The FINANCIAL Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP), on November 2 announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved convocation of an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company to vote on an interim dividend payment based on the operating results for the nine months ending on September 30, 2009 (the “Shareholders Meeting”).
The Shareholders Meeting will be held on December 17, 2009.
The Board recommended that the Shareholders Meeting approve interim dividends based on the operating results for the nine months ending on September 30, 2009 (calculated in accordance with Russian statutory accounting principles) in the amount of RUR 190.13 per common share of VimpelCom stock (or approximately US$0.32 per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) based on the Russian Central Bank exchange rate as of September 30, 2009), amounting to a total of approximately RUR 9.75 billion (or approximately US$324 million based on the Russian Central Bank exchange rate as of September 30, 2009), to be payable within 60 days of the approval at the Shareholders Meeting. The record date for the Company’s shareholders entitled to participate in the Shareholders Meeting and to receive interim dividends has been set for November 12, 2009. The approval of the shareholders owning more than 50% of the voting shares represented at the Shareholders Meeting is required for the payment of dividends by VimpelCom. If the dividends are approved by the requisite majority at the Shareholders Meeting, VimpelCom will, in accordance with Russian tax legislation, withhold a tax of up to 15% on the dividend amount when payable. The exact amount of the withholding will vary depending on the recipient’s legal status and jurisdiction.
Further details on the agenda and other issues related to the Shareholders Meeting will be made available through an official notice to be distributed by VimpelCom to its shareholders prior to the Shareholders Meeting.
The VimpelCom Group consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of mobile, fixed and broadband technologies. The VimpelCom Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine , Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Vietnam and Cambodia, in territories with a total population of about 340 million. VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). VimpelCom's ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbol "VIP".
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