PARIS — When Russia invaded Ukraine, a phalanx of Western companies pledged to get out fast from what had once been an important market. McDonald’s dismantled its golden arches after 32 years. Oil giant BP moved to divest its mammoth Russian investments. French automaker Renault sold its factories for the symbolic sum of one ruble.
Other companies have scaled back their Russia operations, or their exits, announced last spring, have stalled. Data compiled by Yale showed that of nearly 1,600 companies in Russia before the war, more than one-quarter had continued to operate fully there, with some only postponing planned investments. In a survey of twice as many firms, by the Kyiv School of Economics, that proportion was closer to 50%.
Auchan offers a window onto the complications that Western companies say they face. Since the war, the privately held company, which is part of a European retail empire owned by France’s Mulliez family, has insisted that keeping its stores open in Russia was necessary to provide food to its civilian customers and maintain employment for 29,000 workers.
“Our business is to feed the population and to be close to the population,” said Antoine Pernod, a spokesperson. “Because one day, peace will arrive, and it will be important to still be at their side.”On the heels of Western sanctions, Russia tightened nationalization rules to include insolvency as a trigger. Foreign companies can sell assets only with approval from Russia’s Finance Ministry, which can take six to 12 months.
Good. Good luck Russia! Beat Biden's Ukrainian cronies.
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