About 2,000 foreign companies have applied to the Foreign Investment Commission of the Russian Ministry of Finance to sell their assets in order to leave the Russian market.
Source. This was reported by the Financial Times with reference to an informed source.
"The commission meets three times a month and considers no more than seven applications per meeting," the source said.
At this rate, it will take almost eight years for the Ministry of Finance's commission to review the applications already submitted.
On March 27, the Ministry of Finance announced that companies from "unfriendly" countries will now have to pay 10% of half the market value of the assets sold to the budget when selling Russian businesses.
In the Ministry's documents, this is called a voluntary contribution. If the assets are sold at a discount of more than 90%, the "contribution" will be 10% of the full value.
Previously, companies leaving the Russian market had a choice between a "voluntary contribution" and selling assets at a discount of at least 50% and installment payments for several years.
"The main difference between the new rules and the old ones is that companies no longer have a choice. This is a confiscation of real estate," lawyer Ilya Rachkov told the FT.
Background. The day before, it was reported that companies that have sold their business in Russia must pay 10% of the transaction value to the Russian budget.