The withdrawal of Western companies from Russia is expected to accelerate

March 1 – More Western companies are expected to withdraw from Russia on Tuesday, as corporations and investors in various industries follow the example of energy companies BP and Shell, which abandoned billions of dollars after the invasion of Ukraine.

Leading banks, airlines, carmakers and others have cut supplies, cut partnerships and called Russia’s actions unacceptable. Many others said they were considering action.

Late Monday Warner Bros. said it had withdrawn this week’s release of Batman from Russian screens, following a statement from Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N) that it would suspend the release of theatrical films in Russia. Read more

Meanwhile, Mastercard said it had blocked a number of financial institutions from its payment network as a result of sanctions against Russia. Read more

The West has sought to punish Russia with a number of measures, including closing airspace to Russian planes, closing some Russian banks on the global financial network SWIFT and limiting Moscow’s ability to use its $ 630 billion in foreign reserves. Read more

“I would expect to see many similar announcements in the next few days,” said Sonia Koval, president of Zevin Asset Management in Boston, on Monday, adding that the sale by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund would support the move.

Some U.S. state-owned investors have been vocal in setting expectations for corporations.

“We must send a very clear and unequivocal answer that California will not oppose Russian aggression,” California Treasurer Fiona Ma said in a statement Monday, declaring support for the sale of Russian assets from state pension funds, some of the most the largest in the United States. .

Shell (SHEL.L), BP and Norwegian Equinor (EQNR.OL) have said they will leave positions in energy-rich Russia, putting pressure on other Western companies with stakes in Russian oil and gas projects, such as ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA).

Many companies are still considering options, such as freight forwarder Maersk, who said on Monday he was monitoring sanctions against Russia and preparing to enforce them. One scenario involved suspending cargo reservations.

Major car and truck manufacturers have cut off exports to Russia, including Volvo and GM (GM.N), although together the two companies sell only about 12,000 vehicles a year in Russia. Ford Motor (FN), which has a 50% stake in three Russian plants, has not commented on the substance of its plans, except to seek to manage the impact on its operations and keep workers safe.

Companies and asset managers who want to liquidate shares face barriers because many exchanges have stopped trading.

Some Western companies with large exposures to Russia have already noticed a decline in shares. Finnair, based in Russia’s neighbor Finland, has lost a fifth of its value after withdrawing its 2022 outlook amid the closure of airspace.

Airlines are preparing for prolonged blockades of east-west corridors after the European Union and Moscow issued airspace bans.

The White House has not decided to ban Russian flights, although White House spokesman Jen Psaki told reporters Monday: “There are many flights that US airlines fly over Russia to travel to Asia and other parts of the world. and we take a number of factors into account. “Read more

Senator Dick Durbin, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, voiced support for the ban.

“Other countries have done it in Europe, and turning off the lights at the airport is not a bad idea for these boys,” he told reporters. Read more

The big technology companies are juggling calls for the closure of services in Russia with what they see as a mission to voice dissent and protest.

Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O), Facebook’s parent company, will restrict access to Russian state media RT and Sputnik on its platforms across the European Union, the company’s global affairs chief said Monday, in line with similar actions by major US companies. technology companies. Read more

Additional reports from Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Foo Yun Chee in Brussels, Jamie Freed in Sydney, Maria Ponnezhath and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru, David Shepardson in Washington, Ben Kleiman in Detroit, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Carolyn Konledov in Carolyn Konlev. in Los Angeles; Screenwriters by Carmel Crimins, Edmund Blair, Jane Merriman and Peter Henderson; Edited by Leslie Adler and Kenneth Maxwell

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