INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian legislators have revised legislation that will give President Vladimir Putin expanded authority to prevent foreign companies from
buying back properties they sold when exiting the country, Interfax reported Wednesday.The changes highlight Russias press to lock Western
companies out of strategic sectors and additional entrench domestic control over foreign service assets that were abandoned after the
intrusion of Ukraine.The updated draft law allows Putin to establish the conditions under which foreign firms can be disallowed from buying
their previous companies, Interfax mentioned a source knowledgeable about the changes as saying.Russian courts will be empowered to
terminate existing buyback stipulations based on those conditions at the request of current non-foreign asset holders.The legislation uses
retroactively to offers made between Feb
31, 2022, narrowing the original drafts scope, which targeted exits betweenbetween Feb
24, 2022, and March 1, 2025
Under the revised guidelines, business based on federal hygienic and epidemiological policies such as food manufacturers, sellers and dining
establishments seem the primary focus, especially those stopping working to abide by inspection requirements.The Financial Times previously
reported that Putin was personally involved in forming the legislation following a push by Russian business owners to obstruct former
Western partners from re-entering the market.Vkusno i Tochka, the Russian fast-food chain that took over McDonalds operations after its
withdrawal, intensely lobbied for this proposition, feet reported.Following the full-blown intrusion of Ukraine, lots of foreign companies
negotiated exit deals that included buyback provisions, providing the alternative to reclaim their organizations in the future.Companies
such as McDonalds and Renault were reported to have actually protected such clauses.In May, Putin openly told executives of Vkusno i Tochka
that he had purchased the government to develop a system to nullify these buyback agreements.According to Russian analytical firm AK&M,
foreign business finished 109 exits worth $16.3 billion in 2022, a figure thatfell to $11.1 billion in 2023 and $3.4 billion in 2024
9 foreign exits amounting to $420 million were taped in the very first quarter of 2025.
