These are the companies cutting ties with Russia over Ukraine
BNN Bloomberg
Netflix, TikTok, Samsung and credit card operators have joined the lengthening list of businesses cutting ties with Russia or reviewing their operations in the country as reputational and financial risks mount.
Netflix, TikTok, Samsung and credit card operators have joined the lengthening list of businesses cutting ties with Russia or reviewing their operations in the country as reputational and financial risks mount.
International sanctions, the closure of airspace and transports links due to the war, and the financial restrictions on SWIFT and capital controls have made it difficult if not impossible for many companies to supply parts, make payments and deliver goods to and from Russia. Added to that, the potential international consumer backlash against any company perceived as helping Vladimir Putin’s regime means that the exodus of corporations from Russia has become a stampede.
The rout reverses three decades of investment there by foreign businesses after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, especially in energy. Here are some of the biggest companies that have begun to unravel their connections:
Russia’s largest foreign investor, BP Plc, led the way with its surprise announcement on Feb. 27 that it would exit its 20 per cent stake in state-controlled Rosneft, a move that could result in a US$25 billion write-off and cut the company’s global oil and gas production by a third.
Shell Plc followed, citing Russia’s “senseless act of military aggression.” The company said it would end partnerships with state-controlled Gazprom, including the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility and its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which Germany blocked last week. Both projects are worth about US$3 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp. said it would “discontinue” its Sakhalin-1 operations.
Equinor ASA, Norway’s state-owned energy giant, said it will start withdrawing from its joint ventures in Russia, worth about US$1.2 billion. In parallel, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said it’s freezing Russian assets worth about US$2.8 billion and will come up with a plan to exit by March 15.
