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Companies cut Russia operations and trade as sanctions tighten amid Ukraine crisis

Companies have taken action to limit, put on hold or exit business activities in Russia following a wave of sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Below is a list of companies that have announced plans to exit Russia or to curb activities there:

Automakers

Daimler Truck said it would freeze its business activities in Russia with immediate effect, including its cooperation with Russian truck maker Kamaz.

Its pre-spinoff parent company, Mercedes-Benz Group , is looking into legal options to divest its 15 percent stake in Kamaz as quickly as possible.
Sweden’s Volvo Cars said it would suspend car shipments to the Russian market until further notice. Volvo sold around 9,000 cars in Russia in 2021, based on industry data.

General Motors said it would suspend all vehicle exports to Russia until further notice. The Detroit company does not have plants in Russia, only sells about 3,000 vehicles annually there and has limited supply-chain exposure.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors said it may suspend production and sale of its cars in Russia as economic sanctions could trigger supply chain disruptions.

French carmaker Renault will suspend some operations at its car assembly plants in Russia next week due to logistics bottlenecks.

Renault is among the Western companies most exposed to Russia, where it makes 8 percent of its core earnings, according to Citibank. It also controls Avtovaz, Russia’s biggest carmaker.

Harley-Davidson Inc said it had suspended its business and shipments of its bikes to Russia.

Ford Motor Co informed joint venture partner Sollers it is immediately suspending operations in Russia until further notice.

British luxury carmakers Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Aston Martin paused vehicle shipments to Russia.

Aston Martin said that Russia and Ukraine make up less than 1 percent of its global sales.

Germany’s BMW has halted the export of cars to Russia and said it would stop production there.

Aviation

The world’s biggest aircraft leasing company AerCap Holdings, headquartered in Dublin, will cease leasing activity with Russian airlines.

The company says about 5 percent of its fleet by net book value was on lease to Russian airlines at the end of 2021.

US aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it was suspending parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines.

Banks

Global bank HSBC is beginning to wind down relations with a host of Russian banks including the second-largest, VTB.

The bank has little direct exposure in Russia, with around 200 employees and annual revenues of $15 million in the country, against its global income of $50 billion.

Nordic lender Nordea said it had suspended trading in investment funds heavily exposed to Russia.

Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is looking into leaving Russia, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The Austrian bank’s business in Russia contributed almost a third to group net profit last year. A spokesperson said RBI had no plans to quit Russia.

Energy

France’s TotalEnergies said it would no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia.

BP is abandoning its 19.75 percent stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft, while Shell said it would exit all its Russian operations, including the flagship Sakhalin 2 LNG plant in which it holds a 27.5 percent stake, and which is 50 percent owned and operated by Gazprom.

Norwegian energy group Equinor will start the process of divesting from its joint ventures in Russia. The company has been present in Russia for over 30 years, and in 2012 agreed to a strategic cooperation with Rosneft.

Denmark’s Orsted has stopped sourcing Russian coal and biomass for its power plants but will continue to buy up to two billion cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom per year under a long-term contract.

Orsted also said it was not entering into new contracts with companies or using suppliers from Russia.

Exxon Mobil will exit Russia oil and gas operations that it has valued at more than $4 billion and halt new investment as a result of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Italian energy group Eni planned to sell its stake in the Blue Stream pipeline carrying Russian gas to Turkey that it co-owns with Russia’s Gazprom.

Eni holds strategic long-term contracts for Russian gas. In 2020 Eni’s gas purchases from Russia reached nearly 22.5 billion cubic meters.

Austrian energy group OMV has scrapped plans to take a stake in a Gazprom gas field project and is reviewing its role in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Centrica, owner of Britain’s largest energy suppler British Gas, said it would exit its gas supply agreements with Russian counterparts, principally Gazprom.

Film and television

Hollywood studios Disney, Warner Bros, and Sony Pictures Entertainment said they would pause theatrical releases of upcoming films in Russia.

Also, The Cannes Film Festival said Tuesday that Russian delegations will not be welcome at this year’s event in May due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Industrials

Swedish engineering group Sandvik is suspending its operations in Russia.

Sandvik generated around 3.5 percent of its 2021 revenue in Russia. The group has no production in the country but about 900 employees in sales and services.

Logistics

US-based United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp , two of the world’s largest logistics companies, have said they are halting delivery services to Russia and Ukraine.

Container shipping company Ocean Network Express on Monday suspended bookings to and from Russia.

Shipping group Maersk will temporarily halt all container shipping to and from Russia in response to Western sanctions on Moscow.

Maersk operates container shipping routes to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea, Novorossiysk in the Black Sea, and Vladivostok and Vostochny on Russia’s east coast.

Deutsche Post, announced it had stopped DHL deliveries to Russia.

German shipping company Hapag Lloyd said it had issued a temporary suspension on bookings for Russia and halted sailings for Ukraine.

Shipping company MSC has stopped cargo bookings to and from Russian but will still accept and screen food and humanitarian cargoes.

Swiss logistics company Kuehne und Nagel indefinitely suspends all import shipments into Russia with immediate effect. This excludes medical, healthcare and humanitarian supplies.

Tech

Apple has paused all product sales in Russia.

Alphabet’s Google said it has blocked mobile apps connected to Russian broadcasters RT and Sputnik from its Play store, in line with an earlier move to remove Russian state publishers from its news-related features.

Microsoft said it would remove state-owned RT’s mobile apps from the Windows App store and ban advertisements on Russian state-sponsored media.

Laptop maker Dell Technologies said it had suspended product sales in Ukraine and Russia.

Telecoms

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson is suspending its deliveries to Russia as it assesses the potential impact of sanctions on its business there.

Nokia will stop deliveries to Russia to comply with sanctions. It supplies MTS, Vimpelcom, Megafon and Tele2 in Russia.

Other sectors

Finnish tire maker Nokian tires is shifting production of some of its key product lines from Russia to Finland and the US.

Nokian produces approximately 80 percent of its annual capacity of 20 million tires in Russia, where it employs around 1,600 people, a company spokesperson said.

Finnish chemical company Kemira discontinued deliveries to Russia and Belarus from March 1 until further notice.

German sportswear company Adidas has suspended its partnership with the Russian Football Union with immediate effect.

Nike has made merchandise purchases on its website and app unavailable in Russia as it cannot guarantee delivery of goods to customers in the country.

Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux paused all operations in Russia.

Read more:

Many Western firms head for exit in Russia as sanctions tighten over Ukraine invasion

Kremlin says Russia will ride out Western sanctions

Shell to exit all Russia operations after Ukraine invasion, joining BP

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