources of financing for the industry?
CASE STUDY: building an optimal financial strategy for a metals company
• Overview of capital markets development: how are CIS metal companies using the capital markets to raise money? Planned IPO placements: opportunities and forecasts. Analysis of current investor appetite for exposure to the CIS metals sector
• The role of both international and local banks in financing the sector.
CASE STUDY: prospects for project financing in the CIS metals industry
• CASE STUDY: the role of strategic investors in supporting the CIS metals industry

- Anton Vishanenko, Senior Vice President – Finance, Mechel
- Eric Louvert, Senior Officer, Business Development, BNP Paribas
- Paulina McGroarty, Managing Director, NASDAQ
- Rufat Alimardanov, Principal Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation
- Angelina Valavina, Director, Corporates, Fitch Ratings

17:45 Chairman’s Summation of Day One

18:00 Welcome Drinks Reception

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09:30 Chairman’s opening address

OPTIMIZING MARKET OPERATIONS

09:40 SESSION FOUR: Current Opportunities in the CIS Metals Market –Trends and Forecasts
• Local market trends and developments: how far can CIS companies’ domestic distribution activities benefit from strong economic growth?
• Key characteristics of the market and growth projections for selected sectors (ferrous, non-ferrous, tube and pipe industries). What is the role of integrated holding companies in developing the potential of the industry?
• Overview of domestic market demand: how are the construction, housing and automotive industries driving domestic consumption?
CASE STUDY: what impact will changing trends in the automotive sector have on suppliers in the steel, aluminium and other metals industries?
• What are the prospects for steelmakers in the construction industry?
• Assessing the potential of other end-user industries and adjusting the product mix to meet new market demands

- Josef Marous, General Manager, Russia, ThyssenKrupp
- Gennady Skopov, Deputy Technical Director, UGMK Holding
- Dmitry Kolesnikov, First Deputy Minister, Ukrainian Ministry of Industrial Policy
- Yuriy Eliseev, President, All-Russian Association of Metal

11:00 Morning Coffee and Networking Break

11:30 SESSION FIVE: Growth Strategies for Export Markets
• Keynote Speech: The CIS metals industry in the context of the global market
• International trade dynamics: import and export figures, pricing trends, emerging products, emerging markets. What impact will WTO accession have on the export policies of CIS metal producers?
• Trade wars and trade restrictions: analysing the latest developments in steel quotas, tariffs and anti-dumping measures. Europe & the USA: overview of current trading activity and future trends
• Will rising demand for more sophisticated products increase the need for further downstream processing and distribution?
CASE STUDY: securing export markets by investing in high quality downstream production
• Can Russian steel still compete in Asian markets? To what extent is China’s growing steel industry threatening the position of CIS companies in international markets? China’s significance as a consumer in the global market
• Capturing growth opportunities in new export markets.
CASE STUDY: opportunities for Russian steel sales in the Middle East and Africa

- Takayoshi Nakano, Head of European Representative Office, Nippon Steel Corporation
- Juergen Nusser, General Director, Bundesverband Deutscher Stahlhandel and Vice President, Eurometal
- Aleksander Sorokin, Director of Overseas Operations, Evrazholding

13:00 Luncheon

14:15 SESSION SIX: Special Focus on Sales Policy
• Keynote Speech: International player perspective - how to successfully shape distribution networks to adapt to the growth of regional economies and changing demand structure
CASE STUDY: how to achieve growth in volumes by aligning marketing activities to reflect different customers requirements?
CASE STUDY: acquiring preferred supplier status and building customer loyalty
• CASE STUDY: building up a professional sales office network in CIS markets
• The development of metal servicing companies. Analysis of the competition between independent servicing companies and steel company trading houses in national markets. Will the biggest servicing companies become a likely target for acquisition for both local and global steel producers in the next 2-3 years?
• Optimizing transport and logistic operations to keep up with increased sales volumes

- Jacques Dham, CEO, Arcelor Distribution
- Igor Konovalov, CEO, INPROM
- Aleksander Morozov, General Director, Severstal - Invest
- Aleksander Rubtsov, General Director, Comtech
- Alexey Suhknev, General Director, Steel Industrial Company

16:00 Afternoon Tea and Networking Break

16:30 SESSION SEVEN: Effective Pricing and Margin Management
• Overview of the supply and demand balance for key commodities including steel, stainless steel and aluminum. How significantly does price volatility influence profitability of steel production and trading?
• How to manage pricing and margins effectively during periods of high price volatility? What financial tools are available to help manage price risk?
• How to maintain financial stability during periods of high capital investment?
• How to deal with the unpredictable cost of raw materials?

- Steve Mackrell, Director, Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau
- Alexander Kouznetsov, Business Development Director, Koch Supply & Trading

17:45 Chairman’s Summation of Day Two

18:00 Gala Drinks Reception

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09:30 Registration and refreshments

10:00 Chairman’s opening address

10:10 SESSION EIGHT: Spotlight on Raw Materials Sourcing
Session Eight will be run in two parallel streams, providing the opportunity to hear real in-depth analysis of both the ferrous and non-ferrous mining industries and to discuss all the burning issues of the day. Delegates may move freely between the sessions.

Stream A:
Raw Materials for the Ferrous Metals Industry Optimal Sourcing Strategies
• How competitive is the CIS ferrous metals industry in the global market in terms of the scale, diversity and the quality of its resources?
• CASE STUDY: àcquisitions of high quality upstream assets as a means of controlling raw material costs
• The iron ore market in the CIS: current trends and future prospects; production costs and quality issues. What impact will the changing structure of the global iron ore market have on CIS companies?
• HBI / DRI and Pig Iron: overview of production, consumption and trade developments
• Scrap: what role does the CIS play in the global scrap market? How does growing steel-making capacity drive demand for scrap and influence price volatility?
• Outlook and pricing forecast for the metallurgical coal market. Overview of steelmakers’ investments in coke capacity to increase self-sufficiency
• Addressing infrastructure development and logistics issues

Stream B:
Raw Materials for the Non-Ferrous Industry Exploration and Mining Development
• How essential is it to invest in raw material assets to create a strong, stable operating base?
• CASE STUDY: increasing investments in non-ferrous metal resources by acquiring equity positions in exploration and mining projects
• CASE STUDY: forming joint ventures with Western partners as an effective sourcing strategy
• CASE STUDY: is it essential for CIS companies to become global operators in order to stay competitive?
• CASE STUDY of a successful exploration and mining project (Copper/ Zinc/Titanium)
• What are current environmental considerations in mineral exploration, and in the processing and transportation of mineral resources?

13:00 Luncheon

14:15 SESSION NINE: Tube and Pipe Industry Development
• An overview of the welded, seamless and non-ferrous tube and pipe industry in the CIS: current status and development prospects
• What are the main challenges that CIS companies face in international markets? Analysing the growing competition from China, recent antidumping investigations and trading issues between Russia and Ukraine
• An overview of domestic market consumption. What are the prospects for further development of the local market? Will the market demand for OCTG and line pipe products, fuelled by growing energy prices, remain high in the next few years?
• CASE STUDY: leveraging market growth by investing in the modernisation of production facilities both to increase capacity and improve pipe quality
• CASE STUDY: enhancing the product portfolio by shifting towards value-added products to meet future market requirements and achieve higher margins
• Will CIS steel tube/pipe companies become a target for investors in the next few years?

16:00 Chairman’s Conclusions

16:10 Close of the Summit

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Marriott Grand Hotel
Tel: + 7 495 937 0000
Fax: + 7 495 937 0055

The conference will take place in the Archangelsky Room in the Marriott Grand Hotel.

A special accommodation rate has been negotiated for conference participants at the hotel:

Deluxe Single or Double Room: 11488 rubles (approx 440 USD)

The above rate is all inclusive of service but excluding Russian Federation tax, currently 18%. These rates can only be guaranteed for bookings made prior to the January 19, 2007. The hotel charges a 5% Sales Tax on top of the room rate when paying by either cash or credit card. Payment by Bank Transfer will not incur these charges. One Full Buffet Breakfast is included in the above rate.