1st level ADR of OJSC North-West Telecom have passed listing at the Berlin and Frankfurt stock exchanges as a result of meeting the requirements of the stock exchanges to issuers.

Starting from the 31st of March 2005 1st level depositary receipts of NWT for common shares will be quoted in the free market (Freiverkehr) segment, in which regulation is less rigid.   The free market segment makes it possible to introduce foreign securities to the European market without additional disclosure of financial accounts or reports according to the requirements of the local legislation.  

Listing of shares at the German stock exchanges will significantly expand the range of possibilities for foreign investors interested in work with North-West Telecom’s securities and will lead to an increase of the number of freely circulating shares.   Before, transactions with NWT’s ADR were effected only in the US off-exchange market.

Corporate Governance Deputy General Manager of North-West Telecom Nikolay Bredkov commented on the event as follows:  ‘Increasing the number of trading sites, including international ones, where market players can  freely make transactions with securities of OJSC North-West Telecom is part of the strategy for the development of the Company’s securities secondary market. Thus, during 2004 common and preferred shares of NWT were included in the listing of the major Russia’s stock exchange venues MMVB and FB RTS.

The Company is also setting the goal of maintaining the liquidity of ADR in German stock exchanges in the future. For that purpose, Berliner Freiverkehr (Aktien) AG, one of the leading banks of Germany specializing in the support of the secondary market of securities of foreign issuers at stock exchanges of Germany, has been selected as the market-maker.  

International codes assigned to ADR of North-West Telecom: ( Severo - Zapadniy Telekom ADR ’ s ):

ISIN: US6633161079

WKN: A0BLXU

RIC: <SQ4.BE > ( Berlin SE ), <SQ4.F> ( Frankfurt SE )

778,995 common shares of OJSC NWT have been converted into ADR, which is 4.4% of the total number of the common shares. The J.P. Morgan Bank is the depositary bank under the 1st Level ADR Programme. The conversion ratio corresponds to 50 common shares of the company per receipt.   The total number of the shares, in respect of which a permission has been obtained for admission to circulation outside the RF, is 536,718,850 (over 60% of the total number of common shares).      

Note. The issue of 1st Level ADR is registered for the already existing shares, does not provide for an issue of new shares, nor serves as a tool for attracting funds.