OREANDA-NEWS. August 1, 2008.  The Board of Directors of Novolipetsk Steel, NLMK (LSE: NLMK), the leading Russian steel producer, today recommended for the approval of shareholders an interim dividend in respect of the first six months of 2008 of RUR 2 per ordinary share (1 Global Depositary Share = 10 ordinary shares).

Payment of the dividend is subject to shareholders’ approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting of NLMK on 19 September 2008.  The payment procedure is exercised in accordance with the following cash dividend process:

- NLMK transfers funds for dividend payments on Global Depositary Shares (GDSs) to the depositary bank on 25 November 2008. Depositary bank sets payment date no later than 5 days after receipt of funds. Dividends on GDSs will be paid, by default, in U.S. dollars (USD) based on USD/RUR spot F/X rate on the day of currency conversion by the depositary bank.
- Dividends on ordinary shares are paid within three months after the approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting of NLMK.

The Board of Directors approved a record date for the half-yearly dividend of 2 August 2008 (00.00).