Sistema Acquires Control of Shyam Telelink

MOSCOW--(Business Wire)--Sistema (LSE: SSA), the largest public diversified corporation in
Russia and the CIS, which manages fast growing companies operating in
the consumer services sector, today announced that it has increased
its stake in Shyam Telelink Ltd. ("Shyam Telelink") from 10% to 51%.
The additional shares were acquired for a total cash consideration of
US$ 46.7 million.

Sistema acquired a 10% stake in Shyam Telelink for a total cash
consideration of US$ 11.4 million at the end of September 2007. In
October 2007, Sistema signed a share purchase agreement for the
acquisition of an additional 41% stake in Shyam Telelink and a call
option agreement, which gives Sistema the right to increase its stake
in Shyam Telelink from 51% up to a maximum of 74%. Later in December
2007, Sistema received an approval for the acquisition of the blocking
stake in Shyam Telelink from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board
(FIPB) of India. As a result of the acquisition of the additional 41%
stake, the overall purchase price totaled US$ 58.1 million.

Alexander Goncharuk, President and Chief Executive Officer,
commented: "The acquisition of control over Shyam Telelink is in line
with Sistema's strategy to enter new perspective markets. We are
pleased to have the opportunity to invest in one of the most
dynamically developing world markets. Our goal is to create an
operator with advanced technologies which is able to meet the growing
demand for the majority of telecommunications services."

For further information, please visit www.sistema.com

Sistema is the largest public diversified corporation in Russia
and the CIS, which manages fast growing companies operating in the
consumer services sector and has over 80 million customers. Sistema
develops and manages market-leading businesses in selected
service-based industries, including telecommunications, technology,
banking, real estate, retail and media. Founded in 1993, the company
reported revenues of US$ 9.6 billion for the first nine months of
2007, and total assets of US$ 24.2 billion as at September 30, 2007.
Sistema's shares are listed under the symbol "SSA" on the London Stock
Exchange, under the symbol "AFKS" on the Russian Trading System (RTS)
and the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX), and under the
symbol "SIST" on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MSE).

Shyam Telelink Ltd. obtained a unified license to provide
fixed-line and cellular services to corporate and residential
customers in the Indian state of Rajasthan with a population of
approximately 65 million people. The company also controls 100% of the
local internet service provider Shyam Internet Ltd. Shyam Telelink
Ltd. owns a developed telecommunications infrastructure in state of
Rajasthan, which includes 4,000 kilometres of fiber-optic lines. Shyam
Telelink provided services to over 258,000 subscribers as at the end
of September 2007.

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 Sistema. You can
identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect,"
"believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may"
or "might" the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We
wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and
that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend
to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances
occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to
differ materially from those contained in our projections or
forward-looking statements, including, among others, general economic
conditions, our competitive environment, risks associated with
operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in our
industries, as well as many other risks specifically related to
Sistema and its operations.

Information contained in this announcement does not constitute a
public offer or an advertisement of securities in Russia, is not an
offer, or an invitation to make offers, to purchase any securities in
Russia. The reverse convertible certificates have not been and will
not be registered in Russia and are not intended for "placement" or
"public circulation" in Russia.

Sistema Investor Relations
Laila Simanova
Tel: +7 495 730 66 00
ir@sistema.ru
or
Head of International Press Office
Kirill Semenov
Tel: +7 495 730 71 88
ksemenov@sistema.ru
or
Shared Value Limited
Larisa Kogut-Millings
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5037
sistema@sharedvalue.net

Copyright Business Wire 2008