标题: 2022.03.10 哪些西方公司正在离开俄罗斯？ [打印本页] 作者: shiyi18 时间: 2022-3-11 22:59 标题: 2022.03.10 哪些西方公司正在离开俄罗斯？ Daily chart
Which Western companies are leaving Russia?
Around 300 firms are heading for the exit as the war in Ukraine intensifies
Mar 10th 2022
The trickle of Western firms vowing to pull out of Russia has become a flood. On March 10th Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan became the latest. In recent days McDonald’s said it would temporarily close its 847 restaurants in Russia and Coca-Cola said it would be suspending operations. So far Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted an exodus of around 300 Western companies from Russia, according to a tally by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at Yale University. Some say they are leaving only temporarily, but others, such as Goldman, claim they are going for good. Several energy companies have vowed to quit partnerships with Gazprom and Rosneft, two state-owned Russian energy giants. Russia’s economy ministry is drawing up plans to seize, or to nationalise, foreign-owned companies that are heading for the exit.
Many companies have cited logistical disruptions, sanctions and concerns about the safety of staff as reasons for pulling out. Toyota, which produced around 80,000 vehicles at its plant in St Petersburg in 2021, said it would cease operations on March 4th and halt shipments to Russia because of “supply-chain disruptions”. Nike said it would be pausing operations in the country owing to “the increasing challenges of operating our business”. Such logistical difficulties will only worsen as shipping lines, freight forwarders and trucking companies halt deliveries to and from Russia. The collapse of the rouble will also make imported goods more costly.
But the reputational risk of doing business in Russia may be the biggest push factor. For days, as the death toll in Ukraine grew and millions of refugees fled, many executives stayed silent on the issue. Then, as criticism on social media mounted, and calls for boycotts of Western brands grew louder, they had little choice but to pull out. Such decisions have not always been straightforward. On March 8th Ramon Laguarta, the boss of PepsiCo, said that although the firm would stop selling its fizzy drinks, it would continue selling “essential” goods such as milk and baby food. PayPal, a digital-payments firm, suspended operations in Russia on March 5th but promised to allow customers to withdraw funds “for a period of time”.
Some big firms are still holding out. By Mr Sonnenfeld’s estimates around 40 Western firms with significant operations in the country have yet to swear off the Russian market. On March 10th Deutsche Bank defended its decision to stay even though other major banks had announced they would pull out. Oilfield-services firms, such as Baker Hughes and Schlumberger, have remained quiet. In the retail space, Tadashi Yanai, the chairman and CEO of Fast Retailing, Japan’s biggest clothing retailer, had insisted that the clothing company would keep open its 50 Uniqlo shops in Russia. But on March 10th the firm made a U-turn. “We have recently faced a number of difficulties, including operational challenges and the worsening of the conflict situation,” the company said in a statement. “For this reason, we will temporarily suspend our operations”. It will hardly be the last firm to have a change of heart. ■
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