What 2021 like for one of the largest investment companies in Russia: TAIF sums up the results

New international partners are planned

The year 2021 was full of meetings with business partners. Although due to the difficult epidemiological situation in the world, part of the negotiations took place remotely — via video conferencing. In February, the dialogue with the management of Siemens Energy took place via videoconferencing. The key topic of the conversation was the ongoing project for the construction of the CCGT-TPP for Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

The meeting participants noted the importance of the project for both sides. The president of Siemens Energy, Christian Bruch, highlighted the special importance of the successful completion of the project.

In April, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between TAIF JSC and the Italian company Maire Technimont. The document was signed by Farid Minigulov, CEO of Kazanorgsintez PJSC, Giovanni Sale, Senior Vice President, Group Corporate Strategy and Regional Vice President at Maire Tecnimont, and Ramil Mavlyutov, CEO of Tatarstan trading company.

On August 5, and already in Milan, another signing took place: Kazanorgsintez PJSC defined Italian Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. as the contractor for the project of the new production of ethylene and vinyl acetate copolymers. According to the main contract, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. under the terms of the EP contract (engineering and equipment purchase) undertakes to build and put into operation the new production of EVA polymers with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year in Kazan in 40 months. The total preliminary cost of the contract is 130 million euros.

A little earlier — in May 2021, the management of TAIF JSC also discussed the prospects of cooperation with representatives of the top management of the Chinese National Chemical Engineering and Construction Corporation CC7. Among the projects in which the Chinese side expressed readiness to participate, TAIF plans to build a methanol production facility with a capacity of 500 thousand tonnes per year and a carbon black production plant with a raw material capacity of 216 thousand tonnes per year.

China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in tandem with China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Corporation (HQC) also expressed significant interest in building business relations with TAIF. Negotiations with their leadership took place in June.

Companies from China, Europe, Korea and Japan were applicants for the contract for the construction of the new polypropylene production with a design capacity of 480 thousand tonnes per year. As a result, it was the Chinese company that offered the best conditions. On August 6, a trilateral framework agreement and three contracts were signed at the central office of TAIF JSC: for the provision of services for the design of a unit based on Spheripoll technology and the supply of documentation, for the purchase and supply of equipment, as well as for the provision of technical consulting services. China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Co., Ltd. (HQC) (Beijing) is the main subcontractor of CMEC for design.

In June, a dialogue took place between the management of TAIF JSC and Korean corporations Samsung C&T and Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd. The topic for discussion was the implementation of projects within TAIF Group companies' Development Strategy for the period up to 2030. In particular, the upcoming construction of units for the production of ethylbenzene, styrene and olefin metathesis for Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC. The parties also discussed the possibility of attracting financial resources from the Korean side on a competitive basis for the implementation of projects of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC and Kazanorgsintez PJSC.

Uzbekistan also demonstrates the determination to build long-term business relations with TAIF. Chairman of the management board of Uzkimyosanoat JSC Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov arrived in Tatarstan to offer TAIF to take part in the petrochemical projects implemented in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan aims to build direct contacts for the purchase of imports of polyethylene, polypropylene, synthetic rubbers and other petrochemical products. But Uzbekistan is even more interested in TAIF's experience in organising large-scale production.

TAIF — for Tatarstan

Actively investing in its own development, TAIF JSC remains a socially responsible business, paying much attention to issues aimed at improving the comfort of life of the population of the republic. Over the course of its history, the Group's companies have invested more than 10 billion US dollars in the implementation of socially significant programmes and in charity. Hundreds of objects have been built at TAIF's expense: residential buildings, sports and medical facilities, historical objects of regional, Russian and world significance have been restored, various public spaces have been improved. And this work continues.

With the direct participation of TAIF Group's companies, numerous sports and social facilities are built, modernised and maintained in proper condition. Sponsorship is provided to historical and cultural objects, scientific centres, healthcare system and printing industry in Tatarstan, as well as to fellow countrymen outside the republic.

TAIF JSC carefully treats the preservation of history. In March of this year, at the initiative of Director General of JSC TAIF Ruslan Shigabutdinov, the calendar of 1941 was recreated. The original edition for the museum of military glory, working with historical documents, was discovered by the leader of Neftekhimik search party, Olga Lantsova. Is it any wonder that the handover of the copies of the book that still smelled of printing ink, which was given a second life, to the libraries of Nizhnekamsk took place on the site of the museum.

The parcel weighing more than 200 kg, fully formed from books, in honour of the 15th anniversary of the Sakhalin educational and cultural centre Tugan Tel has been sent this year by TAIF to Sakhalin. The reason for this was a letter sent to the company's management. With the approval and support of Director General of TAIF JSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov and the company's shareholders, dozens of books in Russian, Tatar, English and Arabic were selected on behalf of Tatarstan and the TAIF Group. The shipment included, among other things, the books such as the seven-volume “History of the Tatars Since Ancient Times”, the six-volume “Tatarstan: Strength is in Unity!”, colorful photo albums about the history and rich culture of Tatarstan, publications about the sons of the people such as Abdrakhman Gumari, the Ramiev brothers, Gaziz Gubaydullin, Shigabutdin Mardzhani, Mintimer Shaimiev, Rustam Minnikhanov, etc., as well as the publications “Mosques of Tatarstan”, “Temples of Tatarstan”, “Kazan Kremlin”, “Tatar Cuisine” and much more.

For many years, TAIF Group companies have been supporting the development of amateur and professional sports. Neftekhimik hockey club and Rubin and Neftekhimik football clubs receive serious support. The active interaction of TAIF JSC with the Russian Football Union continues. In the past year, Tatarstan has twice met the legends of Russian football — ex-players of the national team. For the first time they came to the republic in May and held a football lesson for 300 Kazan boys and girls on the field of the stadium Trudovye Rezervy.

In October, the famous players returned to Tatarstan again, but this time as part of a much larger project of the RFU — the rally “Our Guys” in support of the main football team of the country. Together with TAIF, they held football lessons in all the largest cities of the republic: Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk, Bugulma, Almetyevsk, Chistopol and Kazan.

Kazanorgsintez PJSC has been a permanent sponsor of Sintez water polo team since its foundation, which over the years has grown into the Sintez water sports club, unique for the republic and the country. And the club reciprocates. In the outgoing year, Sintez water polo team became the champion of Russia for the second time in a row. It is worth noting that it is a hundred times more difficult to keep the bar and regain the right to climb to the highest step of the podium than to do it for the first time.

The achievement of swimmer Alexander Krasnykh — relay silver of the Olympic Games in Tokyo — a pupil of the Kazan aquatics club Sintez became a pride not only for Tatarstan, but also for Russia as a whole.

For many years TAIF JSC has supported medical institutions of the republic. Including the Children's Republican Clinical Hospital. On June 1, at the celebration dedicated to the International Children's Day, the hospital management handed over a letter of thanks to its benefactors.

“The administration of the Children's Republican Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan expresses its deep respect and gratitude to you and your team for the systematic assistance. Your support for children in difficult life situations is of great importance. Thank you for your human cordiality, mercy, sensitive attitude to sick children, and for your ability to empathise. During the period of infectious chaos in the world, we especially thank you for your desire to surround the lives of families in need of social support and protection with warmth and care," the head physician of the Children's Republican Clinical Hospital, Ayrat Ziatdinov, addressed words of gratitude to Director General of TAIF JSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov and, in his person, to the entire team of thousands of enterprises of the Group.

In 2021, TAIF JSC companies continued to provide hospitals in the republic and neighbouring regions with oxygen vital for COVID-19 patients. The antiseptic developed by Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC is produced, medical masks and material for their tailoring are produced. The deadly disease continues to pose a threat to the population, and a responsible business has no right to reduce the pace and volume of production of products so necessary to resist the infection.

At the end of July, the solemn consecration of the recreated Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God took place in Kazan. TAIF JSC provided a significant financial support to the holy cause. The Russian Orthodox Church appreciated the deeds. On the day of the consecration of the temple, Patriarch Kirill, who arrived at the celebration, awarded the chairman of the Board of Directors of TAIF JSC with the Order of Glory and Honour of the III degree.

Rustam Minnikhanov also noted the active participation of TAIF JSC in the cause of God. “The reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God serves the noble cause of restoring historical justice, developing spirituality and strengthening traditional values. By reviving our religious shrines, we not only pay tribute to the past, but also create the future. It is gratifying that your activity is a vivid example of this!” the president of Tatarstan says in his Letter of Thanks.

In September, Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC became a partner of SIBUR PetroChemSkills industry championship held by SIBUR Holding PJSC. Nizhnekamsk became one of the five cities hosting the second competition of petrochemical industry professionals. Later it passed the baton to Tyumen, Tobolsk, Tomsk and St. Petersburg. Young masters representing Kazanorgsintez PJSC also took part in the tournament.

Another important event for the scientific community was also not without the participation of TAIF JSC. With the sponsorship of the company, a limited edition (only 300 copies) of the monograph “Fractal elements: pioneering constructive and technological implementations” was released in the outgoing year.

The book, which has absorbed the concentrate of scientific thought for more than half a century, is a printed monument to the founder of the Kazan (and world) scientific school of Fractional Operators, Professor of the KAI Rashid Nigmatullin, who would have turned exactly 100 years old in 2023. The monograph has already been sent to the world's leading scientific libraries.

TAIF companies throughout their activities provide sponsorship and charitable support to educational and children's institutions, universities and colleges, cultural and art figures, book publishers. Social construction is being carried out at the expense and with the participation of TAIF. Significant assistance is provided to the agro-industrial complex of the republic. Tens of thousands of demanded and well-paid jobs have been created in contracting, subcontracting organisations involved in the implementation of TAIF investment projects. And this is not to mention multibillion-dollar investments in projects for the preservation of the environment and renovation of natural objects.

More than $10 billion already invested by the Group's companies in the implementation of socially significant programmes aimed at improving the quality of life of the population of the republic and Russia is what has already been done. It is difficult to overestimate TAIF's contribution to the economy of Tatarstan and Russia as a whole. It remains one of the main taxpayers and a source of replenishment of the republic's budget. There are even more ambitious production plans ahead, which means that economic results will be higher, and there will be more opportunities for the implementation of the most daring, important and necessary projects in the social sphere.

Returning to the key event of the year — the merger of TAIF JSC and SIBUR Holding PJSC, at all stages of the development of the transaction, its participants have repeatedly noted and emphasised: the merger of the businesses means combining forces and opportunities in the development of the economic potential of the parties becoming one powerful company. And this means even more opportunities, including for solving the most important socially significant tasks in the interests of residents of both the regions of presence and the state as a whole.