Western companies continue to withdraw their drinking from Russia, including the giant Unilever

2024-09-11 12:42:32

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever is preparing to sell its Russian subsidiary. The migration of Western companies continues, but two and a half years after the invasion of Ukraine, half of the foreign companies that were in Russia before 2022 will still be there.

Since the beginning of the war, Unilever has significantly reduced its operations, selling special food and hygiene products in Russia. But as the Russian press reported about Reuters and the Money TimesThe multinational only received permission from the Russian authorities at the beginning of September to sell its assets in the country, which mainly includes four factories.

In the first months following the Russian invasion, European and American companies left the country altogether. McDonald’s surprise departure in June 2022 has left its mark. Despite everything, two and a half years later, more than half of foreign companies are included Russia before 2022 is still there, according to the KSE Institute, a part of the Kyiv University of Economics who rigorously keeps the news.

More than 50% of foreign companies are located in Russia

Of the 4,000 foreign companies surveyed, exactly 54% continue their activities in Russia. Obviously, this is not a unified picture: on the side of Moscow’s friends, 100% of Belarusian or Iranian companies stand. On the other hand, two-thirds of American companies and under half of European companies have withdrawn from the country. Between the two, 15% of Chinese companies have gone and among those that remain, we sometimes notice a significant decline in their activity. Alibaba, for example, Amazon’s Chinese competitor, is technically established in Russia but no longer accepts the ruble and does not deliver to the country.

A calculation which sometimes hides a more complex reality. If we look at the most profitable foreign companies in Russia in 2023, the picture is very different. Inside top 10 there are only two Chinese companies. All others are from countries related to kyiv: tobacco company Philip Morris, agri-food giants Pepsi and Mars on the American side, two French companies: Auchan and Leroy Merlin, Swiss Nestlé, an Austrian Raiffeisen bank, and a Japanese one. the tobacco industry.

The Kremlin imposes its price on Western companies

Under pressure from many of its Western allies, Ukraine has given up as early as 2024 on going public in « blacklist » foreign companies established in Russia. Ukraine accuses them of supporting Putin’s government out of greed. To be fair, we must also remember that for companies that have invested a lot in Russia, the amount of money going is important. Companies in the new technology sector whose performance is highly volatile have been able to leave more easily than those with factories, land assets and many workers in the country. the.

Especially since the Kremlin imposes its conditions on companies from countries that are considered to be against Moscow. For Unilever, the press is talking about a sale price for the Russian subsidiary that lies between 350 and 500 million dollars, or half less than the estimated amount. And we must add a departure tax of 10 to 15% to be paid to the Russian state. In March Reuters estimated that their departure from Russia was costly more than 100 billion dollars to foreign companies.

Big wins from the departure of Western companies

The situation is primarily beneficial for oligarchs and those close to the Kremlin who buy the assets of Western companies at exorbitant prices. His name has not been officially confirmed. But according to the FT, Unilever is preparing to sell its Russian assets to the Arnest group, whose businessman Alexeï Sagal has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the war in Ukraine.

In spring 2022, Vladimir Putin openly welcomed the departure of Westerners see this as an opportunity for Russian companies. In fact, in some key sectors such as cars, Russia is very dependent on foreign companies. But rather it is the Chinese and to a lesser extent the Iranians who benefit from the large exodus of Europeans and Americans.