The list of properties of foreign companies that can pass to foreign management after leaving Russia could be expanded to include the IT and telecommunications sectors in which foreign investors are actively investing. This statement was made by Denis Kuskov, CEO of the information and analytics agency TelecomDaily.
“The Central Bank and Ministry of Finance are against non-residents reducing or selling blocked assets, including shares of Russian companies, to hold funds in the country, while Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves are frozen,” Kuskov said.
According to him, the expansion of the list in the field of information technology may affect Yandex, which is currently considering possible scenarios for corporate restructuring and the sale of the Russian part of the business.
“An example of such a company in telecom that can expect such a development of events is the Beeline operator (PJSC VimpelCom). Currently, it is trying to get rid of overseas ownership. To do this, the current owner, the Dutch telecom holding VEON and the group of VimpelCom executives acting as buyers, must do everything possible to close the deal as soon as possible. Thus, VEON will avoid the risk of running out of nothing and the operator will be nationalized.”
The expert added that although the Government Foreign Investments Commission has authorized the sale of VimpelCom, if the closing of the transaction is delayed, the decision could be withdrawn, freezing the asset and placing PJSC under external management. .
Kuskov also noted that today many foreign assets are under the control of Russian companies.
“The plan for the sale of businesses in Russia by foreign owners to Russian subsidiaries and local senior management became popular after February 2022. An example is the Japanese automotive company Mazda Motor, which has decided to transfer its stake in Mazda Sollers Manufacturing Rus LLC in favor of a partner, Sollers PJSC. The transaction amount was one euro. However, the situation for foreign owners is worsening, the state is gradually increasing the “exit fee”, so investors who decide to leave the Russian Federation are better to hurry,” he said.
Recall that in March 2023, the Ministry of Finance of Russia announced changes in the conditions for leaving Russia for companies from hostile countries. In particular, when withdrawing from Russian assets, they will be required to pay at least 10% of their market value to the budget.