News

Foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in Russia from offshore jurisdictions has nearly halved since early 2022, falling from $356 billion to $168 billion by October 2025, the Vedomosti newspaper said citing data from Bank of Russia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Investment from "unfriendly" countries also roughly halved, declining from $481 billion to $244 billion. By contrast, inward FDI stock from "friendly", or neutral jurisdictions rose by more than 50% from $24.6 billion to $37.6 billion over the same period. 

Cyprus remained the largest source of foreign investment in Russia as of early 2025, accounting for $89bn, or 37% of the total, according to IMF data. This is down from $171bn in 2022. It was followed by Switzerland ($21 billion), Germany ($17 billion), China ($16 billion), the Netherlands ($13.5 billion), France ($13.3 billion), and Italy ($11.5 billion).

Since February 2022, Russian companies have restructured their ownership, with many redomiciling from foreign jurisdictions, Kommersant newspaper notes. For foreign businesses that remained in Russia the legal environment has become markedly more challenging. Lawyers point to difficulties in exiting the market at fair value, restrictions on dividend payments and loan repayments, and the risk of so called temporary management of foreign companies’ assets.  

At the same time, investors from "friendly" countries, primarily China, appear more comfortable entering the Russian market. In 2025, Chinese investors led in setting up new businesses in Russia, with 117 companies, according to Kontur.Focus. However, these investments have largely been concentrated in retail and e-commerce, with limited appetite so far for localising production or transferring technology.