Helsinki, Finland, 13 February 2009 -- Stora Enso has decided to defer its final decision regarding the proposed pulp and paper mill project at Nizhny Novgorod in Russia to a later stage because of the weak global financial situation and near-term outlook for the forest products industry. The project is not cancelled by this decision, and various actions will be taken to facilitate possible implementation of the project in the future.

Stora Enso will hold discussions with the Nizhny Novgorod regional administration in the near future to establish a new timetable for the proposed project.

Stora Enso is a global paper, packaging and forest products company producing  newsprint and book paper, magazine paper, fine paper, consumer board, industrial packaging, and wood products. The group has 32 000 employees and 85 production
facilities in more than 35 countries worldwide, and is a publicly traded company listed in Helsinki and Stockholm. Stora Enso's annual production capacity is 12.7 million metric tons of paper and board, 1.5 billion square meters of corrugated packaging, and 6.9 million cubic meters of sawn wood products, including 3.2 million cubic meters of value-added products. Stora Enso's sales in 2008 were EUR 11.0 billion.