New Wave Of Companies Leaving Belarus Starts

Who else left the dictator's budget without income?

Many foreign companies suspended their activities in Belarus, or curtailed their business immediately after the start of events in Ukraine. Three months later, a new wave of their exodus from our country began, the website belmarket.by writes.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has published an official statement on the curtailment of business operations in Belarus and the Russian Federation.

"It is no longer feasible for us to continue operations in Russia and Belarus, and we continue to systematically wind down the remaining business in these countries," HPE said on its website.

At the end of February, HPE suspended deliveries and sales in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation and announced that it would be closely monitoring the situation before making a final decision to withdraw. Now this decision has been made and approved.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an American IT company founded in 2015 together with HP Inc. after the division of Hewlett-Packard Corporation (HP) into two separate structures. HPE inherited the business in the enterprise segment: the company produces servers, supercomputers, storage systems, network equipment, and also operates in the field of cloud computing.

Kamstrup

Kamstrup (Denmark), which manufactures electricity and water meters, told the Berlingske newspaper that it would withdraw from Russia and Belarus. At the same time, it is noted that the share of the Russian and Belarusian markets in the company's total revenue is small.

The decision to leave Belarus and the Russian Federation was made back in March, at the same time all trade operations with these countries were stopped. The withdrawal process dragged on until the summer, as the company was engaged in the preparation and execution of documentation in accordance with applicable rules and legislation.

Parimatch

The international brand Parimatch announced its exit from the capital of the Belarusian company STATUSKVO, which as a result acquired the status of an independent operating entity.

"The holding transfers the support of services and clients to the management of a local team in Belarus, which is no longer part of the Parimatch holding. The holding, in turn, will no longer receive profit from the company operating in Belarus, either today or in the future. We expect to suffer significant losses as a result of this decision," Parimatch said.

It is noted that during the transition period, the services will remain available in Belarus and will be managed by the new owner.

Parimatch is an international bookmaker holding, one of the largest betting brands in Europe and the CIS. It was founded in 1994, and is headquartered in Cyprus.

BASF

The German chemical concern BASF intends to cease operations in Russia and Belarus by the beginning of July this year. "Food support businesses are exempt from this decision, as hostilities in Ukraine could trigger a global food crisis," the company said.

According to a press release, BASF currently has 684 employees in Russia and Belarus. The company has decided that it will support its workers in both countries until the end of 2022.

Now the process of curtailing business in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation has reached the final stage, and leaving does not involve large losses. In 2021, Russia and Belarus accounted for about 1% of the BASF Group's total sales.

Kesko Senukai

In mid-May, Kesko Senukai suspended its activities in Belarus, and will soon cease to be a shareholder of the OMA retail chain.

The Finnish-Lithuanian investor terminated trade relations with OMA in April this year. In the coming months, Kesko Senukai plans to sell its stake.

There may be more to leave

Many companies have put relations with our country on pause: they have frozen current projects, stopped advertising activities, and suspended investing in Belarus. At the same time, there was no complete withdrawal from the market.

Some companies said that the final decision to leave will largely depend on how the situation in Ukraine develops. In addition, foreign businesses noted that they would assess the impact of sanctions on the economy of Belarus, and take into account the state of the investment climate in the country.

At the moment, there are few reasons for optimism. The military conflict in Ukraine continues, moving into a protracted stage, and the sanctions pressure on Belarus has not only not weakened, but, on the contrary, has begun to grow. All this contributes to the fact that those companies that have not yet decided and have taken a wait-and-see attitude may decide to leave Belarus for good.