Foreign companies with exposure to Russia were poring over contingency plans on Tuesday, with some looking at whether to shift production or find new supply chains to shield their businesses from new Western sanctions.
Avtovaz, the car maker behind the Lada brand in which Renault has a 69 per cent stake, said on Tuesday it was looking to secure different supplies of semiconductors in case Washington clamps down on electronics. Coca-Cola HBC, which bottles soft drinks in 29 European and African countries and counts Russia and Nigeria as its two biggest markets, said it had learned lessons from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict of 2014.
Danone, the world’s biggest yogurt maker which controls Russian dairy brand Prostokvashino, said it too was focused on ensuring the security of its employees. “All of our three Russian cement plants supply their respective local/regional markets and do not export outside Russia,” a company spokesperson said.
On Monday, Shell’s head of integrated gas Wael Sawan told reporters that it would abide by any sanctions on Russia.