The return of foreign companies to Russia can be based on permits from the government commission for foreign investments, said the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin.
„The entry mechanism may be a mirror image of the exit mechanism. Let me remind you that the exiting companies went through the government commission for foreign investments. In a number of cases, a decision was even made at a higher level, at the level of orders and decrees of the president, on the specifics of the exit. It is reasonable to assume that the entry will be the same, taking into account some specifics“, said Shokhin.
He noted that over the past three years, some types of activities have passed into the strategic category. “And then another norm operates, the norm of another law, the so-called Federal Law No. 57 on strategic organizations, where you need to get permission from the commission and comply with certain conditions“, he recalled.
According to Shokhin, foreign companies have left Russia in various ways since the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions, which should also be taken into account. For example, a number of companies left Russia in the hope of returning, retaining their staff, as well as interaction with Russian suppliers and distributors.
Returning foreign companies must provide guarantees that they will not leave again “with a snap of the fingers“ from the government of their country, Shokhin added.
“If they return, including for investment, expansion, technological renewal, it is also necessary to somehow record this so that they do not suddenly give up if in 2028 the US presidential election was won, for example, by a Democrat who wants to stop all this. How can this be done? A legally significant document. We have the right to make such demands," he believes.
Shokhin noted that the conditions for the return of foreign companies were discussed at the congress of industrialists and entrepreneurs, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin participated.
"The president gave guidelines, and now we can try to develop these criteria together with our business colleagues, with our government and the State Duma," he commented to TASS.