Moscow promises to closely monitor foreign businesses that return to Russia
Russia's President Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Bahrain's National Security Advisor Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile attend a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - Russia's Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, who has led the state's efforts to seize property worth 2.4 trillion roubles ($31 billion), on Friday said foreign companies that return to the country would be watched closely to ensure Russia benefited.
Moscow has placed around a dozen foreign-owned assets under state management in the more than three years that Russia has been fighting in Ukraine and prosecutors have stepped up the seizure of domestic assets through the courts this year.
Now, as the economy begins to slow after two years of growth fuelled by high military spending, Russian officials are trying to find the balance between insulating the economy from exposure to Western nations it considers unfriendly and the need for growth to keep funding the conflict in Ukraine.
"We will closely follow the government's actions," Krasnov said. "That is, who will come... on what terms they will come."
"We will definitely look at making sure that the conditions under which our (Russian) business operates are better (when Western business returns)," Krasnov said.
It must be profitable for Russia's own firms, he said.
Russia is prioritising domestic companies, some of whom have taken market share vacated by Western firms, such as McDonald's and Unilever, that have left since Russia launched the conflict in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday said the Russian economy could not develop effectively without investment and said Moscow would create conditions to make foreign partners feel comfortable.
He said Russian companies should fulfil legally binding buybacks with foreign companies, but stressed that Russia would support measures that benefit its own interests.
"If someone left for political reasons, under pressure from their own political elites, their countries, then this means they are unreliable partners," Putin said.
WESTERN FIRMS ABSENT
Kirill Dmitriev, chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, has said that U.S. companies are in talks to return to Russia, although lawyers and investors have told Reuters that sanctions must be lifted before any significant influx can take place.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the Izvestia daily on Friday that no foreign companies had yet submitted requests to return.
"There are no applications for entry yet, but I feel that the situation is changing and interest in investing in Russia is growing," Siluanov said.
The sparse Western presence at Russia's forum suggests otherwise, with some analysts also pointing to concerns about property rights.
Two sources from Russia's energy and banking sectors said some companies may be interested in returning as there could be money to be made, but not in the current situation.
Assets owned by French yoghurt maker Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg are among the foreign assets taken under state control and sold to Kremlin-friendly buyers since 2022. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US judge orders release of pro-Palestinian activist Khalil
FILE PHOTO: Protesters supporting Mahmoud Khalil march in Manhattan, the day after a U.S. immigration judge ruled that Columbia student Khalil, who led pro-Palestinian student protests on campus, can be deported, in New York City, New York, U.S., April 12, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators gather on the day of a hearing on the detention of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, outside the Federal Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A display in honor of Mahmoud Khalil sits on stage at the People's Graduation, hosted for Khalil and other students unable to participate in Columbia and New York University's commencement ceremony, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, U.S., May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Dr. Noor Abdalla, wife of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who remains in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana after being detained in early March for his involvement in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, holds up a 'Release Mahmoud Khalil Now' protest sticker while posing for a portrait in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo NEW YORK - A U.S. judge ordered on Friday that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil be released immediately from immigration custody, a major victory for rights groups that challenged what they called the Trump administration's unlawful targeting of a pro-Palestinian activist. Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was arrested by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has called the protests antisemitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part. Khalil became the first target of this policy. After hearing oral arguments from lawyers for Khalil and for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz of Newark, New Jersey, ordered DHS to release him from custody at a jail for immigrants in rural Louisiana by as soon as 6:30 pm (7:30 ET) on Friday. Farbiarz said the government had made no attempt to rebut evidence provided by Khalil's lawyers that he was not a flight risk nor a danger to the public. "There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner (Khalil)," Farbiarz said as he ruled from the bench, adding that punishing someone over a civil immigration matter was unconstitutional. Khalil was the latest in a string of foreign pro-Palestinian students arrested in the U.S. starting in March who have subsequently been released by a judge. They include Mohsen Mahdawi and Rumeysya Ozturk. Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., says he is being punished for his political speech in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Khalil condemned antisemitism and racism in interviews with CNN and other news outlets last year. The Syrian-born activist plans to return to New York to be with his wife Dr. Noor Abdalla and their infant son who was born during Khalil's 104 days in detention. 'This ruling does not begin to address the injustices the Trump administration has brought upon our family, and so many others," Abdalla said in a statement. "Today we are celebrating Mahmoud coming back to New York to be reunited with our little family and the community that has supported us since the day he was unjustly taken for speaking out for Palestinian freedom." The White House condemned the decision to release Khalil, saying he should be deported for "conduct detrimental to American foreign policy interests" and fraudulently obtaining a student visa. "There is no basis for a local federal judge in New Jersey —who lacks jurisdiction — to order Khalil's release from a detention facility in Louisiana," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. "We expect to be vindicated on appeal." Even though a federal judge ordered Khalil be freed, the immigration proceedings against him continue. The Louisiana immigration judge in his case on Friday denied his asylum request, ruled he could be deported based on the government's allegations of immigration fraud, and denied a bail hearing. Farbiarz's decision rendered the bail request moot. Like others facing deportation, Khalil has avenues to appeal within the immigration system. Farbiarz is also considering Khalil's challenge of his deportation on constitutional grounds, and has blocked officials from deporting Khalil while that challenge plays out. Earlier this month, Farbiarz ruled the government was violating Khalil's free speech rights by detaining him under a little-used law granting the U.S. secretary of state power to seek deportation of non-citizens whose presence in the country was deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. On June 13, the judge declined to order Khalil's release from a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, after Trump's administration said Khalil was being held on a separate charge that he withheld information from his application for lawful permanent residency. Khalil's lawyers deny that allegation and say people are rarely detained on such charges. On June 16, they urged Farbiarz to grant a separate request from their client to be released on bail or be transferred to immigration detention in New Jersey to be closer to his family in New York. At Friday's hearing, Farbiarz said it was "highly unusual" for the government to jail an immigrant accused of omissions in his application for U.S. permanent residency. Khalil, 30, became a U.S. permanent resident last year, and his wife and newborn son are U.S. citizens. Trump administration lawyers wrote in a June 17 filing that Khalil's request for release should be addressed to the judge overseeing his immigration case, an administrative process over whether he can be deported, rather than to Farbiarz, who is considering whether Khalil's March 8 arrest and subsequent detention were constitutional. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Japan scraps US meeting after Washington demands more defense spending -FT
FILE PHOTO: Japanese and U.S. Flags fly side by side outside the White House in Washington, U.S., April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives his opening speech at the beginning of the meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at his office in Tokyo. March 30, 2025. Stanislav Kogiku/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON - Japan has canceled a regular high-level meeting with its key ally the United States after the Trump administration demanded it spend more on defense, the Financial Times reported on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been expected to meet their Japanese counterparts in Washington on July 1 for annual 2+2 security talks. But Tokyo scrapped the meeting after the U.S. side asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, higher than an earlier request of 3 per cent, the paper cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter, including two officials in Tokyo, as saying. A U.S. official who did not want to be identified confirmed Japan had "postponed" the talks but said the decision was made several weeks ago. The source did not cite a reason. A non-government source familiar with the issue said he had also heard Japan had pulled out of the meeting, but not the reason for it doing so. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said she had no comment on the FT report when asked about it at regular briefing, and the Pentagon also had no immediate comment. Japan's embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The Financial Times said the new higher spending demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior Pentagon official, who has also recently upset another key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific by launching a review of a project to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. In March, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that other nations do not decide Japan's defense budget after Colby called in his nomination hearing to be under secretary of defense for policy for Tokyo to spend more to counter China. Japan and other U.S. allies have been engaged in difficult trade talks with the United States over U.S. President Donald Trump's worldwide tariff offensive. The FT said the decision to cancel the July 1 meeting was also related to Japan's July 20 Upper House elections, at which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to suffer a loss of seats. It comes ahead of a meeting of the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Europe next week, at which Trump is expected to press his demand that European allies boost their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
China is winning over Central Asia – but its growing influence could fuel a backlash
Chinese President Xi Jinping and five Central Asian leaders signed a treaty of 'permanent good neighbourliness' and friendly cooperation at this week's China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. PHOTO: EPA-EFE – While some Western countries have viewed Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) as threats to their domestic industries and put up tariffs on these Chinese exports, Central Asia has welcomed them. Brands from Zeekr and Chery ply the streets of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where all taxis must be electric by September 2025. Kazakhstan saw a 36-fold rise in the sale of Chinese EVs in 2024, from 2023. BYD's first plant in Central Asia, in Uzbekistan, began production in January 2024. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
