OREANDA-NEWS. OJSC “Magnit”, Russia's largest retailer (the “Company”; MICEX and LSE: MGNT) has signed the Declaration of mutual understanding and strategic cooperation with the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HIT A).

In connection with the Company's plans to optimize its logistics processes in the area of the product delivery from the EU countries to “Magnit” stores, the Declaration of mutual understanding and strategic cooperation (the Declaration) has been signed between OJSC “Magnit” and the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HITA) on December 20, 2013.

For the above purposes OJSC “Magnit” plans to set up a transport company in eastern Hungary with a fleet of up to 1,000 trucks and the relevant service infrastructure. As a result of its operations in Hungary the Company may create up to 1,500 new jobs.

It is important to note that the signing of the Declaration does not oblige the Company to realize the above listed plans but rather indicates the interest of both parties in the new forms of cooperation in order to meet the Company's logistics needs of the product delivery from the EU.

The choice of the country for the logistics cooperation was dictated by the combination of factors such as geographic location, cooperative attitude of the governmental authorities, general economic situation, labour market conditions, current transportation flows from the EU to Russia towards the Company's facilities.