Remaining western cos face tricky Russian exits

Moscow: After months of negotiations, Finland’s Nokian Tyres was on the cusp late last year of finalising a 400-million-euro ($440.32 million) sale of its Russian business. Then Moscow changed the rules again, Reuters reported.

The government in December demanded that companies leaving Russia sell their operations for at least half price and claimed 10 per cent of the sale for the federal budget, termed an “exit tax” by the US Treasury.

Nokian Tyres dropped the agreed sale price to Russian oil major Tatneft to 286 million euros, finally securing the approval of the government commission that monitors foreign investment in March, nine months after initiating its “controlled exit”.

Nokian Tyres’ protracted departure illustrates the growing headwinds faced by Western companies that have yet to fully depart the country. Fifteen months after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a mass exodus, firms still there face growing uncertainty.