Vladimir Yevtushenkov, board chairman of AFK Sistema, said the shareholders of Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) were not content with the last year's capitalization growth rate of 5% in light of main competitor VimpelCom posting a figure of 50%.
Vasily Sidorov, who resigned as president of MTS [RTS ticker: MTSSG] earlier Thursday, said the company's capitalization currently stood at $16 billion.
The MTS board of directors appointed Leonid Melamed, formerly president of leading insurance company Rosno, acting president Thursday.
Melamed said he did not plan to bring aboard top managers from his previous company, but added that it was possible that new employees would be hired.
The MTS board will meet again to confirm Melamed's appointment to the post of president on June 14.
AFK Sistema [RTS ticker: AFKS] is the main shareholder in MTS with 52.8% of shares and also holds a 49% stake in Rosno.
