Press release not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States

OJSC MMC “Norilsk Nickel” has mandated Citigroup and Morgan Stanley as joint bookrunners for a planned debut issuance of U.S. dollar denominated Eurobonds to be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions and following investor presentations, which are expected to begin next week.

The issuing entity of the Eurobonds will be Norilsk Nickel Finance Luxembourg S.A., a special purpose entity incorporated in Luxembourg, and the Eurobonds will be unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by OJSC MMC “Norilsk Nickel”.  The Eurobonds will be offered to investors outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  The proceeds of the issue will be used for general corporate purposes.

S&P and Moody's recently published corporate credit ratings of BB and Ba1, respectively, for OJSC MMC “Norilsk Nickel”, representing the highest credit ratings to date for any Russian private sector corporate.  Additionally, Moody’s has assigned a senior unsecured issuer rating of Ba2.

OJSC MMC “Norilsk Nickel” is the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, and a major producer of platinum, copper and cobalt.  Following a number of acquisitions in Russia, OJSC MMC “Norilsk Nickel” is also one of the ten largest gold producers in the world and the largest in Russia.

Stabilisation: FSA/IPMA

These materials do not constitute an offer of any securities for sale in the United States, nor may the securities be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration as provided in the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder.  No securities are being registered for offer or sale in the United States and no public offering of the securities in the United States will be made.

This announcement is being distributed only to, and is directed at (a) persons outside the United Kingdom, (b) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments who fall within Article 19(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2001 (the “Order”) or (c) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(1) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The securities are available only to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be available only to or will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.

This press release is not a public offer or advertisement of securities in the Russian Federation, and is not an offer, or an invitation to make offers, to purchase any securities in the Russian Federation.

Forward-looking statements.  Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of OJSC MMC “Norilsk Nickel.”  We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and future performance involves risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that we cannot predict with certainty.  Accordingly, our actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what we have expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements.  We do not intend to update these statements to make them conform with actual results.