Company buoyant after boosting sales 50% y-o-y since January 2008

KYIV, Aug. 27, 2008 – CJSC Chumak, the largest producer of tomato-based products in Central and Eastern Europe, held a shareholders’ meeting Aug. 11 to establish an advisory board for the company; appoint board members and elect a board chairman.

Chumak shareholders are very pleased to announce that Dr. George Logush, vice-president of Kraft International and CEO of Kraft Foods Ukraine, has accepted an invitation to act as an independent chairman of the board for Chumak. Other advisory board members include company co-founder Johan Boden; Taras Lukachuk and Alexander Munteanu representing Dragon Capital; David Ostby representing East Capital, and Carl Sturen, managing director and co-founder of Chumak, who has also been named as a non-voting member of the board.

“The advisory board will play a key role in assisting company management in the formation and implementation of company strategy, providing optimum conditions for company growth and contributing to an increase in shareholder value with Chumak . These first few months of cooperation have proven that our investment in Chumak has not only met, but even surpassed our expectations,” said Mr. Lukachuk.

The shareholders’ meeting also approved Chumak’s results for 7M2008, a period in which the company boosted sales by 50% year-on-year, doubled its gross profit compared with 2007 and exceeded the full-year EBIT target for 2008 by 20%.

“We are very fortunate and pleased to have such broad expertise on our advisory board – people with proven backgrounds in leading FMCG food companies. Our joint efforts will enable Chumak to continue to grow and improve its performance and, in addition to developing Chumak’s core business activities, we will also pursue additional opportunities in Ukraine’s rapidly growing food-processing and agricultural sectors”, said Mr. Sturen of Chumak.

About Chumak
Chumak is one of Ukraine’s most well-known food companies thanks to its expertise in processing and marketing of natural, high-quality food products made in Kherson region, Ukraine’s agricultural heartland. The company is one of the largest producers of ketchup, mayonnaise, sauces, canned vegetables and pasta in Ukraine. Chumak, which was established in 1996 by Swedish businessmen Carl Sturen and Johan Boden, sells its products under the brand Chumak, which is today one of the country’s foremost FMCG brands. The company owns a state-of-the-art production facility and a logistics center in Kakhovka (Kherson region) and also has commercial offices in Kyiv, Minsk and Moscow, altogether employing 1,300 people.
www.chumak.com

About Dragon Capital
Dragon Capital is Ukraine’s largest securities brokerage, investment banking, private equity and asset management firm offering a full range of services to institutional, corporate and private clients. Established in 2000, the company is an independent, management-controlled partnership with a minority stake held by Goldman Sachs. Dragon Capital is the largest broker on the Ukrainian stock market, with a 30% market share in 2007. The firm has completed 27 IPOs and private placements for Ukrainian companies since 2006, raising $1.7bn, while its asset management arm has $1bn AUM. Financial magazine Euromoney has recognized Dragon Capital as the Best Equity House in Ukraine in 2002 and 2004-08 and Thomson Reuters Extel and Institutional Investor surveys have named Dragon Capital the leading Ukrainian equity research team in 2007 and 2008.
www.dragon-capital.com

About East Capital
East Capital is a leading independent asset manager specializing in Eastern European financial markets. Basing its investment strategy on thorough market knowledge, fundamental analysis and frequent company visits by its investment teams, East Capital actively manages €4.5bn in the East Capital universe, which spans 29 countries and encompasses more than 400 million people. East Capital is headquartered in Stockholm, with offices in Paris, Tallinn, Moscow, Oslo, Hong Kong, Milan and Vienna.
www.eastcapital.com