Large companies leaving Russia

Russia's military invasion of Ukraine has caused foreign companies to rethink their business relationship with this country.

Days after this conflict began, different companies have notified their plans to withdraw from Russia, while others review their commercial relationship and their business in this country.

After the sanctions applied by the West, in which Russian banks and the country's access to the SWIFT international payment system are affected, large losses have been generated, generating historical lows.

Russia, on March 1, announced the prohibition of foreign investors in the sale of Russian assets. Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Russia, explained that, in the current situation of sanctions, foreign businessmen should avoid making decisions based on political pressure.

So far there are no details of how the ban works in practice and who exactly would be affected.

Oil companies that have made important announcements

In the United Kingdom, BP, the largest oil company, gave notice last weekend that it decides to abandon its 19.75% stake in Rosneft, which is the Russian energy giant.

This percentage of its participation makes BP the largest foreign investor in Russia, so getting rid of it would be causing a possible write-off of 25 billion dollars.

After BP's announcement, the Shell company also reported its withdrawal from operations on Russian territory. This decision by Shell would mean that it also withdraws its 27.5% stake in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, Sakhalin 2, which is 50% owned by Gazprom.

Another European energy company, backed by the Norwegian State, is Equinor. On Monday, February 28, it was reported that they would be starting the process of finalizing their companies in Russia.

Equinor has been in Russia for more than 30 years, and has worked in collaboration with Rosneft.

The company Exxon Mobil also spoke out and reported that it would be abandoning its oil and gas companies, for an approximate value of 4,000 million dollars.

The French company TotalEnergies has indicated that it will not be providing funds for the new Russian projects. However, they confirmed that they will remain active in the country.

Other American brands that break relations

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, confirmed in his speech about the state of the Union, the country would be joining the decisions of Canada and the European Union, in the prohibition of Russian flights in its airspace.

This measure would have a greater impact on the aviation sector.

The company in charge of the design, manufacture and sale of airplanes, helicopters, missiles and satellites, Boeing, indicated that they will be suspending their main operations in Russian territory, including parts, maintenance and technical support for the country's airlines.

This decision was made after important American brands announced their withdrawal from Russia last Tuesday.

The American company specialized in electronic equipment, online services and software, notified the suspension of the sale of its physical products in the country, including iPhones.

Also, as a precautionary and safety measure for the citizens of Ukraine, they decided to disable live traffic and events from their Maps app.

Google, a specialist in internet-related products and services, has decided to remove all Russian state news and publishers from its news sources.

Facebook parent Meta will limit the access of Russia's state media, so they will no longer appear in its news feeds.

In charge of operating systems for computers compatible with IBM, Microsoft, explained that they would proceed to eliminate the applications on mobile phones of the Russian state media company RT.

In this way, they would be removing it from the Windows app store.

The company behind the social network's photo- and video-sharing messaging app Snapchat has removed ads from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

The global network of professional services firms, which offers audit, legal, tax, financial and business advice, decided to end certain relationships with some clients.

This measure is to comply with the new laws. The global strategic consulting firm announced that it decided to stop working with entities of the Russian Government. Despite this, they wish to remain in the country.

Car companies that eliminate exports

Different car manufacturers joined the measures against Russia. Ford was one of them, as it proceeded to suspend its JV joint venture, manufacturers of vans.

General Motors and Daimler Truck, from Germany, are also among those who decide to cancel their operations on Russian territory.

General Motors also canceled car exports to Russia, along with Sweden's Volvo, who were the first car manufacturers to announce the suspension of exports to that country.

Football and Hollywood join the measures

Different entertainment companies decide to cut their activities in Russian territory.

Warner Bros, Disney and Sony Pictures decided to suspend the release of their next films in the country, which were going to be released this month.

Likewise, the Netflix streaming platform will not comply with the new Russian regulations, which require the transmission of 20 state-backed channels. On March 1 this new law would come into force.

Commercial relations in football are also harmed by this whole process. The Schalke 04 club, from Germany, canceled its sponsorship agreement with Gazprom. This was joined by UEFA, the governing body of European football.

There is also the cancellation of the commercial agreement with the Russian Football Federation, of the sportswear manufacturer Adidas.