OREANDA-NEWS. March 09, 2011. VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP), a leading international provider of telecommunications services, announced that its Supervisory Board declared the payment of a dividend of USD 0.19 per American depositary share (“ADS”) in relation to its interim 2010 results.  Each ADS represents one common share.  The total interim dividend payment will be approximately USD 250 million.  In December 2010, the Company paid a USD 600 million dividend relating to its interim 2010 results, and the Company expects to pay an additional dividend in relation to its final 2010 results later this year.

Alexander Izosimov, the CEO of VimpelCom, commented: “This interim dividend reflects the financial strength of the company and further underscores the fact that while we continue to build our growth platform we are committed to maximizing total returns to our shareholders through strict adherence to our dividend policy. We will also continue to assess opportunities for special dividends in the future.”

The record date for the Company’s shareholders entitled to receive interim dividends has been set for March 17, 2011.  The Company will make appropriate tax withholdings of up to 15% when the dividend is paid to the Company’s ADS depositary, The Bank of New York Mellon.  The dividend will be paid by the Company before March 31, 2011.

VimpelCom Ltd. consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The VimpelCom Ltd. group is headquartered in Amsterdam and has operations in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Cambodia, covering territory with a total population of about 345 million. VimpelCom Ltd. operating companies provide services under the “Beeline” and “Kyivstar” brands. VimpelCom Ltd.’s ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VIP”.

This press release contains “forward-looking statements”, as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements relate to the Company’s expectation to pay a dividend in relation to its final 2010 results. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s best assessment of the Company’s strategic and financial position and of future market conditions and trends. These discussions involve risks and uncertainties. The actual outcome may differ materially from these statements as a result of continued volatility in the economies in the markets in which the Company operates, unforeseen developments from competition, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries, general political uncertainties in the markets in which the Company operates and/or litigation with third parties. The actual outcome may also differ materially if the Company is unable to obtain all necessary corporate approvals relating to its business, if the Company is unable to successfully integrate its Ukrainian operations and other newly-acquired businesses and other factors. There can be no assurance that such risks and uncertainties will not have a material adverse effect on the Company. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any forward-looking statements include the risk factors described in VimpelCom’s proxy statement furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under cover of Form 6-K on February 15, 2011, the risk factors described in the Company’s registration statement on Form F-4 filed with the SEC, OJSC VimpelCom’s public filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009, and other public filings made by the Company with the SEC, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. The Company disclaims any obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly any revision to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments.