7.12.2007

First program to be the Altimo Foundation Vietnam Scholarship Project
07 December 2007

Altimo, the leading $30 billion international telecoms investment group, announced today its intention to create Altimo Foundation as a global non-profit entity to manage social investment programs on behalf of Altimo. The Altimo Foundation with headquarters in London will aim to promote cultural interaction and the communication of values between East and West with a commitment to supporting social cohesion and business expertise within developing economies.

Upon establishing the Altimo Foundation, Altimo today also announces the entity’s first educational program, the Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project, which will sponsor twelve Vietnamese students to study abroad. Two of the chosen students will study at the top business school INSEAD in France, with the other ten students being offered places at one of Moscow’s leading technical universities to study telecommunications.

A national contest is announced today in Hanoi, Vietnam, to be co-organized by Altimo and the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. The first Altimo students will start their courses in September 2008 with each student studying courses that will fit the profile of industry needs to ensure graduating students will be highly employable. A steering committee comprising Altimo executives, representative of the Committee on Overseas Training Project of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, and the academic community will be established to oversee and advise upon the development and structure of the Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project.

"We feel that this is a very clear way of investing in the future of Vietnam", said Kirill Babaev, CEO of the Altimo Foundation. «Following our entry into the Vietnamese market in 2006, we have supported the spread of Vietnamese culture through the sponsorship of Vietnamese cultural exhibitions around the world. The Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project is the next step in our journey of investing in Vietnam. With the rapid development of the Vietnamese economy, the country will increasingly need skilled business talent that can bring global standards in business management and innovation back to Vietnam to help its social and economic development. We intend for the program to be a long-term commitment as we work in partnership with the Vietnamese government to harness the potential of its local talent.

"The Altimo Foundation will soon be formally launched and it will manage several programs such as the Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project to develop better cultural understanding and knowledge transfer between East and West in the fields of culture, science, education, healthcare and business. We intend to announce further details of The Altimo Foundation in the near future, together with the appointment of a Chairman to lead the Foundation’s work".

Mr. Truong Duy Phuc, Director of the Committee on Overseas Training Project of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam commented, "Vietnam has achieved tremendous success in restructuring its educational system over the past few years, to build the basis for our future growth as a nation. As we face the many challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, it is essential that we continue our reforms to promote the opportunity of higher level education. Our co-operation with Altimo is a significant project and offers an example of how major corporations can genuinely invest into their communities, for the benefit of all. We look forward to working with Altimo on this project and additional future opportunities to promote the social and economic development of Vietnam."

Altimo actively manages the economic, social and environmental impact of its activities, and creates long-terms benefits by working with local communities, government organizations and other key stakeholders. Since entering the Vietnamese market in 2006, Altimo has been involved in on-going cultural initiatives including an exhibition of Vietnamese artists in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, home to the world’s most extensive collection of Russian art, as well as recent Vietnamese Cultural Shows in London and Stockholm.

About Altimo

Altimo specializes in telecoms investments in Russia, the CIS and Asia. Its asset portfolio is worth $30 billion, its stakes include: 44% of the voting interest of VimpelCom, one of Russia’s two biggest mobile phone companies (New York Stock Exchange listed: VIP); 25.1% of MegaFon, the third largest GSM provider in Russia; 43.5% of Kievstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile phone company; 26.6% of Golden Telecom, Russia and Ukraine’s leading fixed line operator (NASDAQ listed: GLDN); 13,22% of Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile company (NYSE listed: TKC); 100% of Sky Mobile, the largest mobile provider in Kyrgyzstan; and 90% of Sotelco, a Cambodian mobile operator. Together, Altimo’s investee companies have more than 160 million mobile phone subscribers.

Altimo is focused on making new investments in high growth emerging markets, notably in South East Asia, as well as looking at the possibility of forming a strategic partnership with a Western European mobile operating company to jointly develop new opportunities in emerging markets.

Sponsorship & Cultural Initiatives in 2007

• Altimo sponsored the Opening Concert of the Annual Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm played by Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (August).
• Altimo organized a European tour of the Vietnamese Water Puppet Theatre (Hanoi), with public performances in Stockholm and London (September).
• Altimo proceeded with the second issue of the Altimo Index originally elaborated in cooperation between three major business schools in Moscow and London (first edition was published in March 2007).
• Altimo sponsored an Exhibition of Modern Vietnamese Art as part of the Vietnamese PM visit to Moscow (September).
• Altimo, together with the Russian Embassy in Jakarta, co-sponsored an Exhibition of Russian Cultural Heritage during President Putin’s visit to Indonesia (September).
• Altimo was the official sponsor of the If Stockholm’s Open ATP tournament (October).
• Altimo was the general sponsor to the Istanbul exhibition dedicated to the Turkish famous medieval poet and philosopher Mevlana (November).