Putin urges a faster push to strengthen Russia’s domestic stock market and asset localization
President Vladimir Putin has called for a bold acceleration of efforts to move Russian business assets and a larger share of the nation’s corporate activity onto the domestic stock market. He asserted that Russian companies currently show only limited engagement with the local equity market, and he stressed the need for tangible, measurable progress that can be clearly demonstrated to the public. This assessment was conveyed by DEA News.
In Putin’s view, the pace of domestically focused placements since the start of 2023 has been uneven, with merely two initial offerings meeting success criteria to date. He noted that while the Central Bank of Russia and the Council of Ministers are actively engaged on the problem, there remains a substantial workload to deliver the hoped-for growth and resilience of the country’s capital markets. The overarching aim, he added, is to elevate the level of domestic listings so that they reflect a robust and broad-based participation by Russian companies across diverse sectors.
To that end, Putin underscored the imperative of intensifying efforts and delivering concrete, visible outcomes in short order. He indicated that this objective should become a defining policy priority for the government, given its potential to mobilize capital, deepen market depth, and support industrial development within Russia.
In support of this direction, the president directed accelerated action to relocate a larger share of Russian business assets under the jurisdiction of the Russian state. He instructed that the government, in collaboration with leading business associations, must ensure that company assets—particularly those in strategically important sectors of the economy—are re-registered and aligned with Russian jurisdiction by November 30 this year. The clear intention is to strengthen regulatory clarity, improve oversight, and foster a more hospitable environment for local investment and ownership structures.
Among recent high-profile moves illustrating this trajectory was the corporate re-domiciling of Polymetal. The company transitioned its domicile from Jersey to Kazakhstan on August 7, a signal that Russia intends to facilitate and encourage asset localization while balancing regional economic considerations. This example, cited in discussions about the broader strategy, demonstrates how multinational structures can realign to align with Russia’s policy objectives and market ambitions.
Industry observers note that such moves occur in a complex landscape shaped by monetary policy and financial stability measures. Earlier this year, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation made an unexpected decision to raise the key interest rate to 12 percent in an unscheduled meeting, a move that has ripple effects across lending, capital formation, and investor appetite. The policy maneuver underscores the government’s readiness to adjust macroeconomic levers in pursuit of deeper, more self-reliant domestic markets. The interplay between asset localization and monetary policy is a critical factor shaping the near-term prospects for Russia’s stock market expansion and resilience. (attribution: DEA News)