Moscow Exchange signs charity cooperation agreements
On 28 May, Moscow Exchange hosted a roundtable on Corporate Social Responsibility. Roundtable participants included Chulpan Khamatova, co-founder of Gift of Life; Ingeborga Dapkunaite, fundraising council co-chair of Vera; Daria Lisichenko, President of ORBI; as well as Alexander Afanasiev, CEO of Moscow Exchange and other members of the management team.
During the event, Moscow Exchange signed cooperation agreements with Gift of Life, Vera and ORBI. As part of these agreements, Moscow Exchange undertook to allocate a significant portion of its total charity budget to these three charities. The agreements also envisage holding a number of joint events with these charities, with the participation of Moscow Exchange employees.
Moscow Exchange CEO Alexander Afanasiev said: "A systematic approach to corporate social responsibility is an important element of any company"s long-term development strategy. This year, we have decided to distribute most of Moscow Exchange"s charitable funds to three charities specialising in helping people in need and in the treatment of serious illnesses. Cooperation with such non-profit organisations will increase the efficiency of our fund distribution and allow us to reach a larger audience. We believe that the charities we have chosen have the right reputation and expertise to implement projects that create meaningful long-term benefits for society. I am particularly pleased that exchange employees will be able to take part in our joint events, so we can expose them more directly to our charitable programmes and give them an opportunity to volunteer and donate."
Gift of Life charity co-founder Chulpan Khamatova said: "Moscow Exchange is not only a benefactor of our fund, but an old and faithful friend that always comes to our aid. We have been able to help many children thanks to Moscow Exchange"s support, by paying for medicines, treatments and hospital equipment. I am extremely pleased that we have signed a cooperation agreement and decided that Moscow Exchange"s donations will go directly towards the development of our donor programme. In order to provide the help that our children need, we need not only medicines and modern equipment, but also blood donations. That is why developing unpaid donorship has been one of the charity"s most important priorities from its first day. While donors naturally cooperate with the fund on a voluntary basis, we need funds to support and develop the project further."
VERA hospice charity president Nyuta Federmesser said: "I am sure that responsible social charity is that which goes via charitable organisations. Non-profit organisations spend charity money effectively, as they are experts in specific social areas, and they do so in a transparent and reliable way. Most importantly, we help to ensure to ensure that funds received produce the maximum amount of benefit for people."
Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Vera hospice charity sponsorship council cochair, underscored: "We are glad that Moscow Exchange is working with us to support hospices, as we seek to give people dignity and relieve them of suffering and pain. If a person cannot be cured, this does not mean that we cannot help. Our goal is to make hospices both comfortable and kind."
Daria Lisichenko, president of the ORBI interregional charity for helping relatives of stroke victims, said: "Development of charity definitely needs a systematic approach. Given the colossal investment required, this can only be developed with the cooperation of business, the authorities, non-profit organisations and the media. The agreement with Moscow Exchange – which can serve as an example to many companies not only in the field of corporate governance, but also corporate social responsibility – inspires faith and hope in the prospects for effective partnership and the growth of a donorship culture in Russia".
Notes to Editors
The Gift of Life charity was established on 26 November 2006 by actresses Dina Korun and Chulpan Khamatova, and specialises in helping children with oncological and haematological conditions. The fund collects funds for treatment and rehabilitation of children, helps oncology and haematology clinics, raises public awareness of sick children, cooperates in the development of blood donation, provides social and psychological help to sick children, and helps volunteer groups at oncology and haematology clinics.
The Vera charity was established in November 2006. It is named after Vera Millionshchikova, who founded the First Moscow Hospice, which now bears her name. It is the only non-profit organisation in Russia that continually supports hospices and their patients. The fund helps children with incurable illnesses, regardless of diagnosis, age, or place of residence, and is working to create Moscow"s first hospice for children and young adults. The fundraising co-chairs are actresses Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Tatiana Drubich.
The ORBI interregional charity, which helps relatives of stroke victims, was founded in 2006 as a relatives" association based on the NABI national association to combat strokes, and was officially registered in 2010. ORBI is the first and only fund to help stroke victims and their relatives. It provides practical assistance to family members and organises events aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles, as well as to reduce the number of strokes and the severity of their effects.
Moscow Exchange Group manages the sole multifunctional exchange platform in Russia for equities, bonds, derivative instruments, currencies, money market instruments and commodities. The Group includes the central depository (National Settlement Depository), and a clearing centre (National Clearing Centre), performing the functions of central counterparty on the markets, which allows Moscow Exchange to render the full spectrum of trading and post-trading services to its clients.
Moscow Exchange ranks among the world"s top 20 exchanges by total capitalization of securities traded, and also among the 10 largest exchange platforms by bonds and derivatives trading. Securities of 722 issuers are admitted to trading on the equities market of Moscow Exchange, including securities of the largest Russian companies by market capitalization.
Moscow Exchange was formed in December 2011 as a result of a merger between Russia"s two main exchange groups - MICEX Group, the oldest domestic exchange and operator of the leading securities, foreign exchange and money market platform in Russia; and RTS Group, at the time the operator of Russia"s leading derivatives market. This combination created a vertically integrated public trading market across most major asset classes, which was reorganized into an open joint stock company (OJSC) and was named Moscow Exchange. Moscow Exchange held the initial public offering of its shares on 15 February 2013 (ticker MOEX).
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