RAO UES Board of Directors to Discuss Profit Distribution

The board of directors of RAO UES is planning to discuss distributing profits received from the selling of some of the assets of the holding on October 25, the department for public and media relations of the energy monopolist reported. The agenda of the meeting also includes the discussion of the RAO UES budget for 2003, the implementation of the program for reducing the company's expenditures, the report on using the credit of the EBRD for constructing the Mutnovskaya Geothermal Power Plant, budget implementation in the third quarter of 2002 and the plan for the fourth quarter of 2002. Additionally, the directors are expected to discuss the concept of creating a non-commercial partnership 'The Innovation Foundation for the Development of the Electrical Energy Industry'.

In the opinion of analysts, the participants of the meeting will also discuss the payment of 80 to 100 percent of the holding's profits received from selling assets, to shareholders as dividends. Previously, they were planning to discuss allotting about 50 percent of these profits for paying dividends to shareholders. Meanwhile, analysts believe that even paying 80 percent of the profits to shareholders would not suffice, as in the event companies are unprofitable in their core activities, shareholders will not be able to receive their dividends.

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