Siemens and Russian company sign agreement

The Sistema (System) financial shareholding company and Siemens AG have signed a strategic-partnership agreement, which charts specific cooperation principles and bilateral-partnership guidelines, reads a Sistema press release, which was received by RIA Novosti here today.

This document was inked during the July 8 German-Russian business conference. President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder attended the signing ceremony.

Siemens AG board chairman Heinrich von Pierer and his Sistema counterpart Vladimir Yevtushenkov affixed their signatures.

The new agreement aims to expand bilateral strategic partnership still further, the press release goes on to say.

The agreement charts bilateral-cooperation principles and all the main partnership guidelines, such as telecommunications and information technologies, automation technologies, technical equipment of buildings, micro-electronics, medical equipment, the power industry, production of industrial-equipment sets, industrial automation, transport technology, traffic-control equipment, household appliances, as well as other spheres of mutual interest, the document notes.

Siemens AG and Sistema had signed their first cooperation agreement in 1999.

The Sistema financial shareholding company is Russia's largest legal entity, which doesn't operate inside the raw-materials sector. At present Sistema owns and manages a diversified investment portfolio comprising enterprises from different economic sectors. Sistema boasts its most substantial assets in telecommunications, electronics, insurance and real estate. Moreover, Sistema continues to expand such sectors as tourism, trade, finance and others. As of late 2003, Sistema's total consolidated assets stood at $6.84 billion, what with the company netting profits to the tune of $3.76 billion. Vladimir Yevtushenkov became the main corporate shareholder in 1993, also serving as Sistema's board chairman since 1993.