27 Apr 2022 17:08

Russia to 'strongly suggest' foreign companies transfer assets if not resuming production - minister

TASHKENT. April 27 (Interfax) - The Russian authorities will "strongly suggest" that foreign companies transfer their Russian assets to management or ownership in cases of prolonged refusal to resume production, and a plan for whom assets might be transferred to has already been drawn up, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said.

"When we were talking about external management - such solutions will be also be used. We will strongly suggest civilized paths [of transferring assets]. Or you make the decision then to hand over to local management," Manturov said in conversation with journalists.

"We have an internal plan for who will go into enterprises of foreign concerns that decide to leave and how," he said.

The question of "inviting other producers" to enterprises with foreign participation "isn't actively being discussed," Manturov said. "We're not actively discussing this today, because it's not correct. But it's also not correct to just keep us in a state of contemplation: if we want, we'll leave; if we want, we won't leave," he said.

"We don't want the market to drop dozens of percent. We shouldn't expose our own market and our own production to such risks," Manturov said.

"We won't wait long," Manturov said. "That is, it's clear: a month, two, three to solve logistics problems, as our colleagues say. But if we're talking about political motives and about the special operation bothering them and their political leadership pressuring them - we're definitely not going to wait," he said.

Even cases where employees are being paid, but not working for an extended period are unacceptable, Manturov said. "Workforces should not be kept in such a state where their salary is just being paid. We don't want skills to be lost," he said.

The option to transfer stakes to management suits the Russian leadership, Manturov said. "We don't aspire to the property of others, we don't need it," he said.