OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2007. JSC Sistema-Hals (LSE, MICEX, RTS: HALS), a leading, diversified company in the Russian and CIS real estate market, announces the obtaining of the credit from VTB Bank.
   
VTB will provide Sistema-Hals with financing of up to U$200 million for a period of five years. These credit resources will be used to finance the company' s current investment programme.
   
JSC Sistema-Hals is a leading diversified company in the Russian and CIS real estate market. The core businesses of Sistema-Hals are development, project management and construction, and property and facilities management.
   
Sistema-Hals was the first Russian property developer to list its shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The company' s shares are also listed on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange and the Moscow Stock Exchange. Parent company Sistema holds a 71.1% stake and there is an 18% free float. Sistema-Hals is one of the largest companies by capitalisation operating in the real estate markets of central and Eastern Europe.
   
Since starting operations in 1994, Sistema-Hals has successfully completed more than 30 projects with a total area in excess of 265,000 square metres, including the headquarters of DaimlerChrysler, the Hals Tower office building, the headquarters of Trubnaya Metallurgical Company and a hotel for the MaMaison chain (Orco Property Group).
   
At present Sistema-Hals is constructing the Leningradsky Towers complex, which comprises two buildings, one of which will be the headquarters of Siemens in Moscow. It is also carrying out a complex redevelopment of the property portfolio of Moscow City Telephone Network, rebuilding the Hotel Peking and the flagship Children' s World toy store near Lubyanka Square, and pursuing a series of other projects.
   
Sistema-Hals has assembled a balanced and diversified portfolio of assets in fast-growing sectors of the market. The company strategy is focused on building Class A and B office space, mixed-use retail and office complexes, business-class homes, residential estates and land development.
   
Cushman & Wakefield valued Sistema-Hals' share of the properties and projects in its portfolio at USD 2,882mn as at 1 July 2007.