Russia to make it harder for foreign companies to leave – Izvestia

Western companies seeking to leave Russia and sell their assets in the country will soon be obliged to make a 15% contribution to the state budget, Izvestia reported on Tuesday, citing the Finance Ministry.

The director of the ministry’s Department of Financial Policy, Ivan Chebeskov, told the news outlet that in each case the share will be calculated from the full market value of the company’s assets. The ruling by the Commission on Foreign Investments will be released in the near future, he stated.

Moscow has toughened exit rules for Western firms, demanding a 50% discount on all foreign deals as well as a contribution to the Russian budget of at least 10% of the sale price.

Foreign companies from so-called ‘unfriendly’ countries that want to leave Russia currently have to obtain permission from a government commission. 

According to a Reuters report last month, based on an analysis of company filings and statements, foreign firms have already been hit by losses of more than $80 billion from their Russian operations due to write-downs and lost revenue.

Aleksey Kupriyanov of Aspring Capital, which has advised the Russian government on dozens of deals, told Reuters that the corporate exodus was a huge windfall for Russian entrepreneurs, as well as Western companies’ rivals and former business partners.

Pressured by sanctions, large numbers of Western firms quit the Russian market following the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. Russia has since reoriented more strongly toward non-Western partners, most notably China and India.

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