Toyota cars for sale in Moscow, Russia, July 8, 2016. REUTERS / Sergey Karpukhin
March 3 – Japan’s top carmakers, including Toyota, have been forced to suspend production in Russia as Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine disrupted logistics and disrupted supply chains, deepening the country’s economic isolation.
Toyota Motor (7203.T) also said that car exports to Russia were suspended indefinitely after similar actions by local competitors Honda Motor (7267.T) and Mazda Motor (7261.T). Read more
Many Western companies rejected Russia after its attack, with some saying they would give up investing there, but some Japanese companies took a more ambiguous stance.
“Toyota is monitoring the current events in Ukraine with great concern for the safety of the people of Ukraine and hopes for a safe return to peace as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Toyota is the leading Japanese brand in Russia, producing about 80,000 cars at its plant in St. Petersburg, which employs 2,000 people.
Global car companies, including Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE), Ford (FN) and BMW, have also stopped producing and exporting cars to Russia and the world’s largest shipping lines, MSC and Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) have suspended deliveries of containers to and from the side.
Maersk said on Wednesday that shipments of food and medical supplies to Russia risk being damaged or spoiled due to significant delays in ports and customs. Read more
Western sanctions, including the exclusion of some Russian banks from the global financial network SWIFT, have forced dozens of global companies to suspend exports and suspend operations in the country, hit the ruble and forced the central bank to raise interest rates.
Amazon.com Inc said Wednesday that it is using its logistics capabilities to deliver supplies to those in need and cybersecurity expertise to help governments and companies as part of its support for Ukraine. Read more
Supply chains already disrupted by the pandemic are facing more stress as airspace closures affect the airline industry and airlines responsible for about one-fifth of the world’s air cargo are affected by sanctions. Read more
Japan Airlines (9201.T) and ANA Holdings (9202.T), which typically use Russian airspace for their flights to Europe, said they would cancel all flights to and from Europe on Thursday, joining other carriers that are canceled or diverted flights between Europe and North Asia. Read more
Fitch and Moody’s on Wednesday downgraded Russia’s sovereign credit rating by six notches to “junk” status, saying Western sanctions called into question Russia’s ability to service its debt and weaken its economy. Read more
CORPORATE ACTION
Moscow has responded to the growing exodus of Western investors by temporarily restricting sales of Russian assets by foreigners.
Meanwhile, Russian companies are feeling increasingly pressured.
Sberbank (SBER.MM), Russia’s largest lender, said on Wednesday it was leaving the European market as its subsidiaries face large cash flows. Read more
Russia has continued what it calls a “special operation” in Ukraine, although its one-week invasion was condemned by the UN in a historic vote and dozens of countries have targeted Moscow to investigate potential war crimes. Moscow says it seeks “demilitarization” of Ukraine and denies targeting civilians. Read more
Corporate condemnation of Russia is heavy and heavy.
The US energy company Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), which will leave Russia like Britain’s BP and Shell (SHEL.L), said: “We deplore Russia’s military action, which violates Ukraine’s territorial integrity and threatens its people.” .
The Swedish fashion group H&M (HMb.ST), which has stopped sales in Russia, said it was deeply concerned about the tragic events in Ukraine and “stands by all the people who are suffering”.
Spotify (SPOT.N) said it had closed its office in Russia indefinitely in response to what it called “Moscow’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine”. Read more
Apple (AAPL.O) has stopped sales of iPhones and other products in Russia. Boeing (BA.N) has stopped support and technical support for Russian airlines.
Airbus SE (AIR.PA) said that while suspending supplies of parts and services to Russia, it was also analyzing whether its engineering center in Moscow could continue to provide services to local customers. Read more
Citigroup Inc (CN), which said it could face billions of dollars in losses from its exposure to Russia, said it wanted to leave Russian assets. Read more
Cruise operators Royal Caribbean Group and Viking Cruises have canceled their voyages to Russia, joining many Western cruise companies that have taken St. Petersburg off their summer routes.
Report by Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo and Jamie Fried in Sydney; Additional reports by Jamie Fried in Sydney, Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru, Megan Davis in New York; Writing by Sayantani Gosh; Edited by Lincoln Feast & Simon Cameron-Moore
Our standards: ‘ principles of trust.