News

Almost all German companies continuing to operate in Russia intend to remain in the market, according to a survey conducted by the Russian-German Foreign Trade Chamber (AHK Russland) and reported by RBC.

The survey, carried out between March and May, drew responses from 265 companies, of which 167 had predominantly German capital and 23 had Swiss or Austrian ownership. According to AHK Russland, approximately 1,600 German companies are currently active in Russia, with the value of German assets estimated at more than 100 billion euros.

Only four of the companies surveyed (2%) said they plan to leave the Russian market in the near term, while 71% intend to continue operations unchanged.

The survey also found that the absolute majority of respondents (96%) had not encountered any hostile takeover attempts. Just 4% reported such conduct from competitors, half of them citing state-backed entities as the source of such attempts.

For 57% of companies with predominantly German capital, the role of the Russian market remains unchanged. Nearly one in four German companies (24%) said they intend to invest in Russia over the next twelve months. Respondents identified the greatest growth potential in information technology and telecommunications, agriculture and food processing, and energy and raw materials.

However, only 5% of respondents expect their exports to Russia to increase in the near term, while 9% forecast a decline due to existing restrictions. For 33%, the outlook is unchanged, and 53% have already ceased exporting to Russia altogether.

That said, some 37% of German respondents expect many of the European companies that have left Russia to return, while the majority (57%) predict that only a few will do so.

Western sanctions against Russia, the armed conflict in Ukraine, difficulties with banking payments and adverse market conditions were cited as the factors having the greatest negative impact on business in Russia. For instance, some 58% of all respondents said western sanctions had had a strong or very strong effect on their operations, and 81% reported suffering significant losses as a result.

Moreover, 36% of German companies believe western sanctions harm Germany more than Russia, 56% consider the impact roughly equal, and only 8% think Russia bears the greater burden.